Kortanul was the head of the Conclave during the Discord. He was a zealous defender of the Khala.
Biography
As the Aeon of Strife ended among the protoss, the Khala was imposed on the entire race in an effort to prevent a return to the strife. However, a number of protoss, believing that their individual identities would be erased to further promote the Judicator rule, lived in secret on Aiur as rogues, unknown to the majority of the protoss. Only the Conclave knew of their existence.[1]
The Conclave ordered Adun, the protoss executor, to meet them at Khor-shakal, their Great Forum.
Kortanul formed a deep mind-meld with Adun and his aide, Vetraas, to ascertain their loyalty, then offered to either "speak" to Adun about secret information or show them. Adun chose the former method, as the latter would be clouded by emotions.
Kortanul told them about a new threat to the protoss; rogues who believed the rights of the individual outweighed the rights of the whole, and cut themselves off from the Khala. Kortanul offered to let Adun question a captured rogue; an adolescent female named Raszagal, escorted by a Khalen'ri guard.
The Conclave feared the rogues, and so Kortanul ordered Adun to conceal their existence, find them one-by-one and execute them. The Conclave had information about the locations of the rogues. Kortanul tried to convince Adun that killing the rogues was the right thing, even though Vetraas worried that because no protoss had slain another since the Aeon of Strife, this could cause a new one.
Adun brought Raszagal with him to his Citadel so the other high-ranking Templar would understand the reasons behind the execution. Kortanul demanded Adun execute Raszagal, quickly.
Adun did not slay the Rogues, however, instead hiding them from the Conclave. Unfortunately, some of the Rogues lost control of their powers and unleashed devastating psionic storms. The Conclave investigation revealed Adun's deception. The Rogues were rounded up, and Adun was summoned to defend himself. Kortanul's attempts to punish Adun and execute the Rogues were stymied by his desire to keep the Rogues secret; Adun threatened to reveal their existence if either of those things happened. Kortanul's other solution was to banish them on a xel'naga vessel which the Conclave had kept secret from the other protoss.
As the Rogues boarded the vessels, Adun appeared to see them off. Kortanul was so angered that he attacked the more powerful Adun; even the Conclave was offended by Kortanul's zealotry. The Rogues tried to defend Adun, leading to a psychic battle between them and the Conclave. Adun ended the battle by creating a blue psionic mist which protected the Rogues; however, this caused him to burn himself out psionically.
References
- ↑ Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
Golden, Christie (November 27, 2007). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #2: Shadow Hunters. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-7126-1.