Zariman Ten Zero

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Lore & Background

Before their fall, the Orokin realized the Origin System was dangerously depleted of resources. Their solution involved sending colony ships through the Void to reach new star systems. The Zariman Ten Zero was one such vessel, carrying colonists to terraform the Tau system. When the ship returned, it came back alone—not carrying Sentients, but with a catastrophic twist: all adults on board had gone mad from the Void travel, while the children survived, altered by the trans-dimensional space. These children were later named 'Tenno' after the ship's designation, 'Ten Zero.' They were put to sleep for millennia, outlasting the collapse of the Empire. The Lotus (Natah) was originally sent to eliminate them, but instead hid them on Lua—Earth's moon, which she moved into the Void after the fall of the Orokin Empire—where they already lay in cryosleep. Notably, the Stalker was not one of these children; he was a low-level Orokin worker who survived the Old War and later became a hunter of the Tenno.

In Their Own Story

The narrative reveals that the Operator is one of several children from the Zariman who survived the journey through the Void. The adults perished or went mad, but the children gained the power to control Warframes. The Lotus, originally the Sentient Natah, rebelled against her father Hunhow and her own kind to protect these surrogate children. She hid them in the Void on Lua, where they slept for millennia. The story deepens when the Stalker is sent by Hunhow to find the secret of the Tenno's location. Arriving too late to stop the Stalker from unveiling the entity, the Lotus dispatches the Tenno to confront him. It is revealed that the player character, controlling a Warframe, is actually the Operator—the true physical form of one of the Zariman children—projecting their consciousness into the biomechanical suit via Transference.

Reader's Guide

Players discover the truth about the Zariman through specific story quests released after "The Second Dream." The narrative arc begins with the ship's disappearance and its return as a source of madness and power. Key moments include learning that the Tenno are actually children from the Zariman, the role of the Lotus in hiding them on Lua, and the revelation of the Operator's true form. The quest "The War Within" introduces the Grineer Queens and allows the Operator to act fully as a playable entity. Later updates introduce figures like Ballas, one of the last living Orokin, who is assumed responsible for creating the Warframes, and the Man in the Wall, an entity from the Void. Understanding the Zariman's history is crucial to comprehending why the Tenno exist and their connection to the Sentients and the Old War.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Tenno' is short for 'Ten Zero,' the designation of the Zariman Ten Zero colony ship, and was applied to the children after the incident, not before or during the voyage.
• All adults aboard the Zariman went mad from Void travel, while only the children survived with supernatural powers.
• The Lotus (Natah) was sent to eliminate the Tenno children, but instead hid them on Lua, Earth's moon moved into the Void after the fall of the Orokin Empire—where they were already in cryosleep.
• The Tenno were in suspended animation for millennia, not centuries, before being hidden by Natah.
• The Operator is the true physical form of a Zariman child, controlling Warframes through a process called Transference.

Origins and Developmental Evolution

The concept for Warframe originated in 2000 when Digital Extremes began work on Dark Sector. After delays, Dark Sector was released in 2008 with significant deviations from its original plan. By 2012, the developers repurposed ideas and art assets from Dark Sector to create Warframe as a self-published project. First released for Windows in March 2013, it expanded to PlayStation 4 in November 2013, Xbox One in September 2014, Nintendo Switch in November 2018, PlayStation 5 in November 2020, and Xbox Series X/S in April 2021. Mobile releases followed with iOS in February 2024, Android in Canada on February 11, 2026 (global release on February 18, 2026), and Nintendo Switch 2 on March 25, 2026. Cross-platform play arrived in 2022, with full cross-platform save availability by January 2024.

The Zariman Ten Zero Tragedy

The Zariman Ten Zero was a colony ship sent through the Void to reach new star systems for the Orokin Empire. Upon its return, the adult passengers had all gone mad from the Void travel, while the children survived with powers granted by their exposure. The surviving children were placed into suspended animation for thousands of years, outliving the fall of the Orokin Empire. They were eventually found by the Lotus (Natah), who hid them on Lua in the Void. The name "Tenno" is short for "Ten Zero," the designation of the Zariman Ten Zero colony ship. These children became the Tenno warriors who control Warframes through Transference.

Factions and Galactic Conflict

All factions in the Origin System, including the Tenno, are created by or are splinter groups of the fallen Orokin Empire. The Grineer are a violent matriarchal race of militarized human clones; the Corpus is a cult-like megacorporation dedicated to profit; the Infested are disfigured victims of a zombie-like virus; and the Sentients are self-replicating machines created by the Orokin for terraforming. The Corrupted are brainwashed variants defending ancient Orokin towers. The Tenno, awakened from centuries of suspended animation, join an interplanetary war against these factions. Key story elements involve the Grineer Queens, the Stalker (sent by Hunhow), and mysterious entities like Ballas and the Man in the Wall.

Gameplay Mechanics and Progression

Warframe is a free-to-play action role-playing third-person shooter multiplayer online game developed and published by Digital Extremes. Players control Tenno who use biomechanical combat units called Warframes, along with weapons and abilities, to complete missions. Missions include procedurally generated levels, large open-world areas, and story-specific fixed-level missions. The game features shooting, melee combat, parkour, and role-playing elements. Players can engage in player versus environment or player versus player modes. Progression involves improving gear through grinding or microtransactions. Support for cross-platform play was released in 2022, with full cross-platform save availability by January 2024.