Gen

Gen were small elemental genies who served as familiars to sha'irs in Zakhara. All sha’irs needed them to work their magic. As powerful as an individual sha'ir may be, they were utterly helpless without their loyal gen.

Some sha'irs even believed that gen were the children of genies. Other sha'irs were convinced that gen were extensions of the sha'ir's hama, or spirit. Not surprisingly, when asked about the true nature of gen, genies would not speak of the matter.

Various kinds of gen existed including: wind gen (djinnlings), sand gen (daolani), sea gen (maridans), and flame gen (efreetikin). The names air gen, earth gen, water gen and fire gen were also used, respectively.

Appearance
The size of a gen varied greatly depending on which plane their were on. Gen on their native elemental plane were slightly smaller than an average human. In stark contrast, gen visiting the opposing elemental plane of their inherent element shrunk to a fraction of their regular size, often standing only several inches tall. Gen found on the Prime Material Plane were usually around a foot tall.

Aspects of their native elemental plane were evident in a gen's physical appearance.

Combat
Gen were weak fighters but could use their elemental abilities to their advantage.

Habitat/Society
A gen's general confidence and moral followed the same patterns as their physical size when visiting other planes.

Gen returned to their elemental plane if their master died. Gen who perished could be brought back by a sha’ir.

Ecology
Gen were fanatically loyal to their masters who provided everything needed for their survival. Sha'irs who treated their gen well had a friend and loyal companion for life. Alternatively, sha'irs who abused or were even rude to their gen found that their elemental companion was a constant annoyance. A gen's elemental affinity had no impact on the type of spells they could retrieve for their master. For example, a maridan could vist the Elemental Plane of Fire and fetch flame spells for their master. A sha'ir attempting to bind a genie found that it was much easier if the genie and their gen were natives of the same plane. As a sha'ir developed their magical strength, so too did a gen's power and confidence increase. Sha'irs who let a gen, or multiple gen, die while serving them found that any future gen would be increasingly difficult to deal with.