Jura

Jura pre Beacon Project

The capital world of the Universal Technocratic Commonwealth(UTC) and the homeworld of the Xer species. Jura is the administrative heart of the commonwealth as well as the UTC's main centre of light industry. It is the second most populous world in the Commonwealth at around 800 billion inhabitants. It is the first of 'the two jewels of the Commonwealth', highly productive city-worlds developed as part of the core-initiative, alongside Epochion.

## History

### **Pre-history**

In its ancient days, Jura was a remarkably calm planet, even if the
climate was less forgiving than on most worlds. Most life inhabiting the planet
was quite mild with few large predators. There was an exception to this however: a rather rich and lush island which would later be known as Cenzoic. Here an
intense rivalry existed between various predatory species, causing these
species to grow ever deadlier, not to hunt their prey but rather each other. Eventually only one of these predators would remain: the Xer-Phanzoch, ancestors to the modern Xer.

Having achieved dominance, these predators would most likely have reverted to a less extreme form due to lack of competition, if not for the
fact that around this moment a land bridge between Cenzoic and Jura’s main continents appeared due to receding water levels. The early Xer would proceed to rapidly spread across Jura, hunting all other predators to extinction and universally usurping the top of the Juran food chain. However, when their dominance was
complete, the early Xer began competing for territory and because they were already as physically deadly as they could be, most evolutionary pressure was directed towards enhanced intelligence, which culminated in the formation of strongly organized packs, having offspring be communally raised rather than left to fend for themselves and the emergence of tool use. The ultimate development would be the cognitive revolution that eventually occurred, leading to the emergence of
language. With this development, the modern Xer, the Xer-Kaxlarn, was born. And as this strain of Xer was beginning to replace its cousins around the globe, the beginnings of civilizations began to emerge.

### **Early ages**

The
beginnings of Xer civilization came in the form of animal domestication, which
was initially far more useful to the carnivorous Xer than plant-based agriculture.
As the practise of domestication grew further, agriculture was expanded to
plants, both for secondary uses such as yielding useful fibres and feeding the ever-growing
herds the Xer now relied upon. With the maturation of agriculture, the first
petty states began to emerge and develop along comparable lines as other
species. A notable characteristic of these states was the fact that, due to the
lack of value the Xer place on the relation between parent and offspring,
hereditary rule truly took root. States generally consisted of oligarchies or various
kinds of elective autocracies. These early days of Xer civilization are known
as the fragmented ages since they predate global connectivity. States would
continue to wax and wane as civilization advanced along its standard path until
one event would render almost all events before it trivial: the apocalyptic exchange.
During the development of civilization, the Xer on Jura’s where divided between
two areas, Hadear and Phaneroch, largely split by Jura’s only narrow ocean and only connected by a
nigh-impassable mountain range. When shipbuilding became more refined however, contact
between the two semi-continents was established. During their time in
isolation, the Xer on opposing landmasses had been afflicted by separate diseases
and when contact was established, these diseases were exchanged. Both
populations were overwhelmed by diseases they had no natural defences against,
leading to mass death and anarchy on both sides as population centres were
reduced to graveyards and states crumbled under the strain the constant
epidemics brought. An estimated 85% perished on both sides. The aftermath would
tragically be the first shared age of the Xer: The Age of Chaos.

### **The Shamanate**

#### **The rise and the age of stability**

During the Age of Chaos, a new religious power
arose on Jura’s larger continent, Phaneroch: the cult of the hunter shamans. Having gained
control of valuable river valleys and enforcing stability most more effectively
than most struggling states, the shamans attracted many followers which greatly
strengthened their new state, simply known as the Shamanate. Having grown to be
a haven of growth and safety during the Age of Chaos, the Shamanate began a
large-scale campaign of subjugation and conquest of the continent which they
titled ‘the mending of the world’. Within 50 years all states of the continent
were either absorbed by or under the supervision of the Shamanate. The gaze of
the Shamans then shifted to the remaining continent, Hadear, to which they sent the
first expeditions since the beginning of the Age of Chaos. These expeditions
found that although the peoples of the continent had recovered more from the
exchange than the foes which shamans had faced so far, they were still lagging enough for
the shamans to be assured of victory. Several years later the Shamanate
invasion began and after a speedy though costly effort, all states were subjugated.

