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[[Category:Planets]]
 
[[Category:Planets]]
 
[[Category: Protoss]]
 
[[Category: Protoss]]
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[[Category:Zerg]]

Revision as of 22:27, 11 July 2011

Aiur is the homeworld of the protoss,[4] located in a star system with a single yellow star and possessing a single moon not unlike Luna.[5] It is at least the third of the system's terrestrial planets, if not further out.[1]

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.[4]

When the xel'naga were forced to flee the world, they left behind large amounts of khaydarin crystals.[4]

Aiur was devastated in the Aeon of Strife but after the period ended, it began to steadily recover.[4]

The Fall

Aiur SC1 CineReturnAiur1

Aiur before its fall

Aiur hosted a population of billions of protoss before its fall.[6]

Aiur was attacked by the zerg Swarm in an attempt to destroy the entire protoss species, as per the Dark Voice's plan. 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[7] and ruining much of the landscape.[8] The zerg have scoured almost all non-zerg life from several continents. The jungles are now littered with ash, broken war machines, and corpses.[3]

Abandonment

Aiur SC2 Cncpt1

An infested Aiur

The planet was abandoned shortly thereafter through a warp gate which connected to the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras.[9][10] Hundreds of thousands of protoss died during the evacuation. Some protoss were stranded on Aiur,[10] and others volunteered to remain behind in order to defend the Aiur end of the warp gate.[11]

The warp gate was destroyed when the United Earth Directorate invaded Aiur in their quest to arrest Terran Dominion emperor Arcturus Mengsk.[12] The stranded protoss belonged to several groups; one led by Fenix and Jim Raynor,[12] as well as the Shel'na Kryhas and the Tal'darim. The latter, serving a mysterious Benefactor, learned strange powers.[10]

The protoss refugees on Shakuras have made at least one trip to Aiur in an effort to recover wounded protoss warriors.[13] Protoss commanders noticed stranded protoss but, believing they could not be rescued, kept their existence secret.[14]

Circa 2503, Aiur was 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 surviving protoss had divided into two factions—Shel'na Kryhas and Tal'darim— and 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 (and then repaired) warp gate, while the latter splintered as they learned the truth behind their mysterious Benefactor. The Shel'na Kryhas and renegade Tal'darim banded together to attack the Benefactor, most giving up their lives using a powerful psionic technique to hold the Benefactor off.[10]

Some of the renegade Tal'darim escaped but none of the Shel'na Kryhas made it. The remaining Tal'darim were attacked by zerg forces led by Ethan Stewart, who was seeking to use the gate and then find Ulrezaj. Ulrezaj absorbed some of his own followers to recharge his power before leaving in a xel'naga vessel, pursued by the zerg and Dominion.[14]

Some observers remained behind from the evacuation to keep watch.[15]

Interbellum Terran Incursions

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This article or section contains information about StarCraft: Ghost, which has been declared non-canon. Elements may be taken as 'flavor lore' however.
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.

Nova was sent to infiltrate protoss facilities on the planet.[16]

The Second Great War

On the eve of the Second Great War, Zeratul returned to Aiur seeking clarification to a prophecy. He communed with the dead Overmind's cortex via Tassadar's spirit and learned of an impending apocalypse.[15]

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.[4]

Native Species

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

Fauna

Flora

Geography

Aiur is covered with vegetation and has many lush jungles, populated by creatures such as the bengalaas. It has furious seas[4] and stormy weather. Indeed, its summer storms have been known to appear over plateaus and disappear in the blink of an eye.[17]

Aiur's atmosphere is slightly heavier than that of most terran worlds though unprotected humans can still survive on the planet.[10]

Locations

Aiur SC-BG-BW Art1

Aiur alongside two of its sister planets

Cities

  • Mendella (ruins, replaced by a proving ground)

Fortresses

Landforms

Provinces

Regions

Temples

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Corey Konieczka, Robert A. Kouba, Dan Clark (December 17, 2008). StarCraft: The Board Game: Brood War. Fantasy Flight Games. ASIN 1589945034
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Blizzard Entertainment. 2010-07-24. Koprulu Sector Systems: Aiur. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-24.
  3. 3.0 3.1 2009-04-04. Samwise Didier, Dave Bergain. WWI 08 Coverage - StarCraft II Art Panel. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2009-06-17. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "SCLArt" defined multiple times with different content
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Golden, Christie. StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #1: Firstborn. Pocket Star Books, May 2007. ISBN 0-7434-7125-3.
  6. Kindregan, Brian T. "Mothership." (January 15, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Mothership Accessed 2010-01-15.
  7. Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
  8. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: Epilogue (in English). 1998.
  9. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Escape from Aiur (in English). 1998.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Golden, Christie (November 27, 2007). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #2: Shadow Hunters. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-7126-1. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "ShadowHunt" defined multiple times with different content
  11. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Dunes of Shakuras (in English). 1998.
  12. 12.0 12.1 StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Emperor's Flight (in English). 1998.
  13. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Enslavers: Dark Vengeance bonus campaign, episode I: "The Rescue" (in English). 1999-02-05. StarCraft Map Archives
  14. 14.0 14.1 Golden, Christie (June 30, 2009). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #3: Twilight. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7129-9.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Echoes of the Future (in English). 2010-07-27.
  16. The Art of Johnnie H. Estill II, Digital Paintings. Accessed on 2009-06-03
  17. 1998-09-11 Chain Lightning. StarCraft Compendium Map Archives. Accessed 2007-11-03.