Page 74 - Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations

In a very literal sense, the mind flayers created the githyanki their role is largely to serve as cannon fodder while power-

and githzerai. They are the ultimate result of generations of ful illithids wreak havoc on the enemy with mind blasts and
selective breeding of illithid thralls. The base race from which mental domination.
these two derived is unknown; gith progenitors might have Newly captured slaves are subjected to inspection and
been brought to the distant past from the illithid empire disinfection, followed by constant psychic bombardment to
at time’s end, or they might have simply been a race of the ensure that they become docile and willing thralls. Those

mundane world captured during the first great mind flayer lucky few who managed to escape from thralldom describe
incursion from the future. Even the gith do not know. In any it as a waking nightmare. The slave is always aware of what
event, they are now sufficiently removed from their origins he is doing and is filled with revulsion at his deeds, but is

that the base stock is of interest only to historians. powerless to resist illithid commands. The hopelessness and
The githyanki and githzerai are more similar than either horror of this mental captivity bears down on the thrall as a
race ever admits. There can be no doubt that at some time, not constant weight. FLAYERS CHAPTER 4
that long ago (in absolute terms), these two races were actu- Many thralls are captured in raids, but not all. Some are THE MIND
ally one. The split actually occurred after the gith won their bred selectively for strength, docility, or even coloration or
freedom from the mind flayers. The schism that divided them height.

into two camps was philosophical and social, not racial. The Few thralls die of natural causes. Most become meals for
hatred that it spawned was so intense, and still runs so deep in their masters. Their usefulness doesn’t end at death, either.
both societies, that they can’t coexist on the same plane. The The bodies (minus the brains, of course) are fed back to
githyanki have chosen to live in drifting fortresses secreted other thralls.
on the Astral Plane, while the githzerai hide their monasteries In addition to the tasks they perform, thralls provide
in Limbo. another service to their masters. Illithids have a need to
From these strongholds, both races foray to the Material dominate lesser creatures and take great pride in the quantity
Plane to seek vengeance on the mind flayers. The githyanki are and quality of their own personal thralls. An illithid with an

primarily a race of warriors and wizards, while the githzerai especially valuable or exotic thrall enjoys great prestige among
favor the monk and rogue classes. While it is clear to outsiders its peers, while an illithid without thralls is considered weak
how much these two groups could help each other, the thought and incompetent.
is anathema to them. If githzerai encounter githyanki, they
gleefully slaughter each other. Only the immediate opportu-
nity to slay their common foe causes them to stop fighting and MIND FLAYER GOALS

work together. Mind flayer society is unique in that illithids know their

This animosity serves the mind flayers well. If the gith ever destiny is to dominate the universe. Illithids are not foolish
were to unite, combining their unique strengths and their enough to believe that the future cannot be changed, however,
vast knowledge of the planes, the future would look bleak for so they are not complacent. They know that the githyanki and

mind flayers. Clearly it is in the illithids’ best interest to keep githzerai in particular might inadvertently alter the future by
their two most relentless foes at each others’ throats as long destroying the illithid race.

as possible. Specifically, the mind flayers take steps to prevent Elder brains excel at seeing the big picture. They take a long
their enemies from becoming too numerous or too powerful. view that exceeds most races’ lifetimes. Their active schemes
They recruit spies among the githzerai and githyanki: members might involve plans that won’t reach fruition for decades or
of those races who, through blackmail or a desire for vengeance, centuries. This sort of long-range planning makes it nearly
have turned against their own people. These agents not only impossible for outsiders to deduce what a group of mind flay-

keep the mind flayers informed about their enemies’ plans, ers is planning. Sometimes, the mind flayers themselves don’t

but also continue to stir the coals of racial hatred, assuring entirely understand why the elder brain instructs them to do
that the two races remain separate. The illithids, on the other certain things.
hand, are immune from such machinations, thanks to the In the short term, though, mind flayers work toward a few

all-sensing elder brains. No spy could operate for long within recognizable goals.

a mind flayer community without being uncovered, and the They oppose and kill githyanki and githzerai wherever and
punishment would be the simplest and most effective of all: whenever they locate them.
death without joining the elder brain. They establish links to nonillithids who can be of service
to them while scouting others as potential targets for raids.
Thralls They seek to maintain a steady influx of brains for

Illithid communities are filled with slaves or, more correctly, nourishment.
thralls. Thralls do all menial work in illithid society. They are They expand their knowledge in every area. Only through
the household servants, public workers, and draft animals. knowledge can they make accurate predictions about the

They even fill the ranks of the mind flayer armies, where future.
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