The Boy and the Genies

This tale recounts the origin of the genie-binders known as sha'irs. Born an orphan and raised by
his uncle, the boy's jealous uncle schemed to have him slain so that he would never inherit his
parents' business, which the uncle had been running while he raised the boy to manhood. The
uncle hired a bandit to kidnap the boy and abandon him in the desert, but the boy discovered a
hidden cave in an outcropping. The boy escaped from a ghul that tried to kill him, bringing with
him an enchanted sword and a fabulous ruby. Fleeing back into the desert, he met a procession of
genies of all kinds, and with them the Grand Caliph of the Djinn, the Most Respected Sultan of
the Efreet, the Grand Khan of the Dao, and the Imperial Padisha of the Marids. They had returned
to the mortal plane to see if the most beautiful maiden had decided yet which would be her suitor.
The boy laid himself prostrate before the terrifying host, and the genies asked him where he had
found the fabulous sword and wondrous gem. He told his story, and the genies told him the gem
he held resembled the gem of Yalsur, which the genie races had fought over long ago, until a
thief took advantage of their distraction to steal it away. The boy offered to return it to him, but
the genies asked him to judge which race should keep it, for otherwise they would have to fight
among themselves and a thief might steal it again. The boy suggested that each genie lord keep it
for three moons, and this is how the four seasons came to be. When the marids possess the gem it
is winter, when the djinn possess it it is spring, when the efreet possess it it is summer, and when
it is in the possession of the dao it is autumn. The genie rulers rejoiced at this solution, and
offered the youth riches and treasure. The boy politely refused any gift, saying he only wanted to
return home, find out who kidnapped him, and to be as happy as Fate allowed. The genies, in
turn, promised to aid the boy and his descendants, teaching him how to call and bind genies. So it
was that he became the first sha'ir. They also granted him a female genie of each of their four
races to forever aid him, and when he became a young man, the boy made these four his wives.
The youth asked his djinni wife to bring him home and asked his dao wife to bring him his
kidnapper. The terrified thief ratted out the uncle, so he asked his marid wife to bring him his
uncle, who cursed him and predicted that his nephew's power would corrupt him as surely as the
uncle's greed had been his own downfall. The youth instructed his efreeti wife to punish his uncle
(she chopped him into pieces and scattered the remains in the desert) and decided to defy his
uncle's curse by sharing his power with others, teaching those who could learn the arts of the
sha'ir.

Types of Genies
Dao

These genies were from the Elemental Plane of Earth, they often ran gem-mining operations
there or on the Material Plane.

Djinn

Genies from the Elemental Plane of Air.

Efreet

Coming from the Elemental Plane of Fire, these genies are said to be made of basalt, bronze and
congealed flames.

Marids

These genies were from the Elemental Plane of Water.

Jann

Jann drew their powers from all four of the classical elements but were weaker than other genie
types.

Khayal

Genies apart from the rest of geniekind, whom they viewed with varying degrees of antipathy

Qorrash

Distant relatives of the djinn, these genies were elemental spirits of cold and ice.

Tasked genies

Single-mindedly following one profession, these genies were transformed into new shapes by
their labor.[4]