| Geniekin | |
|---|---|
| (Creature) | |
| CR: | By Class |
| Type: | Outsider (Native) |
| Environment: | Any land |
| Alignment: | Varies |
Genies have supposedly watched over humanity for as long as it has existed. Worlds like Xilrin are not the first realms to have come into existence, but instead may be among the last. If the elementals and genies are to be believed, their otherworldly domains existed long before the Material Plane came into being, and it was the commingling of the Elemental Planes with the life-giving powers of the Plane of Positive Energy that birthed the material universe as we know it. Whether this mythos has any basis in fact is known only to the oldest gods and goddesses, but most mortals accept it as at least representative of some cosmic truth.
Humanity has always sought the beginnings of life. While some ponder the unknowable, others look to where life is given its most raw and primal form—the Elemental Planes. These mysterious realms are places of legend and fable, where humanity seeks to understand mysteries such as how some creatures live in water while others live in air, where various metals and stones originate, and why blood of the living is hot while that of the dead is cold. Many cultures, believe the world as we know it was originally shaped and formed by titanic forces and elder beings of primordial energies. According to these beliefs, the otherworldly creators of the Material Plane gifted the first heroes and leaders of the early tribes of humanity with a fraction of their power, and so in their veins coursed the blood of the elements.
Overall, geniekin are relatively rare. Humanity is fertile and abundant enough without the aid of elemental interlopers, and while geniekin persist in some regions especially where genies more often walk the Material Plane, such as Maj`Dul their births are infrequent compared to human births, and are perceived as alternately mysterious, miraculous, or duplicitous in nature. While few humans envy the attention and stares that geniekin receive in day-to-day society, few can deny their otherworldly beauty, their awe inspiring aptitude for magic, and their mastery over the eldritch energies of their elemental ancestors.
Origins Of Geniekin
The vast majority of geniekin are conceived from the coupling of humans and genies. While jann represent a balance of the four elements, mortals embody an ideal form of the elements’ integration that is given both life and a soul from the Positive Energy Plane. Genies may have any number of reasons to consort with mortals, and indeed, the interactions of genies and humans vary greatly. Regardless of the specifics, the offspring of such a union nearly always has one foot in the Material Plane and the other in the Elemental Planes.
It is known, however, that some geniekin are born to unions between two humanoids of the same race. This begs the question of how a geniekin can come about without the involvement of a genie. The answer may run parallel to the genies’ own origins. The Elemental Planes have been exposed to the radiant energy of the Positive Material Plane since time immemorial, and so they possess some inherent quality of life that is poorly understood. Common wisdom perceives elementals and genies as being singular living embodiments of an element, but perhaps everything from the Elemental Planes has some degree of “life force” as well. If that’s true, every time a creature establishes, participates, or is exposed to a supernatural connection to the Elemental Planes, a potential mixture of life energies occurs. These energies may become absorbed by a creature before it mates or even affect the very young unborn, so that as the child develops in the womb it is conceived in the image of an element. While the parents of geniekin may reel at the concept of their child being infused with the inanimate, the truth may be that the elements are far less inanimate than any imagine.
Some radical magical theorists postulate that eventually the stuff of the Material Plane may manifest a new element, similar to but different from those of the Elemental Planes perhaps culminating in an element heretofore unknown to humanity. Whether such speculation is an important discovery of the multiverse’s inner-workings or a crackpot theory to explain freak phenomena, the world may never know.
Types of Geniekin
Ifrit Ifrits are genie-kin descended from the union of mortal humanoids and creatures of elemental fire such as efreet.
Oread Oreads genie-kin descended from the union of mortal humanoids and creatures of elemental earth such as Shaitans.
Sylph Sylphs are genie-kin descended from the union of mortal humanoids and creatures of elemental air such as Djinn.
Undine Undines are genie-kin descended from the union of mortal humanoids and creatures of elemental water such as marids