A
martial society emphasizing strict discipline, public service and self-sacrifice, the Turian
Hierarchy has for over a thousand years been the foremost military power in the Milky Way
Galaxy. As the third race to join the Citadel Council,
it has had a profound influence on galactic affairs, both in its contributions to the
Citadel Fleet and in its willingness to actively counter any perceived threat to galactic stability. It is often said that “if you want to win
a battle, bring a Korgan, but if you want to win a war, you need the Turians.” Turian civilization first arose over fifteen
thousand years ago on their homeworld of Palaven. The planet’s weak magnetic field did little
to prevent solar radiation from battering the surface and the Turians evolved with a
unique metallic carapace as a natural defense. Turian biology possesses many similarities
to the ancient carnivorous dinosaurs or crocodiles found on Earth and it’s likely this predatory
ancestry played a pivotal role in the development of their society and culture. Above all, Turians are noted for their dedication
to public service. This has lead to the development of a highly
regimented and organized society in which the needs of the group are almost always placed
above those of the individual. Every citizen from age 15 to 30 undergoes
a period of military service which forms the center of the Turian state. Serving not only as the armed forces, the
military also acts as an all-encompassing public works organization, responsible for
everything from civil policing, firefighting, construction and transportation. The Turian Government is a hierarchical meritocracy
composed of 27 distinct tiers of citizenship. Higher ranked citizens are expected to lead
and protect subordinates while those of a lower rank obey and support superiors. Turians are wary of unchecked ambition and
settling into a role and rank is not considered stagnation but rather an acknowledgement of
one’s own limitations. Should a Turian be demoted, the stigma associated
with it lies not on the individual, but on those who promoted them before they were ready
for the additional responsibility. Turian citizenship confers broad freedoms
with almost nothing forbidden so long as it does not interfere with a citizen’s duties. While this system has great potential for
misuse, it is tempered by a code of personal honor and responsibility that Turians learn
during childhood. Turians are taught to own their decisions,
good or ill with lying about one's actions considered one of the most serious errors
of judgement. This sense of personal accountability is so
ingrained in the Turian people that even criminals, when directly questioned will often confess
to the most serious of crimes. Judicial proceedings follow the format of
“interventions” where peers and colleagues express their concern and try to convince
the offender to change. Should this process fail, Turians have no
concern over sentencing unrepentant or dangerous criminals to a life sentence of hard labor. Somewhat conversely, Turian religion lacks
an emphasis on rigid rituals or social order often found in the beliefs of other species,
instead, Turians believe that groups and communities have spirits that transcend the individual. A city’s spirit might reflect the accomplishments
and industry of its residents while the spirit of an ancient tree manifests as the beauty
and tranquility of the area it grows within. While these spirits are unable to intervene
within the tangible world, individuals might pray to a spirit for guidance or inspiration. When the Turians developed the capacity for
spaceflight and discovered the Mass Relay network, their civilization immediately began
rapidly colonizing dozens of star systems throughout the galaxy. Many of these colonies broke away from the
authority of Palaven and several rival factions rose to power under the influence of various
chieftains. Isolated on the frontiers of explored space
and lacking a strong central government, the colonies soon grew increasing paranoid and
xenophobic. Turian colonists began wearing emblems and
facial markings to differentiate themselves and skirmishes between rival colonies grew
increasingly frequent. The Unification War, as it came to be known
saw these minor conflicts turn into open warfare as the Turian colonies battled amongst themselves. Distant Palaven remained neutral, lacking
either the resources or political will to become involved. After several years of fighting, with less
than a dozen factions remaining, the Hierarchy finally intervened. Exhausted and too weak to resist, the remaining
chieftains and warlords were forced to submit to the Hierarchy and renew their allegiance. Though peace was restored, the unique facials
markings and emblems that had defined the colonists became fixtures of Turian society. When the Turians first encountered the Citadel
Council, they found the Asari and Salarians in the midst of a rebellion by the expansionist
Krogan. Convinced of the threat they posed to the
galaxy, the Turians joined the Council in their war against the Krogan race. The unique Turian martial spirit and the powerful
military-industrial complex at their command took the Krogans by surprise and the initial
Turian offensive succeeded in routing many of their warrior bands. The counter-attack it provoked however, decimated
several Turian colonies with three rendered completely uninhabitable. The Krogans had hoped that these brutal displays
would weaken Turian morale and deteriorate their will to fight, but the destruction of
their worlds only hardened their resolve. Over the colony of Digeris, the Turian Hierarchy
suffered the heaviest losses in its history but was successful in defeating the fleet
of the notorious Krogan warlord Graken Dhal. Finally, the Turians deployed a biological
weapon developed by the Salarians, decimating the Krogan population and eliminating their
ability to continue the war. After a final offensive by the Turian military,
the Krogans collapsed. In gratitude for their service in ending the
Krogan Rebellions, the victorious Turians were granted full membership on the Citadel
Council, their fleets and armies filling the peacekeeping role that had once been the responsibility
of the vanquished Krogan. Unlike their predecessors however, the Turians
integrated into galactic civilization remarkably well and together with the Asari and Salarians
helped to bring about over 1000 years of uninterrupted prosperity. In 2157 the Turians fought a brief but prominent
conflict with an unidentified alien race that was in the process of activating uncharted
mass relays and expanding across the galaxy. Judged to be dangerously ignorant of galactic
law, the Turians fought numerous skirmishes and occupied a colony known to its inhabitants
as Shanxi (Shan schee). When an unexpected counterattack repulsed
the Turian occupation forces, the Hierarchy prepared for full scale intergalactic war. This drew the attention of the Citadel Council,
who quickly negotiated a peaceful resolution. While the incident was relatively minor, with
fewer than 1000 Turian casualties, lingering resentment existed between the Turian Hierarchy
and their new rivals on the galactic stage, the human Systems Alliance. At the behest of the Citadel Council, both
nations would, over the next few decades work to establish a more productive relationship,
culminating in the design of the SSV Normandy, a prototype deep-scout frigate co-developed
by the Hierarchy and Systems Alliance. This partnership was further reinforced when
the Normandy and its human commander helped pursue and neutralize a rogue Turian specter,
halting a Geth attack on the Citadel in the process. In 2186 an unprecedented attack of incredible
scale occurred across the galaxy as the enigmatic Reapers positioned their enormous living starships
across dozens of worlds, terrorizing and harvesting the local populations. The famous Turian colony of Taetrus was among
the first wave of targets, and images of its burning skylines were broadcast across the
galaxy, seemingly taunting the Turian population. While the Hierarchy answered with near fanatical
resistance and a series of daring counter attacks, the immense technological superiority
of the Reapers inflicted substantial losses and the Turians were forced to retreat to
Palaven itself. The Turians fought with grim determination,
sacrificing thousands as they attempted to learn whatever they could about this terrifying
enemy. As the Turian fleet was pushed back and the
surface of Palaven became a battleground, the Turians made common cause with an unexpected
ally, the Krogan. In a series of daring and brilliant maneuvers
a joint Turian-Krogan counter attack successfully took back huge swathes of Palaven and delivered
an enormous boost to allied morale. In the final battle of the war, with the fate
of the galaxy and all its peoples hanging in the
balance, the Turian Hierarchy deployed the bulk of its forces to assist in the liberation
of Earth. Through immense sacrifice, bravery and dedication,
the Turians were able to buy enough time for a single human specter to encounter the Catalyst,
an entity at the very heart of the Citadel, and through it make a fateful choice.