[Memnoch]

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Oh well, interesting topic, anyway.

Githyanki - Living on the bodies of dead gods in the endless astral, the githyanki lead an odd existence of hunting parties and mental discipline. They blindly sacrifice their powerful members to an undead queen, and rarely leave the Astral except to hunt one of their enemies, the githzerai. The two would likely destroy each other on sight.

Githyanki are tall humanoids with rough yellow skin, varying in color from a bright yellow to a deep orange. Their eyes are deep-set into their skulls and a solid black, and their hair is usually black as well. Their ears are pointed, drooping slightly at the tips, and are sometimes marked with ridges and notches from githyanki cultural ceremonies. Clothing is an elaborate affair for the githyanki, who appreciate bright colors, abstract designs, and intricate jewellery, weapons, and armor.

Among their own kind, the githyanki are peaceful, polite, and respectful. One githyanki would never attack another -- at the very worst, githyanki can be a bit snobbish towards each other. Though githyanki society is a military one, with both women and men training to be wizards and warriors, they consider personal freedoms and independence highly important. The architecture of their floating Astral fortresses is ornate and baroque, and they even build large sailing-ships, with cone-shaped sails to catch the astral wind.

However, when it comes to other races, the githyanki are completely xenophobic. They hate virtually everything not githyanki, and delight in the conquest, torture, and destruction of all beings not of their race. Valueing their isolation in the Astral, unwary travellers can end up in the dead-book, just for wandering too close to a githyanki citadel.

Queen Vlaakith CLVII, the githyanki Revered Queen (known as the "Lich-Queen" to all others), rules over the githyanki race from her palace in the city of Tu'narath. The fact that their Queen happens to be a life-sucking undead being doesn't seem to worry the githyanki; to them, she is the closest thing to a god. The githyanki make the occasional ritual sacrifice to her, and her knights have a special, near-priestly, status.


Githzerai - Split off from the human race eons ago, the githzerai settled themselves on the plane of Limbo. They've perfected an art known as "chaos-shaping" which allows them to shape the chaosstuff of that plane. Elsewhere, they're found usually as societal outcasts, hunters, or merely explorers. They have more in common with their sister race, the githyanki, than either of them would care to admit.

The githzerai people are humanoid, with pale yellowish skin and pointed ears. Githzerai eyes are usually yellow or grey, and hair color is almost always black. Unusually tall and thin, githzerai often tend to be a bit more fragile than other races; however, they often live to be over 300 years old. Githzerai clothing tends to be drab, but practical.

Humorless and almost as unfriendly as the githyanki, the githzerai live in specially-constructed cities within the soupy mass of Limbo. Individuals known as Anarchs (not to be confused with the Anarchists) have the gift of being able to shape the formless matter of the plane into landscapes and even buildings; without the Anarchs, the githzerai cities would simply dissolve away into Limbo. Currently, their largest city, Shra'kt'lor, holds over 2 million people, a gigantic stronghold. Merchants and visitors are always welcome, but outsiders are always carefully scrutinized by the suspicious githzerai.

The githzerai's king, Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith, is said to be immortal. Under his direction, the githzerai plan raids on the both the githyanki and the illithids. King Zaerith also encourages something that the flamboyant githyanki would never consider; thievery. Reasoning that the skills of a common burglar are just as useful for infiltrating githyanki settlements, Zaerith has even gone so far as setting up a special place in the Floating City (the githzerai centre of magical training) to educate githzerai in the fine arts of stealth.