They knew…
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Any elements used in this story are used only in order to create a story for no monetary gain nor do I claim any ownership over them, beyond the names and characters unique to this story.
"By the will of our mentors, by the wisdom of the Xel'naga.
This records will aid you in the understanding of our kind young one, may they be of use to you:
The Infinite cycle: within the realm of reason it stands as the continuation of the Xel'naga race. In the realm of speculation the cycle stands as an overbearing purpose, no reason could define their intent.
Protoss: Purity of form imposed, the first sin of the dark one. An uplifted race, targeted for their psionic capacity and brutal societies, meant to stand as the vessel for Amon's twisted perversion of the infinite cycle. A destiny ascendant.
Zerg: Purity of essence perverted, the endless hatred of the dark one made manifest. An uplifted race, targeted for their skill in stealing and shifting essence, meant to stand as the catalyst for Amon's twisted perversion of the infinite cycle. A vengeance promised
Terran: Purity of will manifested. An unknown variable in the fallen one's plan. The linchpin in which a way to stand against his evil would have manifested. A promise unfulfilled.
-Of Nebulas forgotten, servant to Idris
Prothean underground complex - Therum
Xiltar
They were here before…
The gods of his people had left a mark HERE before…
But…
Only Amon descended into his universe, only he acted as his god, only he left "gifts" for his people to inherit.
What would HE be doing here?
Was this reality in his sight all along
Then…
Why would Nebula want to bring his people here?
Why would she promise a sanctuary if this place had already been defiled by the dark one?
As the rest of the group discussed how to find a way out of the cavern, Xiltar kept staring at the symbol that had appeared along the records of a long gone race…
Carved into his own armor.
Painted into the forehead of every Ihan-rii that was born as they were baptized into their fate…
Used as a symbol to justify said fate and a guide for his people to climb into the stars in search of their gods.
…
A symbol of a race that wasn't his own.
Banded as the reason as to why his civilization abandoned the galaxy and only viewed themselves as the rightful inheritors of their legacy.
This symbol was used by this lone gone masters of creation as a way to describe one word.
One word that described the vast whole that was their existence in but a single concept.
Be it teacher, mentor, creator, ancient or even God. This word held only one true meaning that combined all of these concepts into one.
What the elders and the ancients of his people had taught them was the true incarnation of divinity and the most noble of aspirations.
One name…
"The Xel'naga" the word emanated from his mind and we're transformed by his armor into sound for the ears of the others that were present.
They all turned towards him and saw the same symbol inscribed in the center of his armor.
His most sacred promise.
…
The judges.
This was a position of absolute leadership amongst the Ihan-rii. Elevating the individual above executors and admirals and making them the instrument of the elders will.
When an Ihan-rii warrior attained the title of judge in the legion of his assigned elder he was to be elevated beyond his peers and by the ties of Xiltar's people they were made living embodiments of divinity in combat. With only failure and death ending the service of this warrior.
Judges were only appointed on the gravest of circumstances and the direst of battles. Ultimate power was given to them above all of his host and they were to act as a readied blade to be used by his elder as he was to be the instruments of the Xel'naga.
And such appointments were both a matter of utmost carefulness and required much deliberation as its selection was followed by as much rite as any of the greatest traditions amongst his kind.
But this rite was seldom a matter of celebration.
The chosen warrior was commanded by the will of his elders to participate in a ceremony of branding….
The warrior had to stand before a council of whatever elders were available for such an occasion and he was instructed to stand before them naked of all but a cloth to cover himself with. The warrior would then stand before the most respected and revered protoss of the Ihan-rii and he would make a pledge in front of them.
This pledge was not but a verbal promise followed by an act of brief self mutilation.
But this promise… it would be a massive undertaking in it of itself. This promise that was made by the aspirant judge would be the vow that would shackle his entire existence to that pledge and almost always ended in failure for the judge.
Some chose to fight for honor as a way to defend their kind and the works of their lord's. Others chose their kind themselves in order to make a solemn vow to protect the children of their long gone ancestors and a few others would choose purpose itself, setting their souls into motion to seek the relics of their gods amongst the stars and to liberate them from the heretics.
All of them had their vow carved into the flesh of their chest as a way to shoulder the gravity of their pledge.
