Khalani
the language of the protoss
Khalani was the telepathic language of the protoss, spoken mind to mind rather than aloud and rendered in writing through a glyph-based script. Both the Khalai and the Nerazim spoke it, and its words gave name to the deepest concepts of protoss culture, from the Khala itself to the honorific En Taro.
Khalani was the language of the protoss, spoken through telepathy rather than aloud. Other races perceived Khalani being "spoken" only as meaningless sound, though the protoss themselves could translate it telepathically, and its written form was glyph-based. The language carried the names of the central concepts of protoss civilization, including the Khala itself, the "Path of Ascension" from which it took its name, and it was shared, with regional differences, by the Khalai, the Nerazim, and even the Tal'darim. (StarCraft; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
A telepathic tongue#
Khalani was not a spoken language in the manner of terran speech. The protoss communicated it through telepathy, and a member of another race who somehow heard it being conveyed perceived only meaningless sound. The protoss themselves possessed the ability to translate the language telepathically. In its recorded, written form, Khalani was a glyph-based script rather than an alphabet. (StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters)
Both the Khalai and the Nerazim spoke Khalani, but the language was not uniform across the kindreds. Some phrases existed only in the vocabulary of one or the other, and certain phrases shared between them carried different meanings depending on the culture of the speaker. The Tal'darim appeared to speak their own variation of the language as well. (StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
Words of power#
Khalani gave its names to the deepest concepts of protoss culture. The Khala, the communal psionic bond that united the Khalai, took its name from the Khalani term meaning "Path of Ascension," and the figure of Khas, who first taught the protoss to follow it, bore a name meaning "He Who Brings Order." The Khaydarin crystals central to protoss psionics carried a name translated as "Focuser of the heart," and the Tal'darim bore a name meaning "The Forged." Other terms named places and ideals: Ehlna ("Haven"), Dae'Uhl ("great stewardship"), and Ihan-rii ("Great Teachers"), a name the protoss gave the xel'naga during the Aeon of Strife. (StarCraft; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters)
The honorific En Taro, meaning "in honor of," prefaced the names of revered figures, and the blessing Adun Toridas, literally "Adun hide you," was commonly interpreted as "May Adun give you sanctuary." Among the Nerazim, the farewell Korshala Adun, "Until we both meet Adun," was spoken by warriors going into a battle they did not expect to survive. (StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight; Children of the Void)
Speech in war#
Much of the recorded Khalani vocabulary belonged to the language of the warrior. Battle cries and declarations of duty filled the speech of protoss templar: "Khassar de templari," meaning "From order comes justice," and "Sha'zu du templari," "On the wings of justice." Statements of unity such as "Ki nala atum" ("We are as one") and "Uhn ore'ki atum" ("Our minds are as one") expressed the bond of the Khala, while "Uhn dara ma'nakai" ("Our duty is unending") and "Rautha sak ash" ("Duty is my shield") spoke to the protoss devotion to obligation. Many further phrases of acknowledgment and affirmation survived only as conjectured transcriptions whose exact meanings remained uncertain, a reflection of the difficulty other races faced in rendering a language meant to be experienced through the mind rather than the ear. (StarCraft; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Khalani?
- Khalani was the language of the protoss, spoken through telepathy rather than aloud. Its written form was glyph-based, and it was shared, with regional differences, by the Khalai, the Nerazim, and the Tal'darim.
- How did other races perceive Khalani?
- Members of other races who somehow heard Khalani being conveyed perceived only meaningless sound. The protoss themselves possessed the ability to translate the language telepathically.
- Did every protoss kindred speak Khalani the same way?
- No. Both the Khalai and the Nerazim spoke Khalani, but some phrases belonged to only one kindred, and some shared phrases carried different meanings between the two cultures. The Tal'darim appeared to speak a variation of their own.
- What do key Khalani terms mean?
- Khala means "Path of Ascension," Khas means "He Who Brings Order," Khaydarin means "Focuser of the heart," and Tal'darim means "The Forged." The honorific En Taro means "in honor of," and the blessing Adun Toridas, literally "Adun hide you," was interpreted as "May Adun give you sanctuary."
