Editing Qugu

{{Race infobox
|name=Qugu
|othernames=
|image=
|variant=
|homeworld=[[Seht]]
|focalworld(s)=[[Se'Tar]] system <br> [[Se'Un]] system <br> [[Se'Ugn]] system <br> [[Se'Otan]] system <br> [[Sehta'Un]]
|goals=
|war=
|height=
|weight=
|distinctions=Herd animal ancestry <br> Symbiotic relationship with jaw-beasts<br>Intelligent
|lifespan=
|notable-group=
|notable-person=
}}
The '''Qugu''' were an intelligent species that was rendered extinct by the [[Hive]] and the [[Black Fleet]].

==Overview==
The Qugu were bipedal creatures descended from herd animals, with cephalopod-like bodies mounted on two reverse-jointed legs, a head with dark eyes ringed by a mane of fifteen tentacles, and a single arm protruding from their chest.<ref name="dynasty">'''(2024/6/4)''',''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Episode: Echoes]], [[Lore:Dynasty|Dyanasty]] - [[Lore:Dynasty#Chapter 1 - A Step Leads. A Step Follows.|A Step Leads. A Step Follows.]]''</ref> They appear to have been asexual, or at least had no concept of gender, with all Qugu using gender-neutral pronouns. 

The entire Qugu species was infected by a virus that profoundly influenced their society. This virus rewrote the Qugu's genetic code so that they were compelled to ritualistically offer up their limbs to consumed by massive, sessile creatures called [[jaw-beast]]s. Once the jaw-beasts had consumed Qugu cells, the virus converted the cells into eggs, which would develop and eventually hatch within the jaw-beasts. In turn, the jaw-beasts produced a nectar-like substance that the Qugu would consume to experience hallucinogenic visions.<ref name="XXIII">''''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness#Books of Sorrow|Books of Sorrow]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXIII: fire without fuel|XXIII: fire without fuel]]''</ref>.

The Qugu homeworld was called [[Seht]] and orbited a large white star called [[Se'Tar]] along with eleven other worlds. Three other stars were close enough to their system to "color the sky"<ref name=dynasty/>.

The planet's most defining feature was an enormous mountain, surrounded by coral forests dotted by mossy patches and rooted in red sands and maize-streaked stone. The shallow steeps were geothermally active, rich in silt and populated by aromatic lichens.<ref name=dynasty/> The Qugu of the ancient past lived in the sunken valleys at the Mountain's base, and would enter the hollows under the Mountain to offer their limbs to the jaw-beasts that lived in the pools underneath it, a place they referred to as a "death-grove".<ref name=dynasty/>

Qugu society seemed to be a gerontocracy run by "elders" who oversaw communities of Qugu called "groves." They referred to their familial lineages as "lines," which they seemed to hold in high esteem and denoted using prefixes in their personal names. The Qugu military was run by a "Warden" who oversaw the Qugu fleet, with Captains beneath them who then relayed their sub-commands to their sections of the fleet<ref name=dynasty/>. The elders appointed those they deemed worthy to important positions, such as Warden.<ref name=dynasty/>.

The Qugu's primary religion was based on ancestor worship, in which they would pray to their forebears and ask them for guidance. They were attuned to the [[Darkness]], and could commune with the memories of their ancestors through it.<ref name="symbiosis">'''(2023/3/10)''',''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Lightfall]], [[Lore:Inspiral|Inspiral]] - [[Lore:Inspiral#The Art of Symbiosis|The Art of Symbiosis]]''</ref> The Darkness allowed the Qugu to communicate their thoughts and emotions directly to each other, as well as to control their technology with their thoughts and the movements of their tendrils<ref name=dynasty/>. 

By the time the [[Hive]] encountered the Qugu, they had become a spacefaring civilization that controlled five star systems and possessed advanced technologies and mastery of the Darkness<ref name="XXIII"/><ref name=dynasty/>. Their ships were able to move in coordination like amorphous ripples across magnetic fields, and the Admiral and their captain were connected through the Darkness to react as one entity, allowing them to draw dozens of their fleet units together, direct them into formations and coordinate battle strategies between the captain's subcommands the the drone's activities. As a result, when a ship was destroyed, the emotions of despair, terror and grief of those inside were shared among the rest of the units<ref name=dynasty/>. 

