Yazata

Yazata are notoriously elusive genies from the long thought-to-be mythical Elemental Plane of Æther. Their skin glows with a warm golden hue, as bright tattoo-like runes adorn their arms, legs, and hairless heads. They prefer to wear flowing, loose-fitting robes that add an air of grace to their movements. When they fly, their bottom half appears as a whirling yet somehow ordered stream of burning light.

The Elder Genies. When the Elemental Chaos was first separated out into its constituent parts by the Immutables, the sudden burst of Order they wrought within it coalesced into a fifth part the Immutables did not intend: Elemental Æther. This fifth element lies at the very center of the Elemental Planes and is a place of blissful order. When the first lost souls found themselves in the Elemental Planes, most perished it the blistering heat, the freezing depths, the tumultuous skies, or the crushing earth. The few who survived found themselves in this ordered Elemental Æther and let themselves merge with it, becoming the first and greatest of the genies.

Secretive Spirits. Yazata, despite being the eldest of the genies, are the least known of their kind. They have carefully guarded the secret Elemental Plane of Æther from other the other genies, along with inquisitive gods, malicious fiends, and ancient primordials. This has allowed them to exist in relative peace for thousands of years. It is only in the past few hundred years, when one of their own revealed himself to the world at large, did mortals even know of the existence of yazata. Despite this revelation, yazata have remain for the most part mysterious and elusive to the majority of mortals, as means to access their elemental plane are entirely unknown save to the children of the yazata.

The Children of the Yazata. Although his name is only known to a learned few, the yazata most mortals have heard of is one called Armazd. While most yazata believed that remaining as hidden and as reclusive as possible would preserve them and their secret plane, Armazd believed that this was only a path to eventual extinction. Thus, he embarked on a quest to populate the inner planes with beings like unto yazata. The result of this was a number of genasi with skin like gold or bronze, hair like brilliant sunlight, and whose elemental affinity was tied to the secretive Elemental Æther itself. These very rare genasi are known as quintessent genasi. While not all of them are descendants of Armazd (as other yazata have followed in his path), most quintessent genasi can trace their lineage back to him.

Keepers of Deep Knowledge. Despite being the first genie, yazata and other genies have little in common. While most genies seek the adoration of their subjects and seek to acquire slaves and property, yazata are content to dwell mostly alone among the Æther. What they do desire though is knowledge. Yazata are very keen on acquiring all manner of facts and lore, and recent legends say that the repositories of yazata knowledge may be second only to the fabled Library of Sophar himself. Their desire for knowledge can also lead them to seek out and acquire forbidden lore or truths that cannot be comprehended by the mortal mind. As such, it is a dangerous thing to enter into their fabled repositories, as unknown madness may lurk within its walls.