It was written on a script derived from the Xel'naga ruins that were found on the first world his people had discovered after their failed schism against the Tal'darim, his home of Arakyr.
And such sacred words could only be bestowed by the hand of an elder.
In time they would be given armor carved with the same rune in the language of the gods, to show the warriors pledge. The vow centered on his armor as a way to show their creed.
And as their service continued and his accomplishments were numbered, then the elders would brand more pledges only into the armor of the judge.
This were to be written in the common language of his people and all other protoss tribes lost amongst the stars: Khalani
This was the pledge of the judges. A sacred tradition and most important of undertakings. Not to be misused or to be desecrated in any manner.
But Xiltar…
Xiltar had vowed to the Xel'naga alone.
This was when he still believed them gods.
The display of such callousness and blasphemy had almost condemned him to a swift and immediate death.
But only one of the elders deemed it prudent to hear his pledge.
His own mother.
Arkanat, an elder respected among her peers and revered because of her lineage and direct descent from Urabax the unshackled. It was only due to her leadership that she was heard and had most likely saved his life.
He said little to the elders for his pledge was to the gods.
To serve and honor them across an eternity of work, to not relent in his duties to his people and stand against the betrayers to life across infinity.
To break the shackles of their mortality and finally accomplish the ascension their people so deeply desired.
He vowed to help his people ascend to the level of their lord's and reach their purpose as best as he could.
Until his bones broke, his flesh gave up, his spirit was shattered and his will was forgotten.
This was what he had pledged to the Xel'naga.
This resolve that emanated from his words humbled the elders, they thought that nobody as young as him could show such understanding of what it was to be an Ihan-rii and obey the gods.
They accepted the vow on the condition that should he desecrate the pledge he would be banished and forgotten for all of eternity.
He did not think twice before he made the promise.
The follies of the unwise.
…
He had his duty and his armies.
The young judge marched across the stars in divine fury as he fought against the servants of the dark one and those aliens who dared to stand against his people.
His elder had given him but one simple instruction concerning those aliens.
To never betray the secrecy of his gods to the unenlightened and those who knew not of their work.
And now…
He was the last elder, it was his divine duty to uphold his traditions, beliefs and the work of his predecessors in what time remained for him.
He was mandated to respect this belief that only they were deserving of the truth.
But Xiltar was not that naive anymore.
He had already given his judgment on such hubris.
The gifts of their lords were meant to be understood, not ignored. To be known, not forgotten. To be taught, not desecrated.
Xiltar wished to share, not hoard.
"They were… the gods of my people" Xiltar began to explain "They were the ones that created my kind and uplifted us to the stars" he looked down "Once they were the masters of reality. Guides and guardians of the infinite cycle, a great purpose of utmost importance. Each a wonder of creation and a creator of wonders…" Xiltar paused after this, taking a moment to read through the minds of his companions.
As he understood this galactic civilization showed some degree of abhorrence towards religious beliefs due to the nature of their own current existence as creatures above their more primitive heavens and as such had disregarded their beliefs as nothing but fallacies.
But some still preserved the belief systems of their original worlds while most had abandoned the notion of higher powers looking over them.
Xiltar would have most likely been one of these had he not seen one of these gods tear reality into pieces.
"What happened to them?" Shepard asked "if they created your kind and uplifted your race then they must be beings of great power. Are they still around?".
"They are gone, Shepard. Their only legacy remains along the walls of temples like the one we are about to venture into" every instinct in his body told him to refute them passage to a sacred place. But his will was greater than his fears, he would teach and they would learn. Of this he was sure. "I will share its knowledge with you".
The group glanced at each other for a moment before Shepard turned to him and nodded.
Garrus had informed the commander that he had seen an exit that overlooked the chamber they were in and after another moment of travel they reached this exit and were relieved that it went beyond the structure and onto the surface of the cavern they were in.
Once they exited the prothean ruin they were pointed by the asari amongst them towards a path that directed them towards some lava falls in the distance.
Xiltar took the vanguard and bid them to follow him.
As they left the prothean ruin behind and ventured deeper into darkness their way began to become swifter as they moved onwards atop a path of black sand.
…
The coincidence was… eerie.
