Blizzard has just released an animated cinematic which details Artanis and a companion discussing the past, present and future of the Protoss race, shortly before the decision to invade their homeland is due to come.

The animated short features Artanis doubting his own motives behind leading an end-all strike to reclaim the Protoss homeworld, Aiur. During his pessimistic monologue, he ponders that elements of the past shouldn’t always be held on a pedestal, and questions if Aiur should be part of the future for his race. Beside him, the more optimistic Kel’danis not only offers a fresh perspective, but announces he will lead the first wave as the tip of the spear - a gesture which more or less implies his likely death.

 

[HTML1]

It’s a fairly over-dramatic scene, but emphasizes a large focus on the sacrifices the Protoss have made and have yet to make. Presumably, this scene will take place canonically after Whispers of Oblivion, the prologue campaign which shines more light on the aforementioned dark templar, and their search to finally unlock the last secrets of the Xel’Naga.

It’s already known that Artanis will have a deadly showdown with Zeratul at some point, so clearly peace isn’t exactly on the horizon for all sects of the Protoss race. Given the strong focus the trailer makes on Khala, the force which connects each member of the Protoss, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Legacy of the Void campaign shine a huge focus on this element of the Protoss connection.

The trailer ends with the pivotal “My Life for Aiur” statement made famous from the zealots in the original StarCraft. If ever the saying carried much weight with gamers, it would be now.

The closing chapter of the StarCraft 2 trilogy will arrive more than 2 years after Heart of the Swarm released, mostly due to the huge amount of balancing and fine-tuning from Blizzard, who infamously spent more than 5 years fine-tuning the engine for StarCraft 2 itself. Thankfully, that wait is almost at an end - and the sequel trilogy should come to an exciting conclusion.

StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void is due to arrive on November 10th for PC and Macintosh.