In utter darkness.

On a distant shadowed world,

the protoss will make their final stand,

their heroes will gather,

their forces will be marshaled,

and they will die…

bravely, but still…

they will die…

These words echoed the voice of a being long gone, a creature of savage fury and chained will. By the actions of this creature reality could have been spared from the bloodshed created by a mad god.

But he failed.

The offspring of this behemoth were chained to the will of a shadowy hand, one which wielded these creatures as a maze for carnage.

This was the fate of the Zerg.

And as these creatures were marshaled against the forces of humanity by the will of the dark god and his monstrous lieutenants, they met the sons and daughters of Earth who fought with savage might and a fury that shook the foundation of every world they walked upon.

But they were deceived.

While the Terran dominion under the leadership of newly appointed emperor Valerian Mengsk fought bravely they were no match for the acolyte of the dark god as he made thralls of those Terrans who forged the malevolent hybrid for him…

The hybrid, abominations made to usher this universe into darkness. The unnatural aberrations that had turned the galaxy to waste and in doing so ushered the era of Amon. The incarnation of an abominable dominion into which the madness and contempt of the fallen one were made manifest.

In time, the Terrans were consumed. Their armies betrayed each other and mauled their worlds into nothing but ashes and ruins.

This was the fate of the Terrans.

And then there was the Protoss…

Arrogant first born of the 'gods', these beings of psionic might stood idle while the Terrans and Zerg slaughtered each other.

This was not due to disinterest on their part. The Daelaam which governed all free Protoss deemed the destruction of both their most hated enemies a blessing for their purpose.

Even as the universe burned around them they wished to march forth and reconquer their homeworld, Aiur.

This was not their fate.

On the eve of their great reclamation both Khalai and Nerazim warriors began to fight the supposedly mindless hosts of Zerg that once served the overmind and infested their holy world.

But as they butchered more and more of their enemies the Khalani felt as a force like nothing seen before began to reap their wills through the Khala.

This was Amon's plan. To enslave the remaining protoss who held to the Khala and to have them drown the stars in blood as they served the dark one in utter agony.

But this did not happen.

The same hand that began to clutch control over the Khala through the void found the presence removed from his reach by an unknown actor.

This freed the Khalai, who realized their mistake and quickly reorganized their efforts after they were warned of the ongoing cataclysm by the dark prelate of the Nerazim, Zeratul.

But Amon's victory was nothing but assured so hope was dwindling for what Protoss remained, their fate was now to suffer in a war of attrition that would snuff the flame of their kind.

But fate is fickle.

In what battlefields remained of the end war massive black warships warped from out of deep space and joined the forces of what Protoss remained.

This was how the Ihan-rii returned to the fold…

Ancient and enigmatic even to the most versed scholars of the Daelaam, the departure of this enigmatic Protoss from Aiur preceded the Aeon of strife that threatened to drown their homeworld with the blood of their kind.

These Protoss returned from the darkness of space at the behest of the one called Zeratul to defend their kind and the cause of life.

Their leadership spoke of an enigmatic prophecy that claimed their kind would usher in the coming of the Xel'naga once again to stand against the fallen one.

But this was not to be. No gods answered their prayers, no hope was delivered to these debout fanatics and no more aid came to save them in time.

And in a distant shadowed world the Protoss made their final stand.

Where their kind were undone…

Most that is…

Mentor's pride - Flagship of the Protoss remnant.

Xiltar, last 'elder' of the Ihan-rii.

His orders were to run.

Xiltar was a proud member of the Ihan-rii, a secretive group of Protoss that journeyed across the stars long before their kind on Aiur reclaimed their former glory. They were a proud people since they only saw themselves as fit to receive the gifts of their foreverers, the Xel'naga.

Xiltar and his kin had been shepherded into the emptiness of space under the edict that was given to them by their ruling council of elders, the Umbral Choir.

But once they returned from the aether they found the galaxy aflame and the machinations of the fallen one brought to fruition.