The finalization of the mending signalled the
start of the Age of Stability, a prosperous time in which Xer-kind recovered
from the devastation of the Age of Chaos. Technology advanced at a steady pace
during this period, leading to improved agriculture and the beginnings of
modern medicine. Most states enjoyed relative autonomy during this time as long
as they heeded the Shamans, who only directly controlled the rich river valleys
where they originated. This would not last. however, as the Shamans grew
increasingly demanding, domineering and reactionary.

#### **The Age of Stagnation and lead up to war**

As the Shamanate grew increasingly suspicious
of new ideas and technology, scientific development became increasingly
restricted, causing technological advancement to slow to a crawl. Meanwhile,
the shamans started to infringe more and more upon local leadership until most subject
states were little more than puppets to shamans, whilst they grew increasingly ineffective
and corrupt within their unassailable position of power. Due to all these
stages, growth of all kinds gradually ground to halt as the Age of Stability
transitioned into the Age of Stagnation.

One remaining factor of growth would remain, however:
the growth of population. As the population grew, food became increasingly
scarce due to the restrictions of innovation. The situation would grow especially
dire on the continent of Hadear, which was generally poorer than Phaneroch and
more hostile to the rule of the Shamans. As the situation deteriorated the
chancellor of the Erat polity, a nation residing around the great plateaus of
central Hadear, was approached by an underground society which rejected the
teachings of the shamans. They gave her the solution to the impending crisis
facing her nation and continent: a method to process plant-crops to be edible
for Xer. Faced with no alternatives other than starvation, the Chancellor secretly
began to deploy this method, distributing the processed food to local leaders
who divided it amongst their constituents. Though the produced sludge was
generally considered revolting to the carnivorous Xer, it did effectively ward
of starvation. The miraculous recovery of Erat did draw the suspicion of the
Shamans however, whose agents quickly discovered the Chancellor’s action.
Considering her acts as sacrilegious treason, the Shamans had the chancellor
arrested and the Erat government disbanded. The chancellor would be executed
for treason, all created food would be destroyed and shamanic representatives
would assume direct control over Erat. Against the expectation of the shamans,
these actions lead to mass unrest across Hadear. Local leaders became
increasingly antagonistic against shamanic representatives, riots ignited
across the continent and secret societies and rebel groups such as those who initially
approached the Chancellor grew explosively. All this came to a head during the
execution of the Chancellor: even during the preparation sporadic clashes took
place in the Erat capital, and as the Chancellor was transported to the site of
her execution, shamanic soldiers and the Erat troops under their command faced a
vast angry mob. The critical moment would come when the shaman present proclaimed
the verdict and authorized the execution to commence, after which Erat troops
suddenly turned on shamanic forces and stormed the execution site along with
the mob. The Shamans were lynched, and the Chancellor brought to safety as open
rebellion ignited across Erat lands. This event would mark the beginning of the war
of truth, and the Age of Misery which accompanied it.

### **The age of misery**

#### **The war of truth**

After the rebellion of the Erat Polity resistance across Hadear surged, leading to Shamanic forces being harassed with increasing intensity. After a failed attempt by the Shamans to retake the Erat territories, most states on Hadear would be seized by either Erat-aligned rebels or groups affiliated with the underground scientists that first aided the Erat Chancellor, now unified under the banner of the Epochian league. Shaman control was reduced to a few exclaves, but large counterstrikes from forces of Phaneroch were in the works. due to this, the Erat Polity and the Epochian league signed the Eoar-pact and pledging mutual support and eventual unification.

After the first Phaneroch armies arrived the war began in earnest. While the Shamanic armies were initially successful at reclaiming insurgent territory, they were quickly bogged down by determined guerilla warfare, sapping their strength as they advanced. Still, they had opened a path to Erat territory and laid siege to the great plateaus that characterize the landscape, starting the bloodiest and most drawn-out phase of the conflict known as the Plateau-War. Over many years the plateaus fell very slowly, sapping shaman strength and after 23 years they were quickly being pushed back by Eoar forces using new experimental weaponry.

