Uru

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Uru, born Uhuru, is the main protagonist in The Forges of Dawn and its sequel, The Thousand Winters. Her name changes in the second part of Book One, and remains as such from then on.
==Appearance==
Uhuru is an overly large and muscular Lyonesse, bigger than a number of the males she encounters, likely thanks to her father, who is also quite large, or lingering traces of Araawa's magic-warped genes. Her overall pelt color is of a blood-red hue, as are her irises, with paler red fur on her underbelly, muzzle, and around her eyes.
She wears typical Afriikan bark armor on the fronts of her legs, as well as on her back and chest, and generally carries water and other supplies in gourds hung around her neck. Her ornamentation consists of a bracelet of blue and white stones on her left front leg, a shard of bone piercing her right ear, and a cluster of bright blue feathers woven into the fur around her neck.http://iron-lyons.deviantart.com/art/Character-Uhuru-464600940?q=gallery%3AIron-Lyons%2F50250652&qo=0
After defeating Vireka, she takes and owns The Black Crown.
==Personality==
Uhuru is a brave and determined Lyonesse, compassionate and honorable, but isn't afraid to wreak bloody havoc on those who deserve it. She has honor and is loyal, but can be stubborn and rebellious. Her combative nature likely played a part in her wanting become a warrior as opposed to hunter (which she was decidedly not good at).
==Information==
===In Vicious Circle===
Just a young cub as the pride escapes the pale one, Fuga, and his pack of hounds, Uhuru and her cousins (save Moyo) are blissfully unaware as their family slips underneath the radar of the pale one hunting them, more specifically, Kamaria.
=== In The Forges of Dawn===
After losing a race to her friend Tarute, Uhuru is summoned by a scolded by her mother Asta for not taking her customary place in the pride as a huntress. Exasperated, Uhuru informs Asta that she has no wish to be a huntress and that, unlike her sister Oni, she is no good at it despite several moons of practice. When her mother suspects her and Tarute of messing around, Uhuru is disgusted and finally poses the question of what she truly wants to be within the pride: a sentry. Asta is not pleased, but doesn't deny her outright. She only informs her daughter that that place is traditionally held by a male lyon; she is not a male. Annoyed, Uhuru doesn't want to hear anymore of her mother's needling and she runs off, where she finds the cold spot.
Curious, she enters the grayed out portion of land after testing it's safety, and moves around within it. Uhuru finds a small, ColdFyre frozen bird on the ground as she investigates and makes the poor decision of touching it. It badly burns her paw and she cries out, found later by her father and uncle, Hotio and Koto. Uhuru is grateful for being saved but not very happy about her family keeping secrets from her. She has questions and when her father won't give her answers, she decides to be difficult. Hotio is a stubborn as she is, though, and ultimately it is Koto who gives his neice answers about the Pale Ones and their history and magic.
Some time later, The Pale Ones attack their home, seeking out a long-ago runaway from their number named Kamaria. They find her and kill Uhuru's father and uncle in the process, bringing the ire of the Red Queen down upon them. She follows the Hounds for days to the pale one stronghold, where she herself witnesses more of their horror before being captured and presented to the insane and evil white lyon, Vireka. Learning they have turned her friend Tarute into a hound and have broken Asta's legs, Uhuru swears to repay them terribly in kind when she gets the chance.
She escapes the clutches of the pale ones on the back of her houndified friend, barely traverses The Tempest alive, and is later found and pulled aboard a crudely made ship by a crew of Utans led by a female captain named Wulan. They keep her and Tarute alive with the intention to sell them, since everything from Afriik is of some value, but prince Lochan confiscates them for his own purposes before they can do anything. Uhuru and Lochan spend a few months together learning the others language, and the red lyonesse learns of her Mōbōric roots as well. She wants Lochan to teach her magic, but he refuses, not quite trusting her. With the war between the lyons and the tigrisians going on, it isn't wise to teach a stranger magic, he explains.
Unknown to them, the two scorned Utans have reported Lochan to the land's authorities, and they drag the two Lyons and hound from his royal home and throw them at Empress Chetna's feet. Lochan tries to reason with her, but fails, and then the three are taken to the dungeons. Uhuru is restless, and briefly gets into it with a smarmy maltese tigrisian named Yu Song. The tigris claims that Lochan isn't worth crying over -- he was just using Uhuru, but she does not believe this and bets her bracelet that it is a lie. When guards come to get Uhuru, and begin handling her roughly, Hound-Tarute gets angry and breaks the bears to his cell. He almost kills Uhuru, but she is able to use her magic to force him under her control.
The trio take off, find Lochan, and kill any guards in their way, meeting with Yu Song's crew. Yu Song's second -- the Tigrisa Tai Yang -- is instantly distasteful of Uhuru upon seeing her, but all of them hesitate when the large and monstrous Tarute appears on the scene. Uhuru hangs with the pirate crew for a while, intent on getting Lochan healed, and when they hand him off to the bonechewer Modak, Yu Song slinks away with Tai Yang to take care of some "business". He assigns one of his crew members, a disfigured and ratty looking Lyonesse named Navya to keep watch over Uhuru. Meanwhile, Yu Song reveals the true reason he is interested in those stones. Uhuru and Navya traverse the isles for something to do, originally planning to get a drink, but the red lyonesse begins looking for smiths who work metal. She finds one in the form of the Tigrisa Ming Huo, and like a true pirate, steals Navya's salt to pay for it. Angry, Navya runs off to tell Yu Song of the incident, and Ming Huo tells Uhuru that association with that Tigris makes her as good as dead.
