The Djinn (Djinni of the Other world)

[Gladyrielle]

Throughout history, mages, sorceresses, and other practitioners of magic have felt the need to call upon higher powers to do their tasks, for various reasons, (not skilled enough, low energy, or just plain laaaazy). The ones they call are usually Djinn. (Singular: Djinni). These creatures, able to use a wide range of magical skills (and often very knowledgable) come in handy.

Though Djinn are not, in the usual sense, mortal, they are notably not immortal either, as they are 'extinguished' if they run completely out of energy. Energy is restored the longer they spend time in their own world, and they have no need nor desire to consume mortal food, or other forms of energy (except when Guarding, as explained below). They can also shape shift, much like the Elyrienx, though they do not have an original form, instead tending to pick guises they're fond of, when in the mortal realm. Larger, more complex forms naturally require more energy to create, and Djinn are known to appear when summoned in horrific disguises, hoping to scare their taskmasters to death (though the most it ever seems to do is make them wet their pants). However, any simple magician with the right equipment can recognize a Djinni from their aura, so they don't often bother to look like normal mortals.
Given their lack of a true form, Djinn are also not really a specific gender, though they often prefer a certain side.
A Djinni can live for thousands of years, called upon many times and gaining an enormous collection of memories. They tend to stay away from Gods and Angels, irritated by the freedom and vanity of these sentient, freeform beings like themselves.

To call upon a Djinn, one must only know the Djinni's name, and evoke the proper ritual. They must come when called, though if the recitation to summon them is acted out incorrectly, the spell is broken, and they will most likely instantly kill the magician who ordered them into the mortal realms. If the ritual is carried out successfully, then the Djinn is forced to obey their taskmaster (shortened to master) until the master dismisses them, or dies. However, many are weary of summoning Djinn, as they will try their best to misinterpret orders for their own purposes, usually so they can slack off on the job, or kill the taskmaster. One must be very precise when giving orders to a Djinni, leaving no room to twist ones' words.

By far, the most common reason a Djinni is called into the world is to complete a certain task (hence the name taskmaster, one who orders the tasks), or a succession of assignments. These may be short (Ex: steal a certain object from someone else, or spite an ex-boyfriend) or long-term (guard a fussy princess until a war ends), however, they usually end well within an average mortals' lifetime.
But there is another sort of task a Djinni can be made to do, one that is much rarer. A taskmaster can assign a Djinni to become a Guardian over someone else (they cannot make a Djinni a Guardian over themselves, for reasons unknown). Once the Djinni is ordered to be a Guardian, he/she must watch over that person until they die, or have been dismissed by their previous taskmaster. This may last for quite a while, for if the taskmaster who forced the Djinni to be a Guardian dies, it has no effect on the spell. Indeed, in that instance the only way the Djinni could be released is once their Guarded dies, or is killed.
Normally, a Djinn gets very weak after staying in the mortal world for prolonged periods of time, only gaining energy with a return to their own world. When a Djinni becomes a Guardian, they are usually in the world for a long time, and so their being is altered a bit to exist for a longer span. They are confined to one shape, unable to shift, and develop more human-like attributes, like sleeping and eating, to gain energy. In this form, they can also extract some energy when around their element (i.e. a Water Djinn would gain a small amount of energy from a river, more from the sea, etc.)

Very little is known about the origins of the Djinn, or where they live when not called into the mortal world to fulfill some sort of task. Many have even speculated that they simply do not exist until summoned into being in the mortal worlds, but no one knows for sure. This is partially because few people care, as Djinn are usually hostile towards mortal questioning. Those who have tried to get Djinn to retell their knowledge, in the hopes of a greater understanding of history, have all been reported to either go insane, running around in their underwear screaming for the rest of their lives, or kill themselves. This is theorized to be a result of sneaky Djinn twisting the orders, recounting EVERY SINGLE MOMENT, THOUGHT, AND ACTION that they've ever witnessed, an almost infinite, and infinitely boring, story.