The Gith Confederacy
A planewalker blood is never lost, but they may become detached from their sense of direction. Fortunately for me, I have a strong sense of direction. But fate one day determined that I found myself in a place I did not recognise whilst traveling across the ‘Land. After wandering for a couple of hours I came across an unusual burg. My relief at seeing a gith burg not far from the Dwarven Mountain and Illsensine’s Caverns was short-lived however…
Last entry by Rola Cello, planewalker and Guvner…
“Long ago the illithids ruled vast areas of the prime material plane. One slave race rose up and destroyed many illithid bases and their empire crumbled. A civil war broke out amongst this slave race, named after their leader gith. And the two groups became the githzerai who live in Limbo and the githyanki who live on the Astral. This knowledge is fairly common, but the dark I uncovered today is not.
“Study of the gith races has been a hobby of mine for a number of years (see Diary entries 14 to 201 in the Year of Refrain), but I have never had the opportunity to visit a gith burg on either the Astral or in Limbo. My reception in a small burg called ‘The Gith Confederacy’ was very pleasant. After they had seen to my horse and my lodging I was given a tour of their town.
“Being quite close to the Spire, there were no practitioners of the Will and the Way. In fact, there the use of mind powers was forbidden. I asked why this was and the reply I received was that it would alert their enemies to their burg. When I asked which enemies, my guide muttered something about illithids.
“One thing was bothering me for some time. There was a thought locked up in my head that was screaming for attention. And then I realised what that thought was… I did not know if these gith were githyanki or githzerai!
“It is a little known fact that the githyanki have a special relationship with red dragons, on the prime they are allies. But when I mentioned this, they only shrugged. I asked questions which I hoped would provide a clue as to their attitudes and disposition, all to no avail. These gith were a mystery to me.
“Fate smiled on me and I stumbled across a large library. My guide was adamant that I should not enter and I had to resort to magic, but my little indiscretion to my hosts was well worth the cost. As my guide was dozing in the corner, the writing in books and scrolls became clear.
“It seems that the act of overthrowing the illithids bore a great cost. The githyanki are ruled by a Lich Queen who feeds off powerful subjects and thus sustains herself. The githzerai are also limited in power beyond a certain point which they do not go, any who go beyond in either group becomes a rogue and is hunted down.
“You see here was large building which exists mostly underground upon which this burg was built… Just a minute, sorry for the interruption but I must fortify the doors, it seems my hosts are not pleased with my research interests.
“To continue. The large underground structure is a temple with a special purpose. But first I must mention something about the Spire.
“The Spire nullifies magic and other powers as one approaches it, even access to the Astral is limited and reality is weakened. Because reality is not as strong near the Spire, the temple can channel energy to a place that should (theoretically) be the strongest known prison in existence. I am not talking about the Cage, I mean the prison of the Elder Elemental God. The last of the great beings from beyond whose evil supersedes immortal understanding.
“This little known burg called Gith Confederacy is inhabited by gith who did not choose sides after the civil war. They are a neutral group who are the guardians of the pact the gith made to ensure their freedom against a terrifying enemy. The gith leader made a deal to sustain the Elder Elemental God with the life force of the most powerful of her race in exchange for help in destroying the illithids. The life energy of slain githyanki warriors does sustain their Queen, but mostly it is used to pay back for their pact.
“The purpose of this temple is simple. The Gith do not worship any deity, but they fear one and they must pay back their debt or else pay a great price. This price was learned the hard way and almost caused the end of everything. Shortly after the civil war, the gith discovered when a gith rose in power and whose spirit was not given over in accordance to the pact, the prison of the Elder Elemental God became weakened. A small tear would form and to mortal eyes it appeared as if a great cyclone was sucking out the mists in to a large gap. From this description I would surmise that this text refers to ether gaps. In fact, after the gith civil war the first ether gaps appeared in the Ethereal plane and it was not until the Gith Confederacy was set up that the number appearing decreased. This means that each gith who goes rogue is responsible for weakening the prison of the Elder Elemental God.
“I will continue my research in just a minute. It appears that the walls have grown tentacles and I have an uneasy feeling at the moment.”
[Author’s Note: We live in a world where we take freedom for granted most of the time. What price would you pay to keep your freedom? What price did the Gith race pay for its freedom?]
Adventure Hooks:
- The Pact’s Price: The characters are drawn into the intricate politics of the Gith Confederacy. They must navigate the tense balance between the githyanki and githzerai while uncovering the truth about the pact to imprison the Elder Elemental God. Their quest leads them to understand the heavy cost of freedom and the moral complexities of deals made in dire times.
- The Ether Gap Crisis: Rumours of weakening ether gaps and a potential escape of the Elder Elemental God send the characters on a mission to strengthen the prison. They must gather rare magics and negotiate with different factions within the Gith Confederacy. This journey forces them to confront the consequences of past actions and the responsibility of guarding such a malevolent force.
- A Rogue’s Rebellion: A powerful gith, disillusioned with the Confederacy’s role, goes rogue, threatening to disrupt the balance and weaken the prison of the Elder Elemental God. The characters must track down this rogue gith, facing ethical dilemmas about freedom versus safety and the cost of individual power.
Source: Simson Leigh and Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
