The Kurii, an anthropoid spacefaring race, wish to capture Gor and Earth to replace their own planet, which they destroyed in internecine warfare. Currently, the Kurii operate in large artificial planetoids outside the orbit of Jupiter: the Priest-Kings do not molest them as long as they stay outside that orbit. For sixteen thousand years the Priest-Kings have fought the Kurii, protecting Gor and Earth from them. The Kurii are large, furred carnivores, extremely vicious, with technology far in advance of Terran science, but yet no match for the Priest-Kings. Many of Earth’s legendary monsters, including Grendel, the Sasquatch, and the Yeti, were in fact shipwrecked Kurii who were trapped on Earth when their ships were destroyed by Priest-King patrols. Kurii are also found on Gor, shipwrecked in the same manner, and have formed isolated outposts in the far North. (They cannot stand a hot climate and are extremely sensitive to pollution, which is why they are not found in any number on Earth.) The Priest-Kings do not molest Kurii on the surface of Gor save to enforce the Weapons and Technology Laws on them just as on humans. Therefore, a Kur who does not break the laws is safe on Gor from Priest-Kings… but not from humans, who hate them and kill them whenever they can. This is a very justified attitude, as Kurii are extremely arrogant and look on all other animals, including man, as food, and not too bright food at that.
