Exercise 01: Establishing the Status Quo

[Visions of Khas]

So before StarCraft II, this was my head canon back in the day. The myth and legends of the Xel'Naga can be attributed to a collection of races.



A lone exploratory vessel from a non-FTL race is adrift in space, most of her crew dead. The survivors take stock of their provisions; with systems failing, there is no hope to return home.

As it drifts, radar returns reveal a cluster of large asteroids. Abruptly, the Explorer-scientists discover the asteroids are actually living creatures, their Colossal bodies apparently made of coral and crystal. The telepathic exchange is long, communication difficult as the Titanic, asteroid-like creatures think on larger timeframes than the small Explorer species. In the days that follow, barely two complete sentences pass between the crew and the Titans, before the vessel shuts down.

The Titans, their interest piqued, never before encountered such tiny lives before, want to explore further. So, through genetic and psychic gifts natural to them, they fashion smaller creatures, much like those Explorers, and send these Progeny out into the void to explore. And they wait.

The Progeny seed several worlds, launched haphazardly into space. They explore many worlds, and finally come into contact with the Explorers. In the decades since the exploratory vessel was launched, the Explorer species encountered their Great Filter and fell to ruin. They are now at a pre-industrial level on the homeworld. The Explorers and Progeny meet; tensions arise, but are soon alleviated as the Progeny aid the Explorers. Each sees the other as deliverers; the Explorers are grateful for the aid from the Progeny, while the Progeny institutionally desire to learn of and from the Explorers.

The Progeny learn, advance, and grow at a remarkable pace. The Explorers once more tame their world, advance their technology, and leave their barren planet for the stars. After years of colonization, however, the Progeny and Explorers find rifts in their relationship. The Progeny advance by leaps and bounds, leaving the Explorers in their wake.

The Explorers look to colonize verdant worlds to call their home. They discover one such world, but it is already inhabited by another sapient race. Like eager children, the Progeny reach out to the Primitives, and their two races begin a relationship. Jealous, and needing the Primitives' homeworld for their own, the Explorers invade -- much to the shock and horror of the Progeny.

War breaks out. The Progeny and Primitives are devastated; but due to their reliance on the Progeny, the Explorers in effect cripple themselves. The Primitives, their world ashambles and survivors few, near extinction. The three races try to make the best of their deteriorating situation on the Primitives' world, while the Progeny instinctively call out to their Titan creators.

In several years' time, the Titan return, their ponderous but inquisitive minds elated to rediscover their Progeny. Many of the Progeny are assimilated by the Titans so the latter may gain their knowledge. The Primitives and Explorers are horrified by this new development. And the Titans learn of the joys and horrors of these lesser lifeforms.

With no alternative, the Progeny usher the Primitives and Explorers aboard the Titans, and they will leave this barren rock together. However, to survive yet another new environment, the Primitives and Explorers will have to adapt, in body and mind. While this last generation will survive and procreate, their descendants will transform into something else entirely. Effectively, these two species fall into extinction, but their memory lives on.

With these stars system barren and unsuitable to life as delicate as the Primitives and Explorers, the small armada of Titans take their charges to a new set of stars -- a galaxy not so far, far away...



I had this whole saga mapped out back in the BlizzForums days. I imagined the experiences of the various races of the XelNaga myth kind of repeating/mirroring the history and nature of protoss, terran and zerg. I called them collectively the Logoricans (derived from logos, Greek for "word").

[GnaReffotsirk]

On Voice in the Darkness:
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I don't know who the Voice in the Darkness is, nor the ideas developed for it. I just know it through discussions before, that there is a Voice in the Darkness, but I don't know what it does, or how it impacts the world of SC.


On Amon:
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I don't plan to bring in Amon. I plan on the Xel'Naga making an appearance, but not Amon.


On Aiur:
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As for Aiur, I think it's a crucial world for the protoss. I consider Aiur as part of their biology, and not just for sentimental value.


On Dae'Uhl:
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As for the Dae'Uhl , I have a character for them, Vicar Setharun, but he's going to be on survivors, not sure I'll have him appear in the spin-off. However, my idea of the Dae'Uhl, is that these ships are lightly equipped (motherships), and are staffed by robotics. Only a few protoss would be on those ships. Maybe 12 max per ship.

The Dae'Uhl ships have systems that can turn it into a war machine though. I thought they were once used as off-world bases. A point where the Psi Matrix can be connected to, allowing the protoss to deploy far from Aiur. Their previous attempt at interfering militarily would have utilized these ships as starbases, thus they'd be outfitted heavily with arrays of weaponry, defense, and deployment modules.

