The Infinite Cycle
the xel'naga's eternal renewal
The Infinite Cycle was the great pattern by which the xel'naga renewed themselves, seeding the universe with life until two species of purity of form and essence merged to inherit their power. Amon's refusal to die for the cycle set off the wars of the Koprulu sector.
The Infinite Cycle was the great pattern of renewal by which the xel'naga perpetuated their kind. Long-lived but not immortal, the xel'naga seeded the universe with life and then waited across the ages for two species, one of purity of form and one of purity of essence, to merge naturally and inherit their power. The elders would give up their essence to these new hosts, who would ascend as the next generation of xel'naga and begin the cycle anew. It was this eternal design, and one being's refusal to submit to it, that lay at the root of the wars of the Koprulu sector. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight)
The pattern of renewal#
The xel'naga regularly seeded the universe with life as part of the Infinite Cycle. Over many generations, two species, one with purity of form and great psionic potential and another with purity of essence and a great capacity for change, would come together. Their xel'naga progenitors would then transfer their essence to the merged race, and from this union a new generation of xel'naga would arise. The xel'naga seeded life from the temple of Ulnar, as they had in countless other universes, and they observed the growth of these races without ever interfering. To guide the chosen races back to them when the time was right, the xel'naga left behind the Keystone, which would release its stored energy to awaken the slumbering elders so that they might give their lives to the new hosts. Pure of form and pure of essence would be reborn as xel'naga, the shepherds of the next turning of the cycle. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight)
Amon's betrayal#
Amon was once a member of a species that possessed purity of essence, form, or both, and through the Infinite Cycle he was imparted with the essence of the xel'naga elders and ascended to become one of them. Only afterward did he learn what it meant to be xel'naga: that he too would one day be sacrificed to ascend the next generation, and that he could not interfere in the development of the lesser races he was meant to shepherd. Amon came to resent being torn from his previous life, later claiming the transformation had been forced on him, and refused to play his part. With a faction of like-minded xel'naga, he sought instead to raise a perfect species that would destroy the cycle, and discovered on Aiur a race of hunters with psionic powers, the future protoss, whom he judged to possess purity of form. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight)
The perversion of the cycle#
Contrary to the xel'naga's intent, Amon and his followers personally took a hand in uplifting both the protoss and the zerg, meaning to merge them into the hybrid, a creation that was a perversion of the Infinite Cycle rather than its fulfillment. The protoss rebelled against their masters, and the creation of the Khala disturbed the xel'naga slumbering in Ulnar. They found Amon at Zerus, and in the war that followed he unleashed the zerg, who consumed most of the xel'naga before Amon was felled and returned to the Void. Amon and his xel'naga were defeated and banished, though his servant Samir Duran survived to carry on his work toward the hybrid and his master's return. (StarCraft: Brood War; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
The truth revealed#
The full nature of the cycle remained hidden until the End War, when Hierarch Artanis and Sarah Kerrigan descended into Ulnar together. From the temple's shrines they learned that the xel'naga had been born in the Void, that their purpose was to seed life and keep the Infinite Cycle turning, and that they had never interfered in the races they seeded. The revelation forced Artanis to confront a devastating truth: if the xel'naga had not uplifted his people, then it was Amon who had, and his people's entire conception of their own history was false. When Kerrigan finally faced Amon in the Void, he told her she was nothing but a pawn in the xel'naga's design. She answered that she cared nothing for the Infinite Cycle, that she chose freedom for all life in her universe, and destroyed him. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Infinite Cycle in StarCraft?
- The Infinite Cycle was the great pattern of renewal by which the xel'naga perpetuated their kind. Long-lived but not immortal, the xel'naga seeded the universe with life and waited for two species, one of purity of form and one of purity of essence, to merge naturally and inherit their power, with the elders giving up their essence to these new hosts.
- How did the Infinite Cycle work?
- The xel'naga seeded life from the temple of Ulnar and observed the growth of the races without ever interfering. They left behind the Keystone to guide the chosen races back when the time was right, releasing its stored energy to awaken the slumbering elders so they could give their lives to the new hosts who would be reborn as xel'naga.
- Why did Amon betray the Infinite Cycle?
- Amon was made a xel'naga through the cycle and only afterward learned he too would one day be sacrificed to ascend the next generation and could not interfere in the lesser races. Resenting being torn from his previous life, he refused to play his part and sought to raise a perfect species that would destroy the cycle.
- How did Amon pervert the Infinite Cycle?
