Urisha Society
Introduction
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After Arkverse's End, The New Gods created a universe even more vast and complex than the last. And at it's centre a jewel that shined brighter than any other planet they had crafted: Earth. They then carefully constructed and appointed Urisha to watch over their creation. These Demi-Gods serve The New Gods and all their creation selflessly - a responsibility they refer to as "The Grand Purpose". Each has an Onus that supports The Grand purpose, maintaining balance, order and security within the universe from their home on The Oruka, a ring encircling the sphere of the Earth.
Urisha Ranks
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Urisha society is hierarchical with each Urisha receiving a rank based on their Onus or level of power. Ranks can change throughout an Urisha's life, although most will remain at the same rank until their life is over.
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The main four ranks are:
Prime Urisha: The leaders of all Urisha. It is their Onus to take the lead in making sure the Grand Purpose is carried out. All other Urisha follow and answer to them. And they answer to the no one but the New Gods.
Praised Urisha: Those that watch over the other major elements and features of the Earth. Working under the Prime Urisha to make sure just the right amount of intervention takes place to ensure humanity does not wipe itself or the rest of the world out.
Bound Urisha: These lower level Urisha still stand out among their Prosaic peers. Though not as gifted as the Primes or Praised, they still have amazing abilities that they have honed enough to work as agents for their superiors and the Grand Purpose. There are also a group among their number who have unremarkable gifts, but stand out among the Prosaic as those fit to administrate and organise the Oruka and keep Urisha society running.
Prosaic Urisha: Gifted with longevity, strength and endurance, the Prosaic are the everyday civilians of the Oruka. They look like normal humans but are so much more. They look like the Primes but are so much less. They carry out the banal everyday tasks that help keep their society running, therefore doing their part in the outworking of the Grand Purpose.
In this project, the higher the rank, the lower the editions of the NFT, therefore creating natural levels of rarity. There are also subdivisions within some ranks:
Young Prosaic: Children to young too be officially ranked or given an Onus.
Ancient prosaic: Elderly Urisha who have retired from normal Urisha work. Primarch - The two heads of the Prime Urisha.
Life, Death, and Aging
The concept of life and death is a peculiar thing to the Urisha. They do not fear or run from aging the way humans do, nor does death carry its usual sting – although there is still grieving. The purpose of all Urisha is to fulfil their Onus as completely as they can, and in doing so, further The Grand Purpose. As long as they achieve this, age and death does negatively affect them or cause irrational decision-making.
Despite their longevity, Urisha do not tend to have many children, and it is considered a privilege to raise or care for the next generation. Young Urisha remain children for at least a hundred years, with each individual maturing to adulthood at their own individual pace. Not all Urisha are born on The Oruka and not all Urisha are born from Urisha - but that is a story for another day.
“So how long does an Urisha live?” one might ask. The answer is not simple. An Urisha who lives a standard life, can live for over 3000 years, but there are some Urisha who have lived for over 10,000. This is possible due to “Idaduro” – a state that Urisha can descend into that preserves their life force and suspends them in time. When in Idaduro, an Urisha’s awareness is largely dulled and they may not fully be aware of what is going on around them. Many Urisha will make use of this state if their Onus requires that they be present and at full strength in a future time. For example, the Atlas Twins are often in Idaduro because their skills are often required and no suitable replacement for them has been found. As such they have been able to serve The Grand Purpose for over 4000 years.
Family Structure in Urisha Society
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Families are important to Urisha society, but in a slightly different way to humans. The entire Urisha civilisation considers themselves to be a massive family all striving towards the same purpose. The closest bonds between Urisha tend to be between those who work together in a specific area such as Water Onus Urisha, Fauna Onus Urisha etc. Urishas do not get married, but will often partner up for extended amounts of time and then part ways, perhaps a century or two later. This works for the long and Onus-focused lives that Urisha live, and provides stability for young Urisha to grow to adulthood in, however this can sometimes cause havoc on Earth.
Urisha who have the privilege of being able to travel to Earth to carry out their Onus are famous for mixing with the humans and often having children with them. These children have a very small chance of developing Urisha traits upon reaching adulthood, and as such, Urisha will often have to either leave their children on Earth or keep them on/take them to the Oruka if they begin to manifest Urisha abilities. This of course can result in much heartache for the human family members left behind or for the children who were not as special as they thought. In the past this has led to problems such as the Great Human Siege, which was crushed by the Bound Urisha Unsin and her soldiers during her third century as the Urisha of Security.
Primarchs refuse to outlaw mixing with humans because it helps to maintain the Urisha population, and the majority of these relationships don’t end negatively, often both humans and Urisha alike find it a privilege to spend time with each other and consider it a part of The Grand Purpose. Certain Urisha disagree with this line of thought, and this will no doubt be hotly debated amongst the candidates for future Primarchs.
Primarchs
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Have you ever wondered what makes a Primarch? Is it power? Intelligence? Age?
Truth be told, it is all three and more. The Primarchs are among the most powerful of all Urisha, and always have an Onus centred around the fundamental forces of the Earth and civilisation, such as justice, love or fire (Please note that Urisha under these Onus are always Praised or Prime and are watched closely by all).
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Primarchs must be able to delegate effectively and must be intelligent and well-tempered – neither too harsh nor too soft. The Primarchs are not dictatorial and often leave most decisions to the appropriate Prime or Praised Urisha, but they do this at their own discretion and may sometimes bypass other Urisha to make final decisions individually or as a pair.
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There are always two Primarchs and they are never the same gender, and they are never from the same generation. Currently, Emaja the Urisha of Love and Motherhood, and Egun the Urisha of Fire and Metal are the Primarchs. Emaja is approaching three thousand years old, while Egun - who was appointed around 700 years ago when the last male Primarch died – is around 1000 years younger than her.
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A Primarch does not need to die in order for a new one to be appointed, and Emaja has made it known that she will not rule until death. Primarchs select their heirs at any point in their lifetime, and will sometimes change the heir several times.
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It is common knowledge that Praised Urisha Aya will replace Primarch Emaja and many are worried for two reasons. Firstly, Aya’s aggressive disregard for life and overall temperament does not match well with Egun, who is himself known for his hotheadedness, and secondly, Aya and Egun are very similar in age with only a few hundred years separating them. Emaja, however, predicts troublesome times ahead for the Urisha and Earth, and believes that Aya and Egun will provide the strong leadership necessary to make sure a bright future is assured.