- "Damned mind flayers." Quith looked down at the body that the two trainers were carrying after shifting in from the Outlands. The back of the knight's skull was torn open, exposing an empty brain cavity.
- "Don't worry," Sarth Ris 'a 'n said as he clasped Quith on the shoulder. "We got the flayer that did this ... and we recovered Ter'ath 's blade."
- Quith grunted noncommittally. Ris 'a 'n paid him no attention and moved ahead to the crematorium where the body was being taken to be destroyed. Quith wasn 't going to have to go on an off-plane trip for some time, and he was glad. The Astral was his home and he loved its crystal clarity. He looked around him at the silvery, almost reflective atmosphere that surrounded the githyanki citadel where he lived (larger than many, but still no city). The "sky" held tiny pinpricks of light that were nothing but a trick of the plane. The long conduit that throbbed and vibrated just fifty yards or so away was no trick, but the way it faded at both ends into the silvery void at the point where his visual range ended would've seemed strange and alien to someone not acquainted with the ways of the plane.
- The githwarrior was torn from his thoughts by the sound of clashing metal. Quith had to get to his practice, or the kith 'rak would not be pleased, and he chose not to dwell on what his punishment would be. As he ran off to the practice hall, he glanced toward the mooring. A particularly large astral ship was coming in, and Quith knew that it carried a new knight, probably carrying a whole set of new edicts from the Revered Queen. The last thing Quith wanted was a new set of rules to have to obey. It was so hard to keep it all straight. He'd read about other races on other planes, and he knew that many (perhaps most) had much more solidified and rigid laws to deal with — he couldn 't imagine having such fetters upon his life.
- Nevertheless, the new knight would be bringing changes, that was certain. Life was hard, Quith thought, but it was never stagnant.
Although the vast majority of the githyanki dwell on the Astral Plane, some've left to explore, wander, or even conquer. Most of these individuals still adhere to the structure of the githyanki society and outlook.
Githyanki on the Prime[]
The most common place for the githyanki to be found outside the Astral is on the Prime. More times than not, these githyanki're there under direct orders of the lich-queen, although occasionally independent interests send troops there as well. The lich-queen has two reasons for sending githyanki to the Prime. The first is to establish bases there, with the simple goal of maintaining a presence and keeping a watchful eye on things. The githyanki've always had an interest in their plane of origin and are constantly looking for a world there that they can conquer completely or in part.
The second reason the lich-queen has for dispatching warriors to the Prime is to attack the illithids. The Prime Material Plane's still the main domain of the mind flayers, and the githyanki try whatever they can to do them ill. The illithids're usually well-hidden, however, and only rarely gather into groups, so githyanki hunting parties (see below) have a difficult time finding more than a few and entering their names into the dead-book.
Even when the githyanki operate on the Prime Material and are not hunting illithids, they maintain an extreme wariness.
The leaders insist on continuous battle-readiness for all warriors. The Prime's hostile territory in their eyes, even if no one is aware of their presence. Most primes don't even know a githyanki when they see one, but the githyanki don't realize that and avoid contact unless they are making a raid.
Sometimes, the githyanki forge temporary alliances with prime-material races or groups. One famous alliance transpired with the dark elves of a world in order to wage a war with a community of mind flayers in the underworld there. Other alliances have included evil humans, the gith of Athas (who are degenerated githyanki in the first place), chaotic evil undead and monsters, and various other non-native invaders like tanar'ri and yugoloths.
Further, the pact that was forged between Tiamat and Gith aeons ago still holds true, and so githyankl on the Prime always have red dragon allies if they want them. The dragons're simply there waiting when the githyanki arrive, alerted magically ahead of time and compelled to work with the planar visitors. The dragons vary in age, but normally it's the younger members of the species that are forced to heed the call. Young, young adult, and adult dragons are those commonly found in the company of the githyanki warriors. The githyanki respect these powerful friends and generally use them as efficiently as possible, utilizing their flight, fear aura, and breath weapons in offensive actions, and their toughness and sheer mass in defense. Four to six githyanki'll ride the monsters into battle when possible, backing up the dragon's attacks with missile weapons, spells, and psionics. 'Course, the dragons won't fight to the death, but they will aid the githyanki to the best of their ability, carrying out the terms of the magically forged pact created so long ago by their mistress.
Other Planes[]
Even though they have the ability to plane shift anywhere they please, the githyanki avoid most of the Outer Planes, too wary of the dangers and the natives to explore. Only the Lower Planes're even occasionally visited by the githyanki, and then only covertly. They trade and deal with the tanar'ri (and less frequently the yugoloths) but're rightfully wary of these fiends.
