Marid Marids ( sometimes pluralized as " marid " ) were powerful genie s native to the Elemental Plane of Water . They were also prevalent throughout Zakhara , the Land of Fate . Most Zakharans revered marids as the most wondrous and powerful of all geniekind . Description . The average marid stood a towering sixteen to eighteen feet ( five and a half meters ) tall , looking down upon all other genies . Marids were beautiful genies whose skin matched all of the hues of the vast ocean . While usually blue , in fact , marids changed their skin color to reflect their current mood , with darkest shades of blue indicating anger . Most marids had blue - black or dark gray hair , though white - haired marids did exist . Generally speaking , the white - haired marids were the most turbulent of their kind . While on the Elemental Plane of Water , or in seas or oceans , marids usually wore scant clothing or went bare . On land they preferred colorful flowing robes or large pantaloons . Others would wear clothing made from finely woven seaweed inlaid with coral or pearls . Both males and females enjoyed showing off their impressive physiques , so flimsy vests were usually the most clothing they wore to cover their torsos . Regardless of the style of clothing worn , it was certain to never impede swimming . Abilities . Marids could communicate with telepathy like all true genies . They spoke Aquan , the language of their native plane , but they were also fluent in Jannti , the common tongue of all genies , and Midani , the native language of Zakhara . When angered , a marid ' s native language resembled the sound of a clashing storm at sea or waves crashing against a rocky shore . Besides immense physical strength — they could stop a ship as long as 110 feet ( 34 meters ) in length — marids were wondrously magical creatures , matching archwizards in terms of spellcasting ability . They could use the following spell - like abilities whenever they wanted to : " create water " , " detect evil " , " detect good " , " detect invisible " , " detect magic " , " invisibility " , " polymorph self " , and " purify water " . They had more limited powers to assume liquid form , by taking the form of a vortex , or to assume gaseous form . They could create a wall of fog , and were said to be able to lower water and part water . Once every year they could alter reality but only as a gift to non - genies . Any water - based magic was utterly useless against a marid . Some scholars believed that they were also partially resistant to cold - based spells , yet fire - based magic was their weakness , being particularly vulnerable to attacks with open flames . Others , on the contrary , had observed no such weaknesses to fire . In fact , a marid ' s very touch was said to extinguish any flame . Instead , they argued that marids were strongly resistant to magic of any variety . Marids could travel between any of the Elemental , Prime and Astral planes at will , though not to a specific location , and could carry others along with them . They could also move freely upon the Ethereal Plane . Due to their strained relationships with the other genies , they rarely visited the other Elemental planes . Personality . Marids were a vehemently independent and proud people . Every marid believed that she or he deserved to be the padishah ! They tended to shift moods rapidly , as quickly as a storm upon the sea . Like all genies , they were curious about life on the Material Plane , but they typically had the least impact on that plane of all the other genies , because they considered everyone else beneath their notice . Marids enjoyed flattery even more than other genies . When addressing a marid , a human was expected to use a honorific , such as , " Endless Wave Upon the Sea of Fate , " followed by a long and wordy ode to the marid ' s greatness . Because of their chaotic nature , marids were considered dangerous to imprison or bind or to demand wishes from . They were quick to seek revenge . Marids enjoyed hunting within the oceans for sport . Because of their elevated self - worth , all marids collected wealth in many forms , even if they were not actual nobles . These collected items were often pearls or other treasures from the sea floor , but some even kidnapped skilled human or demihuman craftsmen so they could work on their homes or produce artistic creations . These kidnappings did violate marid law , so they kept their " borrowed " workers a secret to avoid the wrath of the true noble marid s . More malicious marids would intentionally capsize vessels on the Material Plane to drown sailors . Marids treated all other races , including other genies , as inferiors . They tolerated the djinn and jann but openly despised the dao and efreet . Humans as a species were tolerated as well , but were considered the most disgusting species with whom the marids had dealings . Powerful human sha ' ir s and leaders like the Grand Caliph gained the respect of the marids if it was deserved . Even so , a marid was far more likely to treat a human visitor to the Plane of Water favorably than most other elemental s or outsider s would . While not generally altruistic , they loathed evil creatures of the Plane of Water and often waged war against them . Though they were the most powerful of all genies , their hesitancy to rally under a single leader limited their effectiveness at such wars . Ecology . These mighty genies were sea creatures , but could breathe on land with ease . Their bodies were formed from elemental water . Marids did not need to consume food or beverages in order to survive , though many did so because it pleased them . Some marids built fishing outposts near seaweed and coral balls , which floated through the Plane of Water , because the balls attracted many fish varieties . They were quite sensitive to flavors . Many kept censers within their homes to release exotic salts , infusing the water with pleasing flavors . Habitat / Society . Because of their strong sense of freedom and individualism , there was not true " marid empire " . Marids living on the Plane of Water were citizens of a wide group of mostly independent stronghold communities . These communities swore fealty to the padishah , but more often than not , this was in name only . Officially , however , the seat of power for the marid community was the Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls . This majestic location was ruled by the great Padishah of the Marids , who was Kalbari al - Durrat al - Amwaj ibn Jari in 1367 DR . In addition to being the capital , the Citadel was also the home of many noble marids . Every individual marid claimed to be noble , creating a confusing hierarchy of titles and honorifics that was not officially recognized by true noble marid s — such titles as " atabeg " , " mufti " , or " shah " . Other titles marids used for themselves included " beglerbeg " and " khedive " . Though powerful in their own right , common marids claiming to be noble paled in comparison to the legendary power of the true noble marids . Marid households on the Elemental Plane of Water usually had two to twenty members led by a marid with a title . These strongholds were often anchored to some sort of solid mass . Servants and slaves worked within a marid household , often including jann and other water creatures . Marids enjoyed using air - breathers as servants because the marid ' s gift of water - breathing to the servant insured their compliance . Because of their free - spirited attitude , marids often visited Zakhara for adventure . The sites for these forays were usually inaccessible to mortals , such as the Great Sea in the midst of a violent hurricane . They often accessed the Material Plane through elemental vortices on the Plane of Water , and for this reason , their settlements were usually located by such interplanar portals . Since marids had such high opinions of themselves , a view that was only slightly less than reality because of their immense power , mortals who dealt with them often found that bribery and flattery were the wisest methods to deploy , though this did not guarantee the expected outcome . Marids were fond of embellishing nearly anything . They were creative liars , but not in a malicious sense . As one would suspect , they were fabulous storytellers , making it difficult to keep a marid from straying off - topic during conversation . It should be noted that interrupting a marid was a crime for lesser creatures ( any non - marid ) as far as they were concerned . Offending a marid was a sure way to incur their terrifying wrath . Marid society did not have much in terms of production . They gathered what they needed from the sea and rarely traded with others , though they would offer coral or pearls as gifts to foreigners . Religion . Marids were not a very religious people . Among the gods they sometimes worshiped were Ahto , Blibdoolpoolp , Jisan , Manankharlar , and Tefnut . Combat . Like most genies , marids saw battle as a puzzle to solve and enjoyed using their powerful abilities to take advantage of their foes weaknesses . Naturally , a marid strongly prefer to battle underwater . When in water , a single marid could easily capsize a ship and create a vortex to entrap any trying to swim to safety . A typical war party included a single noble marid and as many as 50 common marid warriors , perhaps accompanied by a dozen other creatures from the Plane of Water . Marids sometimes warred against other genies just to remind them of their power . Appendix . Etymology . The word " " ( مارد ) in Arabic means " rebellious " .