When the Dae'Uhl directive was passed as law, these ships remained combat ready, but much of their assortments were retracted. Crews were pulled from them back into Aiur.

These ships became a reminder of their mistake, to some a prison for exiles, to some a place to meditate upon, a place of quiet, etc.,

Vicar Setharun was sent to command a Dae'Uhl expedition for his disagreements with a few Judicators on something. At least that's how I used the Dae'Uhl when viewed internally. From outsiders it is an honor to be there, but in reality it's just another means of control. Or something like that.

Anyway, that's what I think of the Dae'Uhl.


How about you guys? What do you want to see? About Aiur, the Zerg, Terrans, etc.

On the Explorers, Titans, Primitives:
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I've read it through to the end, but I got lost with their names, and who's doing what. I wish you'd give them names. I'm really sorry, I want to get a picture of it, but I get lost as I kept reading. It's entirely my fault.

Who became the Xel'Naga among them? Or is it everyone of them, members of each faction becoming the Xel'Naga? I'm really sorry, if you can give them names, I'd much appreciate it. It looks really interesting.

[Visions of Khas]

I've read it through to the end, but I got lost with their names, and who's doing what

The particulars and aren't terribly important. The names are mere place holders.

The Titans are what we know as Worldships, gigantic living beings from the depths of space that have never encountered sentient, terrestrial life (eg You, me, Protoss, etc). Inspired by the doomed band of Explorers, the Titans birth the Progeny to explore the (relatively) microscopic world. The Progeny found the Explorers, and grew with them. The Explorers devastate their own homeworld, forcing both races to find a new home. The conflict with the Primitives is really unnecessary, it's simply to add a dimension to the race dynamics; it essentially shows the Progeny that the Explorer race is capable of violence and genocide.

In the end, the Progeny call out to their Titan forefathers to rescue the collective. The Explorers and Primitives are forced to adapt biologically to the Titans. In essence, the smaller species become symbiotically linked with the Worldships/Titans. All of this is simply to inform their background and provide depth and understanding, as most alien species are envisioned as being very flat and one-dimensional. The hardships they endure may also provide impetus to create new life to atone for past sins.

On Voice in the Darkness:

Oh, the shadow creature from the manga? I always assumed it was Amon, despite Blizzard's arguments against the idea.

As for Aiur, I think it's a crucial world for the protoss. I consider Aiur as part of their biology, and not just for sentimental value.

So, a symbiotic relationship?

[GnaReffotsirk]

Thank you, VoK. I think that cleared it up a bit for me. I feel there's more to what you posted about their story, and I'm very interested to learn about it.

On Amon and Voice in the Darkness (Dark Voice):

Is the Voice in the Darkness and Dark Voice the same entity? I don't know squat about these items. And I'm confused now. I thought it was from a book? Or, are they the same entities? Dark Voice and Voice in the Darkness, I mean.

On Aiur:

Haven't figured it out yet, but my ideas will most likely stem from Aiur's immense psionic field, their protogenesis having been initiated by the XelNaga to see what comes out of it, and later discovering a highly gifted race, in terms of psionic abilities.

My intention is to bind the protoss race to Aiur biologically to explain why they consider it sacred, and highly regarded. Sentimentality has been dismissed previously as for why they should not retake it, or just forget about Aiur for other habitable worlds, but I feel there is something else to Aiur that makes it almost impossible for the protoss to just let it go.

It could be as simple as long-term effects to their biology, reproduction, or mental stability. But that remains to be sought after in thought.

If you were to think of a biological reason, what would it be?

[KaiserStratosTygo]

It appears to me that this is actually gaining traction, I want to help in some way as well.

[Turalyon]

On Aiur:

Haven't figured it out yet, but my ideas will most likely stem from Aiur's immense psionic field, their protogenesis having been initiated by the XelNaga to see what comes out of it, and later discovering a highly gifted race, in terms of psionic abilities.

My intention is to bind the protoss race to Aiur biologically to explain why they consider it sacred, and highly regarded. Sentimentality has been dismissed previously as for why they should not retake it, or just forget about Aiur for other habitable worlds, but I feel there is something else to Aiur that makes it almost impossible for the protoss to just let it go.

It could be as simple as long-term effects to their biology, reproduction, or mental stability. But that remains to be sought after in thought.

If you were to think of a biological reason, what would it be?

I like where this is going. The Protoss are a by-product of the planet, which in itself was prepared by the Xel'Naga to eventually produce what we know as Protoss, so involving the planets' inherent psionic matrix and somehow tying that to the physical well being of the Protoss (that the planet itself is partly Protoss if you want to think of it in that way) makes a lot of sense. It's not just sentimentality that they take it back, it's vital to any continued existence.

