Ulnar
the Temple of Unification
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.
Ulnar, also called the Temple of Unification, was a massive xel'naga temple located in the Altarian Rift. It was the resting place of the xel'naga and served as a portal leading to the Void, with a vast amount of Void energy radiating from it. By the protoss reckoning of astral mechanics, Ulnar should not have existed at all; it defied even their understanding of the laws of physics.
The cradle of life#
Ulnar served as the temple from which the xel'naga seeded the universe with life. Located between dimensions and acting as a portal to the Void, it was the place to which the xel'naga retired to rest once their work was done. Before sleeping they created the Keystone, an artifact designed to find its way into the hands of races that would naturally gain both purity of form and purity of essence, and to guide them back to Ulnar. There the Keystone would release its stored energy to awaken the xel'naga, whose elders would give their essence to the chosen races so that they might ascend as the new xel'naga, continuing the Infinite Cycle.
Amon's corruption and the slumber#
This plan went awry when Amon and his followers began to manipulate the cycle to their own ends, personally taking a hand in uplifting the protoss and zerg. The creation of the Khala awakened the xel'naga in Ulnar, who fought Amon and pushed him back into the Void, but at a high cost. The few who remained returned to their slumber, and Ulnar took on mythical proportions within protoss culture, remembered as a realm of myth, the place from which all life had flown. The temple's energies were regulated by five celestial locks, which also served as the means of gaining entry; if those locks were destabilized, the energies within would grow chaotic and the temple would eventually be destroyed.
The trap of the End War#
Upon his return to the material universe during the End War, Amon entered Ulnar and killed the xel'naga slumbering there. Sarah Kerrigan sent her Swarm to the temple, only to find Amon's hybrid inside, and her broods battled them for weeks. The Daelaam arrived after discovering Ulnar's location locked within the Keystone. They worked to activate the celestial locks sealing the main entry while the Tal'darim and Moebius Corps tried to stop them, and once through, Hierarch Artanis entered the temple. He met Kerrigan within, and the two fought through Amon's forces and the temple's xel'naga constructs to reach the Chamber of Ascension, only to find the xel'naga there already dead. Amon sprang his trap and opened a portal to the Void within Ulnar, though the combined forces of the zerg and Daelaam destroyed the void crystals powering it and sealed it shut.
Gateway to the Void#
In 2508, Kerrigan gathered her allies for a direct assault on Amon within the Void. Ulnar opened itself as a massive portal, allowing their capital ships to carry the war into Amon's own realm. When the allies returned to Ulnar, Amon's forces attempted to destroy the temple by overloading the celestial locks and cut off their escape, but the defenders, advised by Rohana, stopped the attack and prevented Ulnar's loss.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Ulnar?
- Ulnar, also called the Temple of Unification, was a massive xel'naga temple located in the Altarian Rift. It was the resting place of the xel'naga and served as a portal leading to the Void, with a vast amount of Void energy radiating from it.
- What was Ulnar's purpose?
- Ulnar was the temple from which the xel'naga seeded the universe with life before retiring to rest. Before sleeping they created the Keystone, an artifact meant to find races that gained both purity of form and purity of essence and guide them back to Ulnar to awaken the xel'naga and continue the Infinite Cycle.
- How did Amon corrupt the design of Ulnar?
- Amon and his followers manipulated the cycle to their own ends, personally taking a hand in uplifting the protoss and zerg. The creation of the Khala awakened the xel'naga in Ulnar, who fought Amon and pushed him back into the Void at a high cost, after which the few who remained returned to slumber.
- What happened at Ulnar during the End War?
- Upon returning to the material universe, Amon entered Ulnar and killed the xel'naga slumbering there. Kerrigan and Hierarch Artanis entered the temple to learn the truth of the Infinite Cycle, only to find the xel'naga in the Chamber of Ascension already dead and spring Amon's trap, after which combined zerg and Daelaam forces destroyed the void crystals powering his portal and sealed it.
- How did Ulnar become a gateway to the Void?
- In 2508 Kerrigan gathered her allies for a direct assault on Amon within the Void, and Ulnar opened itself as a massive portal allowing their capital ships to carry the war into Amon's realm. When the allies returned, Amon's forces tried to destroy the temple by overloading the celestial locks, but the defenders, advised by Rohana, stopped the attack and prevented Ulnar's loss.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
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Related entries
The Void
The Void was a dark, cold manifestation of space separate from the material universe, the birthplace of the xel'naga and the source of the Nerazim's shadow powers. It was also the only place a xel'naga could be killed for good.
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.
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.
The Infinite Cycle
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.
Keystone
The Keystone, also known as the xel'naga artifact, was an ancient relic that could channel and redistribute energy, matter, essence, and consciousness. A major catalyst of the Second Great War, it de-infested the Queen of Blades, was twisted toward Amon's resurrection, and was finally used to banish him.
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.
Mentioned in33 entries
Alarak
Alarak was the highlord of the Tal'darim, once First Ascendant in the Chain of Ascension under Ma'lash. A master manipulator who turned his people against Amon after the Dark God betrayed them, he allied with the Daelaam, overthrew Ma'lash in Rak'Shir, and led the Tal'darim on a path of conquest.
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.
Amon's Forces
Amon's Forces, also called the Forces of Amon, were a union of terran, protoss, zerg, hybrid and Void creatures subservient to the fallen xel'naga Amon during the End War. Bound to his will, they sought the eradication of all the xel'naga's creation and an end to the Infinite Cycle.
Artanis
Artanis was the Hierarch of the Daelaam, a renowned warrior who rose from executor during the zerg invasion of Aiur to lead the reunited protoss. He forged the Khalai and Nerazim into one people, reclaimed Aiur, and led the alliance that banished Amon from the Khala.
Daelaam
The Daelaam was the unified protoss government that bound the Khalai, Nerazim, Purifiers, and some Tal'darim together after the fall of Aiur, led by Hierarch Artanis through the End War against Amon and the reclamation of their homeworld.
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.
Essence
Essence was the genetic information carried by all life and the key to zerg evolution. By consuming or assimilating their prey, the zerg took the essence of other creatures and folded their desired strengths into the Swarm, an ability that first drew the fallen xel'naga Amon to enslave them.
Golden Armada
The Golden Armada was the greatest fleet of protoss vessels ever constructed, based on Shakuras and built by order of Hierarch Artanis to retake Aiur. After spearheading the invasion of the protoss homeworld, it was corrupted by Amon and turned against the Koprulu sector before being freed.
Hybrid Reaver
The hybrid reaver was an extremely powerful zerg-based hybrid, capable of basic speech and able to exert mind control over zerg and terrans alike. It served as a staple of Amon's hybrid armies throughout the End War.
Karax
Karax was a Khalai phase-smith and one of the most precise of protoss engineers. Over the war against Amon he rose above his worker origins to command the Spear of Adun's systems, was named a templar in defiance of the caste system, and helped build the means of Amon's defeat.
Kerrigan's Swarm: the Zerg Swarm under the Queen of Blades
Kerrigan's Swarm was the faction of the Zerg Swarm led by Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, formed when the death of the Overmind split the leaderless zerg and Kerrigan seized control of the broods she would command through the Brood War, the Second Great War, and the war against Amon.
Keystone
The Keystone, also known as the xel'naga artifact, was an ancient relic that could channel and redistribute energy, matter, essence, and consciousness. A major catalyst of the Second Great War, it de-infested the Queen of Blades, was twisted toward Amon's resurrection, and was finally used to banish him.
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