"He'arka'thul'akut. Long ago, the Elves made a blade that wounded our kind. It was wielded by one of their fiercest warriors. Strong he was, and he waged a terrible war... The blade contains the essence of a great many of our kind. The power of the sword can be released and used to heal the she’al akra. The Elves gave it to a man of these lands. That man fell in battle and the Dwarf folk of the mountains took it into their deep halls. There they hold it still. In the peaks between the white and black, from wasteland city south and west."
- —A Djinn to Princess Jasmina el Al[4a]
The Flaming Scimitar captained by the Golden Magus, propelled by two spell-bound Djinn.
Djinn,[8a] also called Genies, are mystical, elemental spirits akin to Daemons, that reside in the deep deserts of Araby and the Land of the Dead.[8a] When a Djinn is said to be so powerful as to be capable of eclipsing the sun, it is referred to with the title of Royal Djinn.[1a]
These incredibly ancient ethereal creatures, are prophets of fate and doom to many men.[8a] They can be summoned through a complex ritual involving dark pacts and unholy promises. Djinn are creatures born of the elements and can assume various forms, such as horses made of sand, pillars of fire, or mighty Arabyan warriors comprised of swirling air. Similar to Daemons, anyone who learns a Djinn's true name gains great power over it. Djinn are ancient spirits with knowledge of long-forgotten secrets, particularly from the early days of Nehekhara, and many wizards and priests seek to summon them to acquire such forbidden knowledge.[8a]
Arabyan wizards used the powers of the Djinn to control elemental spirits of the desert, such as Djinn, Efreets, Genies, and similar spirits. These spirits were worshipped by the superstitious people of Araby. It was commonly believed that the spirits must be appeased with prayers and small tokens of respect, such as gifts of food and drink. These so-called elemental creatures were all Daemons of a kind, but they were so far removed and isolated from the source of magical energy in the Chaos Wastes that they relied upon the close presence of powerful magic items to maintain their existence.[2a]
They also sometimes clung to local areas where a vestige of magical energy may be found, but in such cases, their power was not usually great. Much Arabyan magic was based on creating and using forms of magical containment, such as cages, boxes, or crystals, which were used to capture and enslave these Daemons.[2a]
Sultan Jaffar was known to have prolonged contact with some of the mightiest Djinn, though many believe their deceit ultimately led to his downfall.[8a]
Arabyan Magicians can also somehow channel the immense power of the Djinn through their own bodies and lay a terrible curse upon their foes.[2a] Theoretically, if someone should kill a Djinn, its power would be absorbed by the wizard.[4a] But a Djinn has Daemon-like power and a similar dark nature, though their wisdom transcends that of any mortal being.[4a] All Djinn have magical powers due to their spiritual and elemental nature. Some of the older ones have mastered each of powers in their time.[8a]
Some Djinn seem to speak in riddles. Their power is immeasurable and they cannot truly be killed; however, there are exceptions, as a Djiin cannot break a curse that surpasses their power, such as the she'al akra, and its spirit can be "wounded" by a particular sword created by the Elves, the Silverblade, known as Ulfshard among the ancient northern tribes of Men who would later found the Empire.[4b]
In Araby, the superstitious usually worship these spirits so as not to enrage them.[2a] A common curse in the Arabyan tongue would be: "May their souls be flayed by Djinn." And a popular phrase of surprise or consternation would be: "Spirits of the sky, water and earth."[5a]
Three Royal Djinn are rumoured to be kept within jewelled and gilded Great Urns in the hidden rooms under the decks of the Flaming Scimitar, the flagship 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]
Notable Djinn Types
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 water solid around seabound foes or seal a hole in their master's warship with living ice. Though they take the form of lissome wenches, the Sea-nymphs are perhaps the most inhuman of all 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 elemental 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 Arabyan Magicians or up to three soldiers to travel through the skies.[2a]
Fire Efreets
Those vessels that contain powdered sulphur and dried naptha may be ignited with a spark to release a gigantic Fire Efreet, known also as a "fire-djinn."[3a] 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 upon 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]
Arabyan Elemental Magic
The elemental magic of the Djinn, known as Arabyan Elemental Magic, is a rare, almost lost art among Men. It is the preserve of the Djinn of the deep desert and of those Djinn unfortunate enough to be captured and forced to teach their secrets.[7a]
Arabyan Magicians can command desert-dwelling Djinn to engulf their foes in a swirling cloud of choking sand and dust.[2a]
Notable Djinn
- Khar-mel - Khar-mel is one of the few known Djinn of Araby. She has oft been encountered in the western desert by mortals over the centuries.[8a]
- Sultan of Flames - The Sultan of Flames is one of the three Royal Djinn held by the Golden Magus, an Arabyan Magician who has managed to summon this powerful entity, using its unstoppable power to mitigate the power of the Galleon's Graveyard.[6]
Miniatures
Trivia
The Djinn are based on real-world jinn, commonly known in the West as "genies." These are supernatural entities -- demons, spirits or minor deties -- of pre-Islamic Arabian mythology.
Sources
- 1: Dreadfleet (Specialist Game)
- 1a: pp. 38-39
- 2: Warmaster: Armies (Specialist Game)
- 2a: pp. 48-49
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
- 3a: pg. 62
- 4: The Blades of Chaos (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 5: Gotrek and Felix: Two Crowns of Ras Karim (Novel) by Nathan Long
- 5a: Ch. 3
- 6: Dreadfleet (Novel) by Phil Kelly
- 6: Ch. 17
- 7: Town Cryer 20
- 7a: pg. 18
- 8: Town Cryer 21
- 8a: pg. 17