Saalok

Saalok
Astrographical
Sector	Koprulu sector
Primary World	Aiur
Rotation period	Approximately half of Aiur's
Physical
Diameter	>3,500 km

"Saalok… is bright tonight. So very bright."

- Teredal's final thoughts^(src)

Saalok is the white moderate sized moon orbiting Aiur. It was sometimes referred to as the "White Circle of Night" by the Shelak Tribe during the Aeon of Strife.

Saalok appears to possess a breathable atmosphere, and is unique in that it is an almost mathematically perfect sphere, a property no other world possesses to the knowledge of the protoss. Throughout their history, the protoss have revered Saalok, some believing it was "placed" there. The moon's perfect symmetry inspired the creation of the Zealous Round, the symbol of the Zealot Order. Saalok is not tidally locked to Aiur, allowing its rotation to be roughly of half of Aiur's full revolution.

History

"Rarity does not always come from having more or less of a thing, Teredal. Sometimes rarity is found in completeness. In wholeness. Saalok is rare in her perfection. She is an almost mathematically perfect sphere, and that is something unheard of in all of the cosmos. It is no mistake that such a moon was placed in the skies above our world. It is no mistake that our people have looked to its purity for guidance and clarity throughout the darkest ages of history."

- Teredal's master^(src)

Saalok was occupied by the zerg during the Great War. The zerg left on the moon were believed to have gone feral by the Second Great War.

Some time after Kerrigan's de-infestation at Char, an executor intended to reconquer Aiur, first sending a scouting expedition to Saalok. The moon's zerg colony was missing flying breeds. Teredal, a scarred zealot, and other protoss participated. Only Teredal survived the onslaught, but he managed to relay evidence that the zerg were controlled by an intelligence and were not feral before dying. The executor, receiving the message, called off the attack.

During the Reclamation of Aiur, Saalok had possibly been cleared of its zerg infestation upon or before the arrival of the Golden Armada, which allowed Hierarch Artanis to teleport down to its surface and ponder the wisdom of their invasion and whether it was worth the cost. Kaldalis eventually came to retrieve him, and the two old friends began to debate the issue until the zealot managed to convince his leader that retaking Aiur was indeed worthy of whatever sacrifices needed to be made, to secure a future for all protoss and imploring Artanis to lead them home, before finally taking his leave. Artanis took one last contemplative look at Aiur, before departing as well.

Notes

Saalok

The moon appears as a contestable territory in RISK: StarCraft.