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Jur
Of Fire and Blood...
The Jur are one of the most ancient races to still live in this galaxy, second only to the Humans. Their homeworld is covered by an emerald sea pierced by great volcanoes. These volcanic slopes, covered in jungle rainforests and swamps, are
the sites of the great stone citadels of the secular warlords and the marble spires
of the temples of the Winds. The humid and hot air is thick and heavy with the pungent
smells of life, the incense, and the rhythmic chants, hymns, and prayers of the
Illuminates within the temples. The Jur are a fiercely independent people and their history is marked by many wars. Each island-volcano was its own small kingdom and each fought with all its neighbours. Bloodshed became so common that soon their population began to dwindle. Young males and females, seeking to gain social standing, would risk their lives in needless raids and conflicts - and in each one more and more of them would not return.
Their race was on the verge of exterminating itself. They stood on the edge of oblivion and have never forgotten that, nor how they stepped back from that edge. The great prophet Zalazarish, an ancient of a race that has passed beyond, came to them and taught them the Path of the Winds. Her great sermons and teachings spread across their world and the Jur adopted the Path wholeheartedly. Under her teachings they were able to see the influence of the horrid Ke'Ras and how they had been manipulated. The demons had stoked the flames of their anger and rage to suicidal heights. The war for their homeworld was long and bloody, but under the leadership of Zalazarish, the Jur rooted out the evil from their souls. The Jur say that on the slopes of Calasur, the mountain at the heart of their world, Zalazarish confronted the demon who had possessed them. None could see the battle, for there was only light and darkness that flow against each other like the tides. In the end, a brilliant flash of divine light erupted from the slopes of the mountain and when it had faded the demons were gone and so was Zalazarish.
On
Wings of Smoke and Flame...
Soon after, others of the ancients came and found the Jur ready. They were taken into the ranks of the Republic and fought the war along side the Ancients and the
Humans. Many were lost but their faith and courage made those Jur that served in the war some of the greatest warriors that had ever been seen. They used their rage to fuel their strength. Only the most lethal wounds could stop them and even then they would fight to their last breath. To see a Jur enraged is to see primal hatred unleashed and the strength of it is terrifying.
Now that war is a distant memory passed down in the manuscripts of the Divine Orthodoxy and taught to each of them from their hatching. After the first war the Jur returned to their homeworld. They spent the years between then and the second war in wandering. The Path sends them to wandering and soon Jur explorers had canvassed the galaxy and colonized many of the worlds. In that time the Jur interacted with the others races as much as they could. Driven by the Path to seek out new knowledge they sought advice, assistance, and friendship with the Humans
and Ajira. When the younger races arose in the galaxy they found the Jur very willing to talk with them and teach them. This has given the Jur a reputation for being just and honourable although their rage is legendary.
Of the Path and Isle...
Jur society is structured in the Divine Orthodoxy and each individual, from hatching to death, is ruled and guided by the Path of the Winds and the hope and purpose in life that it gives. Many think that their government is the worst form of dictatorship, one legitimized through religion, but they misunderstand the roles of the Prophet and the Illuminates. The dictates of the Orthodoxy are not binding, nor are they supposed to be. Instead, it is the codes of the Path that restrain the lives of the Jur. The Prophet is not a dictator but a visionary and teacher who guides and illuminates the Jur with his or her wisdom. Instead, local rule is delegated to the ancient island monarchs, known as Shraulo, who now rule solar systems. These Jur are autocratic despots that rule their sworn retainers with iron scaled fists. Relations between the Shraulo are the complex dances of honour and shame, glory and infamy that is the fabric of Jur society, constrained and defined by the Path and the Orthodoxy.
The Jur have no sense of family, the females lay their eggs in the sacred garden swamps of the temples and leave them to hatch and grow on their own. If a Jur meets one of its parents during its life, neither parent nor child is treated any differently than any other Jur. The Orthodoxy is what fills this void in their social structure and allows them to have a more meaningful connection with the others of their species, beyond just dominance and submission. At hatching, the young frolic and hunt in the waters and reeds of the gardens until they are old enough to comprehend language. Then one of the Illuminates gathers them and takes them into the temple to begin their education. Forty years later they will emerge from the gates of the temple ready to face the galaxy, as they tread the paths that the Winds take them.
A Life following the Path...
The life of a Jur is one of wandering and exploration of both the physical galaxy and their soul. Each treads the Paths of the Winds guided by the shifting courses and movements of the Eight Winds. Some of them have achieved great success and acclaim amongst the other races, but most pass silently and unnoticed like the soft sighs of the breezes. The others have come to respect the Jur for their dispassionate pursuit of justice, and many times a wandering Jur has been asked to mitigate a dispute or resolve some other type of conflict. Also, many have come to fear their anger and the cold and merciless retribution that they seek when their honour has been infringed. That is the dual burden that the Jur must carry while they are amongst the others. It is no wonder that many that spend much time amongst the other races have turned to the Phrasee, that potent sedative that the
Ajira manufacture. The Phrasee helps calm the stirrings of anger and rage that is the soul of a Jur and allows many of them to live amongst the others more easily. Those that live on strictly Jur worlds, however, consider this an abomination; to save face, Phrasee users go to great lengths to conceal their dependence.
"I am the depths of the marsh, I am the strength of the trees, I am the light of the sun, I am the speed of the winds - know me as I wander through space and time, for I see what no one sees, I am bornless, I am eternal."
— Zarazarish, The Teachings of the First Prophetsummary | return to top
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