- What were the protoss battle cries in Khalani?
- Protoss templar declared "Khassar de templari," meaning "From order comes justice," and "Sha'zu du templari," meaning "On the wings of justice." Phrases of unity such as "Ki nala atum" ("We are as one") expressed the bond of the Khala.
Sources
- GameStarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- GameStarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Blizzard Entertainment, 2015
- BookStarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga, Gabriel Mesta, Pocket Star, 2001
- BookStarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn, Christie Golden, Pocket Star, 2007
- BookStarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Shadow Hunters, Christie Golden, Pocket Star, 2007
- BookStarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight, Christie Golden, Pocket Star, 2009
- BookChildren of the Void, Matt Burns, Blizzard Entertainment short story, 2015
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
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.
Adun
Adun was a revered protoss executor of the Discord who secretly sheltered the rogue tribes the Conclave ordered him to execute. He burned away saving them as they were exiled, leaving no body behind, and passed into protoss legend as the Twilight Deliverer.
Aeon of Strife
The Aeon of Strife was a millennia-long civil war among the protoss, called the bloodiest civil war in galactic history. It followed the departure of the xel'naga and the loss of the protoss psychic link, and ended when the scholar Khas rediscovered the khaydarin crystals and founded the Khala.
Ehlna
Ehlna was a moon sacred to the Dark Templar, the first world they settled after their exile from Aiur. Home to a Xel'Naga warp gate and the shrine of Alys'aril, it held khaydarin crystals shaped by the moon's unique energies.
Khalai: the protoss who kept the Khala
The Khala lifted the Aiur protoss out of the Aeon of Strife and built their Empire. They fled to Shakuras, then lost the Khala in the End War.
Dark Templar (Nerazim)
The Nerazim, known to outsiders as the Dark Templar, are the protoss tribes who shunned the Khala, severed their nerve cords, and drew their power from the Void instead. Banished from Aiur, they became masters of shadow and exile before reuniting with their kin under the Daelaam.
Mentioned in8 entries
Ehlna
Ehlna was a moon sacred to the Dark Templar, the first world they settled after their exile from Aiur. Home to a Xel'Naga warp gate and the shrine of Alys'aril, it held khaydarin crystals shaped by the moon's unique energies.
Ihan-rii: the protoss sect that slept for millennia and woke to reclaim Tyrador
The Ihan-rii are a fanatical protoss sect that split from their kindred millennia ago, worship the xel'naga as their ancestors, and returned from deep stasis to reclaim Arakyr, the world terrans call Tyrador IX.
Khaydarin Crystal
Khaydarin crystals were psi-active psionic artifacts left behind by the xel'naga on many worlds. Used by the protoss to power their technology and strengthen their psionic bond, the crystals restored the Khala at the end of the Aeon of Strife and remained central to protoss civilization.
Protoss
The protoss are an ancient, psionically gifted humanoid species native to Aiur, uplifted by the xel'naga and bound together by the Khala. Among the three dominant species of the galaxy, they are the most technologically advanced, and the most divided by their own history.
Psionics
Psionics is the psychic power that runs through the three great species of the galaxy. It is the foundation of protoss civilization through the Khala and the Void, the latent gift that makes terrans valuable to the zerg, and the medium through which the Swarm itself communicates and is controlled.
Shel'na Kryhas: those who endure on Aiur
The Shel'na Kryhas, meaning "Those Who Endure," were protoss survivors stranded on Aiur after the warp gate was shut during the evacuation. Led by the templar Ladranix and composed mostly of Khalai, they sheltered in the ruins of Antioch and held out against the zerg.
Talandar
Talandar was a protoss purifier built from a brain scan of the Templar hero Fenix. Awakened during the End War believing himself to be Fenix, he came to accept that he was a separate being and chose his own name, becoming a leader among the purifiers of the Daelaam.
Terrazine
Terrazine was a potent psionic reagent of Void origin, sought by protoss, zerg, and terrans alike. The Tal'darim revered it as a sacred gift from the xel'naga, while terran researchers used it to forge the unstable psychics known as spectres, at terrible cost to the minds of those exposed to it.
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