Zayre

The Zayre were a sentient, birdlike species native to the Unknown Regions, forced from there by the Eborax disease which swept through their species, although they were later given Ankarr. They were also called the Avengers due to their unforgiving nature and lust for revenge.

History[]

Driven from their homeworld by the Eborax disease, the Zayre migrated outward on a fleet of biological vessels called Bearers, seeking new worlds to inhabit. Eventually, they stumbled across several worlds they deemed suitable, and in the process made contact with the Srav Federation on the planet of Hypori, resulting in a pitched battle. Following this, they chose to ally with the main enemies of the Sravs, the fascist Necasian Military, who granted them space on the planet of Havez to live.

Eventually, however, the leader of the Zayre, Storm Ironwings, decided she had feelings for Necasian leader Carsal Redharn. When Redharn was scheduled for execution as a result of the machinations of his underling Askar Invado, Ironwings staged a rescue in the city of Ilatas, breaking the treaty with the Necasians and forcing the Zayre to move to the world of Ankarr, which they had already surveyed. The Zayre proceeded to fully colonize the world, setting up a capital city, and as the war went on and they faced off several threats to their world they developed new weapons such as crystal bombs.

Nevertheless, the Srav Federation soon gained knowledge of their presence on Ankarr, and staged a successful invasion and occupation. The Zayre considered this period as one of the darkest in their history, facing intensive suppression under Srav rule. Despite this, Ironwings and Redharn were able to remain free, and eventually were able to make their way offworld to join the United Coalition of Worlds. Redharn would later sacrifice himself during the final battle of the war, in which Ironwings partook. Following the war, with their numbers depleted, the Zayre resolved to go into a state of isolationism to recover.

Culture[]

The Zayre had a very warlike culture, and were a very warlike species. The hierarchy of the Zayre species was based upon battle prowess, and strength with weaponry and other tools of war. The more powerful in Zayre culture would be the ones who had gained reputation in battle, and each Zayre belonged to a clan, or tribe. Each tribe would consist of around fifty to two hundred Zayre, and the clans would regularly engage in wars over territory and over goods, keeping alive the Zayre culture of survival of the fittest. Eventually, it became so that each new born Zayre baby was tested before being allowed to live by the clan elders, and the baby would be put through a number of exercises. If it was deemed worthy it would be allowed into the village. If not, it would be killed and its body burnt, a terrible punishment in Zayre culture.

In Zayre culture the female Zayre were the most powerful, being better adapted than the male Zayre, with large, powerful wings and being more powerful, and due to the fact that, in Zayre religion, the 'God', the Great Warlordess was female. In Zayre government, both in clans and in the High Zayre Government, it was the women who held the power, and the leaders of the whole species in desperate times were all, notably, warlordesses, such as Warlordess Storm Ironwings, with the only notable exception being that of Warlord Hurricane Tempest. The reasons for this was because the females were stronger than the males in battle, having adapted originally from their primitive state and from guarding their young fiercely during the mating season.

All young Zayre, once accepted into the tribes, would have to fight their way from birth. From the age of two, they would attend sparring and combat lessons in the Clan, and would be separated from their parents. The academies where these lessons would take place would be led by a Teacher of War, and these were filled with violent fights going on between the young acolytes. There was no submission in these fights, and the way that an acolyte would win would be to concuss his opponent. If the Zayre lost a sparring match, the young Zayre would be locked in a dark hut for up to a day and a half, depending on the age, with no food or water, and would be flogged every few hours, depending upon the age, to promote survival of the fittest. Any Zayre who tried to flee or backed out of a fight would be given to the other acolytes for punishment. Often, the victim would be killed.

They attended this school up to the age of twenty four, when they were transferred to the tribes war camp. This war camp was usually led by a revered war veteran. Whereas they had only learnt un-armed combat in the childhood camps, they were now instructed in a variety of different weapons, such as the stave, battle staff and sword. They trained here until the age of thirty, when they were finally inducted into the tribe fully. On average, only about 83% of the original number from the childhood school made it through into the Clan.

They would then fight in their clans wars. It was Zayre custom to not leave any fighting members of the other clans alive in battle, and it was always a fight to the death. The members of the clan who were either too young to be fighting in their Clan's wars, or too weak, were then brutally enslaved. There were no Zayre rules about the treatment of slaves, and it was often horriffic. After many wars, when a Zayre reached an old age, they would be allowed to retire, and become a War Veteran. These War Veteran's would then take the combat camps, or do other jobs for the Clan.

Males in Zayre culture, if too weak to fight, would be the ones who would gather food for the tribe, or do the cleaning or other domestic labor that would need to be done.

