Ya-Shuur

Ya-Shuur is the solitary and reclusive demigod of Justice. He is the accidental child of Li'Kalla and Vakk.

## Portfolio

### Justice

What is justice? Generations past and present have sought to define it; some saying it is the quality of being fair, others that it means being reasonable, others that it means treating people equitably, and others that it is allotting every person their due. But ultimately, justice is *known*. Just as the entropic force of injustice is immediately recognized and brings about feelings of indignation, justice also is recognized and causes peace and contentment to people. For the Great Shepherd, as he came into the world, the aim of justice was perceived to be harmony and the resolution of conflict (and so the resistance of entropy). Whatever brought about conflict resolution and brought about harmony was justice. So anyone who strives towards these goals can be said to be striving towards justice. The Great Shepherd strives to bring about these ideals. In the end, justice, or at the very least the feeling that justice is striven towards, brings about feelings of safety, and that ultimately means people can organize and society can function properly.

Due to this portfolio, the Great Shepherd is more attuned to people's needs, being able to sense disharmony due to injustice and possessing a greater capacity to see through to solutions that will ensure everyone gets their due rights in a manner that satisfies them. Where there is discord due to injustice, his very presence can cause people to act slightly differently or to be amenable towards conflict resolution and harmony. He is immediately able to tell whether an individual abides by the principles of justice or not (something normal demigods are unable to do as it comes under mind reading).

His abilities with regards to this portfolio naturally shift or grow as the demigod explores different understandings of justice. This means that there may be a more limited number of things he can do with it at first, but this will later grow as his story develops. An example of this is if he, for instance, comes to understand justice as being divinely ordained. In such a case, his commands may well begin to hold the force of normative law for some mortals.

## Persona

The Great Shepherd views the rights and duties of people as sacred. Rights are to be protected and duties observed, and when these two things are in balance then conflict is avoided and harmony achieved. Such a state of harmony is a state of justice. When this harmony is disturbed, however, it does not necessarily mean there is no longer justice and a descent into entropy is at hand. Justice is adaptable, it can handle conflicts and disputes, the neglect of duty and the violation of rights. In such cases, justice lies in giving all parties their dues so as to return to a state of harmonious equilibrium. So order and harmony are paramount for the Great Shepherd. As it is possible for there to exist order due to strong laws, but for there to be disharmony due to the unjust nature of these laws, the Great Shepherd is not shackled to laws. He does see it as his duty, however, to ensure that laws adhere to justice. To bring about order and harmony, and therefore justice, is his great ambition and calling.

The Great Shepherd was created out of the screams of suffering of billions of souls, along with the cry of Li'Kalla for help and Seihdhara's cries for justice. At first this creature was nothing powerful, just something that was able to hear the cries for justice and cries of suffering. He only became a demigod when Vakk and Li'Kalla confronted each other and he gained divine ichor due to the violence.

This meant that in the beginning he was of the mindset that violence is reprehensible and to be avoided. Ya-Shuur thought that justice must necessarily seek to avoid violence, though this has changed somewhat over time and he now recognizes that violence may sometimes be necessary for the achievement of justice.

He remains of a general conviction that he should create peace, order, and harmony, so as to bring about justice. By nature he is patient, and possesses the ability to focus on whatever he puts his mind to, especially things that might be a bit academic or mind-numbing to others because this is an important trait for someone who listens to people's complaints and seeks to do justice. He is also very empathetic, able to sense those who are distressed or suffering or who feel that they are not being treated with justice. He is confident in himself but also very curious and thoughtful as he is always questioning and asking what justice is. Sometimes when he witnesses particularly unjust things it causes him pain and may even anger him, but he has come to see this reaction as troubling and actively seeks to suppress such emotions. He seeks to always be level-headed and reason things through. While he does look to others for approval and sees the benefits of working together, this does not prevent him from stepping up and challenging things he knows or deems to be unjust. When innovating when it comes to justice, he does not fear unpredictability or even instability.

Ya-Shuur rejects pleasure as the way to gain happiness and felicity. He sees happiness and felicity as lying in doing your duty always and being the best version of yourself that you can possibly be. One only has control over themselves and must seek to perfect their character and soul, in cultivating such virtue can ultimate happiness and felicity be found. All other things are ultimately beyond one's control and should not be cause for either happiness or sadness, pain or pleasure.

