Ursare

Ursare
Species
Homeland(s)	Zakaz (Lake & Surrounding Oceans)
Language(s)	Uwomahri Matoric
Species Category	B
Size Category	Medium 1.5 - 1.7 Bio
Can Use Kanohi	Yes (Great)
In the Doronai Nui	Yes
BS01

The Ursare are the frail, aquatic species of the Barraki warlord Ehlek, and the primary constituent species of Ninaikar. As a result of alterations done by a mysterious group, protosteel claws are grafted to their bodies, which - combined with their natural maneuverability - make them devastating killing machines in the water. There are two sub-species of Ursare - Ocean Ursare and Great Lake Ursare (sometimes called Lake Ursare).

Overview

Design

One purpose for the Great Beings' design of the Ursare was the maintenance of the underwater chutes.

Traits

Ursare are slim and frail, lightly-armored beings, typically standing slightly shorter than a Toa. They are an aquatic species, only capable of breathing water, and as such require breathing helmets above water. The Ursare are incredible swimmers, using their large, broad feet to move swiftlyin the water. They possess great maneuverability, and are able to reach high speeds. However, these feet also render them somewhat clumsy on land.

Early in history, the Ursare were modified, granting them enhanced strength as well as long, retractable claws made of protosteel - some of the most formidable natural weapons in the Matoran universe.

Though they do not need to wear masks, Ursare are capable of accessing the powers of Great Kanohi masks. However, many Ursare only learn how to access the powers of Noble Kanohi. The Ursare breathing helmets are designed to allow them to also wear Kanohi at the same time.

Ursare speak standard Matoric, as well as Uwomahri, a dialect spoken by several underwater species.

There are two sub-species of Ursare: The more common Ocean Ursare, and the reclusive Great Lake Ursare.

Ocean Ursare are typically lighter colors, easily read under low-light conditions. Adapted to the open water, the Ocean Ursare are able to reach speeds of of 30 miles per hour (in short burts), and able to travel long distances through the ocean. They possess a prominent dorsal fin, and their mandibles are more accentuated than those of the Great Lake Ursare.

The Great Lake Ursare are distinguishable from their oceanic brethren by their darker natural colors, smaller mandibles, and paired fins that run from their upper arms onto their backs. Lake Ursare are less swift than the Ocean Ursare, but excel in sheer maneuverability. The skin of a Lake Ursare is full of color nodes that can take on the colors and textures of their surroundings (both above and below water), and can also allow them to display preferred colors if they so choose. This enables them to become almost invisible in certain lighting.

Culture

Due to their aquatic nature, the Ursare require breathing helmets when going on land. This renders them vulnerable, and as such, these helmets are are typically heavily-armored. It's also not uncommon for the Ursare to employ Kanohi Lerkau. Their ability to use masks is surprising to some unsuspecting land-dwellers.

According to myth, the Ursare's claws were granted to their species by a benevolent force at the dawn of time, but even the Ursare’s memory of this event is sketchy at best.

The ways and customs of the Ursare are somewhat different than those of the surface world, making them seem almost alien in nature. Additionally, Ursare are not known to be talkative. Only a few Ursare interact with the surface-dwellers, who are largely considered unworthy of their attention. Conversely, other amphibious species like the Gawalai and Ekedax regularly interact with the Ursare.

Ocean Ursare

The Ocean Ursare are found throughout the universe, though their presence is the strongest in their native waters surrounding Zakaz.

The culture and society of the Ocean Ursare are considered just as alien as their appearance by land-dwellers; what little is known points to an insular or even xenophobic way of life beneath the waves. The center of their society - the great undersea city of Agnoika, located near Zakaz - is barred to all non-Ursare, and its sacrosanctity is vigorously and aggressively defended. The culture of paranoia and fear that characterizes Ursare foreign policy has created a system of secrets and diversions designed to hide their precious capital’s location from all but the most well-known of land-dwellers.

Politically, the Ocean Ursare divide themselves into assemblies - rough equivalents of political parties that commonly define themselves by ideological or geographic identities, representing the interests of those that elect them in the Great Parliament of Agnoika. Also prominent in Ursare society are assembly guilds - groups of Ursare which focus on practicing certain crafts and skills for the betterment of their society, such as transportational engineering or coral growing.

