Know Your Lore #4: Zeratul

What makes the 'toss.

Dark templar

Wields the power of the void

Historian (If Indiana Jones was an alien monk)

Close friend of Jim Raynor and Tassadar

Prophet of the end times

You address me?

Zeratul is a dark templar, a Nerazim. He belongs to a tribe of Protoss who separated themselves from the Khala (the main Protoss religion) and now live as outcasts in the darkness of the planet Shakuras. All Protoss are connected via the Khala which is a psionic link between them. For a Protoss to remove themselves from the Khala is a great act of heresy in their culture.

Honor commands

Zeratul was drawn into the fray in Starcraft 1 by a strong psionic signal from Char that would turn out to be the Queen of Blades being created. There he was introduced to Jim Raynor and Tassadar, the latter of which would immediately take offense to him. Even though he was attacked, Zeratul looked past that and began to mend the tainted relationship between their people. When Kerrigan emerged from her chrysalis, Tassadar distracted her as Zeratul infiltrated the swarm to slay Zasz, a cerebrate and powerful Zerg leader.

All is in jeopardy

Tassadar and Zeratul continued to grow close, even after severe warnings from Tassadar's superiors to stay away from the dark templar. Zeratul began to teach Tassadar the ways of the void even having him undergo a 'shadow walk' a sort of spiritual journey. Despite Zeratul's guidance, the Protoss forces on Char were defeated and the Zerg moved on Aiur, the Protoss homeworld. Tassadar was able to escape, but Zeratul and a small number of the other dark templars were captured and taken to an infested Terran facility.

Zeratul in his modest cloth armor.

My allegiance is yours

Protoss forces sent from Aiur to arrest Tassadar ended up joining him to free Zeratul from the infested Terran compound. They escaped and made their way to Aiur, where a high ranking Protoss warrior named Fenix joined them. Even with his support, the Protoss leaders called for the arrest of Tassadar and the execution of Zeratul. Thus began a Protoss civil war. Tassadar was so heartbroken by Protoss on Protoss violence that he surrendered himself to the enemy. The fighting continued, but Zeratul and his dark templar had vanished. Fenix and Raynor assaulted Tassadar's cell, managing to free him only to be ambushed. Zeratul came back, however, and saved his old friends.

Oblivion descends

Although the civil war was over, the threat of the Zerg swarm still loomed. Zeratul explained to the others that if left to their own devices, the Zerg would consume all life in the universe. Fenix assaulted the hives head on, distracting them and thinning them out while Zeratul snuck past and assassinated two cerebrates, heavily weakening the Overmind. Even in his weakened state, the Overmind attempted escape. In a heroic sacrifice, Tassadar crashed a damaged carrier into it using the void powers that Zeratul taught him. The Overmind was destroyed, but the Zerg still ran rampant on Aiur. Zeratul asked the Protoss leaders to take refuge on Shakuras, and after much convincing they agreed.

Zeratul and Kerrigan reluctantly converse.

Our enemies will be undone

The unrelenting Zerg managed to follow them through the warp gate to Shakuras and Zeratul went to the leader of the Dark Templar, Raszagal for help. She explained that they would need to kill the cerebrates around two Xel'naga temples and activate them to kill the Zerg. To do so required two lost crystals. After the cerebrates were disposed of, Kerrigan appeared and told the Protoss that a new Overmind was forming on Char from the merging of cerebrates. Raszagal ordered that they work with Kerrigan against this new threat.

Aiur will be restored

Kerrigan personally helped them obtain the first crystal, but they were stopped by troops from Earth. They had covered the icy planet that housed the crystal with a missile turret system, preventing the Protoss from escaping. With Zeratul's cunning and Artanis's forces, they were able to shut down the turrets, allowing them to escape. The next stop was Char, where they managed to distract the new Overmind long enough to retrieve the crystal. When they returned to Shakuras, however, they found it to be at war with itself. Aldaris, the Protoss leader from Aiur, had attacked Raszagal. In a move that shocked Zeratul, she called for his execution. As they closed in on him, he claimed that Raszagal was being controlled by someone, but was killed by Kerrigan before he could say more. For this, she was banished from the planet.

Zeratul approaching a Protoss of the Khala.

Retribution will be swift and absolute

Kerrigan wasn't finished however. She ordered her forces to capture Raszagal, destroying the city where she was in the process. Zeratul was furious, demanding an explanation from Kerrigan. She claimed that Raszagal was merely leverage, and that she wanted Zeratul and his dark templars to destroy the new Overmind. Zeratul was unsure, but Raszagal convinced him that the Overmind was a common enemy. With a joint attack from Kerrigan's forces and Zeratul's dark templar, the Overmind was slain. However, Raszagal refused to return. Fearing her safety, Zeratul and his troops re-captured her and placed her in a stasis cell. Kerrigan forced Raszagal to place her forces on the surface of Char, far from any protection. Saddened by his friend's corruption, Zeratul withdrew her from the cell, and killed her.

My burdens weigh heavily

In her dying moments, Raszagal made Zeratul the leader of the Dark Templars. Even with her approval, killing her had immense impacts on his psyche. He felt that he was unfit for leadership after letting such a horrible thing happen to her. With his spirits low, he set out to find Artanis and other Protoss warriors. He didn't find them, but instead found a Terran research facility. Inside, he discovered horrible experiments on the Protoss and Zerg in an attempt to create a hybrid. Sickened by these abominations against nature, he destroyed the facility. He quickly returned to Shakuras to let his allies know what he saw. He said his goodbyes to Raynor, and left on a self-imposed exile.

Zeratul looks upon the Terran facility.

I press on with renewed purpose

Sometime before the return of Kerrigan and the swarm four years later, Zeratul searched the stars for clues about the hybrids. During his search, he discovered a prophecy foretelling the return of the Xel'naga and tracked it to Ulaan. Little did he know, Kerrigan was also searching for it and she had arrived before him. They fought, and Zeratul learned that Kerrigan was worried that the coming darkness could not be stopped. He escaped with the help of Protoss forces and traveled to Zhakul to store the information. Unfortunately, a hybrid reached the planet before him. After a long struggle, he managed to defeat it and learn more of the prophecy from the Protoss mystics he saved.

The void beckons

Zeratul then traveled to the destroyed Overmind on Aiur to attempt to see what it saw. To Zeratul's surprise, the spirit of Tassadar met him and explained the Overmind's motives. All along the Overmind had been a pawn to a much larger threat and it had made Kerrigan to free itself from his grasp. Horrified by this new found knowledge, Zeratul searched for the leaders of the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss to unite them against this threat.

Zeratul meets with Raynor to warn him of his visions.

Like the other heroes of Starcraft, Zeratul's story has yet to end. We will likely see more of this prophetic servant of the Xel'naga in Legacy of the Void. Will Zeratul's warnings be enough to unite the warring factions against a common threat, or will the universe be devoured by darkness? Only time will tell.

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Know Your Lore #1 Kael'thas

Know Your Lore #2 Abathur

Know Your Lore #3 Kerrigan

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