Zayre clans normally kept to themselves, however they were under the jurisdiction of the High Council. The clans were solitary by nature however, in times of war when the Great Muster was called, the Zayre would answer and put aside old wars to join in one great army beneath the Warlord or Warlordess. In times of war, they would fight in their clans, but would have close contact with the other clans.

Religion and beliefs[]

The Zayre believed heavily in the importance of gaining honor through war, as they believed that they must gain honor in order to reach Zarrisma, the Zayre equivalent of 'heaven'. Their beliefs said that they would only be allowed before the Great Warlordess and allowed to rest in eternal peace in Zarrisma if they had done deeds worthy enough of being allowed entrance. They believed that, if they were refused entrance, they were tied to the Wheel of Repentance, and made to be reborn again and again, until there spirit eventually wasted away into eternity.

To reach Zarrisma also, a Zayre would have to be entombed into a Funeral Urn, and have the Rights of Passage spoke over them by a Zayre priest to be able to ascend to the Hall of Judgement. The more a Zayre had done in their life, and the higher their position, the better the Funeral Urn they would be entombed in. They believed that the Urn would help the Great Warlordess to see what they had done, and make it easier for them to ascend to Zarrisma. The punishment reserved for heretics or for the babies that were deemed to weak was to be burnt, and their ashes scattered. This would mean that they wouldn't be placed in a Funeral Urn, and would have no way for them to ascend to Zarrisma. This was considered the ultimate punishment for a Zayre, and was reserved, apart from the rejected babies, only for the greatest sinners. The Urns would then be placed in the caverns that every tribe had beneath their tribe, in a large alcove.

The Zayre also believed heavily in the importance of material items, and they would make offerings of large items made of rare or expensive materials to the Great Warlordess, as they believed that she delighted in these gifts. They also believed that she delighted in sacrifice, and enemies slain in battle would be beheaded and their heads taken to the tribes altar, as a gift to the Goddess. Unlike some other species, like the Rakata, they didn't believe in drinking the blood of their enemies, preferring to give it to their goddess.

Appearance and anatomy[]

Zayre had the appearance of large, winged humans. There were subtle differences between the male and female Zayre, none of them drastic however. On average, the male Zayre was as tall, however more thin and less strong in battle. The female Zayre had larger thigh muscles, and slightly more muscular biceps. Both Zayre sexes had arms, although they had specialist muscles in the shoulders for folding these into the back of their wings, for better aerodynamicy during flight. As well as the differences between the sexes that were also present in humans, however the female Zayre also had a larger arch in their back, due to the position and shape of the spinal column. Males also had this, but less prominent. This was due to the spinal column starting at a small nub above the coxix, and arching inwards to finish at a small nape at the back. As well as this, Zayre had taloned feet, very like a bird.

In addition to the arch in the back, the Zayre also had small nubs of bone on the shoulder bones, where the wings started. The wings sprouted from large the shoulder blades, which were larger and protruded more than those of humans. From these bone structures on the back, a thin, light bone structure branched outwards, and the wings were set upon these. The Zayre's wing bones were very thin, however they had the same simple bone structure weight as that of humans. To compensate for this weight, the shoulder and wing muscles had tremendous tension built up inside them so that they could allow the Zayre to become airborne.

Internally, the Zayre were very different from humans; whilst they still had the basic organs such as intestines and bladder's, Zayre didn't have an appendix. There rib cage was much larger, giving them a larger torso area, as the heart and lungs were much bigger, for working in higher altitudes. The intestines also had another tube, and their jaw muscles were very powerful, for tearing raw meat. Although they resembles humans, and showed some human traits, they were very different from humans. Whereas humans would prefer to eat cooked food, Zayre would eat it raw, tearing huge chunks from a recently dead animal with their claws and talons. Zayre also had extendable claws. They had large bone nubs on each nuckle and, when flexed correctly, large claws would sprout from the fingers, giving them the appearance of eagles.

In the air, Zayre had the ability to lift up with no running needed. Whilst they flew as if lying face downwards in the air, they had the ability to hover, and hold themselves in a standing position in midair. In flight, Zayre relied upon flying through the drafts of air, as they preferred to use air currents to propel themselves forwards, with the occasional flap of the wings involved. For this reason, they were able to circle above areas of land, as well as hovering. They could, however, use their wings and, when trying to travel with speed, they would use their wings more often. When trying to attack an enemy below, they would fold their wings and plummet into a nose-dive, before using their wings to pilot into the enemy, where they would break their dive with their wings, before attacking the enemy.