The cavern they traversed was dotted with lava falls in the far distance. This illuminated the space in a convenient manner but they still used their own flashlights to see the path ahead while Xiltar ignited his blade and continued to walk forwards.
For a moment he saw as the weapon flickered but then resumed its proper function without revealing what that was.
They continued to walk in silence for a while longer until one amongst the group let her curiosity be known.
"Xiltar. This aliens that you spoke of, the Xel'naga… Were they some kind of precursor race to your own people?" The Asari, Liara, began to ask "Or was your species found by this race and uplifted as the krogan were?".
Wrex scoffed at this, in his mind the tragedy of his people was a unique event to reality.
But Xiltar answered the truth "Both Liara T'soni" his answer shocked the group "As the shepherds of the infinite cycle they created countless races and seeded their worlds with life".
"What is this infinite cycle?" Asked Garrus, truly perplexed by this name.
"The path they followed to perpetuate their reality" Xiltar began to explain "The scope of their capabilities is beyond your comprehension and that of my own… They had skill at their disposal that allowed them to create things that we could only dream off" he paused in his steps and turned to the group "They had unlocked the secret to create realities and with it they began to make realms beyond this one… They may have created this one as well".
The group looked shocked by this claim and tried to formulate arguments to refute what he said.
But he interrupted their train of thought.
"At least that's what legend and scripture claim…" Xiltar tried to cover up this of the most outlandish claims that could be refuted save for being witness to such a truth "What I do know its that they searched across the stars and the universe in search for what they called the pinnacle races for a purpose of their own" he continued to explain "Since a structure of theirs rests so deep in this world I can confidently say that they visited it a long time ago".
He turned once more and continued to guide the group further into darkness. Eventually they left the lava shuts behind and made their way into a surprisingly smaller section of the cavern.
But there was something else in the air… Xiltar could feel it.
There was a pull… a sensation that he was fairly familiar with…
The all consuming force from which everything was made and in which everything became one…
The echoes of the void.
They were getting close.
Xiltar felt as confusion persisted amongst the members of the group…
One in particular stood amongst the crowd.
While most thinked that the sheer notion of his claims were complete madness only one was vocal about countering his gods and his faith. The terran known as Ashely "You know what these aliens were and you still believed them gods?"
"Yes" he stopped and turned to see directly into her eyes "I won't claim that your faith is misplaced or that your belief is without merit. I only wish to share what my people believed of our own faith…" he turned and resumed his trek over the path that began to lead them up a hill "They created realms beyond our understanding. Saw as their children toiled and rose from the murk of our worlds and in time they would welcome us for a purpose grander than we could imagine amongst the stars" he decided that the whole truth would be best remain hidden from them "But they never wished to be called gods… We treated them as such only due to ignorance on our part".
His answer did not satisfy the group but they continued to walk up the path while pondering his claims in their own minds.
Once they reached the top of the hill they found themselves in front of a gate of black stone.
Its face, adorned by the runes of the Xel'naga and the patterns of shifting light that was of their preference.
Xiltar knew of places like this one, a reliquary.
The protoss approached the gate, translating the runes for everyone to hear "The old welcomes the young…".
It was a fitting pledge… written with compassion beyond the capacity of Amon's host…
Was this temple not of their making?
Xiltar proceeded to touch the face of the gate and wondered to open.
True to its promise inscribed on it, the temple opened at only his bare touch.
This surprised Xiltar, as every other temple explored by him in ages past had only opened after tremendous effort of the seekers under his forces.
Xiltar turned to the expecting group and with a motion of his arm they followed him.
The group descended a flight of stairs that was dimly illuminated by the pattern of light that flowed along the walls.
Xiltar reached the bottom first and heard as the echoes of his step signaled to him that the chamber he just entered was one of massive size.
After the rest of the group descended to his level and their steps paused as they faced the darkness, something he was unfamiliar with happened in front of his eyes.
In a chasm in the middle of the room, a floor of light appeared as it illuminated the whole chamber with an ethereal light that allowed the group to gaze into its interior.
Xiltar was not expecting to find what he saw…
"What is this place?" Shepard asked as he looked at what lay before him.
"It must be some kind of archive or gallery or…" Liara let her mind wander as she saw this… panels and images.
