Category:Asura

Lore:
Their entire civilization was underground until Primordus forced many of the subterranean races to the surface. For the most part, asura do not have typical family structures. They do not have surnames, as they are usually identified by which krewe they work for, or a title that they have earned or (more likely) made up for themselves to be relevant and inflate their sense of importance.

Individual names follow a general convention of male names having a hard consonant sound at the end (Arkk, Gixx, etc.) and females ending with a vowel (Zojja, Zildi, Taimi). This is just a loose indicator of 'traditional' names, as many asura ignore this entirely and might pick something that sounds good when read on patent papers, or if it sounds cool. For example, Shaarku ends in a vowel. It doesn't mean he's feminine by asura standards by having that naming convention. It actually comes from Lord of the Rings, what the orcs call Saruman the White in the epilogue of Return of the King when he tries to wreck the Shire. It's a derogatory term for "Old man".

Krewes are work groups that are all contracted to think and invent toward the same goal or sphere of study. They often are named like buzzwords (Incinergen, Opticalium) to advertise and hook in potential lab assistants and easily duped geniuses. Titles are what you make of them. Oftentimes they are meant to show a specialization within one's krewe, or personal studies. A geology krewe could have a Volcanologist, Seismologist, or someone as mundane as 'Assistant' until they find something to get noticed for.

Family structure is contractually based, at least in the area of Metrica Province / Rata Sum. The further out you go, the more blended with other cultures it can get. A husband and wife will go into contract to secure resources for their respective krewes for joint ventures. Generally this is for a predetermined amount of time, and has specific ending clauses. These can range from "until the Ley-Matter Restabilizer is completed" to "The birth of one progeny", and other more vain clauses. Regardless, the contract will end, and neither party will have no obligation to the other, though generally children are provided for under these contracts. Sudden death of family / orphaning of children will  send them to Progeny Protective Services.

As an asura player, your character will likely be asked which 'college' they attended. Traditionally raised asura aim for college entry around the early teens. It may seem early, but progeny are capable of speaking (if only baby talk and simple words) within days, if not weeks of being born. There are three colleges:

College of Dynamics: To understand the world, its magic, and the workings of the Eternal Alchemy, its boundaries must be pushed, broken, and re-assessed. These are the forward thinkers, experimental tinkerers, and 'mad chemists' of asuran society. They attack problem at strange angles, and oftentimes invent something in the process of failing to do something else.

College of Statics: Reality is a fixed state, and a firm grasp of that reality will allow us to shape it to our will. These are your architects, doctors, even lawyers. Their studies are more focused on what is already established, in order to have a full understanding of a problem's background before pursuing an answer. Medicine and law studies do change, but at a much slower pace than anything Dynamics would have to offer.

College of Synergetics: Everything is interconnected, from the smallest insect to the Human Gods, everything has an effect on the world, and once we understand that connection, the answers will fall into place. This is the more philosophical/theoretical side of education. Theoretical physics, ethics (as it  pertains to asuran society, as they have a different sense of what is 'right'), and seemingly random points of study to investigate the world's impact on it.

Each college, while realizing that these different approaches are what balance  asuran society, will still fight to claim one college is superior to the other two.

The domains of study are not hard-set either. A medical student can join Synergetics to focus on how certain concepts affect the field and the body. Shaarku is a graduate of Synergetics, and has several medical degrees, as well as a focus on the ethics and effects of necromedicine.

Actually, a word on the Inquest. They are a 'meta krewe', they don't focus on a singular point of interest, they're basically a society unto themselves. Originally founded to safeguard asuran secrets after the Exodus forced them to leave so much behind in the wake of the Destroyers, they now seem to be an actively malevolent force, canning any form of ethical restraints to establish their own superiority, not necessarily for all asurakind.

The government of Rata Sum often delegates tasks to the Inquest, as they are the group most likely to get results quickly, regardless of -how- they get them. Some of the notable experiments have been mind-golem interfacing (resulting in the deaths of dozens, if not hundreds), dragon minion manipulation, creation, and 'energy' from them (See Kudu/Kuda) which are often unleashed on a local population, or really bad lab interns, and the creation of the modern Scarab Plague.

They operate like a pyramid scheme, but instead of selling products, you're trying to generate ideas and mental capital to be noticed by your superiors to get a promotion. Of course, accidents do happen and vacancies are often fought over viciously by the people who  likely killed the one in that position in the first place.

A note on Asura "religion" - They are a scientific race, and therefore VERY not impressed by the following of spirits/gods by other races. "Gods" in this universe exist, but they are more like REALLY strong casters, etc, so it's not like Asura go around claiming they don't exist - they know they do, Asurans just prefer to revere science over dogma.

They believe in something called the "Eternal Alchemy," which, put simply, is the equation that determines all life, all patterns. The Synergetics College, being more the philosophical one, are where the theories of the Eternal Alchemy are studied and philosophized on the most. (edited)

Roleplaying an Asura:
Asuran technobabble can be rough to RP sometimes. Just remember, while a thesaurus is fun to use, words can still have contextually different  meanings. "Run" and "Dash" for example, invoke different images of motion. Otherwise, pay attention to the NPCs and how they smash words together, blending fantasy words with real life concepts. Necromedicine, thaumanuclear energy, ectoplasmic capacitance, etc.You don't always have to use the longest or most obscure word!