It kinda provides some awesome alternate answers to some questions, like why Protoss are partially plant-like (they use photosynthesis) and also why the Overmind would want to root itself onto Aiur (it's essentially the key to assimilating the Protoss).

[Visions of Khas]

How do we explain the Dark Templar and their independence from Aiur, then? Just their use of the Void? Shakuras' own "cosmic energy nexus?"

[Nissa]

Aaaaaaah....so much to reply to...

My thinking is to utilize the ones already in the game. Haven't gotten into the toss yet, but for sure preserver Rohana won't be playing a significant part.

Absolutely no Preservers, please. They are pretty ridiculous in concept, and the whole idea of them contradicts the manual. So if Rohana stays, she has a new job.

I feel DT tribal leaders, former Judicators, survivors that joined Aldaris.

Don't forget survivors on Aiur, Khalai people trying to resettle old holdings/new places to live, and Templar pushing for military rights.

Artanis would not play a leadership role in politics, but will play a commanding role. I want to continue his arc in bw as a protoss commander, and how he will stand up to his promise in upholding the Khala's law as promised during their escape from Aiur.

You mean military as opposed to general? No, I prefer Artanis as a general political leader because he represents a link between the Khala and the DT. But since he's a young thing, he isn't terribly able to control everyone, so factional leaders would have considerable power.

But I do like the idea of him keeping his promise. That's a very Artie thing to do. The way I see it, Artanis should be having a major conflict between what he knows is his duty, vs his passion for saving the day and being like Tassadar. That's the crux of his character, and he's not just some guy who's already got things figured out.

Zeratul would not be disrespected, and will be asked to lead the DT. But he will refuse. He will be the one who will take the Hero's journey (MC), while Artanis will be the impact character.

I disagree. Zeratul does not have the mindset to lead properly, as he's more the operative-type than a leader type. Probably no one would offer him leadership. Also, a leadership offer would imply that Zeratul was around after BW. I prefer a Zeratul who is off doing his own thing, to return at a plot relevant or otherwise critical moment.

And no Hero's Journey.

Zeratul will have to learn to deny himself/control his impulse to serve all protoss, in some way. Thematically, he will be the guy who must turn from the path of passion, and learn the depths of Raszagal's leadership. But in the end, he just can't take it to himself to be the leader that's expected of him. There's just something more satisfying to wear his emotions on his sleeve than be a symbol of order, rule, safety.

No. Quite frankly, Zeratul is old. He's more set in his ways than someone like Artanis would be, and lacks the passion that characterizes a young person. His dark eyes in BW symbolizes this. In other words, he already knows he's not the leader type -- every single decision he made in BW was poorly thought out and led to Kerrigan winning. Zeratul excels in working in a smaller group of well-trained people with a specific goal, like killing a cerebrate or stealing data discs from a battlecruiser. Zeratul works best when someone else (Tassadar, Razsagal) is providing the large-scale leadership goals, and Zeratul's task is to find specific ways to bring these goals about.

Zeratul's arc should be about trusting again. He, like Raynor, spent BW being downtrodden and faced with failure. He likewise should be suffering a horrible depression, and he needs to learn to come out of it, because only by hope does anyone succeed. He should also be the one with the most objective data on the hybrids, because his most logical course of action after BW would be to track them down and investigate them as much as possible.

Khaldalis will be there. The guy had an intro, we should use that. XD He will be the skeptic/impulsive character. He wants Aiur, and that makes him restless.

His counterpart will be the khalai Karax. The believer/controlled character.

Yuck, Karax sucks. The conroller character shouldn't be specified. If we keep Kaldalis, let's change his name. It sounds too much like a smashup of already known Protoss names.

With regard to the protoss...

Can we establish what it is that makes High Templar energies and Void energies so different? Instead of having all the same powers?

And I'd like to leave dead, glassed worlds dead. Not recolonized, like Mar Sara and Chau Sara. Not frozen back over, like Braxis. Dead. I mean, it's okay if glassing is like lightning, releasing a shit ton of nitrogen into the atmosphere to promote future regrowth, but that's going to take years to happen.

Okay! But let's try to have a mission on one of these worlds, so we can see what this type of devastation looks like. Or maybe we can have some Terran scientists trying to figure out how to bring it back, but of course they won't be able to accomplish this during the course of the game.

What are your guys thoughts on Aiur, and the Dark Voice?

Edit: On Psionic Energy and Void Energy, we could think of them as particle and antiparticle. Such that when Tassadar merged them together, he was destroyed, and a massive amount of energy was released.

I think Aiur's fate depends on what Kerrigan wants (perhaps the hybrids are past khaydarins at this point, as Duran would have been able to access them while "infested"). Absolutely no dark voice. Thumbs up on the energies.