Their sight amazed it's witnesses with their grandeur and sight.
Xiltar did not expect this room to be a gallery.
He hadn't focused that much on the details of the images as his mind remained ready for any trap that could appear.
All of that changed when he turned to the left.
Along the wall he saw two massive panels. And were he expected to see images of the Xel'naga and tales of the infinite cycle he was surprised to instead find… himself.
Or rather the figures of his kind.
Xiltar approached the first panel and looked in astonishment and wonder as how his people were depicted… This panel was carved in the traditional pattern of his people, always showing the person from the side as a way to convey action. At the bottom of this panel he could see the scripture of his kind as they explained what happened in the mural.
But he was all too familiar with what it said.
He saw The history of his people: Their evolution from more primitive forms that emerged from the jungles of Aiur. The descent of Amon's Xel'naga as they acted with the purpose of deceiving his people as gods… and then the sight of sorrow that still struck at his hearts.
The aeon of strife.
The needless bloodshed that threatened to drown the homeworld of his people with the death of her children.
…
Aiur.
The true home of his people.
The Ihan-rii may seem as strange and bizarre beings to other Protoss but a secret they held close to their soul was the shame they truly felt for abandoning their home.
They hoped… They hoped that one day, after their war with Amon was true and his people were risen into godhood, they would join the rest of their kind in eternal celebration upon the sacred land that was their homeworld.
But the time for that had already passed.
Xiltar kept looking at the figures of his people slaughtering each other for a few more moments before he moved his tired eyes towards the next panel.
The second panel showed the figure of the one the templar referred to as Tassadar.
The history of the galaxy at large was briefly explained to him by Jonus and Aitan as they hid from the forces of the fallen one. Much was unknown to his people and Xiltar appreciated the willing cooperation that these strangers had shown by telling him of the events that had transpired in their long years of stasis.
They told him everything. From the unification of his brethren under the Khala, the exile of the Nerazim and eventually they told him of the first great war and the unholy desecration of Aiur by the Zerg.
It was at this point that they explained to him who this Tassadar had been and the devotion and respect in which they spoke of him made Xiltar think that this protoss must have been a demigod or a figure of legend.
The panel showed this Tassadar as he struck against the host of aliens that threatened their home. Marshaling forces and allies to strike at the leader of this abominable host while also making the ultimate sacrifice.
He also saw the exile of his people into the darkness of a world he had only seen one in his life. The same world from which he had evacuated the survivors of the Daelaam that now waited along with his people in a distant and secret place.
He also saw… the Khala's end?
The figures of protoss as they severed their corrupted nerve cords was present at the bottom of the panel.
It showed the shape of his people as they removed themselves from the Khala and walked towards something else.
But this could not be… Next to them was the figure of Artanis… Not as he had known him, he stood as a battle hardened leader, the true hierarch of the Daelaam.
"What are these images, Xiltar?" Liara asked as she looked at the history of his people while also recording them with what this civilization called omni-tools.
"History…" Xiltar replied as he witnessed the final part of the panel that showed Aiur as a wonder… a star amongst the heavens.
Before he could continue to look at the shape of his people in triumph he was called by one his allies "Xiltar. What are those creatures?" Tali called to him as she was looking at a panel on the opposite end of the room.
Xiltar finally realized that the group had been looking at the panels in both walls as they saw the history of his people…
And that of others…
On the other wall he saw as other two panels stood in direct opposition to that of his people.
The first was detailed with carvings that looked almost organic in nature and it seemed as if these carvings could roil and squirm at the smallest of touches.
Xiltar raised his blade and looked at the mural, it depicted a world of ash and jungles intertwined in a sick display of chaos and life. He was amazed by the vistas that were carved upon them as this unknown world was like nothing he had ever seen in his two centuries of existence.
But as he continued to look at the image his disgust began to rise even further…
He saw barbaric creatures rise from a miasma of essence and conquer their savage world as both apex predators and the lowest prey. Ever shifting masters of death and cowering beasts of little intellect.
He saw the beginning of the zerg.
All protoss knew of the great devourer and its endless host. They knew of the desecration of their homeworld, but to say that all of them cared to know their enemy was another matter in its entirety.
