Genasi

More legend than truth is known about the halfelementals. Like other races of Athas, the genasi lost their recorded history with the rise of the sorcererkings. Only those tales handed down through oral tradition have survived. The genasi recount these legends empower and motivate the young and to sustain their race during the long generations of exile.

Each enclave tells its own version of the origin myth, but the central theme is the same. The genasi claim to have been created shortly after the Lords of Stone and Fire, Wind and Rain shaped the world out of chaos. With the world complete, the primordials infused their essence into raw elemental material to give it life and purpose as the first genasi.

The primordials created these offspring to serve as helpers, builders, protectors, and warriors, because they knew that their great rivals, the gods, sought to claim creation as their own and populate it with creatures in their own image. The primordials resented any interference and worked to ensure their creations would rule the world.

 For eons, neither side held sway. The world existed in balance, and Athas enjoyed an era of prosperity dimly remembered as the Green Age. But toward the end of that time, war broke out between the primordials and the gods. The primordials emerged from the Elemental Chaos to destroy the gods of Athas and, with the aid of their chosen people, scattered their enemies' immortal servants to the farthest reaches of the cosmos.

That terrible conflict taxed the primordials sorely, and they withdrew into a deep slumber that lasts to this day. They had confidence that their children would protect the primordials’ creation from outside meddling, but this confidence was an error. The genasi, a widespread and varied people, inherited their makers’ fractious nature, and there was no peace among them. Each tribe or faction attempted to assert dominance over the other. While the genasi fought among themselves, the fecund mortal races grew and thrived until their numbers dwarfed those of the genasi, and their resentment over the genasi's sense of entitlement sparked into war. Outnumbered and threatened by terrible magic, the genasi fled to the world’s farthest corners and left the world to the upstarts.

The genasi watched from their hidden redoubts while the victorious races grew mighty, but the genasi were not idle. They studied many forms of magic to enhance their already potent abilities. The half-elementals were horrified when the Green Age gave way to the bloody Red Age, when conquerors mounted terrible genocidal campaigns to purge the world of people they despised. The genasi were shaken by the defiling magic that swept across the once-verdant paradise, but they took no part in the wars. Instead, they waited for their enemies to destroy themselves.

 In the end, the sorcerer-kings emerged unchallenged and claimed the world as their prize, condemning all other peoples to suffering and toil under their rule. The genasi believe this was a just punishment for those who drove them nearly to extinction. Yet a few genasi mourned the world’s slow death and the ruination of the elemental spirits they had served for so long. Their anger and despair were matched, however, by an equal fear of the dread sorcerer-kings that prevailed, and in particular, the Dragon of Tyr, which had caused so much of the world’s destruction. So the genasi remained hidden and apart, unwilling to save the world that had been bequeathed to them in the dim past.

The genasi are often called half-elementals because of their humanlike forms. They are the same size and shape as humans, though they are slightly bulkier, and thus they are mistaken for having human ancestry. Their elemental nature, however, is unmistakable, and the power of the Elemental Chaos bleeds from them through their tempestuous personalities and the manifestations in their flesh. 

The genasi in Athas today are descended from ancestors considered “purer” in their manifestations. Stories abound in genasi communities of those predecessors manifesting the elements of air, fire, earth, and water. Mingled bloodlines combined with the ever-changing world have resulted in new elemental manifestations. Although one can still find earth genasi and fire genasi, the most common manifestations among Athasian genasi are ember, magma, sun, and sand.

Elemental manifestations are what give genasi their distinctive appearance. Instead of hair, all genasi possess a corona corresponding to their elemental heritage. Examples include wreaths of smoke, flames, or crystalline growths.

Genasi also display glowing patterns in their skin, appearing similar to lines and whorls. Soft light in a color associated with a genasi’s elemental manifestation shines from his or her patterns. Genasi from the same tribe have the same color and shape of pattern, which is a useful identifier of origin. Facial patterns are unique to each individual

Short of dying by accident or in combat, a genasi can expect to live as long as a human; 100 years is considered extreme old age

Here are broad descriptions of common manifestations of genasi on Athas:

Ember: You have gray-black skin adorned with black fissures and patterns. Your eyes are jet. Smoke and ash swirl about your head, building in intensity when you call upon elemental power.

Magma: Bright red patterns shine out from your coal-black skin. Your eyes shine with scarlet light, and darkness floats across their surface, as in a lava flow. Heat radiates from you.

Sand: You bear the strongest resemblance to humans among the genasi. You have tan skin traced with a faint white pattern. Your eyes are pure white.

Sun: A crimson corona surrounds your head. The same light is found in your eyes and in the patterns adorning your golden skin.

The genasi have remained apart from other peoples because they lost so much in the years leading up to the Red Age. They trust few who are not genasi, and they suspect everyone they meet of harboring the worst intentions. 

Genasi might be wary of other races, but they have a special hatred for sorcerer-kings and defilers, whom they hold responsible for the devastation of the world and the damage dealt to the elemental spirits to which the genasi are pledged. The genasi recall well the genocidal struggles of the Red Age and their own reluctance to intervene against the sorcerer-kings. Their hatred is tempered by pragmatism. The genasi know they lack the numbers and strength to mount a successful crusade against their ancient foes. But Kalak’s recent death has prompted the genasi to leave their hidden redoubts, because his end suggests that the sorcerer-kings and their reigns might not be as eternal as they once seemed.