The skin and hair color of Zayre varied greatly, although Zayre were normally golden, black or maroon or another shade of red colour. The hair colour's sometimes followed the skin colour, however this was not always the case. There were instances of albino Zayre, who would be completely white skinned and white haired, although these occasions were vary rare. The albino Zayre were, by nature, more violent than the other Zayre, although they were also smaller in size and stature.

To other species, Zayre were considered to be a powerful and dangerous species, and they were often looked upon with fear. They weren't particularly strange looking to most species, as most species saw the heavy resemblance to humans. Humans didn't think of the Zayre as vvery different looking from their own species, and there were several instances when Zayre and Human hybrids were born. Their enemies looked upon them with fear, and referred to them, to keep morale up inside their faction, as animals.

Diet[]

It always was quite disconcerting to see my wife come home and tear apart raw meat before my eyes after a hard day...
—One of the humans who married a Zayre

The Zayre's natural diet was composed of large, warm-blooded creatures, such as Gizka,Cannoks and the Fettershens native both to Annkar and the Dimensional Chasm. They would tear these apart and feed upon them raw, although they could cook them. The Zayre would feed upon large quantities of meat to build up energy and strength, as they used up large amounts of energy during flight.

The males would be the ones who hunted for the tribes, as they were, on average, lower in the tribe hierarchy than the females. They would spend many days out hunting for the pack. They would have three to five groups of hunting parties in varying numbers, to take down the larger creatures, and they would all drop out of the sky and work together to bring it down. They would then take the carcasses back to the tribe where they would be eaten. In true Zayre culture, the larger more powerful Zayre would try and take the meat from the weaker ones.

Some Zayre married into Human families, and lived on planets populated by humans, where they ate vegetables and cooked meat. Despite being able to eat this, they always preferred to eat their meat raw.

Hierarchy[]

The Zayre had a battle based hierarchy, based upon an individuals battle prowess. In terms of organization, the Zayre had a military hierarchy, even in times of peace, apart from between the clans, as there monarch had the title of Warlord or Warlordess. Beneath them, they would have the High Council, a Council composed of four High Generals and the High Priest. Beneath them stood the five Commanders in Chief, and then beneath them the Tribe Council, a Council chaired by a High General and composed of all of the Tribe chieftains. The rest of the species would then be split into military roles such as the role of lieutenant, and these would make up the Government of the Zayre.

Beneath the ruling government under which all of the clans fell under the jurisdiction of, each tribe or clan had a military based hierarchy also. The Chieftains led their tribe and were also part of the overall government in times of need. They would lead their clans in any and all wars. Below them they had the Teacher of War, who would be their vice leader, but would normally refrain from going to war. Then they had a small council, composed of the strongest and fiercest Zayre in the Clan, and the Tribe Priest. The Priest would perform the rights of passage and consult the Great Warlordess in times of war. They would then, beneath them, have lieutenants and then the normal soldiers. Below them they would have the weak or infirm, normally males, that would be the ones who hunted and stayed behind in times of war. Therefore, each tribe had its own hierarchy.

Despite it being war based, each tribe hierarchy was normally the same, and based upon their High Government, for organization. It was arranged so that, apart from in the case of the Warlord or Warlordess, each rank would only be commanded by the rank above, and only command the rank below, so any commands they had from above would be passed in a chain down to the lowest rank with minimal effort, showing an organized hierarchy. Although based upon pure strength, the Zayre also had a natural ability to think, so this hierarchy wasn't a complete mess.

Customs[]

Marriage[]

As a species who placed great value in tradition and material value, the Zayre also valued their ceremonies very highly. Apart from their religious ceremonies, marriage was the next most important ceremony to be attended and, for the Zayre being married, it was thought of as the highest ceremony that one could be in. It was conducted by the Zayre Priest in the main building of a Zayre tribe, and all of the tribe members, whilst it not being mandatory, would make great effort to attend. The female Zayre would be dressed in silken red robes, to represent the blood of her family, which would now be merged with the blood of another, and the male Zayre would wear the white robes of submission, as the women held more power in Zayre culture. The Priest would then conduct the ceremony before a large golden altar, where they would be blessed in the name of the Great Warlordess and then have rings forged from Sky Iron, the substance found all over Ankarr, before beginning their life together. In Zayre culture, marriage was considered a sacred bond, and there was no way, bar death, of severing the bond. In the eyes of the Great Warlordess, even the males who didn't fight were purified by their partner, and would, in Zayre belief, also rise to join the Great Warlordess at the time of death.