His people only knew of them since it was their hosts that attacked their vessels the moment his kind returned from the darkness of space and joined the remaining protoss.
Xiltar focused once more and continued to study the panel, he saw more images of barbarism and abominations. But then he saw…he saw the Xel'naga.
Amon and his acolytes were shown twisting the form of the weakest among the zerg and cursing them with the loss of their beings.
Xiltar now had witnessed the shackling of the zerg race and the birth of the Overmind.
The protoss looked down and was surprised to find some sort of written scripture at the bottom of the panel, but in all fairness this was not really a sort of scripture but more like coordinated scratchings…
It repeated the same pattern time and time again… It became more erratic and frenetic as it moved to the left and towards the section of the panel that held the Overmind.
Was it a plea for help?
…
It mattered not.
The zerg were gone and their race would never carve a path of slaughter and destruction across the stars again.
But he was forced to witness this once again…
Because the second panel showed the swarm unshackled.
It showed a tide of contorting flesh and ever mangling bone as it launched an unholy fury across the stars. Xiltar was faced by the shape of the overmind as it lorded over an army poised to consume reality in a scream of putrid hatred and unforgivable sin.
…
Xiltar chuckled.
He, who was a creature who even doubted the divinity of his… no… of the gods of his people, was now judging a species upon the tenants of a race that preached the sanctity in life and had all the same created the anathema for life all the same.
And he was forced to witness the fall of Aiur once again.
Even though it hadn't been the home of his people in millennia, the fall of Aiur felt like a deathblow to his kind because of all that was lost with the death of that world.
Billions of innocents dead.
Countless wonders destroyed.
And all that was promised of his kind made nothing but ashes in the wind.
The protoss felt frustrated by it all but he continued to be a witness of this events rather than an actor in all of them.
What would history be if his people had remained behind? What would be of reality had his people marshaled the other tribes to fend off the incoming darkness that was Amon and his abominations?
He would never know.
The protoss continued to look at the history of his nemesis and found… freedom?
The swarm… freed?
And… striking at the hybrid?
This… this did not happen, when his kind entered the war the swarm was already a tool of the fallen one.
Xiltar hid his shock from this revelation as he finally realized that he had not answered the question of his companion "They are abominations…" he began as he turned towards the quarian "Better they be forgotten… forever".
He then turned back to look at the rest of the group but saw that all save for him were now looking up.
"Is that… Earth?" Ashley asked as she saw something along the roof.
Xiltar also looked up and cursed fate for how unkind it was towards the protoss.
How was he to hide the truth now?
…
The roof also held two panels.
The first showed a planet.
How did the terran call it?
Earth?
…
To call one's own homeworld with such a crude name was… strange.
But terrans were strange creatures as well.
The panel showed a world unlike anything these aliens had ever seen. He saw through their minds and peered into their memories of this world. The pictogram may have been designed in a blocky and surprisingly detailed pattern, but he could see that this representation of their world wasn't the same they were accustomed to.
It was a marble of technology beyond what the terrans of the Koprulu sector had left behind.
It was a planet-sized city with almost all of its land masses having the markings of urban development across its surface. It held in orbit a massive ring that would have been used to lift and lower tons of mass with minimal effort.
Was this the homeworld of the humans in his universe?
The panel continued…
It showed four great ships setting forth into the void of space with the purpose of carrying millions of souls onto a predetermined path.
But Jonus had told him what had happened next…
The second panel showed how these souls never reached their destination.
Jonus of the Nerazim had explained to him with nothing but hatred the story of this foe of hers…
The terrans of the Koprulu sector were the descendants of criminals. Thieves, liars, murderers, rapists and genocides…
Their arrival into such a remote region of the stars was a blessing for this aliens. To remain hidden from their slave masters and to have the opportunity to begin again was something that few were ever allowed.
The second panel showed this: The shape of three worlds taken in a distant corner of the galaxy as the survivors of this ships made their home anew. Three names were written in this panel: Tarsonis, Moria and Umoja. A fourth seemed to have been written there once but now it was nothing but a scratched name that was forgotten for eternity.
Xiltar saw what must have been the beginning of the first great war at the hands of Tassadar of all people- A world of the terrans was burned by the hands of the protoss and the hatred between the two species would birth a rivalry that in time would doom both species to a slow and agonizing death.
