Immortal

The immortal is a protoss cybernetic war machine that succeeded the dragoon after the Brood War. Like the dragoon before it, the immortal houses a crippled Templar warrior, preserving some of the most skilled and venerable members of the protoss military within an advanced exoskeleton. Each immortal is consecrated in the name of Adun, the warrior who best understood the meaning of self-sacrifice.

From dragoon to immortal#

Immortals stem from dragoons. Historically, crippled veteran Templar could volunteer to continue serving by being transplanted into dragoon exoskeletons. This honored tradition was broken by the fall of Aiur, when the shrine dedicated to dragoon creation was infested by the zerg. Following the Brood War, crippled Templar were transplanted into the new immortal exoskeletons instead, with the first in service by 2502. The remaining dragoons were transformed into immortals as well, and as a result the immortals house some of the most skilled and venerable warriors of the protoss military. Upon transplantation, each immortal is consecrated in the name of Adun, as he was the one who best understood the meaning of self-sacrifice.

The pilot within#

An immortal's pilot lives in a sterile nutrient solution saturated with microscopic machines that help preserve their mangled body. These machines repair aging tissue, destroy any foreign matter that might penetrate the cockpit, usually through hull breaches, and regulate the pilot's heart rate, brain activity, and biological functions. The result is among the most advanced hardware the protoss have ever devised, a system that keeps a gravely wounded warrior alive and fighting long after their body would otherwise have failed.

Design and weaponry#

Immortals stand over twice as tall as a terran wearing CMC armor. They are outfitted with two twin phase disruptors as their primary attack, giving critical fire support to legions of zealots against ground targets when the protoss face heavy enemy firepower. These blasts can easily punch large holes in heavy plating, eliminating enemy artillery and ranged attackers, though their limited field of fire prevents immortals from engaging aerial targets.

Immortals are equipped with armor weave that mitigates impacts through energy dissipation. Their hardened shields are created by intertwining spectrums and wavelengths of varying intensity, producing barriers dense enough to mitigate powerful impacts such as siege tank rounds or the blades of an ultralisk. When the remaining dragoons were turned into immortals, the protoss decided to outfit them with these shields in an attempt to further preserve their most ancient and venerable warriors. Originally the shields activated only when struck by powerful attacks, which left immortals more vulnerable to the smaller, repeated attacks of lesser foes. By 2505, immortal shields had been heavily reinforced, rendering the immortal invulnerable to enemy attack for short periods, though such shields proved impractical for mass production.

A dying breed#

Ultimately, immortals are a dying breed, and soon none will remain. By 2506, only the most revered heroes of the Templar were allowed to become immortals, owing to the resources required to produce them. In the aftermath of the End War, Purifiers began to re-purpose the shells of fallen immortals into fully automated combat walkers, while some fallen Templar elected to use ancient exoskeletons to show their dedication to the ideals that united the protoss in their times of trouble. The Ihan-rii created a variant of the immortal that served as a robotic sarcophagus for warriors who died honorably in battle, carrying their remains into war. Notable immortals include J'oh, the zealot Khastiana, who was transplanted into one, and the Purifier Taldarin.