Exile[]

For the Zayre, the Exile of another Zayre was an important occasion, and a chance for abuse to be thrown at the Exiled one. The Exiled one, who had committed a crime such as a great failure, or had fled in battle, would be Exiled in the village by the Tribe Chieftain, before the rest of the village. Exile was a punishment designed to be only escapable by death, as all Exiles were for life, rather than a set period of time. The Zayre about to be Exiled would be chained to a metal post and would be branded on the stomach and back with the Mark of the Exile. The Clan chief would then sever them from any connection to the Clan, whilst the Priest would say the rites that would deny the Exile a place in Zarrisma. The Exile was then effectively 'dead' to the clan, and would be forced to set out into the wilderness beyond the tribe as, with the Mark of the Exile, no tribe would take them in. In the wilderness, they were at danger from all the other clans and from all the wild beasts but also from their own Clan. Zayre custom dictated that any Zayre exiled may have a full day to run into the wilderness, before their clan may chase them and kill them, if they were discovered. There was very little hope for the Zayre who were Exiled, but some managed to live for many years in a hermit like existence.

The Gift of Thought Ceremony[]

The biggest religious festival of the whole Zayre as a species was the Gift of Thought Ceremony, which was celebrated annually by the whole Zayre species on a planet, and by each individual tribe. They celebrated being given the Gift of Thought by the Great Warlordess, and they celebrated being able to hunt their enemies and prey in an intelligent and skilful way. In honor to the beauty of the Great Warlordess, the Zayre would cover their camps with garlands of flowers, and the female Zayre would wear blue silken robes to show intelligence and ability in the Great Warlordess' eyes. The males would also celebrate, wearing green robes to celebrate the Gift of Thought being given to themm, but not the Gift of Strength. Hanging lanterns would be hung up around the village, and the Zayre would gather around a large bonfire and tell tales of their Exploits and their victories until midnight, when the Priest would say the blessings and would lead the Zayre in praise and in thanking the Great Warlordess. Often, many Zayre clans would come together to celebrate this event, and it signified a month of peace in Zayre culture, as it fell in the middle of one month. No Zayre may attack another Zayre in that month or they would be Exiled.

Species personality[]

The Zayre were often described by the species that they, on occasions, came into contact with as having very complex personalities; they were very fierce and violent yet were also loving. Of their mate or, as called in Zayre culture 'consort', the Zayre would show great love and affection and would, also, show great love for their young, although they recognized the need to be separated from them, so that their offspring could be trained. They had a high sense of honor, and took vows and oaths very seriously; indeed a broken vow could easily lead to death or exile. The Zayre also were very serious, and hardly ever made jokes, mainly, due to their violent and war based culture.

Zayre who were exposed to heavy human contact showed some signs of becoming more human, and showing human traits, although they always retained heavy Zayre traits, such as the ability to eat raw meat, and the warlike personality and deep sense of honor. This honor was shown in the way that Zayre valued oaths and promises very highly, and despised breaking these oaths. Self-imposed exiles were also frequent amongst the Zayre; if a Zayre felt that they had failed in some way, they would self impose themself into exile in the wilderness.

The Zayre also placed great respect in positions of power, and showed great respect to those above them. This was not an attempt to gain favor with the ones of higher rank, but the personality of their species was as such as to decree that positions of power deserved respect. Their personality was also one that wouldn't admit failure, as they would fight on until either dead or truly beaten. Those who failed or retreated or fled in battle were exiled. There were exceptions to all of the aforementioned personalities of the Zayre, however they weren't very common.

Force-sensitivity[]

As they came from the Dimensional Chasm, where The Light had used tremendous amounts of force power to imprison Morwyn Zamorr in the beginning, part of this force power had came onto the Zayre. Although the Zayre hadn't realised it, there species was naturally force sensitive. With the proper training, many of the Zayre would have, and some even did, make excellent Jedi, however the Zayre didn't always recognize this ability. When a Zayre was born that was so force sensitive that it was obvious, they were thought of as a gift from the Great Warlordess, and praised as a guardian for the tribe. However, in the reign of Ashaltar Storm, Storm gathered all of the force sensitives in the Zayre species and assigned them to work for her as magicians and advisers. Storm was considered a cruel ruler, and the Zayre force sensitives were eventually forced to flee into the wilderness. In the wilderness, they made a large monastery in the mountains above the planet, where no other tribes were, and started cultivating their force sensitivity, learning its ways and how to use it.

Force sensitivity was valued as a great gift in Zayre culture, although they considered it to be magic, as tney had no understanding of the force. Typically, a force sensitive Zayre would have more skill with weaponry but less brute strength, whereas many Zayre purely used brute strength. Many of them, after the reign of Ashaltar Storm, were given high positions in the tribe but, after the reign of Storm, the force sensitives decided that they wouldn't allow anything like her reign to happen again, so they appointed people in each tribe to make sure that the young force sensitive Zayre found their way to the monastery.

Behind the scenes[]

The Zayre have their own theme.