Then he saw the arrival of the swarm in the Koprulu sector as it unleashed its madness in hatred against both terrans and protoss alike.
To battle these threats to their existence, two terrans rose to face these aliens who would burn their homes and consume their families…
This panel also showed these two humans as they face towards the walls of the other two species as if they were confronting the species within them.
The one facing his people was the person who most have been emperor Arcturus Mengsk. What had been told to his people about him was nothing but a tale of madness and vainglory.
It was this terran who had been responsible for birthing the detestable hybrid who acted as harbinger to the fallen one. His lust for power doomed his race in turn.
The one facing the Zerg he had been told was a hero to both protoss and terran alike.
James Raynor.
Executor Aitan spoke of this terran with both distrust and respect. The executor had spoken of this one terran in a kind thone at first before his demeanor took a more grim turn as he explained the ultimate fate of the terran.
He was apparently many things in his life. A warrior of his people who obeyed the orders of those who would use him for dishonor, a criminal who searched for his next adventure with every crime he committed, an enforcer of the laws he had broken once before, a lieutenant of Arcturus as they fought tyrants and was tricked into helping yet another tyrant, a rebel who yelled for freedom as he fought against that which he had aided to create… and a friend of the protoss as he stood next to his people to face the existential threat that were the zerg.
A man who yelled for freedom… and a person who believed that he could do good.
…
Xiltar found that his position was not so different from that of this terran.
And what had been told that his ultimate fate was… It scared the protoss.
…
But what was the meaning of all this?
All the history of the three great races was left bare before him.
And it all leads to one single end…
"What are these pictograms? The written history of your species?" asked Liara as she saw the rise of the protoss race while she recorded the writing of his people.
"That cannot be our world" began Kaidan "Earth is nothing like what those panels represent. And we have never built something like the ring in that image" he pointed to the depiction of his world.
"Who are they?" Shepard asked next while he pointed towards Mengsk and Raynor.
"What about this creatures?" Wrex now asked as he pointed to the Zerg "They began as savage beasts, but were then turned into monsters?" he turned to Xiltar as if expecting an answer.
But Xiltar did not acknowledge any of these questions nor the presence of his companions.
They saw as he was enthralled by a single point in the room.
His sight was not tearing from it as they made their way to his side.
…
At the end of the room stood a single gigantic panel.
The group could see the remains of more protheans as they kneel before it. Adoring it with their last breath.
But Xiltar cared little for the devotion of dead aliens…
He couldn't make sense of what he saw.
From the bottom he could see the shape of a human walking in a world of lava and ash, its identity obscured as he walked towards the horizon, Terran battlecruisers filled the sky as they battled a leaderless zerg swarm.
He followed the flow of the pattern towards the next part and saw what the concealed figure had been carrying…
The queen of blades.
But… as a human?
He saw the figure of a woman razing world after world in a display of hatred and sorrow.
He saw the homeworld of the zerg entwined in a canvas of jungles and ash as a figure filled with power rose from its primal clutches and he saw as vengeance was taken upon he who had betrayed life to Amon: Mengsk.
He then saw his kind…
A desperate crusade in which Artanis united the protoss into an army to stand against the fallen one. Xiltar saw the plans of Amon fail by the hand of Artanis, using the very Keystone that had brought him here to free his kind from possession and perversion.
And at the top he saw the culmination of the Infinite cycle.
The last Xel'naga as it empowered the queen of blades into ascension and he saw…
Amon's end.
…
This was an illusion.
This couldn't be true.
This had to be more lies from Amon…
But…
He now knew that this temple couldn't be of the fallen one or his followers…
They would never record a prophecy foretelling their own doom…
This wasn't his history, none of this happened in his reality.
Why would they show such a future that would never come?
Why?
It tore his soul in half to think that the Xel'naga… that they…
…
Anger erupted from the protoss.
His companions had to step back as they saw his wrath made manifest in psionic lightning that struck blindly.
He did not care about their safety.
Only a thought coursed through his mind, a single notion that demanded he curse to the heavens and avenged everything that had been done to his kind and any other across reality…
They knew…
…and they did nothing.