The Flaming Scimitar of the Golden Magus, surrounded by spell-bound Djinn.
Djinn is the generic name given by Arabyan Magicians to many different kinds of elemental spirits, which can be imprisoned within magical jars and bound to do a sorcerer's bidding. When one of these jars is shattered, spirits inside will manifest, billowing and spilling out of the broken jar to coalesce into a mighty elemental spirit hundreds of feet tall.[1a]
Such spirit will obey only a single command before dissipating into the ether, free to go about its business or seek revenge as it sees fit. Whilst it remains bound to the Magician's service, the spirit will fight with every ounce of its strength against its master's enemies.[1a]The Magicians of Araby can also somehow channel the immense power of the Djinn through their own bodies and lay a terrible curse upon their foes.[2a]
Known types of Djinn
- Sea-nymphs - Those magical jars that are filled with sparkling seawater contain the essence of Sea-nymphs - or Salt Devils as they are known to the pirates of Sartosa - who can freeze solid around seabound foes or seal a hole in their masterās warship with living ice. Though they took the form of lissom wenches, the Sea-nymphs are perhaps the most inhuman of all the djinn spirits, and delight in dragging those struggling to tread water so deep into the sea that their fragile human bodies crumple in upon themselves under the pressures of the abyss.[1a]
- Tempest Djinn - The jars that contain a portion of each of the four winds will shatter into dust when the whispered word of their owner falls upon them, releasing Tempest Djinns that funnel their hurricane breath into the sails of ships. These storm-born spirits are capricious as zephyrs in temperament, but their raw might is that of a tornado, and they can pull even the most fearsome winds unto themselves like a shroud.[1a] Some of these aerial spirits are bound into the spiralling patterns of Arabyan Flying Carpets, which allow Magicians or up to three soldiers to travel through the skies.[2a]
- Desert Spirits - The Magicians of Araby can command these Djinn to engulf their foes in a swirling cloud of choking sand and dust.[2a]
- Fire Efreets - Those vessels that contain powdered sulphur and dried naptha may be ignited with a spark to release a gigantic Fire Efreet. A Fire Efreet is a creature of savage delight that cackles as it hurtles through the air; searing the decks of enemy ships and setting aflame their crew as it shouts curses that sound for all the world like the spit-crack of raw fresh melting on open fire.[1a] The blood of one of these spirits was used to temper the blade of the Hellfire Sword, which was forged from a single flame that was hammered into material form.[3a]
- Royal Djinn - Only three of these are rumoured to exist, and are kept within jewelled and gilded Great Urns in the hidden rooms under the decks of the Flaming Scimitar of the Golden Magus. Each urn has an intricate spiral of skulls winding around its outside, crested by one of the three symbols that represent the elements ascendant over the forces of darkness. They are said to have once belonged to the Great Necromancer Nagash himself, and that each contains a spirit powerful enough to eclipse the sun. The Golden Magus will not say a single word on the matter. Perhaps even the redoubtable Sultan of the Seas is afraid to open them...[1a]
Miniatures
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