- Amon and his followers personally uplifted both the protoss and the zerg, meaning to merge them into the hybrid, a creation that was a perversion of the cycle rather than its fulfillment. The protoss rebelled, and the creation of the Khala disturbed the xel'naga in Ulnar. In the war that followed, Amon's zerg consumed most of the xel'naga before he was felled and returned to the Void.
- How was the truth of the Infinite Cycle revealed?
- The full nature of the cycle remained hidden until the End War, when Hierarch Artanis and Sarah Kerrigan descended into Ulnar and learned from the temple's shrines that the xel'naga had been born in the Void and had never interfered in the races they seeded. When Kerrigan faced Amon in the Void, she rejected the cycle, chose freedom for all life in her universe, and destroyed him.
Sources
- GameStarCraft: Brood War, Blizzard Entertainment and Saffire, 1998
- GameStarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Blizzard Entertainment, 2015
- BookStarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn, Christie Golden, Pocket Star, 2007
- BookStarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight, Christie Golden, Pocket Star, 2009
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
End War: Amon's crusade on the galaxy
The resurrected xel'naga Amon corrupted the Khala and cost the protoss both Aiur and Shakuras. Kerrigan, remade as a xel'naga, killed him in the Void.
Amon
Amon was a malevolent xel'naga who turned against the Infinite Cycle of his kind and sought to end all life and remake it in his image. He created the Overmind and the Zerg Swarm, enslaved the Tal'darim, and was finally destroyed in the Void by an ascended Sarah Kerrigan during the End War.
Keystone: the artifact that banished Amon
The Keystone was a xel'naga relic split into five pieces. It partly de-infested Kerrigan at Char, fed Amon's resurrection, then banished him from the Khala.
Protoss-Zerg Hybrid
The protoss-zerg hybrid was a fusion of the protoss and zerg species, bred as the ultimate weapon of the fallen xel'naga Amon and key to his plan to remake creation in his image. Described as false xel'naga, the hybrids were a perversion of the Infinite Cycle.
Samir Duran
Samir Duran and Emil Narud were two of the many names worn over the millennia by a xel'naga in service to the fallen Amon. Posing as a Confederate soldier, a UED advisor, a consort to Sarah Kerrigan, and a Dominion scientist, he manipulated terran, protoss, and zerg alike to engineer his master's return.
Ulnar
Ulnar, the Temple of Unification, was the colossal xel'naga temple from which the ancient race seeded the universe with life. A resting place of the xel'naga and a portal to the Void, it became the stage for Amon's final ambush during the End War.
Mentioned in8 entries
Khala
The Khala was the communal psionic link and guiding philosophy of the Khalai protoss, founded by the mystic Khas to end the Aeon of Strife. It bound its adherents in shared emotion for over a thousand years until Amon corrupted it, forcing the protoss to sever it forever.
Legacy of the Void Ending Explained: Amon, the Void and the Epilogue
How StarCraft II's last campaign ends and what it means. The protoss cut themselves free of the Khala to retake Aiur, then Kerrigan becomes a xel'naga in the Void and destroys Amon for good.
StarCraft Timeline: every major event from the xel'naga to the One-Day War
The full StarCraft chronology, from the xel'naga uplifting the protoss and the zerg to the peace that followed the End War. Events are grouped into ten eras, oldest first, with Gregorian years wherever the games and novels give one.
The Prophecy of Ulaan: the warning that foretold the End War
The prophecy of Ulaan was a xel'naga foretelling created by Ouros that warned of the end of the Infinite Cycle at the hands of Amon, the Fallen One. Stored in fragments on the world of Ulaan, it guided Zeratul from the eve of the Second Great War to the depths of the Void, where its final purpose was revealed and fulfilled.
Ulnar
Ulnar, the Temple of Unification, was the colossal xel'naga temple from which the ancient race seeded the universe with life. A resting place of the xel'naga and a portal to the Void, it became the stage for Amon's final ambush during the End War.
Why Did Kerrigan Become a Xel'naga?
Kerrigan became a xel'naga because it was the only way to kill Amon. In the Void, the dying xel'naga Ouros told her only one of their kind could defeat him there, and she accepted his essence partly to make up for her past. Here is the reasoning Legacy of the Void gives, and why it had to be her.
Xel'Naga
The xel'naga were a god-like race from the Void who seeded life across the universe and sought to perpetuate themselves through the Infinite Cycle. They created both the protoss and the zerg, and the rogue xel'naga Amon's bid to end the cycle drove the central conflicts of the Koprulu Sector.
Zerg
The zerg are a ravenous collective of biologically advanced aliens who evolve by assimilating the essence of other species in pursuit of genetic perfection. Created by Amon's xel'naga on Zerus and bound to the Overmind, they grew into one of the three dominant powers of the galaxy.
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