Leviathan
the capital ship of the Swarm
The leviathan was a massive airborne zerg breed that served as the Swarm's equivalent of a capital ship. Measured at around eleven kilometers long and capable of deep-space and warp travel, it became Sarah Kerrigan's mobile base of operations after her return to the zerg.
The leviathan was a massive airborne zerg breed that served as the Swarm's equivalent of a capital ship. Classified as a class-10 zerg flyer, it was the largest creature in Terran Dominion records, larger even than a mothership though dwarfed by a xel'naga arkship, and it has been described as moon sized. The leviathan was capable of deep-space travel and of landing on planets, and after her return to the zerg, Sarah Kerrigan made one her mobile base of operations, flying it from world to world at her direction.
Form and capabilities#
The leviathan was the zerg equivalent of a capital ship, classified as a class-10 zerg flyer and the largest creature recorded by the Terran Dominion. It was larger than a mothership, though dwarfed by a xel'naga arkship, and has been referred to as moon sized; measurements taken by the Dominion placed the leviathan at around eleven kilometers in length. It possessed interior evolution chambers and could store tens of thousands of zerg strains within its internal cavities. The leviathan was capable of deep-space travel and could land on planets, operate in temperature conditions approaching absolute zero, and pass through warp space. Sacs could be dropped from a leviathan to the surface below. Because of its sheer size, conventional sensors were unable to penetrate deep enough to map the leviathan's interior, and the internal tunnels were without illumination, though many of the chambers within held light of their own.
A leviathan was typically armed with a daunting array of bio-weapons. Giant, hollow tentacles resembling those of a spine crawler could grab smaller craft or puncture the hulls of larger ships and insert zerg boarding parties. Most leviathans could launch bile swarms at their enemies and discharge powerful bio-plasmid charges that dealt devastating damage. Cocoons birthed within the leviathan were capable of mutating into mutalisks and brood lords, allowing the creature to generate its own escort. Leviathans rarely, if ever, traveled alone.
History#
Leviathans were once space-borne creatures, infested by the zerg and turned into living armored carriers. The Swarm used them in war as early as the Fall of Aiur, and at least one was present at Char during the Second Great War. When Sarah Kerrigan was deinfested, zerg broods aboard leviathans had been on their way to her, and these broods were scattered or destroyed in the aftermath. Upon her return to the Swarm, Kerrigan made a leviathan her new base of operations, flying it from planet to planet and landing it where she directed.
During the Swarm's invasion of Korhal, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk ordered all Dominion troops across the Koprulu sector to return to the capital world. A number of leviathans under the command of Broodmother Kilysa formed a blockade to prevent the Dominion fleet from entering the system. Leviathans were also used by Kerrigan when the Swarm entered the Void through Ulnar in the final stages of the End War. Years later, feral leviathans were lured to Tyrador IX by psi-emitters deployed by the Defenders of Man, and by 2511 the leviathan remained a core part of the Swarm's stellar arsenal.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a leviathan in StarCraft?
- The leviathan was a massive airborne zerg breed that served as the Swarm's equivalent of a capital ship. Classified as a class-10 zerg flyer and measured by the Terran Dominion at around eleven kilometers in length, it was the largest creature in Dominion records and has been described as moon sized.
- What can a leviathan do?
- The leviathan could travel through deep space and warp space, land on planets, and operate in temperatures approaching absolute zero. It carried interior evolution chambers, could store tens of thousands of zerg strains within its body, and could birth mutalisks and brood lords from cocoons inside itself to generate its own escort.
- How is a leviathan armed?
- A leviathan was typically armed with giant hollow tentacles that could grab smaller craft or puncture the hulls of larger ships to insert boarding parties. Most could also launch bile swarms and discharge powerful bio-plasmid charges that dealt devastating damage.
- Where did leviathans come from?
- Leviathans were once space-borne creatures that the zerg infested and turned into living armored carriers. The Swarm used them in war as early as the Fall of Aiur, and they remained a core part of the Swarm's stellar arsenal by 2511.
- How did Sarah Kerrigan use a leviathan?
- After her return to the Swarm, Kerrigan made a leviathan her new base of operations, flying it from planet to planet and landing it where she directed. She also used leviathans when the Swarm entered the Void through Ulnar in the final stages of the End War.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Broodmother
Broodmothers were powerful, intelligent queens created by the Queen of Blades to replace the cerebrates, tasked with guarding and leading the broods of the Zerg Swarm. Independent enough to survive their creator's fall, they fragmented the Swarm when Kerrigan was deinfested and warred among themselves for control.