So before StarCraft II, this was my head canon back in the day. The myth and legends of the Xel'Naga can be attributed to a collection of races.



A lone exploratory vessel from a non-FTL race is adrift in space, most of her crew dead. The survivors take stock of their provisions; with systems failing, there is no hope to return home.

As it drifts, radar returns reveal a cluster of large asteroids. Abruptly, the Explorer-scientists discover the asteroids are actually living creatures, their Colossal bodies apparently made of coral and crystal. The telepathic exchange is long, communication difficult as the Titanic, asteroid-like creatures think on larger timeframes than the small Explorer species. In the days that follow, barely two complete sentences pass between the crew and the Titans, before the vessel shuts down.

The Titans, their interest piqued, never before encountered such tiny lives before, want to explore further. So, through genetic and psychic gifts natural to them, they fashion smaller creatures, much like those Explorers, and send these Progeny out into the void to explore. And they wait...

That's cool and all, but I honestly don't like it. It doesn't feel Starcrafty enough. One of SC2's failures was its lack of grit, and I don't see the grit here that would make for an appropriate story. That, and I don't see how that could affect a current sequel. It doesn't have much in terms of story potential. Not to mention that the Xel'Naga are generally going to be better in player imagination than being explained fully.

Honestly, this sounds like a story you should keep for your own and adapt into an original work.

[Nissa]

On Amon:
------------
I don't plan to bring in Amon. I plan on the Xel'Naga making an appearance, but not Amon.

*applauds*

On Aiur:
----------
As for Aiur, I think it's a crucial world for the protoss. I consider Aiur as part of their biology, and not just for sentimental value.

I don't like this. For one thing, it's basically a retcon, because there's never been any real biological connection presented originally. In my opinion, the best option here is both the Khaydarin crystals and sentiment. I don't think us modern folk really understand sentamentalism and how it can drive people to love their homeland. We simply don't know what it's like unless we read about it, and even then we won't really know unless we've experienced that kind of loss. But when you look at books from older days, you begin to understand that sentiment and love of country is very powerful, and cannot be lightly dismissed.

Also, the khaydarins are powerful things that they should probably do their best to get back from the Zerg, or potentially try to keep away from the hybrids, depending on if they know whether or not the hybrids really do need them for something (or in turn simply want to keep them from the Protoss).

On Dae'Uhl:
--------------
As for the Dae'Uhl , I have a character for them, Vicar Setharun, but he's going to be on survivors, not sure I'll have him appear in the spin-off. However, my idea of the Dae'Uhl, is that these ships are lightly equipped (motherships), and are staffed by robotics. Only a few protoss would be on those ships. Maybe 12 max per ship.

The Dae'Uhl ships have systems that can turn it into a war machine though. I thought they were once used as off-world bases. A point where the Psi Matrix can be connected to, allowing the protoss to deploy far from Aiur. Their previous attempt at interfering militarily would have utilized these ships as starbases, thus they'd be outfitted heavily with arrays of weaponry, defense, and deployment modules.

When the Dae'Uhl directive was passed as law, these ships remained combat ready, but much of their assortments were retracted. Crews were pulled from them back into Aiur.

These ships became a reminder of their mistake, to some a prison for exiles, to some a place to meditate upon, a place of quiet, etc.,

Vicar Setharun was sent to command a Dae'Uhl expedition for his disagreements with a few Judicators on something. At least that's how I used the Dae'Uhl when viewed internally. From outsiders it is an honor to be there, but in reality it's just another means of control. Or something like that.

Anyway, that's what I think of the Dae'Uhl.

What are you talking about? The Dae'Uhl is a principle, not a group. It's the principle of stewardship over "lesser" races like humans. Or is this some sort of SC2 thing that I missed?



Get in on this Kaiser. What's your views on a proper sequel to BW?

[Gradius]

I like where this is going. The Protoss are a by-product of the planet, which in itself was prepared by the Xel'Naga to eventually produce what we know as Protoss, so involving the planets' inherent psionic matrix and somehow tying that to the physical well being of the Protoss (that the planet itself is partly Protoss if you want to think of it in that way) makes a lot of sense. It's not just sentimentality that they take it back, it's vital to any continued existence.

It kinda provides some awesome alternate answers to some questions, like why Protoss are partially plant-like (they use photosynthesis) and also why the Overmind would want to root itself onto Aiur (it's essentially the key to assimilating the Protoss).

So what is the psionic matrix? In SC2 they made it an artificial construct instead of a natural one, which I'm not necessarily uncool with, but I always thought it was something the planet emanated naturally because of all the K crystals or strong magnetic field or something.