How did the Protoss' "primal link" actually work across history?

[Mislagnissa]

The original manual was extremely vague about how the Protoss' "primal link" worked other than to suggest it was a highly efficient application of telepathy (as opposed to something wholly different from telepathy). The Khala referred to the science and religion built around it.

As the retcons piled up, this became increasingly blurry. The link and the Khala became synonymous in the writing, and this led to a number of what I consider plot holes.

According to SC2, the tal'darim don't have the Khala/link because they joined it when Khas founded it. The problem here is that the Protoss always had the link and the tal'darim supposedly left before the Aeon started.

For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to the link in all historical eras as the Khala and the religion as the Path of Ascension.

Were the tal'darim part of the first Khala and then breakaway from it? In that case, their backstory claiming they never joined is wrong: they broke away from it just like the nerazim did.

When the tribes broke the first Khala, did they just break the inter-tribal Khala or did they break the intra-tribal khala too? I ask this because, prior to LotV claiming the khala was evil or whatever nonsense it was saying, the lore made it clear that the khala was the only thing preventing the protoss from fighting endless war (not unlike the overly emotional eldar in warhammer 40k, which they were clearly modeled after). So if the tribes broke their tribal khala, then they would attack their own families eventually, which would have prevented them from surviving long enough to fight an interstellar war with other tribes.

The protoss evolved with the khala, so I have to assume the rest of their psychology is adapted for it and doesn't work correctly without it. This is comparable to how humans suffer from mental illness if their brains are not working correctly. Presumably the nerazim have developed a means of maintaining their sanity and emotional control, since the protoss developed new psionic sciences and such that allowed them to break the khala in the first place.

Anyway, the only consistent explanation I can think of is that the tribes always had some form of khala. The first empire formed a super-khala that connected the tribal khalas, which was shattered during the Aeon. The tal'darim and nerazim are oddities, since they reject even the tribal khala.

I can understand the nerazim rejecting the link because of their disdain for the conclave and such (and practical reasons like studying the new field of void psionics), but the tal'darim are much more difficult to explain. They use sundrop to prevent development of the khala, or at least that was the explanation for one tribe of them (for simplicity we can assume it is a widespread practice to explain their intact nerve cords). If they worship the xel'naga, surely they would embrace the khala? I would think that somewhere along the line their religion got the wrong idea and accepted values that their former gods would have rejected (which is actually quite common in real religions, since they don't stay static).

Feel free to share your own thoughts, observations, explanations, etc. This discussion will probably be contradicting the canon, given that the canon isn't really reliable or consistent in this situation.

[ragnarok]

Sundrop was meant to sever the link, it didn't exactly say that it prevents Khala development, though likely that's probably what it'd end up doing anyways. And in any case it wasn't entirely explained as to why Ulrezaj gave the Aiur Tal'darim the sundrop substance anyway, aside from trying to get them loyal to him. The similar to the ancient faction Tal'darim who turned against Amon once Alarak told them the truth, the Aiur Tal'darim turned on Ulrezaj once it was clear their leader wasn't what they thought he was.

It's likely Ulrezaj didn't worship the xel'naga, not in that extent anyways. He was a Nerazim terrorist even before he became a dark archon, so it's possible he didn't act in the same way as the other dark templar did. His hatred for the Khalai got him to do things the other dark templar didn't (even if many of them didn't want to see the Khalai refugees on Shakuras).

[Visions of Khas]

Reading your title made me realize we've encountered the "Primal" form of each race: the Primal Zerg of Zerus; the Tal'Darim are descendants of the Aeon of Strife who never stopped fighting or developed the Khala; and the UED represent primal humans.

Mind blown.

[Turalyon]

the Tal'Darim are descendants of the Aeon of Strife who never stopped fighting or developed the Khala

Eh, the Nerazim/DT were already supposed to be the descendants of those who perpetuated the Aeon of Strife way back when.

[Gradius]

Eh, the Nerazim/DT were already supposed to be the descendants of those who perpetuated the Aeon of Strife way back when.

Not really. The DTs were a newer generation of protoss that wanted to keep their individuality. Before that they were pretty much all under the Khala.

[Turalyon]

^ Like I said, descendents. The Aeon of Strife started due to the rise of Protoss individualism and egoism and the DT/Nerazim still encapsulate/carry on those qualities.

[ragnarok]

Reading your title made me realize we've encountered the "Primal" form of each race: the Primal Zerg of Zerus; the Tal'Darim are descendants of the Aeon of Strife who never stopped fighting or developed the Khala; and the UED represent primal humans.

Mind blown.

The Tal'darim originally had the Khala just like the other protoss did. They just didn't have the new Khala, something Amon probably reprogrammed, just like the Nerazim didn't.

[Visions of Khas]

I made a timeline, since I'm off work today and am just that bored.



The Aeon of Strife lasted for hundreds, if not thousands of years. So the time period between the Tal'Darim's ancestors' departure, and the Dark Templar's ancestors' departure, is vast.

Eh, the Nerazim/DT were already supposed to be the descendants of those who perpetuated the Aeon of Strife way back when.

The Dark Templar retained an appreciation for individuality afforded by the Aeon of Strife, but none of the aggression. The Khalai adherents, however, conflated individuality with mindless aggression, making them see the Dark Templar as adherents to Strife.

The Tal'Darim's ancestors felt the spark of the Aeon of Strife during its beginning. That was coupled with their fanatical devotion to Amon's faction of Xel'Naga.

The Tal'darim originally had the Khala just like the other protoss did. They just didn't have the new Khala, something Amon probably reprogrammed, just like the Nerazim didn't.

Mm, nope. All protoss are born part of the Communal Link, an unconscious empathic connection. It wasn't until Khas' research and development that a means of bringing that link to a conscious awareness took place. That is the Khala. Logic dictates the Tal'Darim are born with the Communal Link, but evidence shows they either remove their nerve cords, or shield them off like Alarak. It's also possible that terrazine lessens their Communal Link. Or perhaps their Communal Link is so full of hatred and vitriol that it continues to fuel their aggression.

[Gradius]

The link was not being used in protoss society when the XelNaga left or was on the decline. But maybe with how effective Amon’s mind control was it should have been.

^ Like I said, descendents. The Aeon of Strife started due to the rise of Protoss individualism and egoism and the DT/Nerazim still encapsulate/carry on those qualities.

Every Khalai is a descendant as well then.

[ragnarok]

Mm, nope. All protoss are born part of the Communal Link, an unconscious empathic connection. It wasn't until Khas' research and development that a means of bringing that link to a conscious awareness took place. That is the Khala. Logic dictates the Tal'Darim are born with the Communal Link, but evidence shows they either remove their nerve cords, or shield them off like Alarak. It's also possible that terrazine lessens their Communal Link. Or perhaps their Communal Link is so full of hatred and vitriol that it continues to fuel their aggression.

From what I got out of the lore, it could imply that terrazine is meant to prevent you from reconnecting to the Khala (assuming any Tal'darim had ever bothered trying that in the past)