As Shamanic efforts began to falter there was one individual amongst the Shamans who realized the Shamanate was doomed if it kept course: Xuracem, known as 'The Shadow' due to his backstage influence. Xuracem planned to reform the Shamanic armies to defeat the Eoar pact in a single decisive strike and use the resulting fame from the success to reform the Shamanate to his vision. He wished to achieve this by creating an army of the Unbroken: fearless, unmatched fighters that had thus far been relegated to the role of bodyguards. After many years of effort, using all the political clout he possed he had assembled his army. On the 38th year of the war, the Unbroken army arrived on Hadear. Having their way cleared by a previous large anti-guerilla campaign, they tore through Eoar territory and scattered the armies sent to oppose them. With core Eoar lands threatened and most conventional armies defeated, the Pact assembled a desperate last attempt to stop the Unbroken: a collection of experimental units merged into a makeshift army lead by the unorthodox general Rixalem. This Army met the Unbroken at Pleistoch Pass, where the Rixalem managed to win a resounding, though immensely costly victory. With the destruction of the Unbroken leading to a mass retreated by other Shamanic forces and Xurecem being executed by his rivals for his failure, all serious Shamanic efforts on Hadear had seized.

About a year after the battle at Pleistoch Eoar armies organized around Rixalem's force went on the offensive against the remaining Shamanic presence. With Shamanic forces now being demoralized, underprepared and technologically outmatched, they were swiftly driven off the continent. Now that Hadear was secured the Epochian League and the Erat Polity began negotiating unification. Though initially tensions flared over the conflicting ideological views of the two sides, a compromise would be reached after the Erat superiority in power became apparent and Rixalem himself bluntly announced to crush whichever side would turn to violence. Thus the Epochian league and the Erat Polity were merged into the Erathem Union, which would spend the following decade consolidating and preparing to for the final phase of the war: the invasion of Phaneroch and the destruction of the shamans.

On the 59th year of the war, the invasion of Phaneroch begun. Whilst fighting was intensive, the Shamanate was on the back foot from the beginning: facing a better-led, better equipped and even better-fed opponent, since the famine which the richer Phaneroch had thus far avoided finally had become wide-spread. After the first three years of the invasion, Shamanate resistance began to collapse. Soon the Erathem armies were rushing to the Shamanate homeland in order to honour the aged and dying Rixalem's wish: to see the high-shaman die and to end his life in the fires of the city of the Shamans, Ozoix. When the city was reached the remaining forces put up an admirable, though futile resistance. In the end, Rixalem got his wish: by his hand the high-shaman was executed and he died in the fires Ozoix. With the destruction of Oziox, the remaining shamanic territories surrendered, and thus, in the year of -52 AC, the War of Truth ended.

#### **The Erathem Union**

The full surrender of the Shamanate did not bring a full end to the violence. For months following the end of the Shamanate bloodthirsty, predominantly Epochian, commanders and soldiers terrorized Phaneroch, seeking vengeance against what remained of the shamans and their followers. These months of violence would become known as the 'Orange-terror' and would culminate in the death of tens of thousands and the destruction of most of the Shamans' temples.

After order returned the Erathem Union was faced with the difficult task of integrating an entire continent it had fought for more than 60 years. To achieve this the Kulgraf-plan was devised: breaking up Phaneroch's existing states into new administrative units in order to break-up local power structures and rallying groups previously hostile to the shamans by, among other measures, banning all forms of slavery. These measures and the new food security brought to Phaneroch allowed the Republic to narrowly consolidate control over the continent, though factual control over the vast new territories would remain limited for over a decade, especially in more rural regions.

The onset of peace would be the trigger of a great wave of industrialisation and economic development, as innovations were now free to spread. The destruction caused by the War of Truth was restored with remarkable speed as decades of innovations limited to the war effort were put in practice. Alongside the economic boom, important political developments also took place as the Republic's institutions matured and the old Epochian and Erat factions fully integrated into the democratic system. The political divide of the factions would remain, though in a generally more moderate form, with Erat factions championing further democratisation and popular influence whilst the Epochian factions supported more paternalistic policies. The social views of the two factions would synthesise, however, with the Erats adopting Epoch materialism and the Epochs adopting Erat individualism.

The rapid growth the Republic underwent culminated in a drastic increase in population and living standards. By the year of 29 AC the 'golden interbellum' as the time of growth would become known had become bogged down, however. Due both to the technological backlog having by now been fully implemented and a decline in agricultural yields, which would later be identified as an early sign of Jura's crumbling biosphere. Due to the dissatisfaction caused by the slowdown, a popular figure from the hardline Erat faction managed to secure the position of chancellor: Tormaq. Tormaq blamed the Republic's troubles mainly on the Epochian-aligned executors for obstructing the popular will and aimed to dismantle the Epochian dominated institutions of the Republic. His popular economic policies ensured he had the significant political cloud necessary to achieve his main goal of eliminating the Epochian powerbase. For several years Tormaq successfully dismantled much of the Epochian power and many speculated the dominance of Erat doctrine would be inevitable. A great tragedy would shatter these expectations.

