Githyanki: Form and Function

Form& Function

Doctor Vaspion

Githyanki,despite their distant humanoid ancestry have deviated considerably from thehuman norm. Having acquired a male and female specimen for dissection, I hopeto dispel many of the myths surrounding the fabric of their githyanki anatomyand furthermore shed a little light on the many mysteries surrounding them. Thefollowing account is based upon my post-mortem analysis of the bodies, as wellas the little knowledge I could glean from various scholars of githyankisociety.

PhysicalMakeup

 Githyanki tend on the whole tobe taller than humans, with aggressive, feral features. Their teeth arepointed, with pronounced canines and incisors, suggesting strong carnivoroustendencies. The githyanki muscle system is arranged in a manner not unlike thatof humans, suggesting that on average there is little to distinguish them fromhumans. The strength of the githyanki depends largely on exercise and training.The ears are pointed, somewhat like those of an elf, although beyond thatexternal resemblance, there is little to distinguish them from a human ear. Inboth cases, I observed that the ears were ragged; serrated at the back.However, a great deal of scarring accompanied these marks, suggesting that theywere the consequence of surgery or ritual marking. They are almost noseless; insome cases githyanki have noses that are very small, while in others there islittle more than a pair of nostrils, like those of a snake. Others have apronounced nosebone, but no actual flesh, giving them a somewhat cadaverous appearance.

Githyankiare of gaunt build, and tend to appear emaciated, although that is mainlyevident around the abdomen. The skin is yellow and rough in texture, somewhatreminiscent of certain species of lizard. Eye colour tends to be a dark red,with various similarities to orcish eyes; from this we can deduce that they arecapable of seeing in the dark. This, I would surmise, is a trait that datesback to their time as illithid slaves; since illithids are creatures thatcannot abide the light, it is logical to assume that their elite servants wouldhave some capacity for sight when serving them directly. A blind bodyguardwould be useless.

Totake a broader physiological look at the githyanki, we find that despite thereptilian characteristics mentioned, they do have a fair amount in common withhumans, although there is evidence that on the whole they are more resilient.Their cardiovascular system is designed to maximise air intake, allowing themto maintain high levels of strenuous activity for extended periods, rivallingthe constitutions of dwarves. The nervous system is also well designed, and hassome similarities to that of the common elf. The nerves are a little wider thanthose of humans, and the system is more complex too; however, certain areas ofthe brain appear to have been retarded slightly, suggesting that the githyankicapacity for reason is on average a little lower than that of the normal human.That is not to say that they are a race of idiots; far from it - they have along magical and philosophical tradition, albeit of a very one-sided kind, buttend to attack first and ask questions later. Some might argue that having aslightly lower intellect might account for their aggression, but I shall notventure an opinion on the subject; that is a matter for students of the psyche,rather than simple physicians like myself.

Procreationand Gender

Githyanki appear to have mutated to such an extent that they havedeveloped reptilian characteristics to the extent that it is often difficult fora casual human observer to tell the difference between male and femalegithyanki. Many of the mammalian characteristics have atrophied to the point ofredundancy or simply are not present. In the case of the male githyanki, likemany other reptiles, there are no external male reproductive glands, while inthe case of females, they appear to be without breasts. Any artwork to thecontrary is merely the product of an overly fanciful mind. From this I wouldinfer that they are a cold-blooded race, since heat can adversely affect themale’s ability to reproduce. There is one other significant difference betweengithyanki males and humans, although I dare not go into detail on this lestthis work be read by a lady of an unmarried persuasion. I shall merely say thatthe difference here is that githyanki possess a configuration similar to thoseof lizards (and dragons too, if the bawdier drinking songs are to be believed!)and that a common githyanki insult for a human is jenahan, or ‘one-stem’.

