Jazzula Bornitas

**Jazzula Bornitas**, affectionately called **Zula**, was a female Praeliorian from the planet Praelior, having served the Praeliorian Empire as an elite from a young age. Her twin sister was Jazzilia Bornitas, who was also a Praeliorian elite. The twins were often accompanied by a Walrakian bodyguard named Stompy. Gris Véridémi, their maternal uncle and an older elite, acted as their guardian until his untimely death in 5957 ASA.

After Gris' death, Jazzula experienced deep doubts about her role as an imperial elite. A few weeks after the funeral of her adoptive uncle, Jazzula fled from the Praeliorian Empire with former High Elite Cirioma Thystamel and her Dremirian servant Petrolos. The three traitors found refuge on the backwater planet of Padisalis.

## Biography

### Life as a Young Elite

In 5941 ASA, Jazzula Bornitas and her twin Jazzilia were born on the planet Praelior, the former shining capital of the Praeliorian Remnants. Their mother Cierna Véridémi-Bornitas was an elite officer and their father Soloca Bornitas was a highly-respected guardsman.

   For reasons unknown, Jazzula and her sister were orphaned at a young age when both of their parents disappeared. Jazzula and Jazzilia had little to no recollection of their late parents because of how young they were when they lost them. Their maternal uncle Gris Véridémi, a Praeliorian Elite, took it upon himself to act as their guardian, having helped raise them for a majority of their lives and even helped them rise through the ranks of Praeliorian society.

With Gris' help, Jazzula and her sister became some of the youngest elites in imperial history. By their side was Stompy, a Walrakian bodyguard that Jazzula considered to be part of her family.

As she and her sister grew up, they were known to have been mean to Lemon Thystamel, whose parents gained a negative reputation for treason and fleeing the consequences. Later in life, Jazzula would come to regret her poor treatment of Lemon.

### Sadness and Grief

In 5957 ASA, Gris Véridémi died on a mission to the Borealan penal colony of Hailstorm at the hands of Jet Lignite, a Makhaian member of the Dawns. The three Praeliorian High Elites—Kyalonis Amillís, Pyrana Nirrót, and Cirioma Thystamel—personally broke the news to the twins.

When met with the news, Jazzula was in much more sorrow than her sister, who was angry rather than saddened with grief. When the twins' Walrakian bodyguard Stompy tried hugging Jazzula to comfort her, Jazzula immediately gripped onto him and cried, mourning the loss of her father figure. In contrast, her sister Jazzilia lashed out at the High Elites and accused them of disliking Gris the moment he "started doing good". Pyrana encouraged this anger and frustration, telling Jazzula's sister to let her feelings fuel her into seeking vengeance against the Dawns and by extension the Dremirians. Jazzilia agreed that she wanted the Dawns dead, but that the Dremirians were second to that goal. Jazzula and Stompy discouraged her from seeking out vengeance so soon. She told Jazzilia that she "wasn't ready for any of that". Despite this, Pyrana told her that her energy would make an excellent elite, much to Jazzilia's starstruck surprise and to Jazzula's confusion.

### The Halita Mission

Not even a month after the death of Gris, Jazzula and Jazzilia led their first hunt in the Dreamer Worlds without the guidance of their late adoptive uncle. Accompanying the twins were their own troop of Praeliorian soldiers, as well as a band of Walrakian warriors. Their targeted world was the planet Halita. The sisters initially disagreed on how best to start their hunt.

The Halitan people saw the imperial warship arrive from the distance and prepared accordingly, as best they could. A band of villagers united by a Dremirian woman named Eventide helped fight off the Praeliorians at their small settlement's front lines. The battle was messy and much blood having been spilled between the two parties, in a way that left Zula mentally scarred and her sister Zilia more cold and murderous. While the two sisters were considered prodigies, having Gris out of their lives threw off their synchronization and focus, as all they both could think about was his death.

While many Halitan Dremirians were killed, a good number of the twins' own soldiers were killed as well. The remaining Halitans who surrendered were taken by the Praeliorian Empire to be forced into imperial servitude. As a young human village child named Mesa—whose father Sandalwood was killed by imperial forces—was ignored by the Praeliorians and essentially released from capture, the Dremirian Eventide begged to be sparred so that she could stay with Mesa, as she believed that the boy would not survive on his own. The elite twins dismissively decided to let Eventide go, both because neither of the young women cared anymore for the hunt, in a decision that would anger some Praeliorian soldiers.

The only ones who remained at the Halitan settlement were Eventide and Mesa, with the Praeliorian hunting party returning to the Praeliorian Remnants. Jazzula's experiences on Halita left her deeply questioning whether or not she truly wanted to continue her work as an imperial Elite. She would later question her role as a servant of the Praeliorian Empire altogether.

## Personality and Traits

Jazzula was a Praeliorian woman with white hair, white eyes, and white skin. As elites, she and her sister decorated their faces with cyan and magenta face paint.

When they were both elites, Jazzula and her sister were much alike in terms of personality. They both looked down upon non-elites, calling them "whities" for their lack of elite face paint and treated them with a condescending attitude. However, Jazzula was different from her sister in how she handled grief. While her sister Jazzilia immediately felt anger and resentment when met with grief, Jazzilia felt sadness and misery. When their Uncle Gris died, Jazzula despaired over his death and sought comfort whereas Jazzilia was fueled with disbelief, frustration, and vengeance.

After the death of Gris, Zula began to lose motivation in performing her duties as an elite officer. She began to see the complexity of the Praeliorian Empire rather than reduce her job to simplicity as she had always done. Having been conditioned to hate the Dremirians at a young age, Zula grew curious as to why other places in the galaxy were so different than Praelior. She wanted to understand why these differences existed, and why many worlds disliked Praelior and its empire. As she swam in these thoughts, the relationship she had with her sister became increasingly strained, with Jazzilia refusing to open up or even talk to Jazzula. As she grew, Zula began to feel more empathetic to those she wronged or felt that she wronged, like Lemon and Cirioma Thystamel.

## Skills and Abilities

As a Praeliorian elite, Jazzilia and her sister were skilled in combat. They both knew basic self defense, hand-to-hand combat, and proper weapon wielding. They were both taught how to manifest weaponry out of thin air through the use of dark magic. Both Zula and her sister were considered prodigies, with skills able to make them into elite officers at such early ages, but their synchronization was thrown out of balance once Gris died.

## Trivia

* Jazzula and Jazzulia derive both their names and original character concepts from the Solo Jazz design found on disposable cups. The Jazz design was featured on both twins' faces as imperial Elite face paint designs, until Zula removed her face paint after fleeing and detaching herself from the Empire.
	+ The surname Bornitas comes from the mineral bornite, which tarnishes into iridescent shades of blue and purple similar to that of the Jazz design.