Githyanki parties can sometimes be found wandering the Inner Planes, looking for a magical item or ingredient. At one time there were permanent githyanki fortresses on the plane of Fire and the plane of Smoke, but neither's currently occupied.
Githyanki and the Factions[]
Some githyanki have joined factions. Those that call kip in Sigil, even for a short time, usually name a faction as their own. Most frequently, githyanki join the Bleak Cabal, the Doomguard, the Dustmen, or the Free League. They avoid the Athar (they hate them because of their threatening proximity on the Astral), the Xaositects (they have a githzerai factol), the Society of Sensation, and all of the lawful factions.
Githyanki/Githzerai Warfare[]
- Quith had never been in the City of Doors before, but he'd heard about how horrible it was. He'd never imagined the true "dark" of it, as they said here. The worst thing happened when he stumbled into that candlemaker's shop and saw him.
- There he was, standing behind a table dipping wicks into hot wax so smugly — like he owned the place. (Revered Queen, perhaps he did ... what kind of place would allow such a thing?)
- Githzerai. Follower of the traitor, Zerthimon. Slayer of children and perverter of their noble race. Right there, in front of him making candles. The abomination looked up from his work and saw Quith. He-who-should-not-be flinched visibly, probably from fear of a Vindicating Son of Gith, Quith thought.
- He spoke, his words like worms crawling across Quith's flesh. "Need something?"
- Quith thought about drawing his sword and severing the offal-eater's head for saying such vile hateful things, but he realized that the whole thing was probably an elaborate trap set for him. Hordes of githzerai might be waiting for him in the back of the shop. He had to think quickly.
- "Ah, no. I, uh... Sorry. Wrong shop."
- Making good his escape, Quith breathed a sigh of relief. He thought for a moment he heard the betrayer of Gith sigh similarly as he left, but he realized that he must be mistaken. No Zerth lover would react as a true Son of Gith did. Looking around the busy street, he realized he'd have to try to remember this place.
- Perhaps he could convince his sarth to allow him to lead the warriors back here and raze the place. At the very least perhaps a warlock or gish could boil the blood in his foul heart.
Because of the number of githzerai that have taken up residence in various places on the Outer Planes (particularly Sigil), the githyanki are careful to remain fairly anonymous when "abroad" in small numbers. Though the racial hatred of the two runs deep, they'll not blindly attack one another if there's obvious music to pay. For example, neither side is so stupid that they'll attack each other outright if the odds are obviously against them. Further, the Lady of Pain (or the threat of her presence), as well as the Harmonium, keep Sigil from becoming a githyanki/githzerai battleground. The githzerai and githyanki will not ever deal with each other in any affable capacity, however — at best, they ignore each other.
When one side or the other looks to make an actual assault against their enemies, they carry the battle straight into enemy territory. The githyanki almost yearly stage a campaign into Limbo to attack and waylay githzerai caravans and travelers. An attack against one of the fortress cities there has never been successful, so such assaults and sieges're virtually never attempted today.
Surprisingly, the githzerai're more daring with their attacks. Assaults onto the Astral occur much more infrequently, but when they do attack, they strike at githyanki strongholds and major cities. Great loss of life is incurred in the battles, but they are rarely conclusive.
Illithid Hunters[]
Every githwarrior, as well as most warlocks and gish, must serve time in an illithid hunting party as a means of training and initiation. These githyanki units travel to other planes — usually the Prime, but sometimes the Outlands or Lower Planes — to find illithids and slay them. In this way, every githyanki warrior has some of the same experiences as his forebears who warred with the mind flayers for their freedom. 'Course, as an added bonus, this practice also serves to strike great blows against the illithids, keeping them from ever attaining the great empire they once held.
Illithid hunting parties're usually made up of a knight of at least 7th level, a warlock of at least 5th level or a gish of at least 4th/4th level, and three to nine githwarriors or warlocks of 1st to 3rd level. Larger groups are also known (especially when a lair of multiple mind flayers has been detected), up to twice the size with the leaders being at least two levels higher. On the Prime, they'll be accompanied by one or two red dragons.
These hunting parties know illithid tactics, habits, and powers very well. They're aware of mind flayer servants such as intellect devourers and grimlocks. In short, they're efficient and deadly. Despite their usual contempt for other races, the illithids truly fear these hunters, doing what they can to conceal and protect themselves from them.
The githzerai have similar hunting groups, called rrakkma bands. Despite their similar missions, the rrakkma and the githyanki hunters never ally, and as often as not they come to blows if they encounter one another. If possible, illithids use this sort of hatred to their advantage, trying to lure these groups into confrontation.