Fire Djinni

Fire djinn are intelligent, magically sensitive humanoids of djinni ancestry.

## Biology

Fire djinn have varying shades of red skin. Their hair is often extremely thick and bushy, and comes in a variety of colours, most often a shade of white or red.

They have incredibly fast metabolisms compared to other humanoids, and so they are remarkably thin by comparison; This makes them appear much lankier than other humanoids, but typically they have the same proportions as usual. Despite the speed of their metabolism, they are ectothermic, or "cold-blooded", which means their digestive process does not convert much of the energy they get from food into body heat. Instead what happens to this energy is that it is stored throughout the body as other forms of energy, most typically magical energy. Fire djinn in colder areas must consciously warm themselves by manually consuming their body's supply of magic - but fire djinn in hotter areas of the world essentially get free mana for nothing!

They have sharp teeth, a relic from their far distant past when their diets were nearly exclusively carnivorous. Their teeth will naturally fall out if damaged and will regrow, similar to a shark's teeth.

Their eyes, which lack irises, are yellow, red, or orange, and glow very faintly. This is a bioluminescent process, and not a magical one, although it increases intensity during periods of heightened magical practise.

They have long thin noses which are not more or less sensitive than a normal human's, although they do have a much greater ability to distinguish between scents For example, while a human might smell "burning wood", a fire djinni would smell "burning oak".

Fire djinn are unusually sensitive to magical energy. This allows them to "smell" magic from quite a distance, and from this sense of smell, they can determine potency, efficacy, and even style of magic as long as their nose is trained for it. They do however, have a natural resistance to raw magical energy; they are slightly magicproof and fireproof and merely exposing them to harsh rays or high heat will be insufficient to damage their eyes or skin. Their hair, however, does not have this resistance!

They are most typically shorter than other humanoids, averaging between 150cm to 180cm.

Their horns, a trademark of the djinni race, are like those of kudu, although they often break off due to wear and tear, or are deliberately sculpted as a fashion statement, before reaching any appreciable size.

## Culture and Quirks

As the name suggests, fire djinn like fire. A lot. Their superactive metabolisms convert enormous amounts of food energy into mana with extreme efficiency, and this energy has to go somewhere, otherwise they'll surely explode - perhaps literally. Because of this natural affinity towards explosive expressions of both magic and artistry, almost every fire djinn will master, or at the very least learn, the art of pyromancy.

Because of their general affinity towards violence (or at least contact sports), there are several nations of the world which were once very strictly "fire djinni territory". Of course now the world is a much more accepting place, and such divisions have not existed for thousands of years, but longevity of these nations (commonly referred to as the burning cities), combined with their central role in the survival of the fire djinn mean that the burning cities are major sources of inspiration and guidance for young fire djinn growing up in all parts of the world. In general, fire djinn consider themselves to be part of a diaspora, they believe that they have a natural home, and that they come from somewhere special and unique in its "fire djinni-ness".

Pyromancy is at the core of many fire djinni cultures - every nation with a fire djinni majority puts pyromancy at the centre of their cultural conversation. Bards sing and dance amongst crackling flames, warriors perform their battle rituals beneath bursts and explosions of fireworks, and even children are taught to control jets of open flame before they learn to read.

Since pyromancy is often so central to a fire djinni's identity, their hair is often an equally important part of who they are. It's usually kept in a style that proudly shows off its length and thickness yet keeps the person's vision clear, such as a topknot or ponytail. It is not considered vain or narcissistic to properly maintain or arrange one's hair in an ornate fashion on a regular basis.

Although it's common for school-age children to have their heads shaved to avoid embarassment, once they reach puberty they will be expected to have such mastery over fire that they can control it with ease, and without damaging their own hair. It is often considered a mark of shame for an adult fire djinni to be bald, since it demonstrates that they cannot control fire. Naturally occurring baldness does not mean a person would have a lower rank in a fire djinni society, it just means they would have an awkward conversation every time they meet someone in public, specifically about how they blew their own eyebrows off, and the tediousness of this conversation is such that it is best avoided altogether.

### Music and Dance

Fire djinn consider the combination of pyromancy and music as central to truly understanding both. Pyromancy requires mastering one's own breath and timing, and for much of the art of music these principles are the same.

Dance, poetry, music, and public displays of fire and fighting are the most celebrated social events among fire djinn.

### Family and Friends

Fire djinn have a higher than average rate of blended families. Fire djinn love and embrace life, and part of that is they find love where love finds them; and never allow expectations or external factors get in the way.

Fire djinn make friends quite easily, since they're more often outgoing, jovial, and frankly, fun to be around. They love showing off, and (usually) know when they're being "a bit much".

## In-Game References

**Cards from *Hello, World!* which Depict a Fire Djinni:**

* Beatboxer
* Boisterous Bard

## Trivia

* Fire djinn and earth djinn generally have nearly polar opposite personalities, but their methodologies will often line up quite well. This makes fire djinni/earth djinni partnerships very strong, but also very tense. Many lifelong love/hate friendships are shared between fire and earth djinn.
* Both the fire djinni cards in **Hello, World!** were illustrated by Karen Ho.
* Fire djinn have the most physical variance from among djinn. This is because an intermarriage with a fire djinni can produce offspring in almost all humanoid-humanoid pairings, and fire djinn naturally have a very broad definition of beauty. Mixed ancestry is very common among fire djinn, it's quite usual to have at least one non-fire djinn grandparent.