Daelaam

The Daelaam, also referred to as the Protoss Protectorate or the unified protoss, was the unity government that bound together the Khalai, the Nerazim, the Purifiers, and some of the Tal'darim. It was born of necessity after the Great War and the fall of Aiur shattered the old Protoss Empire and forced the Khalai and the exiled Nerazim to band together for mutual survival on Shakuras. Matriarch Raszagal of the Nerazim, who welcomed the Khalai to Shakuras, was viewed in posterity as the one who laid the foundations of the Daelaam, and by 2502 Hierarch Artanis led both branches.

Origins#

Because of the Discord, protoss society had split into two: the Khalai of the Protoss Empire and the exiled Nerazim who settled on Shakuras. The Great War and the subsequent fall of Aiur collapsed the Empire and forced both branches to band together for survival, sharing and integrating their technology. Matriarch Raszagal was credited with laying the foundations of the Daelaam by welcoming the Khalai to Shakuras, though the Khalai demand for resources soon stirred tensions, leading to an arrangement in which both sides managed their own and the Khalai accused the Nerazim of hoarding.

By 2502 Hierarch Artanis led both the Khalai and the Nerazim, though the protoss were sliding into tribalism. He ordered the construction of the Golden Armada with the explicit intention of one day retaking Aiur, and Shakuras was strip-mined to fuel the war machine even as Nerazim began abandoning their traditions in favor of the Khalai. The Daelaam fought several skirmishes against the Terran Dominion and the Zerg Swarm in this period, claiming a xel'naga temple on Artika in 2502 and advancing their arsenal through both ancient technology and new weapons.

The Second Great War#

During the Second Great War, a Daelaam force led by Praetor Karass tracked the Queen of Blades to Ulaan and sacrificed itself to cover the escape of Dark Templar prelate Zeratul as he sought fragments of an ancient prophecy. Daelaam forces under Executor Selendis clashed with Raynor's Raiders over the infested colony of Haven; when the Raiders defeated the protoss and chose to purify the world themselves, the Daelaam later honored Raynor's effort with a plaque. Some Daelaam dark templar imprisoned by the Tal'darim on a xel'naga worldship requested and received assistance from the Raiders.

In the aftermath of the war, Emperor Valerian Mengsk organized a ceasefire with Artanis and the Dominion ceased its aggressive actions. Judging the terrans no longer a threat, Artanis declared that Aiur would be reclaimed. Vorazun protested the resources devoted to the Golden Armada, and the insurgent Taelus seized the Citadel hoping his death would spark civil strife between the kindreds, but Vorazun prevented it. Now matriarch, Vorazun reaffirmed her people's commitment to the Daelaam but remained on Shakuras while the Armada struck at the zerg on Aiur.

The End War#

When the Daelaam finally moved to reclaim Aiur, Zeratul tried to warn Artanis of Amon's return, but the Hierarch held to his course. Amon corrupted the Khala and every protoss bound to it, splintering the Daelaam; Artanis was freed only by Zeratul's sacrifice and escaped Aiur with a small group of freed Khalai and Nerazim aboard the arkship Spear of Adun, while the rest of the Golden Armada fell to Amon's will. As Amon unleashed his forces, Shakuras was overrun; Vorazun evacuated what Nerazim she could before overloading the xel'naga temple there and destroying the planet along with the zerg upon it.

The Daelaam used the Keystone to uncover the location of Ulnar and fought through Tal'darim, Moebius Corps, and hybrid to reach the resting chamber of the xel'naga, only to find them dead. The Daelaam allied with First Ascendant Alarak, and as Alarak deposed Highlord Ma'lash through Rak'Shir, the Tal'darim joined the Daelaam. The ancient Purifiers at Endion were reactivated aboard the warship Cybros, and Artanis declared the old caste system at an end. Now united, the four kindreds returned to Aiur, destroyed Amon's host body and the planet's psionic matrix, and held against the corrupted Golden Armada long enough for the Keystone to draw Amon out, after which the Khalai severed their nerve cords, ending the Khala and banishing Amon into the Void.

Amon's End#

During the reconstruction of Aiur, Phase-smith Karax received a transmission from Kerrigan, who gathered the Daelaam and the Dominion for a final offensive on Amon in the Void itself. Artanis and Selendis joined Raynor and Kerrigan aboard the Spear of Adun, and the unified fleet entered the Void through Ulnar's portal. Assaulted by shadows of the Void, the allies followed a benevolent voice to its source, the imprisoned xel'naga Ouros, and the Daelaam led the assault that weakened Emil Narud enough for Alexei Stukov to finish him. As Ouros channeled his energy into Kerrigan, the Daelaam held the line until she ascended into a xel'naga, then followed her to support the final battle in which she destroyed Amon's shielding crystals and defeated him for good.

After the war#

The Daelaam returned to Aiur when the conflict ended. Alarak declined Artanis's offer for the Tal'darim to permanently join the unified protoss and departed to find a new world, though he allowed any of his warriors who opposed his decision a single chance to stay. By 2508 the Daelaam had entered peace negotiations with the Dominion, and a ceasefire was declared between the Daelaam, the Dominion, and the Zerg Swarm, with a demilitarized zone established between Daelaam and Dominion territory. The loss of the Khala hampered reconstruction and left deep cultural scars: many protoss did not know how to function without it, tensions between Khalai and Nerazim ran deep, and the Purifiers largely kept to themselves.

By 2511 the Daelaam investigated the regrown world of Gystt and nearly annihilated it before Overqueen Zagara's offer of peace led Artanis to negotiate, only for the talks to be disrupted by Abathur's plot to spark a new war. Later tensions in the demilitarized zone, including the Battle of Adena in which Admiral Urun was killed, led Artanis to cancel peace talks with the Dominion, leaving the future of protoss relations with their neighbors uncertain.