Thegithyanki race’s sexual mores are not particularly restricted. Githyankisociety, having no formal laws save the edicts of the communities’ supremeleaders and their lich-queen herself, does not prohibit many sexual practices.There is little concept of the family structure in githyanki society; githyankieggs are kept in clutches and sent to other planes until they hatch, afterwhich the young are returned to the Astral and raised communally. Because ofthis lack of taboo and family structure, githyanki sexual relations tend to bepeculiar affairs. Some keep several partners, while others are content tocommit themselves to one partner for a longer duration. Same-sex partnershipsare not unknown, and indeed some have theorised that the bonds between manymale githwarriors have a strong homosexual undercurrent. Others disagree,however, claiming that sexual abstinence is more common - indeed all githyankiknights are required to be celibate - and that this behaviour accounts fortheir aggressiveness and ferocity in combat.

Regardlessof the sexuality of the individual, the majority of githyanki involvethemselves in sex for purely procreative purposes at least once in their lives.In practically all cases, this act of reproduction is performed out of a senseof duty to the race and a breeding instinct rather than any familial oremotional cause.

Isuspected that githyanki have a very strong urge to reproduce, or at the veryleast to mate. I say this after reading accounts of how illithids treat theirthralls, granting breeding and sexual privileges as a reward for obedience.Given that in their distant history githyanki were a thrall race, andfurthermore, they have spend much time on the Astral plan, it is unlikely thatthis urge would pass too quickly. Granted, the githyanki did perform somealterations upon themselves, and it would be naïve to assume that the manyplanes on which the githyanki have fought did not alter their fundamentalstructure in some way, but the basic conditions instilled in githkind by theillithids - to fight and create more fighters - still remain.

Sustenance

 Githyanki are, quite simply,carnivores. Their teeth are designed for shredding flesh, and could probablystill deliver a nasty bite in a pinch. They often enhance their predatoryoutlook with war paint and tattoos, and the few creatures with which theyassociate - nightmares, red dragons and kaoulgrims (qv) are allcarnivorous creatures with whom they feel a certain affinity. However, they donot appear to have developed cannibalism yet, which is unusual among evilcarnivores. Their sense of species identity is too strongly pronounced for sucha trait, I suspect. Be that as it may, githyanki do like to eat their meat raw,and githyanki quisine is a rather indelicate thing. Cuts of meat are wellprepared, occasionally spiced, but rarely cooked. Such a practice spoils theflavour, they claim; food is best served bloody! Occasionally dishes are servedup live, with cutlets taken from select areas while the victim (often a humanor some other intelligent being) is still alive, conscious and squirming. Suchgruesome feasts often serve as a form of depraved entertainment for thesepeople.

 Despite their atrophieddigestive system - which means they cannot stomach vegetable matter - they tendto gorge themselves when they eat. Being a race who eat fresh meat and littleelse besides, githyanki on the Material Plane eat as much as they can, becauseit is unlikely that the meat will keep. While on the Astral, they are more likelyto ration themselves, since the process of decay is arrested on that plane.

Restand Respite

 Githyanki do not follow anyspecific activity cycle, since they have adapted to life on a plane that has noday or night. While they are not overly fond of sunlight - a trait from theirancient prehistory, no doubt - it does not affect them adversely and they arecapable of fighting at any time of day, thanks to their ability to see in thedark. They merely sleep when they are tired - or rather, when they are tiredand not on active duty. They are a little more resilient than humans and hencea little more resistant to fatigue, but they still require sleep. Theirsleeping patterns have, however, become a little more reptilian, or at least abit more similar to those of carnivores. If they have eaten a particularlylarge meal, they tend to sleep almost immediately afterwards.

Onthe whole, githyanki are something of an enigma. They have many features thatyou would not find all at once on any other humanoid. As we have seen, theyhave something in common with humans, dwarves, elves and orcs; a diversecollection of attributes, I am sure you will agree. Why such a strangecollection of body parts? I cannot believe that this is merely the product ofthousands of years of planar adaptation. Instead, this must be the product ofthe alterations performed on the githyanki by the illithids. However, would theillithids create a race that could easily overcome them in terms of physicalprowess? Unlikely. An additional factor has to be identified, and though I donot gamble, I suspect the best odds are to be found on the notion that thegithyanki performed further alterations upon themselves with illithidtechnology.