Char
Char was an inhospitable volcanic planet in the Koprulu sector that became the primary hive world of the zerg. It was the site of Sarah Kerrigan's rebirth as the Queen of Blades and, years later, of her restoration to human form.
End War
The End War was the galaxy-wide crusade waged by the fallen xel'naga Amon after his resurrection. It saw the corruption of the Khala, the fall of Aiur and Shakuras, the unification of the protoss under Artanis, and the final destruction of Amon in the Void by Sarah Kerrigan.
Sarah Kerrigan
Sarah Kerrigan was a psychic terran who began as a Confederate ghost, rose to be second-in-command of the Sons of Korhal, and after Arcturus Mengsk abandoned her on Tarsonis was captured and infested by the Zerg Swarm to become the Queen of Blades.
Second Great War
The Second Great War broke out in 2504 between the Zerg Swarm and the Terran Dominion, four years after the Brood War. It saw Sarah Kerrigan deinfested and then reborn in primal form, the death of Arcturus Mengsk, and the resurrection of the fallen xel'naga Amon.
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.
Mentioned in23 entries
Baneling
The baneling was an explosive zerg strain evolved from the zergling through a brief chrysalis phase, its body remade to carry sacs of highly corrosive acid. A living suicide bomber, the baneling ruptured among enemy formations in a shower of searing acid that devastated both structures and ground forces.
Battle of Char
The Battle of Char was fought during the Second Great War between a joint Terran Dominion and Raynor's Raiders force and the Zerg Swarm. Instigated by Prince Valerian Mengsk and led by Jim Raynor, it ended with the de-infestation of Sarah Kerrigan by a xel'naga device.
Battlecruiser
The battlecruiser was the terran sector's capital ship, a heavily armed and armored warship dating back to the early Confederacy that served as both a general-purpose combatant and a fleet command vessel.
Behemoth-class battlecruiser
The Behemoth-class was the most common terran battlecruiser of the Great War, an improvement over the Leviathan-class that could travel through warp space, operate in atmosphere, and land on planets. It was the class of the famed Hyperion and remained in service well into the Second Great War.
Brood Lord
The brood lord is a massive manta-like Zerg flyer morphed from the corruptor, used by the Swarm as an aerial siege creature that rains living broodlings down onto ground targets. It serves only in the largest of conflicts.
Broodmother
Broodmothers were powerful, intelligent queens created by the Queen of Blades to replace the cerebrates, tasked with guarding and leading the broods of the Zerg Swarm. Independent enough to survive their creator's fall, they fragmented the Swarm when Kerrigan was deinfested and warred among themselves for control.
Corruptor
The corruptor is a squid-like Zerg flyer bred to destroy enemy aircraft and capital ships, dousing its targets in matter-disrupting parasite spores and capable of morphing into the brood lord once the Swarm wins the skies.
Gorgon-class battlecruiser
The Gorgon-class was the most powerful battlecruiser ever fielded by the terrans of the Koprulu sector, larger than the Behemoth-class and able to withstand multiple Yamato cannon hits. Its best-known example was the Bucephalus, outfitted as the Terran Dominion flagship.
Hydralisk
The hydralisk was a versatile zerg combat strain evolved from the peaceful slothien, armored in carapace plates and able to launch volleys of armor-piercing spines from its upper body. Forming the backbone of the Swarm's onslaughts, the hydralisk symbolized zerg power to terrans more than any other strain.
Infestor
The infestor is a burrowing Zerg support strain evolved from the borbu matriarch, capable of moving while burrowed, seizing control of enemies with a neural parasite, and disgorging infested marines and larvae on the battlefield.
Leviathan-class battlecruiser
The Leviathan-class was an early type of terran battlecruiser that had largely been replaced by the Behemoth-class by the start of the 26th century. It could travel through warp space, but its auxiliary craft ports sat dangerously close to the bridge, leaving the class vulnerable to enemy boarding actions.
Lurker
The lurker is an arachnid Zerg strain evolved from the hydralisk that attacks only while burrowed, erupting waves of super-dense spines from beneath the ground to impale anything caught above it.
+ 11 more
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.