Iztur

The Iztur are an ancient race that existed during the Ninth Eon as a member of the Empire of Arckas. They used to be a major power in the Milky Way galaxy but have since been decimated by the Collective, an ancient incarnation of the Harbingers. There are no know survivors that have managed to live to the present day.

They were formerly one of the strongest races in the galaxy, with a massive kingdom covering a major portion of the Perseus Arm and spawning from their homeworld. However, one cannot say they were the most technologically advanced empire as the Iztur tended to use more primitive styles of combat. Instead, the Iztur evolved to be one of the most humble and wisest races of the galaxy.

It is commonly believed that the Iztur promised they will destroy all but one chosen race that they have judged to be pure, which keeps all others in fear. This gave the Iztur the nickname of "Angels of Death". Other races were unsure if they are the chosen one or not, and some desperately tried to expand to slow down their possible destruction while some even worship the Iztur or adopt their religion to please them.

The Iztur have evolved over time to make an effort to destroy anyone who became tainted. A race became tainted when a major Commandment is violated such as destroying planets or threatening others. Once a race is tainted, the Iztur cannot stop attacking unless the race becomes untainted somehow which is incredibly rare.

It is believed that the Iztur behave this way due to a long-standing psychological impact on the entire race. Upon first entering space, they encountered many dangerous empires which did practices considered unacceptable to them. While the Iztur attempted to tolerate these empires, they would not do the same back to them. Because of this, the Iztur evolved believing that such evil empires must be eradicated from the galaxy in order to bring peace. As a direct side effect, they are slow to trust other empires. They still remain cautious even of their own allies being prepared to fight back if they turn against them.

Physiology
Native to a low gravity world, the Iztur were tall blue creatures bearing similar traits as an ostrich or an emu. They had long legs as well as a long neck with a beak-like maw, two stalk eyes and a large, bulbous head. Their arms had wing flaps, allowing them to glide short distances, and at the ends of these arms were three fingers and an opposable thumb.

Iztur are quite tall mostly because of the low gravity of their homeworld. Adult males usually weigh 200lbs at a height of 7 feet. The unusual height-weight ratio allows them to move with great dexterity and glide for longer periods of time than other similar dragon species. Their reaction time can be as fast as 0.05 seconds. The drawback is the light-weight allowed them to easily be knocked back on higher gravity planets by most specie. To compensate, it was common practice for warriors to wear heavy, metal armor to increase their weight.

An Iztur's brain was also very sophisticated with an average IQ of 150. This resulted in their speech being very eloquent and proper, and they found simpler languages to be amusing. Most Iztur prefer to speak languages originating from their homeworld as most of the time, they cannot pronounce some unique sounds in other alien's vocabulary. However, this did not stop them for learning them fairly quickly as their enhanced cognitive thinking allows them to detect patterns within seconds.

Religion
Iztur religion recognized several entities: a benevolent spirit god and a goddess of nature. They also forbade worship of an evil god said to be the king of all demons.

Culture
Iztur government is theocratic monarchy, and their society is a rigid caste system. Unlike many caste systems, all castes are equal in status even the royals. An Iztur is placed in a caste often by their heritage and physical and mental abilities
 * Workers - This caste is often called the working class. They consist of the mainstream population who perform many skilled and unskilled labor jobs which vary from mining spice to cooking.
 * Artisans - This caste makes a variety of different objects, but most are holy objects made for their gods. They create the entertainment for the rest of the Iztur.
 * Peace Keepers - The caste that helps defend the kingdom. Many Peace Keepers were former Workers who were drafted.
 * Priests - They write the holy texts and methods to live one's life. They are the thinkers of the Iztur.
 * Royals - They manage the kingdom and consist of the Royal.
 * Scientists - They study the universe and develop new technologies.

Military
The " Will for the Iztur" consists of all peacekeepers and was often regarded as amongst the most powerful military forces in the galaxy. However, despite their power, the Iztur use weapons that many other species consider archaic. For example, the Warrior Division used swords; heavier troopers may use swords equipped with energy enhancements. They used projectile weaponry as supplements to their warriors.

Economy
The Iztur had a socialist economy distributing wealth to ensure their castes were equal. The Karotians had introduced the Iztur some capitalist principles, but only a handful of Iztur colonies decided to practice it.

History
The Iztur rose up as a powerful race of zealots, committing mass genocide against their empires. Eventually, they allied with the Karotians, the Piln and the Grusarg to defeat the Promorin. Eventually, they built the Empire of Arckas.

60,000 years later, the Iztur betrayed the empire and created the Collective, a synthetic race that would later become plagued with a virus. The Collective eventually played the role of the Harbingers and wiped out the entirety of the Empire of Arckas.