Turians

The **turians** were a sapient species that evolved on the planet Palaven. They were renowned for their discipline and military strength.

## Physiology

Turians were an average of six feet tall. They had two long fingers and an opposable thumb, with each digit ending in a talon. They had a set of mandibles around their mouths. The most noticeable feature of a turian, however, was likely their metallic carapace which contained a small amount of thulium. This trait evolved as a means of handling the high solar radiation that bombarded their homeworld and cut through the planet's weak magnetic field.

Turians exhibited many biological features that were common in predators -- they were clearly once the apex predators of their planet. These features included razor sharp teeth and forward-facing eyes. Their diet, therefore, was almost entirely comprised of meat. Turians were one of a handful of species (including the quarians) that were built on dextro-amino acids. Because of this, they were incapable of digesting foods suitable to humans, and many other species.

Though turians had a number of avian-like qualities, they did give birth to live young. Male and female turians did not vary much in appearance, and outsiders sometimes have trouble telling them apart.

Turians lived roughly the same lifespan as humans.

Turian blood was dark blue in color.

## History

The turian culture began to develop around 13,000 BCE.

Before the asari and salarians created the Citadel Council, the turians were already using mass relays to colonize star systems throughout much of the Milky Way. These colonies began a bitter civil war, known as the Unification Wars. Each colony was run by a local chieftain, who had distanced themselves from the Turian Hierarchy.

When the fighting broke out between the colonies, the Hierarchy did not intervene. They permitted the colonies to war against each other for many cycles. Finally, when all of the colonies were weakened from the fighting, the Hierarchy swept in and forced all of them to swear allegiance once more.

The Citadel Council did eventually make contact with the turians in the midst of the Krogan Rebellion. The Council requested the aid of the turian military -- and they did not disappoint. They initially proved successful against the krogan, until a massive counterattack decimated several turian colonies. Three of the turian colony worlds were made completely uninhabitable by the use of weapons of mass destruction.

In response, the turians deployed a genophage developed by the salarians. The krogan were broken, the massive numbers that gave them an advantage had been quelled. The Krogan Rebellion ended by 1600 CE and the turians were granted a seat on the Citadel Council.

In 2957 CE, the turians made first contact with humans -- by opening fire on a team of explorers attempting to activate Relay 314. This quickly escalated into a war between the turians and the Systems Alliance. The Citadel Council intervened, drawing up terms for peace. Tensions existed between the two species for many cycles to come.

In 2986 CE, the Reapers invaded the Milky Way. The turians fought against the Reapers, but to little effect. Eventually, Palaven began to be assaulted by the monstrosities. In an unlikely turn of events, the krogan -- who agreed to join the war once the genophage had been cured -- came to their aid. The combined efforts of the krogan and turians managed to secure a victory against the Reapers, albeit a brief one. Realizing the desperate situation facing the entire galaxy, Primarch Victus ordered the turian warships to join the battle in orbit around the Earth.

## Culture

Turians had great pride in their history. They bore facial marking that denoted the colony that they came from. These tattoos were most often white, particularly on turians with darker skin tones, but could also be any number of other colors. Not having facial markings was taboo in turian society -- the term "barefaced" meant that one could not be trusted. It was often used to describe politicians.

Turian culture heavily emphasized public service. Turians very rarely put their own needs above the needs of a group. Every turian served the state in some capacity between the ages of 15 and 30 cycles.

Because of their inclination towards self-sacrifice and public service, turians were generally poor businessmen. This was not truly a problem until they joined the galactic community. As a result, the turians offered protection services to the volus in return for the volus' help with all things business-related.

The center of the turian culture was the military. The turian military was more than just an armed service, it was a public works organization. They acted as law enforcement, fire fighters, and even employed the engineers who maintained schools, spaceports, and other civilian resources. The military also ensured that every turian world was receiving the resources it needed.

Largely because of their emphasis on the military, turian society was extremely regimented. Their work ethic was renowned -- no matter what the task, turians always followed through. When spurred to violence, which took a great deal, the turians only understood total war. Turians would never engage in small skirmishes but would always amass large numbers for a full-scale battle. They would not completely exterminate their foes but would instead break them so completely that their enemy had no choice but to surrender and become a turian colony.

Despite the disciplined nature of their society, turians enjoyed a very free life. There were few restrictions, so long as turian citizens were able to complete their duties.

### Religion

Turians believed that a group, or an area, had a spirit that transcended individuals. A military unit, for instance, would have a spirit embodied by the strength and courage of that unit. Turians did not believe that spirits could influence the world, other than to inspire. However, they believed that prayers and rituals did allow turians to communicate with these spirits.

Once, the turians believed that ancient titans had walked across their planet of Palaven. These gods were worshipped in the Temple Palaven, but once other species were encountered in the galaxy the beliefs of this Valluvian faith fell out of favor and the temple was shuttered.

### Government

The turian government, called the Turian Hierarchy, was a hierarchal meritocracy. There were 27 citizenship tiers, beginning with civilians -- which covered client races and children. The second tier was the beginning of military service. Full citizenship was granted to those who reach the third tier, by graduating boot camp.

Higher-ranked citizens were expected to protect the lower levels, while the lower levels were expected to serve those higher than them. Turians would advance through many tiers during their lives, and could also be demoted. If an individual was demoted, they were not shamed or dishonored -- instead, the shame lay upon the one who promoted them before their time.

At the very top of the hierarchy were the Primarchs. Each Primarch ruled a colonization cluster, voting together on matters of national importance. Otherwise, they did not interfere with each other and often maintained a hands-off policy in regard to those below them, trusting everyone lower in the hierarchy to do their jobs correctly.

## Notable Turians

* Saren Arterius
* Nihlus Kryik
* Vetra Nyx
* Garrus Vakarian

## Source

Turians are derived from *Mass Effect*. For canon information, please visit:

* Mass Effect Wiki