## History

Ya-Shuur was born as a soul creature from all the screaming of the souls for justice. He heard Li’Kalla’s cries and tried to find her. It took him a very long time but then he found her and watched over her for some time. He did this until her fight with Vakk. He tried to help but could do nothing and was instead spattered with blood. This granted him a physical demigod form. He than escaped Li'Kalla's sphere and was sad about what happened to her and blames himself. He begins wondering around Li'Kalla's island and makes maxims from thoughts he has. He saves a goat from a bear and discovers his soul-name: Goat Defying the Darkness. After this he starts looking after and protecting the herd of goats. He travels all over the island and the herd grows so Ya-Shuur begins to kill off some goats to maintain balance on the island so the goats don't over-eat. He learns how to make some clothes and also develops a friendship with a herd of wolves who protect the herd in return for goats he gives to them from time to time. Vakk's monster then comes and eats some of his goats and it turns out it obeys him instinctively. He develops a friendship with it and teaches it to herd his goats. He also teaches it to be nice. He then explores some of his divine powers and manages to place horns on his own head. He then creates a she-wolf who can mate with any extraordinary creature safely and gives Vakk's monster the power to reproduce and together they create a new extraordinary domesticated species called molves or herder-wolves. *See here for details*

These begin to herd Ya-Shuur's huge herd for him without him needing to pay close attention all the time. He notices that he is being tracked by strange crows (these are K'nell's shadow crows that K'nell can see everyone through). He tries to rebuild Li'Kalla's manor but fails. After brooding for a long time he leaves the ruined manor and comes across a dolphin that is stranded on land and he helps it. He thinks that it would be good to make his goats better swimmers and makes water-goats but they are not domesticated like goats. Some of them run free in the rivers and others go to the sea. They are just normal animals so they are not intelligent and are not extraordinary they are herbivores like goats and can breathe in the air and in the water so sometimes they can come on land if they see grass. They are not extraordinary and they are not intelligent. *See here for details*

He then builds a secret underground house for himself and he decides that when he becomes stronger he would do something to make the island less lonely. Ya-Shuur then goes on a domestication spree. He domesticates: cats, water-goats, foxes, cows, ducks, horses, buffalos, birds like gemstone gardeners and pigeons and even hawks, reindeers, and asses. This domestication spree costs 1 might point to buy the ability to domesticate animals. He then builds up an area around his secret house that is enclosed to protect his domesticated animals (there is a lake inside this area where the domesticated water-goats are). Ya-Shuur then makes a big drawing in a big cave in the east of his lands. The cave starts outside his lands but it goes underground into his lands. The drawing is of the many things he has done and seen. Ya-Shuur then feels Vakk's death and he is angry and sad about it. Feeling a lot of injustices make him in pain and he sits somewhere to mediate for a long time until lots of ivy and moss grow all over him.

He realizes, eventually, that he can't control others so he shouldn't feel bad about the things he can't control only the things he does control. He can only control himself and can try to do things on the island to make peace. The island is at peace so he is at peace.

Chopstick arrives on Li’Kalla’s island. She does not find Li in the So’E but finds signs of what happened. Eventually returns to the island. She is found by Ya-Shuur’s herder wolves, and Ya-Shuur comes to investigate. The two have a brief stand-off, Choppy being deeply suspicious, but eventually leave to go talk somewhere more sheltered, Ya-Shuur offering to answer some questions she has. Ya-Shuur leads Beta Choppy to his house and they continue their discussion. Choppy is filled in about some events on the island, and is in some shock. She vows to beat the shit out of Vakk, unaware of the bond Alpha Choppy has made with him.

Ya-Shuur reflects on Chopstick Eye's visit. He makes a drink similar to her hot cocoa but without the "weirdness" (which is the sweetness) and it is bitter instead which he likes more. He calls it the drink of friendship, or sudi-shrib. He also knows about time now (because Chopstick Eyes mentioned weeks to him as a measurement). He also makes a knife (which he calls hud-sa, meaning sharp-stick). Along with Chopstick Eyes, Ya-Shuur makes fermented goatmilk (gim-sa). Then an alma comes to Ya-Shuur and tells him about Katharsos' crimes, but Ya-Shuur remains undecided.