Aside from their concerns about the world, the genasi also must come to terms with their inner conflict. Their elemental heritage battles with their natural form and struggles to break free. This conflict can manifest in wild, impulsive, and sometimes destructive behavior. Most genasi are able to suppress their emotions and thus come off as detached or disinterested in what goes on around them. Those genasi who successfully navigate the narrow road between total self-denial and wild abandon can live constructive lives, but frustration, disappointment, and grief constantly chip away at their self-control. Genasi are always at risk of losing their grip and becoming as destructive as the elemental forces they embody.

When the genasi fled into self-imposed exile, they retreated to the most remote, desolate places on Athas. Their physical qualities suited them to these hostile environments. Most genasi settlements are isolated enclaves, hidden by natural features to prevent their accidental discovery by explorers. This effort to remain hidden, however, proved fruitless for the refugees who settled in and around the Tyr Region, because their enemies soon discovered them and stamped them out. All that remains of these settlements are ruined dwellings and fortifications.

Genasi settlements hidden in the Sea of Silt managed to escape destruction. The shifting surface of the Sea of Silt is speckled with rocky islands that rise above the suffocating dust and the billowing clouds to reach toward the dim sun overhead. Most of these protrusions are barren and little more than a few hundred square feet in area, but there are larger islands that are able to sustain modest populations of folk who are willing to risk tangling with the giants  that wade through the shallows and the raiders who sail the dust on skiffs searching for plunder.

Most such islands are home to dwarven clans, raiding bands, and liberated slaves. A few hold trading outposts, and others are home to druids who enrich their adopted land with primal energy. Beyond these scattered isles are greater and more deadly places where not even the desperate would settle, because of the scarce resources and the unknown, undefined dangers that are believed to lie farther east. Here is where the genasi make their homes.

Secrecy is the key to survival in these distant reaches. Genasi conceal their communities among natural landscape features. Most are hidden in the interior of their islands, behind towering cliffs or dense boulder fields. Because their numbers are so few, genasi employ indigenous creatures for protection. For example, the enclaves in the Mountains of the Sun rely on the hejkins and spiders that infest the islands to deter explorers. Likewise, the genasi living on Dhuurghaz depend on an age-old alliance with the beast giants of the Khal-Ish-Thaas tribe

Rumors speak of genasi settlements beyond the Great Ash Storm in the east, in the Valley of Dust and Fire, where the terrible Dragon of Tyr makes its lair. The half-elementals in this region are slaves who are cruelly worked to death in the mines and fields or eaten to sate the monster’s appetite

Although genasi can live their entire lives without crossing paths with other races, the world is not so large that they can completely escape the events unfolding in the Tyr Region. Word of Kalak’s death has reached their ears from raiders and travelers who stumbled upon their enclaves. With each telling, the truth gradually gains traction over their doubts, so that many genasi now believe that the time for their return is at hand. A few have begun the long journey back to civilization to learn the true state of the world and to help free it from the devastation wrought by the hated sorcerer-kings

A life spent on civilization’s fringes brings with it unique challenges to which the genasi are eminently suited. A genasi in the Seven Cities is a loner, a rare traveler who has left behind clan and homeland. Finding a home in a new and hostile world is a struggle a genasi faces until the end of his or her days.

Balance-Seeker: You have communed with the spirits, walked the lands for miles around, and witnessed the ravages done to your world. You can draw only one conclusion from your exploration: The world is getting worse. If Athas can be saved, someone must stand against the defilers and the sorcerer-kings to restore the balance and heal this injured world. That person is you.

Half-Elemental Refugee: Your Silt Sea enclave stood hidden for generations, safe from storm and raid. It was impervious to ancient enemies and monsters beyond counting, but your people grew complacent. When a true threat to their survival appeared, they were unprepared. You managed to escape the enclave and have fled the Silt Sea for safer lands. What wiped out your people? Were there other survivors? Do you seek a new home? Or was one tragic end enough, and now it’s time for you to claim your destiny?

Reclaimed Birthright: You are fascinated by the lorekeepers’ stories, and the more you learned, the more you felt your destiny beckon. You believe that the world belongs to you and your people, not the lesser races that wrested its control from you. The abuses done to the land are proof enough that those races have been inept rulers and poor stewards. So you have set out to reclaim your birthright and to forge a new land where your people can take their rightful place as masters of the world.

When creating a genasi character, here are a few points to consider:

Your nature is conflicted. You are a contradiction. You are chaos bound by order, raw energy in humanoid form. A part of you wants to surrender to this chaos, to go and do as you please, consequences be damned. Some genasi struggle to control what they see as a dark side. They are overly reserved and controlled, visibly struggling to contain their anger when insulted or abused. Others have little restraint and fly off the handle with the slightest provocation.

Your manifestation defines you. Your elemental nature, whether or not you have found peace with it, informs your personality. Ember genasi are subdued and pessimistic; sun genasi can be intense, outspoken, and aggressive; and sand genasi are mercurial and free-spirited. How does your elemental nature manifest?

You hate defilers. The genasi believe the world was given to them to rule as they saw fit. They see their role being usurped by unworthy rulers who have spent the ages exploiting Athas’s resources and turning the world into a dead husk. The ones most responsible are the reckless defilers who have wrought untold devastation from which the world might never recover. Genasi have little tolerance for defiling magic and might extend their scorn to anyone who uses arcane energy.

You are an outsider. Genasi are unknown to the people of the Tyr Region. Although the wastes spawn all manner of strange creatures and peoples, to say nothing of the alterations found in the common folk inhabiting the city-states, your curious appearance might evoke strange looks and even hostility. Do you hide your nature, masking it beneath a hooded cloak or other disguise? Or do you display your appearance proudly?