She tells Uhuru to leave her shop and never return, but when the Lyonesse mentions no one in Afriik words Iron, Ming Huo makes moves to bring her back. Uhuru is stubborn an angry, but eventually accepts the tigrisa's help. While Navya is off, building the courage to tell Yu Song and Tai Yang of the current happenings, Uhuru and her new ally sneak off to steal Tarute and Lochan from under his nose. They get Modak to come along as well, or rather he follows, when he learns the Uhuru is the prophesied Red Queen. Lochan is roused, but proves Yu Song right when he tries to discourage Uhuru and keep her to himself. Uhuru is sad and angry, contemplating leaving him behind for Yu Song, but she knows the Tigris will torture him and cannot have that on her conscious. Grumbling, she brings him along, and the two head out for a ship Modak has bought for them, captained by a Tahra named Nikrti. She starts at seeing Tarute, and begins to refuse the quartet of animals, but threats of slander from Modak make her reconsider. Before anyone can go anywhere however, Yu Song and Tai Yang show up, the maltese tiger wanting to collect his prize. Uhuru gives it to him -- she throws it into the ocean, and he goes after it. Tai Yang throws a blade and Uhuru, aiming to kill her, but Lochan takes the hit and falls instead.
Despite her rage and betrayal, Uhuru cannot help but grieve over him, as Tarute rips Tai Yang to pieces. Nikrti begins setting off without them, but using Tarute's speed, they are able to catch up. The trip is tense and silent, and everyone can feel the raw rage emanating from Uhuru, even if she is silent. Modak dares approach her though, and with a new, hardened edge to her voice, Uhuru reveals that that is her name no longer.
She is Uru -- unbreakable diamond.
When Uru and company arrive in the Barbari Lands, she stops to train among the barbary Lyons, who are intrigued by her size, pelt, and slightly amused by her request. Iz and Hanu are her teachers, and from them she leans to somewhat predict her opponents moves. Meanwhile, Ming Huo works on her armor as well as extra sets for herself, Modak, and Tarute. When she is done, they ready to leave, but before they go Aloka, the pride's seer, predicts her future and tells her success is highly unlikely. She is offered to stay behind, as her battle prowess and size are most useful, but she declines. Uru could not live herself knowing her mother and pride were still on the run and being tortured while she lounged out of harm's reach.
Modak navigates the quartet through the waste without incident for a few days. Nearly a week, before Ming Huo sneezes and wakes the Guardians. The Lyons find themselves fleeing for the net few days, using Tarute's stamina and speed to put miles between themselves and the corpses, but he eventually tires and their only hope is to find the "white object" at the center of the Waste. Uru and co. do so, digging up the skull of the long dead Tšatši, and stopping the guardians as well as their hellish looking leader Nirnasha from harming her or her gang. After she gets her bearings, Uru settles down and Nirnasha gives her some background information on the Waste.
Later, she is able to imbue her armor with the power of the SunFyre by Ming Huo's instruction, don Tšatši's skull as a mask, and wear the deceased Lochan's mane as a psuedo-mane of her own to appear as some evil, demonic god. With this intimidating disguise, she begins her march on the Black Mountains. Vireka shrugs off any and all word of her arrival, and just as he begins his marriage ceremony with Oni, Uru arrives and attacks. She chases the white Lyon to his Fyre pit, where he stores his ColdFyre, with Nirnasha at her heels.
The ensuing conflict sees Tšatši dead at last, as well as Nirnasha who is revealed to be the dark Lyon Mōbōr. Tarute dies too, and the grief Uhuru feels over it is so immense she inadvertently creates a new type of Fyre -- HeartFyre. This kills Vireka and, with a few hints from Mōbōr, enables Uhuru to bring Tarute back to life.
===In The Thousand Winters===
Uru will again feature as the main character in Thousand Winters where she must face an old adversary she left behind in Endia while on her quest: the maltese tigrisian Yu Song. 
==Abilities==
Uhuru's magic, like all from Mōbōr's bloodline, lies within the very blood of her veins. At this time, her particular magical 'talent' has not solidified, so her abilities take a broader range:
*Translocation
*Awakening/Ressurection
*Hound Control
*HeartFyre
==Trivia==
*The Fyre bracelet Uhuru has actually isn't the same as the necklace Kudisan has.
==References==
Category:Female Characters
Category:Lyons
Category:Lyonesses
Category:Protagonists
Category:Red Queens
Category:Magic Users
Category:Afriikans
Category:High Ranked Characters
Category:Royals
Category:Usurpers
Category:Ladies
Category:FoD characters
Category:Uhuru's Pride
Category:Main Characters
Category:Gen 16
Category:Pale One Lords/Ladies
Category:TTW Characters
Category:Firstborns
Category:Rogue Lyons
Category:Legends
Category:Leaders