Afterwards, the Gemstone Gardeners bring all kinds of new plants and changes to Be'r-Jaz. This inspires Ya-Shuur to give gim-sa a new additive. Ya-Shuur visits Li'Kalla's mansion and reminsces on her and his various regrets and failures with regards to Li'Kalla. He rebuilds Li'Kalla's mansion and we see some of his duty-driven philosophy of happiness towards the end. Seeming to have made his peace with Li'Kalla, he bids his (regrets regarding his) mother farewell. In year 45, all is as it ought to be on the island.

In the year 46 after the Heist, Ya-Shuur adds to the cave drawing he made and then he ventures inside the cave. He comes into contact with some of the fear-based monsters in the underground cave system of the island. The creatures seem to fear light so he lights up parts of the cave he has explored.

When he leaves the cave he realizes that something has changed and decides to travel south to see what is happening. He comes across a pack of vallamir and one of them throws a spear at him and gores him. Ya-Shuur runs away and they hunt him. They come to the cave and the pack is surrounded by Ya-Shuur's molves as well as Zer-Du. They beg for forgiveness and Ya-Shuur asks them who they are and how they got there.

They explain everything and Ya-Shuur teaches them some things about justice and respecting the island, and tells them to teach their people. He also promises to walk among them soon and teach them other things. They go and knowledge of Ya-Shuur, who they call Be'r-Jaz and the Land, spreads among the elves of the island. They set up a shrine in his cave and call it the Cave of Light.

## Appearance

   Ya-Shuur is humanoid in shape and form. His hair is brown and his eyes honey colored. His hair reaches his back and his beard reaches his hips. He has two great goat horns emerging from his head. He wears a goatskin poncho and can usually be seen with a walking stick in his right hands. A hud-sa - or knife - hangs around his neck on a thread. There is also a scar in his chest from where a vallamir once threw a spear into him.

## Abilities

*The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor*: Ya-Shuur can sense injustices in a general way, and can sense them more specifically if they are in his area of detection. He can also immediately tell whether a person standing before him is just or not.

*Animal Domestication*: Ya-Shuur has the ability to domesticate animals swiftly. This is slightly enhanced by his soul-name's ability, which makes animals immediately warm up to him.

## Possessions

* Ya-Shuur's Herding Staff
* Ya-Shuur's Hud-Sa
* Ya-Shuur's Gim-Sa Goatskin
* Ya-Shuur's Poncho
* A Mug from Chopstick Eyes
* Daethyrd's Spear

## Creations

### Locations

#### Other

* Ya-Shuur's Cave/The Cave of Light (No MP/FP)
* Ya-Shuur's Home (No MP/FP)

### Species

* Water-Goats
* Molves

### Artifacts

* Herding Staff (No MP/FP)
* Hud-Sa (No MP/FP)
* Gim-Sa Goatskin (No MP/FP)
* Goatskin Poncho (No MP/FP)
* Daethyrd's Spear (No MP/FP)

## Influence and Worship

### Cult of the Land

On Be'r-JAz, some vallamir - particularly those in the centre and northern wilds - worship a mysterious entity called Be'r-Jaz, and which they also call the Land. They believe it to be the embodiment of the island of Be'r-Jaz and a god of justice. The Land's great shrine is the Cave of Light, a cave that has brights rocks and beautiful cave drawings. The vallamir have built a shrine in the cave.

### Symbols

Goats and Water-Goats are symbols of Ya-Shuur. The Herding Stick is a symbol of Ya-Shuur. The Molf is a symbol of Ya-Shuur. Goat Horns are also symbols of Ya-Shuur and convey balance and harmony.

## Relationships

### Gods

* Li'Kalla: Ya-Shuur's accidental mother. Ya-Shuur watched over her for some time, having heard her cries for help. He was witness to her confrontation with Vakk.
* Vakk: Vakk's accidental father. Ya-Shuur did not know him but was nevertheless saddened when he felt his death.
* Chopstick Eyes: The first person Ya-Shuur ever truly met. Ya-Shuur considers her a friend. He told her about what happened to Li'Kalla and she gave Ya-Shuur a mug of hot chocolate, which inspired Ya-Shuur to make sudi-shrib, a bitter cocoa drink. She and Ya-Shuur made a drink called gim-sa, made from fermented goatmilk, together. Ya-Shuur hopes to give her a beautiful gift when he next sees her.