Exercise 01: Establishing the Status Quo

[Nissa]

I'd go for a much older race, older than the Xel'Naga. Duran would be thinking to have served them by creating Hybrids, and starting the path to "change" whatever that means.

In a time of chaos, when the universe was young, a race of beings were born into power. Power that would shape the very fabric of our reality. They have consumed themselves in their lusts, and are now forever bound, scattered. Their very energies course through all of creation, binding, now separating, forever in torment, so we may live.

The foundations of your very existence have been set upon them. The only escape is purity.

Purity of essence. Purity of form.

Edit: Nissa, I'll be in touch. Maybe you can voice Ralrazin too? You can interpret the dialogue as you find necessary, to bring out the character as you imagine her.

I am so in. I love basically everything about this post, because you're showing the right kind of artistic drama, where you're taking poetry seriously. Dude, send me some lines so I can practice.

And Khas, go buy a mic, because I am now intrigued. You must. You must.

Gna, is there any specific point in your project where you feel weak? I can help there, if you like. You sound like you have Protoss down, but how are you with Zerg?

[GnaReffotsirk]

I think its weak all over. I wish I could see the images your mind is conjuring right now.

[Visions of Khas]

My pre-SCII head canon had all the accomplishments attributed to a single race of Xel'Naga super entities actually actually being performed by several races over the course of centuries. The beginning of that legend lay with refugees fleeing from their home galaxy.

[GnaReffotsirk]

Hindu gods look like multiple species, each one seem to have different goals in mind.

The Watchers of Enoch had each watcher teach humanity different crafts. They seem to not be under one ruler, but a communion of beings, where none of them could do what they desired if not all of them agreed to interfere with humanity's destiny.

The gods of Olympus also seem to reflect this as well. Though they were depicted as having human form, I don't think they really do. They could use avatars or whatever to reveal themselves. Zeus, could take on many forms. Maybe he mind controls them or transform himself like Duran does.

Nissa, post your ideas on the Zerg, or you can send them to me, if you'd like.

[Nissa]

Well, I was kinda hoping to view your ideas and build on them, but here you go. We're all in it together, no?

I've always seen the Zerg as viewing themselves not unlike children. They destroyed most of the Xel'Naga, but were generally unable to understand much of what the Xel'Naga intended, mainly because they didn't understand the Xel'Nagan language, and, being so young at the time, could not conceptualize many of the things the Xel'Naga was about. On the other hand, the Overmind knows a little more than he lets on, and considers himself the secret keeper of the Xel'Naga's last knowledge. How much he has corrupted this knowledge over time remains unknown.

But overall, the Zerg are like children without parents. They are gathering all the information they can like curious, inconsiderate five year olds who think everything belongs to them. The only ones they respect are the Protoss (being siblings, after all), but the Protoss are also the only ones they fear. The Overmind seemed to know something about the Protoss that gave him pause, and by absorbing them into the Swarm, the Overmind felt it could take this threat and turn it into an advantage for the Swarm.

I also feel that the Overmind would view infected Protoss as the exact same as the Protoss-Zerg hybrids. While this perception may or may not be true, it's the Overmind's opinion, and he is incapable of seeing anything different because, like I said in another thread, he feels that all of life is the story of how the Zerg become pan-ultimate in the universe. So he sees hybrids as essentially Zerg, when maybe the hybrids agree or don't agree.

Also, I think we need to consider that maybe the Xel'Naga are evil or at least morally weak. In the first Protoss missions, Tassadar goes on about how the Zerg intend to "continue the experiments the Xel'Naga began" or something like that. So it's entirely possible that the Xel'Naga themselves never saw their manipulated races as anything more than glorified test subjects.

[Visions of Khas]

Also, I think we need to consider that maybe the Xel'Naga are evil or at least morally weak. In the first Protoss missions, Tassadar goes on about how the Zerg intend to "continue the experiments the Xel'Naga began" or something like that. So it's entirely possible that the Xel'Naga themselves never saw their manipulated races as anything more than glorified test subjects.

So what do you think the Xel'Nagas' goals were? Did these experimenters represent all Naga kind? Were they a splinter faction? What was the purpose of the grand experiment?

[ragnarok]

So what do you think the Xel'Nagas' goals were? Did these experimenters represent all Naga kind? Were they a splinter faction? What was the purpose of the grand experiment?

Based on the SC1 lore, I had originally thought they were just trying to create a perfect species. Once that succeeds, then they'd decide what uses it'd be for. The SC1 lore seemed to imply that until the events on Zerus (before the Overmind rebelled), all the other Xel'Naga creations ended in failure.

[Nissa]

On a canon level, there's no real knowing. I'm a bit suspicious that Blizzard may have intended originally for all the races to come together to defeat the Xel'Naga, and it'd be all about self-determination, and whatnot.

Oh, I've gone on and on about my own view, where Duran manipulates the rest of the Xel'Naga. In my view, the Xel'Naga are a mostly indifferent race or faction who study the universe just because. They are the ultimate society of nerds, as they simply wish to learn and continue learning, and yet have this massive power to be able to do so. Enter Duran, because the Xel'Naga are too passive to use their power for conquest, and Duran ain't gonna let that get by.

I'd imagine that Duran comes from an ancient race about as powerful as the Xel'Naga but with different, more focused intentions. Conquest is kinda what they do, but they care less about dominating so much as they care about every race knowing its place. Animals are below, sentients above, hybrids higher still. The Xel'Naga merely wanted to study the universe, but Duran's people wanted to shape it.

[ragnarok]

The gods of Olympus also seem to reflect this as well. Though they were depicted as having human form, I don't think they really do. They could use avatars or whatever to reveal themselves. Zeus, could take on many forms. Maybe he mind controls them or transform himself like Duran does.

Yeah but no one knew back in SC1 that Duran was a shapeshifter. For all we know, despite being alien, it's possible Duran merely used a human host to hide himself in, and would expose his real form (thus leaving the host) when the time was right. That doesn't prove he himself could change form on the fly.

[Visions of Khas]

Yeah but no one knew back in SC1 that Duran was a shapeshifter

Back in the day, I thought Duran might have been a gestalt entity; or had his personality "uploaded" into clones of different races.