When the soul of a sentient being, rejected by
Astus merges with the primordial matter of an
Elemental, a genie is born. This unusual occurrence manifests into a physical form, resulting in the creation of a genie. A genie usually has no ties to the soul that gave it life. That life force serves as a foundation for the genie's appearance and apparent gender, as well as one or two important personality traits. While highly intelligent, genies are rare enough that they have never become what might be considered a "civilized" species. The types of genie commonly encountered are:
- Dao : Created from an Earth Elemental, these genies frequently run gem-mining businesses on Valine.
- Djinn : Air Elemental-derived genies.
- Efreet : These genies, formed from Fire Elemental, are said to be made of basalt, bronze, and congealed flames.
- Marid : These genies are made up of Water Elemental.
- Jann : Jann derive their powers from all four elements, but they are weaker than other genie types.
- Kayal : Distinctive genies from the rest of geniekind, whom they despise to varying degrees.
- Qhorash : These genies are distant relatives of the djinn, created from elemental spirits of cold and ice.
- The Tasked : By focusing solely on one profession, these genies have been transformed into new forms.
Genies have many inherent magical abilities, but a few of them also train to gain the spellcasting abilities of a
Sorcerer of their element. They create one-of-a-kind magical devices and cast a variety of specialized spells, sometimes in the service of a genie-binding entity. The power routes of the
Dao,
Djinn,
Efreet, and
Marid are all considered "lost roads," which means they are mostly unknown to people of other races.
Genies are sometimes tethered to magical objects and forced to serve others. A
Ring of Genie Summoning, a
Lamp of Genie Summoning, and an
Astrolabe of Entrapment are examples of these items. This type of servitude is despised by all genies.
A genie enslaved by this type of slavery can be freed by either destroying the apparatus holding them or requesting a wish to free the genie. Genies freed from this captivity are almost always extremely grateful to whoever freed them, though they rarely stay free for long.
Giant's age-old rivals, genies, have had many fights over the years, resulting in a drop in the
Giant's population. Genies refuse to accept the
Giants' traditions and rarely speak of them, believing them to be insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Giant, for their part, refuse to pay genies tribute or sacrifice and refuse to acknowledge them as superior to them.
All genies fear and despise the
undead, but
liches in particular. This is because
liches have the strange ability to command genies, which they despise. If a
lich's
Phylactery is detected, genies will usually try to destroy it. However, genies can occasionally turn the tables on
lich and have the
lich serve them in exchange for protecting their
Phylactery.
Some claim that the Valinian pantheon created genies to punish
dragons for nearly destroying the
Dragonborn. Those who believe in this tell a legend of a
Mottuna appearing in mortal disguise among the dragons of Valine, warning them that the Greater Deities were furious with them. After
Mottuna was mocked,
Mano proposed that they appoint the genies as their masters and have them grant their wishes.
Gama vetoed this strategy, but the genies had already been unleashed on Valine, and they had no choice but to explore their own paths.
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