They fought as best as they could, but such efforts were for not…

As the old guard was massacred by the Zerg in different battles, the elders that remained began to appoint to the council whoever proved themselves with martial prowess or was aligned to the clans of old.

Xiltar was one of these.

Though young in comparison to other members of the council, having been born almost three centuries before the departure of his kind from the galaxy, he had proven himself as an excellent military commander in the wars of millennia past.

Before they had entered stasis and sailed the ethereal cosmos under the decrees of their elders, the Ihan-rii had fought a forgotten war against one of the dark god's earliest followers: the Tal'darim.

A truth his kind had not revealed to what remained of the Daelaam was the shameful reality that the Ihan-rii were a splinter group of this heretical faction that would follow the dark god onto a crusade of carnage.

And he was now forced to lead the Ihan-rii along with the remnants of the Daelaam.

Alone.

As the rest of the council had been slaughtered in the dark recesses of space, he was left as the last voice of the umbral choir.

But as he readied himself and his warriors for the final battle of the war he was contacted by the hierarch of the Daelaam.

His interaction with hierarch Artanis was brief but filled with as much sorrow as Xiltar would spare for any of his now gone kin.

Xiltar thought that the hierarch wished to coordinate his forces along with the marshaling army that now fought upon a distant world.

But to the honest surprise of young Xiltar he was wrong.

The hierarch pleaded for Xiltar to gather as many Protoss as he could and take them to the abyss of space in a desperate measure so the Protoss would live.

The Ihan-rii were the only Protoss able to accomplish such a task, for three of the massive void worlds that had safeguarded his kind while in stairs still remained under his direct command.

Xiltar understood what the hierarch had planned. While his warriors stole Amon's attention, he would be able to travel to planets like Shakuras, Arakyr and Zhakul in order to gather any civilian and military individuals that still remained and take them upon an exodus that would guarantee their safety for more time.

And he was forced to see as the brave souls who would sacrifice themselves for more time died at the hands of the hybrid.

"Brother…" the mind of his only remaining kin called meekly. The voice that took him from his thoughts was that of a poor child. One who would never be allowed to grow due to the inaction of his elders, one who seeks solace from the carnage that they were forced to witness.

It was the only family that remained for him in this life, his sister Othan. He could not comfort his sister as he saw the last light of Aiur banish. For it was his duty to ensure that above all, the council would protect his people, her and the children who would one day take the mantle form their shoulders as they joined their gods…

For denying them their right to one day bear the torch of their race among the darkness of the stars was seen as nothing short of a betrayal by him, for this sin he shall never be forgiven.

She was the last, for the family of Xiltar had been once one of the most prominent lines of councilors and executors of the umbral choir. They were the first who had answered the call of what remained of the united protoss under the Daelaam as their kind rallied for a last stand against the dark one, fighting through the Koprulu sector wherever they could make a blow, bleeding Amon out of a decisive victory.

"I'm sorry little one" he stated "for denying you and our race the future that was owed, for failing to save more of our kind and above all for failing to save our family from the slaughter of the dark one".

Concern formed within Othan. For as she saw the state of his last family member she understood that the situation they were now upon left elder Xiltar in a state of utter despair.

The ihan-rii were nothing short of prideful, for they once believed that their kind had been chosen by the gods of old. Being the only race to be worthy of the teachings of the Xel'naga and as such had secluded themselves from the affairs of the Galaxy which denied the younger races and the rest of the Protoss any warning as to the return of the fallen one.

"But brother. There's still something that can be done for we have the keystone" Stated the adept.

Indeed had he forgotten of such a device, nothing more than a beacon to rally other races to the presence of the Xel'naga, by the hand of which the infinite cycle of rebirth and creation would permeate throughout eternity. And there it stood, radiating energies with a deeper function that had been attributed by the Terrans from which they had taken the keystone.

