The term Great War has been vastly overused and rarely used accurately. Sure there have been wars that may seem great to those involved at the time, but the truth is that all wars end, and eventually things return to some level of normalcy. Never has there been a mortal war that impacted more than two or three generations of those involved, and even those that came close did not materially and forever change the unending future of a race. The Great War of the Djinn, now this was an accurate and measured name for a war that impacted all djinn in existence and all djinn that would come into existence.
The war started as most things, a disagreement over ideology and a mistaken belief that one group of creatures was somehow inherently superior to others through no rational reason. Efreets ruled their own area with confidence and a firm hand over all things that took place in the Crimson City. The city itself was in the hottest area of the Plane of Fire. Deals were commonplace and all deals were honored in their word, although not always in their spirit. The city was the bustling city of commerce during the day, but by nightfall all shops and merchants were closed and a strict curfew enforced. Any found out and about after nightfall without proper permissions were quickly and harshly dealt with regardless of their origin.
The ruler of the Crimson City was an ancient and powerful Grand Sultan Lazar. He rarely bothered with the day to day running of the city, but was intimately involved in anything that moved beyond standard governance.
The air djinn resided in their own area on the Plane of Air. They were wild and chaotic, but benevolent. Their ruler, an ancient and beautiful noble with white-blue eyes and long flowing white hair was known simply as Djinn Val’el. She ruled the capital city, the Citadel of Volaris, with evenhanded justice and an appreciation and acceptance of the chaotic and free nature of her subjects. Rarely did she venture out unless diplomacy demanded it, and even then, it was anyone’s guess as to when or if she would attend general djinn business that did not directly impact Volaris.
The water djinn were a true and total force of nature in all things. They resided on the Plane of Water. Their chaotic nature rivaled the air djinn, but unlike the air djinn, they leaned more toward neutrality, and they believed themselves to be the greatest djinn of all, and the rightful rulers of all djinn races. Thalathys, the great underwater metropolis, was ruled by Zilai, a djinn who, like most water djinn, collected and adorned himself in opulent gems and finery. He had, at all times, a dozen nobles and servants at his beck and call. The ancient texts told him that, in time, he would be the ruler to unite all djinn under one ruler. His chaotic nature prevented him from planning with any great success how to herald in this inevitability, but he knew it was rightfully his place and that in time it would happen.
The earth djinn cared not for any of the political machinations of the djinn. Their massive kingdom on the Plane of Earth housed more inhabitants from beyond their native plane than all of the other djinn combined. Their leader, Yekoz the Grand, ruled Rubyvale with an iron first, his evil nature readily apparent in all actions he took. It was regular practice for earth djinn to be summoned by those on the prime material plane to perform tasks and duties, which the earth djinn readily undertook because, more often than not, the mortals were unaware of how to formulate their deal and this opened the door for them to be taken as slaves and put to work in the mines. As a result, Rubyvale boasted the largest number of non-djinn slaves in all of the elemental planes. This also gave the earth djinn a uniquely superior understanding of mortals, how they work, and how best to manipulate them for their own means. As was true with the other djinn, Yekoz had little inclination or reason to venture out beyond the Plane of Earth.
Every 100 years the leaders of each of the djinn would gather for what they all believed to be a useless but required meeting. Every century this gathering would be hosted in a place that could support and permit the presence of all four of these great elemental powers. As the time for the gathering grew near, Zilai, who was hosting the event, knew this was his opportunity to finally bring the djinn under their rightful master. Zilai had in his service a grand wizard and this wizard had for centuries been filling Zilai’s head with promises of greatness and reinforced Zilai’s belief that he was the true and rightful ruler of all djinn. Iquia came from a long line of elemental wizards who had, for as long as they had lived, called upon the djinn for favors and research. It was during one of these deals that Iquia caught the attention of Zilai, and it didn’t take long at all for Iquia to see the chance to further her own position and finally harness the power of the most powerful djinn in existence. For more than 50 years she planned and plotted, working with her own people to design a meeting place that would hold the djinn and siphon their power. As the date of the gathering moved closer, Iquia’s confidence in her plan grew. For generations her family had been relegated to the role of servant and advisor, but now their patience was going to pay off.
The meeting place was set, the magical protections and traps in place. Iquia stood quietly, watching as each of the djinn leaders and their advisors arrived. The advisors nodded to one another and took their places at the back of the meeting hall. The hall was sealed, as it was for every gathering between the leaders, and Iquia glanced at Zilai, dipping her head once to signal that all was in place.
The seneschal of the Djinn Council stood and waved his hand, signaling the start of the conclave.
“We have all gathered, as we do every 100 years, to discuss those things that impact all djinn across all of the Elemental Planes. As always, we will begin with the reading of the minutes from the last gathering and the topics submitted by the leaders for discussion at this gathering.”
As the seneschal was speaking the advisors began to chant and sway and a sudden and violent wind swept through the chamber, the sound deafening to all inside. The leaders looked surprised but not concerned, as they rose to their feet to address the disruption. Without warning, Lazar was pulled into an ornate jar sitting on a nearby table. It took only a moment for the other djinn to realize something was amiss. As the advisors continued to chant and the ferocity of the winds increased, Djinn Val’el quickly began to begin to attempt to counter the wind with her own casting. A shimmering outline surrounded her, pulsating outward as the size of the outline grew. Within moments Yezok was pulled into a brass lamp placed next to the ornate jar that contained Lazar. Djinn Val’el waved her hand and the doors to the gathering room bowed in, but remained sealed. Zilai stood motionless, watching Iquia, a look of confusion on his face.
“What is this? This is not our agreement!”
Iquia ignored his question and narrowed her eyes, the tempo of her chant increasing as Zilai was also pulled into a lamp. All of the advisors now turned and focused the full force of their spells on Djinn Val’el. She was anchored to spot, unable to do anything other than attempt to resist the pull of the other jar. Eventually, however, she too was sucked into a jar on the table. The advisors all continued to cast, though their spell turned from capture to binding. In less than an hour, Iquia had successfully captured all four of the leaders. The advisors gathered in the center of the room and discussed the next phase of their plan. When the doors opened, Iquia exited the room and announced the new council of the Planes, with herself as the head.
There were revolts and attempts to release the djinn leaders, but the new council had planned for this and the cells of the djinn were well hidden and protected. For the first 250 years there was a war unlike any other, with djinn uniting for the first time in history to try to free their leaders and remove the usurpers from their stolen thrones. The wizards called upon their vast knowledge of the planes. They made deals with pit fiends and infernals and no matter how hard the djinn fought, they were unable to make any real progress in freeing themselves from the grasp of the new council. The djinn losses were staggering and the djinn population suffered tremendously. After more than 300 years of attempting to free their leaders, many of the djinn found themselves enslaved as well, and a mass exodus ensued. Djinn scattered across multiple planes and universes, including Hyboria. They sought refuge and safety by offering their services to the many mortals in the lands and disguising themselves as mortals. It was not often that offspring was produced from these unions, but it happened. Most times the djinn removed themselves completely from the life of the one with which they reproduced and it was generally only after several generations that any signs of their djinn heritage manifested. The fate of the djinn is unknown to mortals, but the results of their flight into Hyboria has impacted the population, and djann can be found in the deserts as well as any area that offers access to the element that most offers a touch of the plane from which they fled.