Elanthian Divination: Dark Elves

Elanthian Divination: Dark Elves is an Official GemStone IV Document, and it is protected from editing.

Methods of divination throughout the various cultures of the Dark Elven race are not as diverse as many of the other races. While the seaports of the Human Empire have their small niches of the art, the Sisters of the Hidden Eye have an extremely different style and take on the art. The same, however, is not true of the Dark Elves. There is a common thread throughout seers within this race and it is that of smoke.

Faendryl

Igaeshian Readers

Frequently restricted to females, and typically those that are sorcerers, divination within the Faendryl culture is accomplished through the use of a demon called the Igaesha. Known as an Igaeshian reader, the sorcereress in question will pull the demon through the Valence and trap them within a flat, cylindrical vial that is then fused closed. Some readers will house hundreds of these vials within their study chambers at a time and have incantations, or basically alarms, set to each piece. Because of their nature, the mist-like Igaesha can escape through the vial; this is what causes the alarm to be triggered. Instantly, the reader will be notified and is able to discern distinct patterns in the smoky residue that the Igaesha leaves behind. These patterns are recorded, time-stamped, and then translated immediately. All such translations are stored in a central library.

It is not uncommon for someone of nobility to seek out an Igaeshian Reader. The Reader, upon request, will store the demon in a vial as she always does, but instead of leaving it upon a shelf in her study, she will place it in a special vault that has a time, date, and name stamp set upon it. When the Igaesha escapes and the pattern’s translation recorded, the document is handed to the requester and not interred among the library’s records.

Smoke Seers

Among the common, working class dark elves, the divination form that is used is fundamentally the same. Though devoid of demons, the Smoke Seers of the dark elves will utilize candles bathed in oils, heavily smoking incense or smudge sticks. When removed to a quiet place, the seer will contemplate the lazy spirals and patterns of the smoking object to determine their meaning and will also record what they see. Though not regarded as highly as an Igaeshian Reader, the Smoke Seers are frequently sought out by the commoners for readings.

Dhe'nar

Highly suspect of any form of divination, though some have expressed a passing curiosity, nearly all Dhe'nar are highly opposed to any who claim to be seers. When asked to explain why they do not believe in divination, Dhe’nar throughout history have frequently recited that there has only ever been one prophet and to believe otherwise is to dishonor his name.