One of the most famous types of guild are the cultish Chuteline Guilds, who carry on the half-remembered traditions of advanced engineering they once shared with the Ancient Skakdi. Also notable is the now-shunned and ostracized Assembly of Conquest, to which the Barraki Ehlek belonged, which now exists only as marauding factions of pirates that raid the merchant ships of surface dwellers. Representatives of the guilds are master negotiators and shrewd to a fault, notorious for the way that they seem to always turn a project in their own favor.

The settlements of the Ocean Ursare are a sight to behold, even more so because only a fortunate few land-dwellers are given the opportunity to see them up close. Ocean Ursare architecture almost entirely relies on a species of rapidly-growing, bioluminescent coral, which they use their sharp claws to cut into shape. Constructing a building usually involves setting up a temporary frame along which the coral grows to form a living building. Beautiful as they are, these coral structures require frequent care and maintenance, lest they overgrow or die off - both characteristic signs of abandoned Ocean Ursare sites. As a result, professional builder-gardeners are highly respected, and even the average Ursare is highly attached to their home.

The spread of Ocean Ursare throughout the Matoran Universe is due to their heavy utilization of the underwater chutes interconnecting the domes. Small teams of Ursare can occasionally be found in various corners of the universe performing repairs and maintenance on the chutes. In the wake of these efforts, some Ursare began to settle near coastlines of islands and continents. It is mainly with these Ursare that land-dwellers interact, trading resources from the oceans in exchange for resources and tools from the surface.

On the battlefield, the Ursare achieve dominance through the clever application of all of their forces. Thus, their Ursare Shock Brigade consist of a small number of Ursare which spearhead assaults. Ursare Shock Troopers are aggressive fighters who rush recklessly into battle. They prefer to overwhelm opponents as quickly as possible, striking before their opponent has a chance to brace themselves. Though the Ursare may be physically fragile due to their small, lightly-armored aquatic bodies, their military rarely utilizes weapons other than their claws, which can be enough to sink entire fleets. Razor-sharp, nigh-unbreakable, and graceful, these claws to cut through flesh and armor all the same, ensuring that no force can stand between a Shock Brigade and its goal, be it capturing an enemy bunker or cutting down an opposing general. However, the Ursare have been known to utilized Micro Leechblasters.

Some believe that a hidden sect of Ursare forged Eclipse disks.

Great Lake Ursare

The Great Lake Ursare almost exclusively live in the lake at the center of Zakaz, where they have almost completely shunned the outside following the Zakaz Civil War.

The Lake Ursare are less aggressive than their oceanic counterparts, and have a history of relations with the ancient Skakdi based on mutual acceptance. This unusual cooperation was embodied in the magnificent city of Umazhi, in which the Ursare inhabited the levels below the water, while the Skakdi lived above. However, in the aftermath of the Prosecution and the fall of Zakaz, and with the modern Skakdi no longer inclined towards friendly interaction, the Lake Ursare have been cut off from direct connections to the ocean and mostly faded into obscurity since. As a result, these Ursare are now known only by a few land-dwellers. However, it is said that they still endure in the depths of Zakaz’s lake, patiently waiting for a new era of prosperity.

History

Early in history, the Ursare were modified by the Order of Mata Nui, though they are unaware of the identity of the organization.

The Ursare people had always been industrious in their own way, taking care of the great chutes that connected the universe below the waves. However, following both the defeat of Ehlek and the corruption of the Skakdi species, the Ursare have forsaken both their duty and the surface world, and now build only for themselves beneath the waves alongside the Gawalai, leading to many of the great undersea chutes falling into disrepair.

In an act of desperation, the Ursare of Agnoika created Vacuum disks as a way to deter attacks from Skakdi surface dwellers without risking their own lives.

In the wake of the Prosecution and the later Zakaz Civil War, the Great Lake Ursare have faded into obscurity.

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List of Members

• Ehlek
• Feval

In the Doronai Nui

See Ursare/Doronai Nui