High Shra

Overview

Though it has been referred to my various names throughout the cultural and social development of the vnou, Shra refers to the mental prowess and power of each vnou. Their telepathic ability and biological drive to Connect is a base racial trait of all vnou. The extent of that ability has been roughly charted though modern science can’t fully explain it – much like modern science can’t fully explain how the brain really works. There is a chemical and biological basic understanding of brain tissue and interconnections or bundles of axons – but it has been nigh impossible for neuroscientists to define what specifically creates the Shra and how it manipulates the world, and other vnou.

Shra Chart

1. Zar
2. Vna
3. Kuad
4. Dez
5. Dhath
6. Pra
7. Chlur
8. Lo
9. Blouz
10. Zmutwe

Historically

High Shra, or those of the upper tier of power, have taken on roles of dictators and even gods amongst their own. In a time before the Reconstruction, before the modern history had been carefully curated, High Shra were overlords in various domains. Ruling through the power of their Shra and their ability to control other vnou. It was a dark age of tyranny and subjugation that would only come to an end when the Low Shra population would eventually surpass that of the Higher, and rebellion would wreck the planet.

After the Reconstruction

The Reconstruction has been one of the biggest social resets and upheavals for the vnou. The historical facts have been largely modified to fit the narrative the noble vnou want to present, but it did change how the common vnou were treated. The apparent disillusion of tyrannical powers and the uprising of democratic and representative governments helped guide the vnou into the modern era. The kings and monsters of history are now silly stories, fairy tales, or scary legends that vnou will tell one another, but that holds no weight. It’s all told or seen through the veneer of time – spoken of like something that had happened so long ago. It just doesn’t matter to the common vnou.

Mythical Shra

One aspect of those historical myths is the existence of High Shra. To the common vnou, there are no Shra above the rank of Dez. They aren’t born anymore. For the common vnou, Dez is considered strong but there isn’t really an imbalance in power when it comes to Shra. A Dez is certainly more gifted than a Zar, but the disparity isn’t all that great. A Zar has a chance to defend themselves against a Dez and most will be able to tell they’ve been mentally assaulted. Thus, society at large doesn’t really concern themselves with a vnou’s Shra. It’s a superfluous trait, like saying a vnou has red hair or that one is taller than another. It doesn’t mean anything to them.

The reality is that all of the High Shra, those of Dhath or higher, are either taken into a noble family, a Fa, or culled from the vnou population. This is a task that all nobility take rather seriously. None of them want a repeat of the Reconstruction, which means ensuring that the greater population remains neutered of real power. The reality is that High Shra are certainly alive and exist, but they are all exclusively in the noble class, tied to noble families.

The Big Lie

High Shra are regarded as mythical creatures, like the fae, or the boogeyman. Things that either never existed or did so long ago, in an older time. Before the modern era, when the planet was young and wild. Science chalks up the lack of higher Shra to the advancement in technology – chemical changes in the vnou and the lack of necessity for any of such power. That was an age of uncivilized control, for as little as the common vnou understand it.

This is a lie that all nobility subscribe to and protect. It is the crux of their way of life since the Reconstruction – that the common vnou believe that they are like everyone else in the upper class, that there is no High Shra that can manipulate anyone anymore. There is a blissful ignorant belief that the world is more fair for the lack of High Shra, that things between vnou are more equal than ever since they cannot exert true control over one another. Mental assault is a very serious crime amongst the vnou and it is nigh impossible for a shra as low as Dez to do any real damage.

The lie has made the world softer. Nicer. And that is how the nobility would prefer the common vnou continue to exist. The nobility don’t unanimously agree on anything but this.