An important part of Tormaq's economic policy revolved around aggressively expanding the industrial capacity of certain large urban centers, most famously in the city of Darhadear. Darhadear had been one of the most important industrial hubs since during the war of truth. Tormaq's policy paved the way for further expansion by slashing regulatory oversight. Local executors and urban engineered had protested these measures as carrying potentially catastrophic risks, but these protests were set aside. 5 years into Tormaq's tenure Darhadear had grown greatly, with its industries having become greatly concentrated and specialized around chemical products. This would prove disastrous as a great fire broke out in one of the city's many refineries which quickly raged out of control and consumed nearly the entire city. The fire would result in thousands of deaths and widespread contamination of the region. The great Darhadear fire would be a political disaster for Tormaq, one which the now long disgruntled Epohians ruthlessly exploited. Pointing at the warnings experts had given about this exact possibility, the Epochian faction experienced a great surge in popularity, especially among those affected by the disaster. The years of being pushed aside by Tormaq had additionally radicalized the Epochians, which now featured an increasingly prominent fundamentalist faction which advocated the abolishment of the democratic system in its entirety.

As new elections approached Tormaq realized he was in dire straits as the Epochians were now quickly becoming the public favourite and even some moderate Erats started to join the growing coalition against him. In this moment of desperation, Tormaq made a drastic decision. In 35 AC, Tormaq declared the Epochian faction as an enemy of the Republic, justifying the act by pointing at the rhetoric of the Fundamentalist faction. He hoped this gamble would allow him to force moderate Erats to his side and destroy the Epochians in one swift action. This plan did not succeed however: while Tormaq made his gamble out of desperation, the Epochians had prepared for this exact possibility for years. Raids on Epochian strongholds faced armed resistance and many regional leaders and generals defied Tormaqs orders and pledged support for the Epochians. With clashes between the former ideological allies breaking out across both Phaneroch and Hadear, the War of Doctrine had begun.

#### **The War of Doctrine**

The opening months of the War of Doctrine are characterized by confusion. Both the Epochian and Erathem sides consisted of dispersed coalitions whose complete make-up was not intialy clear. This mainly came at the expense of the Erat side, which could not guarantee the loyalty of its own generals and bureaucrats. At the same time the Epochians intially struggled to establish a unified front despite previous preparations.

After the first few months the situation became more clear: all potential defections had been made and the Epochian league was reinstated with the fundamentalist faction at the helm, deposing the now delegitimized moderate faction. The league tended to dominate more urbanized regions in Phaneroch whilst Hadear was split along pre-Erathem lines. Fighting rapidly intensified across the world, turning terribly lethal as the newest military technologies were first put to use.

For most of the war Hadear remained a stalemate while most action was seen in Phaneroch, with Erath-forces attempting to reclaim the cities and their military production whilst Epochian forces desperately sought to secure more food-producing land. The republican armies saw initial success, securing several river-networks and inland cities. After about two years of intensive fighting their military stockpiles were running dry, however: they had not captured enough industry to sustain their forces and many cities they captured had been largely stripped of material by the retreating Epochians. After this point ,the League made increasingly rapid progress in pushing the Republic back as republican stockpiles continued to dwindle. The offensive of early 36 AC would prove decisive: Epochian forces utilizing the new 'scorch and flood' doctrine, which relied on the use concentrated firepower to create gaps in enemy fronts and rapid advance to exploit these gaps, was used to great effect. As the year progressed republican resistance collapsed and Phaneroch was secured by the Epochians

The final stages of the war were fought on Hadear, where the league brought in reinforcements to break the stalemate. For several months the League faced harsh resistance, leading to some of the deadliest fighting of the war. Erath morale soon faltered, however, and not only because of the increasing hopelessness of their cause. During the war, Tormaq had seized increasing amounts of power for himself and his allies, becoming a de-facto dictator by the time fighting in Hadear reached its peak. Many of the Erathis to lose faith in their cause: no matter who won, democracy seemed dead. By year's end, several of the states that first joined the Erat Polity during the opening days of the War of Truth had surrendered. Only the old core of the Erat Polity remained as the last bastion of the republic. After a siege of about a month, the Erat capital had fallen and the war ended.

