Kira Toreika

Jurstra-Arktura (joor-STRUH ark-TOOH-ra) is the third highest ranked member of the al-neres council. She was originally born in a small village in Shion nearly a thousand years ago, and then later reborn as a member of Vichmagen's army.

Appearance
As an isgli, Jurstra has long, silky black hair that she often leaves loose or will tie with a leather strap. She's noted as being rather short for an isgli, though she notes that she's average for a Shionen. She has dark brown, almost black, almond-shaped eyes (typical of Shionen), a face that while angled, is rounder than most elves or even humans, with full lips and a round nose.

When she embraces her wyrmkin form, her eyes become lavender to match her violet scales.

Abiltiies
Jurstra notes in an off-hand comment to her mother, Tenna, that she is a necromancer. This likely comes as a result of her resurrection from Vichmagen.

History
Jurstra often mentions a major atrocity that she and Anaiya both committed. This may relate to the comment she makes in passing to Fach-Pegas that she killed her husband, Adeo, though she doesn't discuss the details of that. It's also indicated that Tenna didn't raise Jurstra herself.

Shadowed Peregrine
Jurstra comes to Metroa to meet with a contact of herself in the upper city; in this case, Petal has promised her "important information" regarding her investigation into the pulse and Oleander's rumored child. She doesn't trust the elf at first, and seems rather annoyed at Petal's game of deciding if she'd give Jurstra information or not. Nonetheless, she learns that an army has moved to the south from Teil, and quickly leaves to pursue it.

On her way there, she encounters Wynfar, whom she heals and brings with her after she notices an imperial arrow in his wing.

When she finally finds Lewun, it's been burned to a cinders. Reese Blackthorn finds her, and convinces her to help the townsfolk there in exchange for information on Rinir. She finds Noni (Anaiya)'s home, which she recognizes by the ring that Noni wears around her neck. She agrees to see if she can find Rinir and Deicha on her way out, at Reese's behest.

She's only a day behind Rinir and Thorn when she arrives in Middrek, where she finds Deicha and Cardigan. Cardigan thinks that she's there to harm the boy, as Geshin had found him first. She shows them Reese's locket, and lets Deicha know that it's safe for him to return to Lewun.

Shortly after leaving Middrek, Jurstra encounters Sohkol and the massacre of star nymphs that Geshin left behind. Still dazed from her work in Lewun, she leaves Sohkol to deal with the bodies and pursues Geshin. Jurstra finds and follows Rinir as they approach Riverscross, but Sohkol's bomb causes her to abandon the girl. She rescues Sohkol from Geshin, and immediately brings her to safety. The al-neres notes that she has to expend precious energy in order to prevent Sohkol from dying after the bomb.

She heads back toward Kentlyton Plains with Sohkol and Wynfar, where she feels confident she can make a gateway once she's just past the city. However, they're delayed when she intercepts Violet and the Kandhi attempting to move Ugly. Noting something odd about the warg's energy, Jurstra agrees to make a portal to Thanta's Forest to save the warg's life.

This forces her to carry Sohkol the rest of the way to Skaeb Loch. Upon arriving, she and the al-sei are hurried to the medical clinic, where Byru-Eridani notes that Giattrius has called an impromptu council meeting. Jurstra's allowed a short nap, and then awakens to be helped by Tenna to dress for the meeting.

At the meeting, Jurstra recognizes the other council members, and feels content to be home. Fach flirts with her in private, but she doesn't reciprocate.

Yvon brings a case to the council to allow al-sei to be tested for ascendance (that is, to be allowed to become wyrmkin like the ''al-neres). Jurstra questions how Yvon would want to be tested, and decides that the al-sei have no idea the types of trauma that the al-neres'' had to overcome to ascend (as she later confirms to Fach, when they discuss the hearing in the garden a week later).

Finally, Sohkol and Jurstra are allowed to give their testimonies. Sohkol goes first, showing how she pursued both the pulse as well as Jurstra initially. The other al-sei are initially enraged when Sohkol makes a point of projecting how Jurstra left her to deal with the star nymph massacre, and many leave before Justra can share her side - and how she'd already dealt with Lewun's massacre.

Jurstra chooses to abstain from the vote to investigate Rinir, not realizing that her vote would have been the deciding vote. A week later, when she'd been able to recover from her journey, she discusses the hearing with Fach and they wonder if the al-sei are unhappy because of how mundane their lives are in Skaeb Loch. Jurstra notes that most humans and isgli never leave their homes, either, but seem happy. Arid Desert later joins them, and Jurstra asks for her advice on how the dragons would handle Rinir's case. The dragon explains that they likely wouldn't do anything, but noted that prophecies are simply possibilities of what could happen - or else the dragons would likely have intervened with Vichmagen and possibly even Jurstra herself. When Arid Desert notes that Jurstra should instead be wary of who influences Rinir, the al-neres suddenly makes a quick exit.