Archaeologist Jake Ramsey is called away from a dig at the behest of Valerian Mengsk, Crown Prince of the Terran Dominion, who wants him to investigate the ruins of a Xel'Naga temple of the same type the Dominion previously encountered in Shadow Of The Xel'Naga. Paired up with hardened mercenary Rosemary Dahl as his bodyguard, Jake and his team set to work. Deep inside the ruin, though, Jake discovers the body of a protoss archivist named Zamara, stuck in suspended animation at the edge of death for decades. In her desperation to live, she transfers herself into his body. Wanting the information Zamara possesses, the Dominion turns on Jake, forcing him and Rosemary into flight for their lives, while Zamara begins to show to Jake the stories of how the protoss came to be what they are now. Worse yet, they attract the attention of Sarah Kerrigan, the Zerg Queen of Blades, and the insane dark archon Ulrezaj.
The story of the trilogy was written alongside that of StarCraft II.
Books in the trilogy:
- Firstborn (2007)
- Shadow Hunters (2007)
- Twilight (2009)
Tropes:
- Adventurer Archaeologist: Jake, the Action Survivor, becomes one by necessity due to the threats on his life from carrying Zamara around.
- Battle Butler: Phillip Randall, Stewart's valet and also doubles as his personal assassin.
- Big Bad Ensemble: All motivated in one way or another by pursuit of Zamara's knowledge, but none want any of the others to get it.
- Ulrezaj, the insane dark templar extremist from Enslavers II, wants to kill Zamara to prevent her from revealing the Dark Secret of the Xel'naga. His cultists were responsible for the original attack on her.
- Sarah Kerrigan and Arcturus Mengsk both want to learn what Zamara knows so they can use that knowledge against the protoss state.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Dominion stops pursuing Jake and Rosemary, who have become an Official Couple, but only because Devon Starke sacrifices himself to Mengsk's torturers to save their lives. Ulrezaj is defeated by Zamara sealing herself into a khaydarin crystal with him, rendering her knowledge of protoss history largely lost for good.
- Call-Back:
- Ulrezaj from the first game's optional Enslavers II campaign is one of the Big Bad Ensemble, and Zamara is found in a Xel'Naga construct like the one in Shadow Of The Xel'Naga. We're also introduced through Zamara's memories to such protoss luminaries as Khas (founder of the Khala), Adun (savior of the dark templar), and a young Matriarch Raszagal, who (aside from Raszagal, who appears in Brood War's protoss and zerg campaigns) had previously only been alluded to.
- Zeratul talks about the hybrid he saw in the Brood War secret mission "Dark Origin" as part of a conversation regarding the Dark Secret that got Zamara killed.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Valerian ordered Ethan Stewart to hand Rosemary and Jake over to the Dominion as part of their business contract, and refusal would get him killed. Ethan wanted to keep Rosemary safe and didn't believe in Valerian's promise to keep her unharmed, but felt that he didn't have a choice in the matter.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: Zamara left a message written in Khalani (the Protoss language) on how to enter the temple using her own blood, hoping that a Protoss would understand the clue and help save her memories.My brothers or sisters who have come this far - within, a secret lies preserved. To enter, think as the Wanderers from Afar would. Think of perfection.
- Dark Secret: Zamara reveals that the Xel'naga do not reproduce and are not immortal, so at the end of their lifespan, they cultivate two races with "purity of form" and "purity of essence" that will in time fuse together to create new Xel'naga. Said races in this cycle are the Protoss and the Zerg. This knowledge was what got her killed by Ulrezaj's assassins.
- Deadly Upgrade: Zamara's presence gives Jake access to both her expansive memories of protoss history and to some low-level psionic powers. But the human brain isn't built to take on a second consciousness, and Zamara's presence leads to Jake developing a life-threatening brain tumor by the second book.
- Fantastic Drug: The Sundrop, a sweet-smelling dark golden substance applied to the skin. It is highly addictive to the point of withdrawal symptoms being lethal to Terrans, and has the effect of rewiring Protoss brain chemistry to cut them off from the Khala.
- Forced Addiction: In book two, Rosemary, already a recovering addict, is taken prisoner on Aiur by a cult of protoss survivors of the planet's fall to the zerg, and forcibly fed a drug they're all addicted to. This is intended to ensure her compliance with their plan to capture Jake and the Ghost Memory of the protoss archivist he's carrying.
- Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge: Ulrezaj was one of these before he left Ehlna.
- Eldritch Abomination: Ulrezaj, an insane dark archon created from merging seven powerful Dark Templars. Also whatever is in the vats in the caverns beneath Aiur.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: How Valerian somewhat optimistically explains his father Arcturus's insistence on torturing Jake to find out what Jake knows about the Protoss, despite Jake offering the knowledge freely. Arcturus is so used to fighting tooth and nail for everything he wants that he simply can't believe Jake would talk for free.
- Fake Memories: Exploited by Zamara. Terran rank-and-file soldiers tend to be convicts implanted with false memories in a process called "neural resocialization". Zamara undoes the resocialization of one of Jake and Rosemary's guards to create a diversion for them to escape Valerian's troops. He turns out to have been a cannibal.
- Heartbroken Badass: Zeratul is in self-exile due to guilt over killing Matriarch Raszagal near the end of Brood War.
- Hypocrite: The Tal'darim hates the Dark Templars (as was common with the Khalai pre-StarCraft II) but are addicted to a drug that cuts them off from the Khala - in essence turning them into Dark Templar. And that was before getting to the fact that their leader is secretly a dark archon.
- I Owe You My Life: Valerian's retainer Devon Starke is a Terran Ghost whom Valerian saved from execution and had his memory restored. At the end of the trilogy, he performs a Heroic Sacrifice, tricking Arcturus Mengsk into believing he's taken all of Zamara's knowledge from Jake to spare him, Rosemary and Valerian from retribution.
- Just Following Orders: Subverted to tragic effect when Adun fakes his Conclave-ordered extermination of the Dark Templar and starts teaching them psionic tricks to stay hidden. This leads to the inexperienced Dark Templar accidentally unleashing a psionic storm that causes destruction across Aiur.
- Life Drinker: Ulrezaj is revealed to do this to his followers to maintain his dark archon form, which would normally burn itself out.
- Mad Love: Ethan is head over heels for his new queen Kerrigan. She did not reciprocate, which he only realized too late when Kerrigan severed the psionic link and abandoned him after he was severely wounded during the battle on Ehlna.
- Mêlée à Trois: Multiple times between the various factions due to their interest in Ramsey: the Shel'na Kryhas, Ulrezaj and the Tal'darim (no relations to the Tal'darim of StarCraft II), the Zerg Swarm, the Dominion, and the Daelaam.
- Messianic Archetype:
- Khas as portrayed in Firstborn is a sort of Crystal Dragon Buddha for the mainstream protoss, as the founder of the Khala after traveling on a journey to discover lost knowledge of the Xel'Naga.
- Adun in Shadow Hunters is one for the Dark Templar (and to a lesser extent the mainstream Protoss) for sacrificing his life to protect them from the Conclave.
- Previous Player-Character Cameo: Both protoss player characters in StarCraft appear in Twilight's supporting cast: Praetor Artanis, the PC of the original campaign, and Executor Selendis, believed but not confirmed to be the PC from Brood War.
- Reforged into a Minion: Ethan Stewart was captured by the Zerg while on the operating table and infested, becoming Kerrigan's consort and one of her troop leaders.
- Scenery Porn: Twilight goes into great details of the pink planet Zeratul is using as a sanctuary, with Zamara noting that the environment of the planet is good for mental health.
- Series Continuity Error:
- The StarCraft manual states the Ara Tribe was founded by Khas and his students after his rediscovery of the Khala. Firstborn depicts Khas as a member of the Shelak Tribe, which is attacked by the Ara Tribe at one point.
- Ladranix claims protoss had not killed each other since the Aeon of Strife, apparently forgetting the civil war that happens during StarCraft's protoss campaign between Tassadar and the Conclave (less than a decade before this novel).
- These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: Zamara is annoyed at Jake tapping into the Khala to create a distraction for the Dominion fleet pursuing him, as the Khala is not meant for Terrans.
- The Worm Guy: Jake is regarded as something of a quack in the scientific community, but Valerian still pulls him out of the ass-end of nowhere to investigate the Xel'Naga ship.
