Djurii – The Voice of Thunder

“My bloodkin, can you hear the roar that travels from cloud to earth? The tremor that shakes the stance of the courageous, the rumble that deafens the ear of the pretentious? It is thunder, and it declares that your Warrior-Prophet has returned! It is time for us to bask under the heat of the same sun once again, my kin. Join us in our path to reclaim what was lost—or be crushed underfoot.”

— Kyral U’Wyr, Voice of Thunder

Throughout the hundreds of Kiths that comprise the Primal Blood, all have heard the tales of the Djurii Host and their monstrous leader, and few deny the wish to, one day, partake in a Hodjuk. There, while shamans chant in a strange language, berserkers fight to prove their worth in arenas of stomped ground and ashen roots. This is the great celebration of the Djurii Host, a congregation of many different Kiths who have either put aside their differences to gather under the command of a common leader, or been subjugated by their might.

While the formation of a Host isn’t unheard of, Djurii has managed to expand more than any other Host or Kith of the Age of Seekers, and the cause of such unity is quite simple. Thundersteps was seen at first as just another foe to be defeated by the berserkers of the Primal Blood. Soon, as he proved his might, the idea that he was more than mere flesh and bone took root in the minds of the Primal Blood. Some saw him as the spirit of Octna which had returned to guide the Kiths, while others considered him an avatar of Avakra herself, sent to guide the children of Ymiris. 

Those who gathered around the monster heard how he spoke in a strange language, and shamans of many different Kiths banded together in conjoined effort to decipher the wisdom of this being. So great was their endeavor that, according to their tales, Avakra herself spoke with them through her Heart, granting them the insight needed to comprehend the speech. Thus, Djurii was born.   

While the wise simply remain far from the path of the Thundersteps, there are still those who stand tall and dare defy the monster. The Voices of Thunder are more than happy to allow their bravado to be answered in kind, inviting any challenger to the Hodjuk, equal parts a seasonal celebration and an omen of death. The shamans wait for Thundersteps to settle upon a particular spot on Paxos, and there, the trees are brought down, and the ground lit aflame. The clearing of burnt earth and ashen roots becomes the heart of the Hodjuk, where thousands of members of the Primal Blood, either from the Djurii Host or Kiths eager to watch the spectacle, gather to feast upon fresh kills and revel in the chaos. For a few days, a semblance of peace and society reigns, as Kiths share stories and trade goods, but this is short-lived. Soon, in the heart of the clearing, challengers rise to test their strength against Thundersteps. One by one they fall, and their crushed bodies feed the earth and return to the All-Mother. Those strong enough to survive are not met with shame, but rather with an invitation to join the Djurii Host. 

The stories of Thundersteps’ feats travel far and wide throughout Paxos, and there’s no shortage of challengers eager to risk their lives to fight the Tyran and prove themselves the true successors to Octna—or at least earn their place as a member of the Host. This process ensures that only the strongest become honored berserkers of the Kiths, and Djurii is recognized as the most dangerous Host of the Primal Blood not only by the children of the All-Mother, but also by the other Great powers of Selejia. Still, this doesn’t mean that all who join the Kith do so peacefully. Under the command of the Voices of Thunder, the Kiths of Djurii have been unleashed upon other Kiths, and entire cultures were brought to extinction by their rage. 

While the Host is centered around Thundersteps, it is the Voices of Thunder who are the de facto leaders, issuing orders that have been followed thoroughly for hundreds of years. Recently, however, something has changed. Thundersteps has become uneasy, unresponsive to the shamans, rather preferring to follow his own whims. This sudden change has caused much turmoil within the Host, and the Voices seem to have fallen out of favor with the Tyran, being forced to adapt. Thundersteps now moves, and the Djurii follows in his wake. According to the Voices of Thunder, the Tyran is being guided by the All-Mother herself, receiving instructions to reach the means to free her from the pain caused by the Thorn of Olem. For the Seekers who venture into the storm of chaos, the sight of a thundering warband of berserkers and shamans led by a cyclops is a portent of death, a vision that competes with the horrors of the Malediction.