Unlike the War of Truth which preceded it, the war of doctrine was a relatively short, but chaotic and intense war. Whilst as a whole much less destructive, it is considered a more tragic war, pitting former allies against eachother as the horrors of the old war were repeated. The fate of Tormaq remains somewhat of a mystery, as his body was found by Epochian forces without any sign of violence. some suggest he succumed of stress whilst another theory asserts he was poisoned by one of his former allies, disgruntled by his dictatorial seizure of power.

In the aftermath of the war, the Juran Commonwealth was established. With its foundations all the powers of the old nations were revoked. Though the future of this new state was far from certain, the discovery of Jura's dire ecological situation would prove to be the perfect threat to stabilize the new Commonwealth.

## Geographics and Demographics

In the past, Jura was an arid world, characterized by vast mesas and extensive plateaus. Not much of this is visible today, however, since Jura was transformed into the known galaxy's first ecumenopolis. Now the entire planet is covered in vast city-scapes, several heritage-sites excluded. Though the image of towering arcologies and cities consisting of dozens of urban layers are the most famous, it is a misconception that the entire resembles this. Firstly: most of the planet still has a population-density resembling sub-urban areas, predominantly those areas that were uninhabited before the Beacon Project. Secondly: large areas of the planet are reserved purely for large-scale industry and are inhabited comparatively sparsely. Most of the more iconic landscapes exist where large cities used to be before the planet's transformation.

The planet is home to around 800 billion inhabitants, making it the second-most populous known world, beaten only by the UTC's the other ecumenopolis: Epochion. Jura is, however, the most densely populated known world due to its size disparity with Epochion. Among the 800 billion individuals calling Jura home, around 400 billion are its native Xer. another 140 billion are Synths and the remaining 260 billion consists of other biological life, the bulk of which immigrated to Jura following the Beacon Project. Most notable among them are the 95 billion Hesokurs, who are concentrated on here and on Epochion due to the longstanding commercial ties between these planets and the Hesokur commerce league.

## Notable sites

### **The Peak**

The Peak is the administrative centre of the UTC and the largest structure on Jura. Towering above even the great verticality of Jura's arcologies, it is no surprise that the structure has often been described as monstrous, being specifically designed to demonstrate the authority of the Directors and the Commonwealth at large. The Peak houses both the Central Council of Directors and the upper echelons of executor leadership, as well as housing the great numbers of staff needed to run the central administration. The Peak is one of the most closely guarded locations in the whole Commonwealth. It is guarded by the Claws of The Peak, an elite unit of Cynn soldiers, in addition to numerous autonomous defence systems. It is furthermore located in a no-fly zone. Due to The Peak's role as the seat of the Commonwealth's central authority, it has become a common way of referring to this authority( e.g. 'The Peak has yet to decide on this issue').

### **The Epochian Forum and The Heroes Avenue**

The Epochian Forum is a highly significant site on Jura. It contains the headquarters of several prestigious institutions and organisations, as well as many public works and art. The most well-known part is the path leading up to the forum: The Heroes Avenue. The avenue is lined with large statues portraying what the Commonwealth considers the greatest heroes of its history. It contains figures such as respected directors like Klandrax, renowned generals such as Rixalem and, most prominently, lauded scientists like Kreemak or Kolodom and Xurem. Each portrayed figure is depicted as holding onto their achievement, often literally in the case of the scientists, but symbolically in most other cases.

## Notable non-sapient species

### **Ogyutmadi**

Ogyutmadi are a species of flying reptiles native to Jura and are notable for being the first species domesticated by the Xer. Ogyutmadi by nature are small carrion-eaters at about 1 kg in weight and possing reasonable intelligence. They possess a natural ability to identify weakened animals most vulnerable to being killed by predators, which they follow around to be the first present once the animal has been hunted. When Xer started spreading on the planet they quickly learned the presence of an ogyutmad could guide them to easy prey. From this, a symbiotic relationship developed, as ogyutmadi adapted to the Xer by actively guiding them to their prey. In turn, the Xer scared away other carrion eaters, giving ogyutmadi free reign. This symbiotic relationship quickly transitioned to domestication as Xer developed sapience, causing the ogutmadi to become favoured companions of the modern Xer. Presently ogyutmadi are by far the most popular kind pet kept by Xer and can be found across the whole UTC. They have never become popular with other species, however, as they are generally considered frighting by most species and their unique symbiosis with the Xer causes them to only be truly docile in the presence of a Xer.