"I know of this young one, but the keystone has failed to provide us with the path towards our lords or any hope" Xiltar turned to her "The knowledge that it once held died along with what hope remained" this was as true as he could stand to tell his sister, for it was the dark prelate Zeratul that held any knowledge of what had eluded the council for such a long time: The location of Ulnar, the home of the Xel'naga. "The only thing that is certain is that the prophecies have been fulfilled to the designs of Amon" said Xiltar in disgust and hatred.

"Then let us usurp what little we can from his victory" Othan exploded in fervor "Let us remind reality why fate brought us to the attention of the Xel'naga, for we are the tempest who punishes the failures of the past, we are the mentors' who teach the young of the mistakes of old and you my brother, are the elder who will lead our kind from this desolated existence" she pointed a finger at her brother "You who will lead us to the end".

He mused these words, spoken not like the child who sought her brother's aid. No, this was the will of a warrior, much like their older sister Tilan, she spoke with the wrath that only a hopeless future such as this could conjure, the wrath of the void invoked as a macabre weapon .

And then realization struck him, for it was not foolishness or defeat that brought his kind to where they are, it was nothing but a pure will to forge ahead that took his kind to the stars.

"Spoken like the noblest of warriors" he said with renewed purpose "You're right little one, such an opportunity cannot be wasted. We shall uncover the truth behind this relic and usher in one last victory against the dark one".

Getting closer to the celestial array aboard his vessel he opened a link to the remainder of the fleet. Standing away from Othan he waited for the AI of the mothership to confirm that the link to all vessels was established.

"SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF ARAKYR!" he boomed with a will restored by the wrath of the warriors long past "Proud children of Aiur and Shakuras. Our people have been decimated and butchered by monsters of the void. The bravest and most courageous amongst us have fallen" this words spoke of doom and sorrow, not what his people needed to hear. But he allowed these dark words be an omen to his new resolve "THIS TRANSGRESSION SHALL NOT STAND!" He screamed once again. His rage and hatred for the dark one tainting his words "We shall bleed the victory of the dark one. Our race shall outlive his plans and in time we shall return as a vengeful blade who will cut his heresy against life".

What warriors remained on the bridge stood at attention to the last elder of the council, his will imprinting purpose into the defeated crew of their ship with such an effect mirrored across the rest of the fleet. Even reigniting the souls of the Khalai and the Nerazim to which the costumes of the Ihan-rii were as alien as those of the Terrans or the heretics of Amon.

"For such a future to happen we must make preparations for a great exodus" he began his first decree "Valiant warriors, honorable ancestors and diligent creators. We stand at a crossroad, a choice has been presented to us: for our people to stay and perish with the rest of reality or follow in the steps of our mentors and preserve the infinite cycle for the future. I ask you, what will be the fate of the protoss: death at the hands of oblivion or retribution against this transgression. WHAT WILL IT BE?! "

A chorus was heard from the rest of the fleet as all Protoss clamored to strike at Amon's will and design chanting as a united chorus of vengeance. This would be the song, this would be the new Umbral Choir.

Their journey would take them to the darkest pit of existence and then place them in a war of annihilation that threatened another realm with a cycle of abhorrence.

From this realm they would one day strike against the fallen one in memory of all the souls that were lost.

Much needed to be done.

Afterword.

It's been 12 years since I started my travel into this little corner of human imagination, It is a pleasure to meet all of you and after years of consideration I decided that this would be my addition to this little community that love the games listed above (don't worry, I intend to take our intrepid warriors to the war with saren soon enough, I won't take long)

Hope some can enjoy my little delusion, and I hope to meet you again soon.

EDIT: Me being the dumb poti-brain terran that i am committed the gravest sin of any person in the literary world, being a dumb dumb that does not proofread his own content, i have expanded this chapter for the fun of it, correcting as many mistakes as i could find, but i know i will miss something so i apologize anyway.

Edit: reworked the chapter since I felt that it left a poor first impression on the story.