Githzerai

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In the Dawn Era, a Lith-Crillion named Githyon served as an advisor to Ptah. Like his master, Githyon was deep into the study of psychic energy. His experiments led to the psionic methods known today as Energy Exchange. In a secret lab on Ghífthauk, using earth archons as subjects, Githyon created the first Githzerai. This was done by exchanging the archon's Earth Energy with Life Energy. Now how they came to look like they do is still a mystery. Some say this was the work of Ptah, a talented sculptor, molding the earth archon's malleable form as its earth energy was replaced with life energy.

In the Creation War (1486 DE - 8777 DE) they served alongside the Nawirrûs Covenant, battling the primordials. In the follow-on conflict, the Demon Spawn War (8972 GE - 9493 GE), they served under the Quara'tun Covenant, battling the demon invasions and other disruptive elements considered harmful to the Mortal Systems. After said wars, the Githzerai were left to start their own civilization in the Asteraoth System. On the world Ghífthauk, their biggest rival were the Githyanki; another race created by Githyon. They were constantly at war over their world's limited resources. Their last great war went on for nearly a hundred years, wrecking their economies and greatly weakening their armies. The Suellk Empire, hailing from Ráglauth, invaded Ghífthauk at a most opportune time, their prey still reeling from a century-long war. The two peoples were enslaved, dined upon, and then harvested like cattle, forced to endure fourteen centuries of servitude.

Like the Githyanki, for much of the Horgon Era the githzerai were slaves, and potential brain-food of the Suellk Empire. In the Incarsabec Rebellion (1531 HE - 1544 HE), the githyanki and githzerai rose up as one in the Suellk capital city. This rebellion fanned out across Ghífthauk and to the planet's moons. During the conflict, tens of thousands of githyanki and githzerai managed to escape their masters through Silver Mirrors. These mirrors took them to the Astral Sea where they slowly rebuilt their civilizations. Since that dark time, the githzerai have rekindled their warring with their two arch-enemies, the illithids and the githyanki.

In 1545 HE, githzerai refugees of the Incarsabec Rebellion found their way to the world Bal-Kriav. Said to have been guided by their god Ptah, they went into the tangled woods of Kuli-Cir, re-occupying ancient monasteries once used by Ptah and the Covenant in the Demon Spawn War. By the end of the Horgon Era, the githzerai that came to this area were spread across eight great monasteries, Ara'rya, Osar'ged and others.

Beyond Bal-Kriav, in the Astral Sea, there are a number of githzerai empires. One of these is Roongutil. They war with the githyanki of the Har'kish Empire; conflicts often spilling over into Bal-Kriav.