Their fighting space ships were called "War-pearls" and were shaped like sleek horizontal teardrops that made them nearly invisible against surrounding space. They had sleek hull plates that could part to release dozens of drones like weapons, shielding and utilities, to move around each ship and form into tight-knit squadrons. They were also equipped with fusion batteries strong enough to disintegrate Hive [[Tombship]]s and their drones could chain power between ships and flow fusion energy through them to fire a powerful unified beam as a last resort tactic<ref name=dynasty/>. In addition, to move their ships from one star system to another, the Qugu used a system of Gates that folded space and transported them almost instantaneously<ref name=dynasty/>. They also possessed "ark-ships" apparently ships equipped to accommodate larger numbers of Qugus and capable of undertaking longer journeys into space<ref name="XXIII"/><ref name=dynasty/>. 


==History==

According to the Books of Sorrow and memories of the Qugu preserved by the Witness, it was [[Savathûn, the Witch Queen|Savathûn]]'s brood that encountered and swiftly exterminated the Qugu and their jaw-beasts<ref name="XXIII"/>. The Hive forces that invaded and annihilated them did not use complex tactics, simply opening an immense rift between the [[Ascendant Realm]] and space to bring out their warships en masse and overwhelm their enemies<ref name=dynasty/>, and then proceeded to chase and eliminate their fleeing ark-ships<ref name="XXIII"/>. 

During the invasion of Seht, a ring-shaped Hive flagship (presumably belonging to Savathûn, as it is described as resembling [[Lure|a ship later used by her]]) arrived over the planet and unleashed a massive explosion of [[Soulfire]] near the Qugu's Mountain. This cracked the Mountain apart, burying the Qugu's defenses and ships in massive rock-slides. The Mountain's core then released a second pulse of energy, which decimated the surrounding area and further cracked open the surface of the planet. The Mountain revealed itself to be a [[Pyramid]], which rose from its half-buried resting place to meet the Hive ships.<ref name="invasion">'''(2024/6/4)''',''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Episode: Echoes]], [[Lore:Dynasty|Dyanasty]] - [[Lore:Dynasty#Chapter 2 - To Split the Sky.|To Split the Sky]]''</ref>.

Oryx's Dreadnaught subsequently arrived at the scene of the battle, and emitted a pulse which destroyed Savathûn's flagship. The Qugu took advantage of the distraction and rallied, attempting to destroy the Pyramid that had once been their Mountain. Using the Darkness, the Qugu fleet drew upon the fury and grief of their people, and released a massive [[Darkness#Resonance|resonant]] blast which destroyed the Pyramid. All combatants were subsequently killed by the Resonance wave released by the Pyramid's destruction.

When Oryx reported the battle in the [[Books of Sorrow]], he omitted any mention of the Qugu using the Darkness. The Witness itself, however, locked away a singular reference to the Qugu aboard [[Essence]], in the form of a crystallized memory of a member of their race, which the [[The Guardian|Guardian]] would recover during the [[Root of Nightmares|incursion]] to kill [[Nezarec, Final God of Pain|Nezarec]]<ref name=symbiosis/>.

==Known Qugu==
*[[Je'Gana]] - Captain of the Seht Armada
*[[Pel'Uma]] - Captain of the Seht Armada
*[[Te'Dura]]
*[[Te'Juna]]
*[[Te'Qal]] - Warden of the Seht Armada

==Trivia==
*Their naming system follows a name and surname style. The surname comes first, originating from the Qugu's line, and is separated from their name with an apostrophe. For example, the name Te'Qal means they are from the "Te" line<ref name=dynasty/>.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]]'' {{Fm}}
*''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Lightfall]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Episode: Echoes]]'' {{Mo}}

==References==
<references/>

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[[Category:Species]]