Khalis Crystal

The Khalis is a light blue khaydarin crystal shard that over time became infused with Nerazim energies. Cut by the xel'naga from the same monolithic khaydarin crystal as its counterpart, it was entrusted to the Sargas Tribe of the protoss. As the Sargas turned away from the Khala and formed the Rogue Tribes that became the Dark Templar, the Khalis took on their energies and was carried into exile with them. Its Khalai counterpart is the Uraj crystal, and together the two shards served as the keys that activated the xel'naga temple on Shakuras during the Brood War.

Origin and divergence#

The xel'naga cut the Khalis and the Uraj from a single monolithic khaydarin crystal and gave them to the protoss. The Sargas Tribe was entrusted with the Khalis, and over time its properties diverged from those of the Uraj. Most of the protoss who rejected the Khala and formed the Rogue Tribes came from the Sargas, and so the Khalis took on the energies associated with the Rogues. When the Rogues were banished from Aiur and became the Dark Templar, they took the Khalis with them, an appropriation the Khalai discovered only belatedly.

The Great War#

When the zerg arrived in the Koprulu Sector, their broods were encountered by both the Dark Templar and the Khalai, and the new arrivals were a cause for concern to both. The Dark Templar tracked the zerg to Char and chose to test themselves against small groups of them. The zerg proved frighteningly resilient and numerous, and the protoss brought the Khalis to Char intending to wield its energies against them. After some success they were overwhelmed by the Overmind's massive counterattack, and the Khalis was lost to the zerg. It was left behind on Char when the Swarm went to invade Aiur. While on Char during the Great War, Dark Prelate Zeratul sensed the power of the Khalis.

The Brood War#

When the cerebrates merged to form a new Overmind, they locked onto the Khalis' energies and nested near it. A protoss army led by Praetor Artanis, Zeratul, and the Executor returned to Char to retrieve the crystal with the help of Sarah Kerrigan, who suggested striking directly for the crystal and escaping before the zerg could muster in strength. Artanis preferred the bolder alternative of striking and weakening the Overmind to pacify the local zerg long enough to extract the crystal, and either course was feasible. The protoss struck into the nesting area and retrieved the Khalis.

The protoss returned with both crystals to Shakuras. Zeratul carried the Khalis into the xel'naga temple and inserted it into the structure's mechanisms. The temple's activation created a giant energy burst that scoured the zerg from the planet.

The End War#

During the End War, as Artanis made preparations to overload the xel'naga temple of Shakuras, he lamented that the protoss no longer had access to the Uraj or Khalis crystals, the absence of which lengthened the temple's configuration procedures.