Zerus
birthworld of the zerg
Zerus was a jungle world far from the Koprulu sector and the birthworld of the zerg, where the first Swarm arose from the spawning pools and was bound to the hive mind by the xel'naga. Left a wasteland after the Swarm departed, it healed into a jungle ruled by the primal zerg.
Zerus was a world far from the Koprulu sector and the birthworld of the zerg. It was on Zerus that the first zerg arose, that the xel'naga bound them to the hive mind, and that the Swarm departed for Aiur and left their cradle a barren wasteland. In the long years that followed, the environment recovered into a jungle world ruled by the primal zerg, the strains overlooked when the Swarm left, and it became the place where Sarah Kerrigan was reborn as the Primal Queen of Blades. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm; StarCraft (manual))
The first zerg#
The first zerg arose from the first spawning pool, where one essence split into many and one devoured another to become stronger. The zerg were the most insignificant life form on Zerus until the proto-genetic manipulations of the xel'naga enabled them to survive the planet's torrential firestorms and thrive. Amon desired their ability to steal essence, but the zerg were independent, so he bound them to the hive mind. When Amon and his followers were discovered, a war erupted among the xel'naga, and Amon unleashed the zerg with a directive to destroy the protoss. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm; StarCraft (manual); StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty)
The Swarm departed for Aiur, leaving their homeworld a barren wasteland. Some zerg, including Zurvan, were overlooked and became the primal zerg. Over the intervening years the environment of Zerus rapidly evolved into a jungle world. (StarCraft (manual); StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)
The return of Kerrigan#
Dark Prelate Zeratul visited Zerus and returned with Sarah Kerrigan, who set out to awaken the ancient primal zerg Zurvan by harvesting quillgor meat and feeding it to him. The primal pack leader Brakk declared that she had intruded on his territory and sent his pack to destroy the meat, and when this failed he personally led an attack on her hive cluster and was killed. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)
On Zurvan's instructions, Kerrigan entered the first spawning pool. Yagdra claimed Brakk's territory and his pack's essence, while the Swarm defended Kerrigan's chrysalis from both Yagdra's pack and the remnants of Brakk's, which engaged each other in a basin south of the spawning pool. Yagdra won the clash but failed to stop Kerrigan's transformation into the Primal Queen of Blades. All of Zerus felt the change and feared it, and the primal zerg Dehaka forged an alliance with her. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)
Yagdra, Kraith, and Slivan each sent most of their packs against the Swarm, leaving themselves vulnerable. With Dehaka's help, Kerrigan killed each of them and absorbed their packs into her Swarm. Her essence then called to Zurvan, who turned on her, and she killed him in turn. Zerus became hers, and Dehaka and his pack accompanied her on her return to the Koprulu sector. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)
The power vacuum#
Primal zerg remained on Zerus after Kerrigan's departure, continuing their endless war to evolve. Co-op Missions add that three new primal zerg, Glevig, Murvar and Dakrun, stepped forward to fill the vacuum left by the deaths of Zurvan and the other pack leaders, and that after the Second Great War Dehaka returned to Zerus and absorbed the new pack leaders and their primals into his own pack. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm; StarCraft II: Co-op Missions)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Zerus?
- Zerus was a world far from the Koprulu sector and the birthworld of the zerg. After the Swarm departed, it recovered into a jungle world ruled by the primal zerg.
- How did the zerg originate on Zerus?
- The first zerg arose from the first spawning pool on Zerus, where one essence split into many and one devoured another to become stronger. They were the most insignificant life form on the planet until the xel'naga manipulated them so they could survive its firestorms.
- Why did the zerg leave Zerus?
- Amon bound the zerg to the hive mind and, after war erupted among the xel'naga, unleashed them with a directive to destroy the protoss. The Swarm departed for Aiur, leaving their homeworld a barren wasteland.
- What are the primal zerg?
- The primal zerg were the strains, including Zurvan, that were overlooked when the Swarm left Zerus. They continued an eternal war to ascend the evolutionary ladder.
- How did Sarah Kerrigan become the Primal Queen of Blades?
- Guided by Zeratul, Kerrigan returned to Zerus, awakened the ancient primal zerg Zurvan, and entered the first spawning pool on his instructions. After her transformation she killed the primal pack leaders and absorbed their packs, then killed Zurvan when he turned on her, making Zerus hers before she returned to the Koprulu sector with Dehaka.
Gallery
Images via StarCraft Wiki
Sources
- BookStarCraft (manual), Peter Underwood, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn, Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- GameStarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard Entertainment, 2013
- GameStarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Blizzard Entertainment, 2015
- GameStarCraft II: Co-op Missions, Blizzard Entertainment, 2015 onward
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Aiur
Aiur was the homeworld of the protoss, a verdant world on the galactic fringe engineered by the Xel'Naga and seat of the Protoss Empire. It was overrun by the zerg in 2500 and reclaimed by the Daelaam after the defeat of Amon.
Dehaka
Dehaka was a primal zerg pack leader from Zerus and one of the last of his kind before the Swarm's return. He allied with Sarah Kerrigan to gather essence, fought across the Koprulu sector, and led the primal zerg against Amon during the End War.
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A fringe region sixty thousand light years from Earth, settled by exiled humans. The Great War and the Brood War were both fought across its worlds.
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The queen is a Zerg support strain derived from the Arachnis brood-keeper, bred to administrate hive clusters, oversee maturing broods, and serve as an infestation specialist. Two distinct forms exist across the history of the Swarm, the flying Great War queen and the ground-bound hive-master engineered after the Brood War.
Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades
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: Swarm vs Dominion, 2504
The Second Great War broke out in 2504 and ended on Korhal with Arcturus Mengsk dead at Kerrigan's hand. Deinfesting her mid-war let the xel'naga Amon return.
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2505: the year the Second Great War ended
2505 was the year in which the second phase of the Second Great War was fought across the Koprulu sector. It saw Sarah Kerrigan rebuild the Zerg Swarm, the death of Emperor Arcturus Mengsk at the Battle of Korhal, and the zergling outbreak that destroyed the Blackstone facility.
Abathur: the Swarm's living DNA library
Spun from many species by the Overmind, Abathur designed the Queen of Blades. He later betrayed Zagara to restart the wars he thought zerg needed.
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.
Battle of Korhal
The Battle of Korhal was the final battle of the Second Great War, a joint assault by Sarah Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm and Jim Raynor's Raiders on the Dominion capital. It ended with the death of Emperor Arcturus Mengsk and the destruction of much of Augustgrad.
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.
Cerebrate
Cerebrates were the intermediate commanders of the zerg, created by the Overmind to lead individual broods and oversee the Swarm's evolution. Bound to the Overmind for their reincarnation, they vanished from the Swarm after the Brood War, replaced by Sarah Kerrigan's broodmothers.
Dehaka
Dehaka was a primal zerg pack leader from Zerus and one of the last of his kind before the Swarm's return. He allied with Sarah Kerrigan to gather essence, fought across the Koprulu sector, and led the primal zerg against Amon during the End War.
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.
Every Zerg Brood, From the Garm Brood to Kerrigan's Swarm
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Every Zerg Unit in StarCraft and StarCraft II, Explained
Every zerg strain from StarCraft, Brood War and the three StarCraft II campaigns, from the zergling to the leviathan. Each entry covers the species it came from, what it does for the Swarm and where it turns up in the story.
Great War: protoss against zerg over Aiur
The Great War was the first open fight between protoss and zerg, with the terrans caught between them. It ended over Aiur with the Overmind destroyed.
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