Aiur

From StarCraft Wiki

Aiur
Astrographical
Region	Galactic fringe
Sun(s)	1
Moon(s)	1
Physical
Dominant Terrain Classification	Jungle
Tileset(s)	Jungle, ruined jungle[1]
Points of interest	Eldritch Lake Garden of Aiur River of Light Road of Remembrance Asari Hunting Grounds Ni Monn Adun Xel'Naga Caverns Crystal Chamber
Species
Dominant	Protoss (former dominant life form of the planet) Zerg (currently dominant life form of the planet)
Indigenous	Bengalaas Kal-taar Kwah-kai Lombad Mai-lur Omhara
Societal
Affiliation	Protoss Tribes (?—~501) Protoss Empire (~501—Late 2500) Zerg Swarm (2500—) Shel'na Kryhas (2500—2505) Tal'darim
Status	Protoss Homeworld (?—Late 2500) Zerg infested world (Late 2500—)

Aiur is the homeworld of the protoss,^[2] located in a star system with a single yellow star and possessing a single moon not unlike Luna.^[3] The planet is covered with vegetation and has many lush jungles, populated by creatures such as the bengalaas. It has furious seas and stormy weather. Indeed, its summer storms have been known to appear over plateaus and disappear in the blink of an eye.^[4]

Contents 1 History 1.1 The Fall 1.2 Abandonment 1.3 Aiur in StarCraft: Ghost 1.4 Aiur in StarCraft II 2 Psionic Matrix 3 Native Species 3.1 Fauna 3.2 Flora 4 Locations 4.1 Cities 4.2 Fortresses 4.3 Landforms 4.4 Provinces 4.5 Regions 4.6 Temples 4.7 Other 5 References

History

Aiur is a huge world located on the fringes of the Milky Way Galaxy. It was engineered by the xel'naga and left to itself for a long period of time. When the xel'naga returned, they discovered the protoss on the world. They guided protoss evolution, albeit too fast. As a result, they were forced to flee, and the protoss fell into a racial madness-fueled conflict called the Aeon of Strife.^[2]

When the xel'naga were forced to flee the world, they left behind large amounts of khaydarin crystals.^[2]

Aiur was devastated in the Aeon of Strife but after the period ended, it began to steadily recover.^[2]

The Fall

Aiur was attacked by the Zerg Swarm in an attempt to consume and assimilate the entire protoss species. Though the Overmind was destroyed by the mighty high templar Tassadar, who sacrificed his life in a kamikaze strike using dark templar energy, it was at best a pyrrhic victory: the swarms had infested most of the planet, killing 70% of the protoss of Aiur^[5] and ruining much of the landscape.^[6] The zerg have scoured almost all non-zerg life from several continents. The jungles are now littered with ash, broken war machines, and corpses.^[1]

Abandonment

The planet was abandoned shortly thereafter through a Warp Gate which connected to the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras.^[7][8] Hundreds of thousands of protoss died during the evacuation. Some protoss were stranded on Aiur,^[8] and others volunteered to remain behind in order to defend the Aiur end of the Warp Gate.^[9]

The Warp Gate was destroyed when the United Earth Directorate invaded Aiur in their quest to arrest Terran Dominion emperor Arcturus Mengsk.^[10] The stranded protoss belonged to several groups; one led by Fenix and Raynor,^[10] as well as the Shel'na Kryhas and the Tal'darim. The latter, serving a mysterious Benefactor, learned strange powers.^[8]

The protoss refugees on Shakuras have made at least one trip to Aiur in an effort to recover wounded protoss warriors.^[11]

Circa 2505, Aiur is still occupied by the zerg. While they have stopped killing each other, they still wander Aiur like "discarded tools" and have stopped spawning minions. The Shel'na Kryhas and Tal'darim clung to life on the ruined world, fighting and avoiding conflict with the zerg. The arrival of a preserver, contained within the brain of terran archaeologist Jake Ramsey, brought great changes to both groups of protoss. The former attempted to flee through the disabled Warp Gate, while the latter splintered as they learned the truth behind their mysterious Benefactor. Members of both groups banded together to attack the Benefactor, most giving up their lives using a powerful psionic technique to hold the Benefactor off.^[8]

Aiur in StarCraft: Ghost

This article or section contains information about StarCraft: Ghost. The content may be significantly out of date. Please do not add speculation to this article, and remember to cite a published source for details.

Aiur was set to feature in StarCraft: Ghost as a multiplayer environment and seemingly in singleplayer as well.^[12]

Aiur in StarCraft II

The world will be visited again, at the site of the death of the Overmind.^[1]

Psionic Matrix

Protoss structures and units, to a lesser extent, draw their energy from a great psionic energy matrix that emanates from Aiur. This energy can be linked to a Nexus, but khaydarin crystal-based pylons are needed to actually tap into the energy required to provide psionic energy to new colonies and bases.^[2]

Native Species

Aiur is a planet high in biodiversity and has a large variety of flora and fauna. Known species include;

Fauna

• Bengalaas
• Kal-taar
• Kwah-kai
• Lombad
• Mai-lur
• Omhara
• Protoss
• At least one species of bird^[3]

Flora

• Alavash
• Sammuro fruit

Locations

Cities

• Mendella (ruins, replaced by a proving ground)

Fortresses

• Citadel of the Executor
• Khor-shakal

Landforms

• Brushfire Island
• Cave of Relics
• Eldritch Lake
• Garden of Aiur
• River of Light
• Road of Remembrance

Provinces

• Antioch
• Scion

Regions

• Asari Hunting Grounds
• Ni Monn Adun
• Xel'Naga Caverns
  • Crystal Chamber

Temples

• Protoss temple (destroyed by zerg)
• Ziggurat

Other

• Velari
  • Velari Templar School

References

• Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.

Important Worlds in the StarCraft universe
Worlds Frequently Visited In-Game	Aiur · Antiga Prime · Braxis · Char · Korhal · Mar Sara · Shakuras · Tarsonis
Other Important Worlds	Moria · Umoja