Jhiriska

The ancestral race to all humanoids on Iuldar today. They appeared largely human in form, but with tufted ears, a wet, dog-like nose, a furred tail, claws, and digitigrade feet. The first few generations of Jhiriska were a hodgepodge mixture of Human and Kitooni features, but patterns began to emerge and by the second millennium DA, the above was the norm for the Jhiriska. The Jhiriska race began when a dimensional rift carried a large number of Humans from Earth to Iuldar. The Humans were unaware of the Kitooni’s genetic grafting ability, but after a few years without female Humans, some of them got a little adventurous. Once the first Jhiriska, Shenet, was born, other Humans began taking Kitooni mates. The Jhiriska were born from this.

Over the next several thousand years, the Jhiriska advanced in technology and number and soon came to rule the whole of Iuldar, though not as a unified nation. They even planted colonies on the nearby planets of Telros and So’wedar! Things were looking good for the Jhiriska until a cataclysmic event known as “The Great Death” Nearly wiped all sentient humanoids from Iuldar. The Jhiriskan magic system was the first example of what is called a “khaalnas”, a magic system composed of multiple small organs and conduits that run parallel to the nervous system. They could perform all three modes of personal magic. Unlike modern khaalnasi that draw energy from the caster’s soul, the Jhiriskan khaalnas pulled energy from the pure energy of the magical radiation that bathed Iuldar at the time. Unfortunately, when that storm ran out, the Jhiriska discovered that their lifeforce was also connected to the energy of the magic storm, and without it, The Great Death happened. Thousands of years of Jhiriskan advancement were wiped out in a matter of decades.