Ifriti

General Information
Ifriti are a race of elemental fey based in fire. They tend to be tall, strong, muscular creatures with their most astonishing physical features being a set of horns on their head and piercing, yellow-gold eyes. Their skin colors range from pale ash to black as night, and their hair might be any hue of flame: gold, yellow, red, orange, even blue or white on occasion. Their horns are usually black bone, sometimes spiraled, sometimes twisted, sometimes like a ram’s, sometimes like an antelope’s. They have pronounced, angular facial features. Their chosen sense is hearing; their love of sound is particular and deeply felt. An Ifriti home is incomplete without a different kind of chime on every clock, a different bell at every door, and a wide variety of musical instruments readily available.

Their high house is House Ardeo, led by the incomparable Luminessa Ardeo, one of the primary directors of the Mechanica Guild. Her husband Mephanis is a pacifist, a gentle scholar who heads a dueling club called The Lantern House, where students do not just indulge in defensive martial arts but also debates of philosophy, theology, and other intellectual pursuits. Their studies are called the Flickering Flame, and are widely regarded by sporting duelists to be a joke, although academics find the combination of study and physical discipline fascinating. They have two children, Cindra and Caspher. Cindra is apprenticed to Troubadour Van Claude, a popular Weather Master, and Caspher is a brooding artist; although Caspher’s knack for mechanics follows his mother’s skillset, he uses it for sculpture, art, and other expressions rather than for utility or function.

Ifriti childbirth is a high pressure affair, to say the least. There is a great deal of care taken to ensure the mother is kept as warm as possible. She usually undergoes a kind of fever which gives her a chill, thus requiring extra layers, blankets, hot furnaces, stoked fires, and so on. After three months of pregnancy, the Ifriti mother will descend into the lowest room of her house, or perhaps a local birthing kiln, specially furnished for such times with an extraordinary furnace, carefully selected stones and ash, everything to keep the mother hot and comfortable. After another week or so she will give birth to the child. Ifriti are not known to have twins or other multiples, but their gestation is so short that they may have more children in quick succession. An Ifriti child’s horns begin to grow in around age ten. An Ifriti may live to be 500, if they’re healthy. When an ancient Ifriti prepares for their passing, a great event is held in which their friends, family, and neighbors may come to visit, say goodbye, and offer something to ease the passing: perhaps a favorite flower, a bit of music, a taste of their favorite dessert. During the event, the Ifriti sits or lies on a special hearth-chair, growing hotter and hotter, flames dancing along their skin and hair. At last, when all goodbyes have been said and felt, the Ifriti allows itself to ignite, with all of the visitors and well-wishers watching. When they are gone, there is nothing left but cold charcoal, which is then used by the family to prepare for the next birth in the house. Their deaths usually result in a great deal of cold charcoal, which is why they ideally lie down in a special hearth before passing. Essentially, Ifriti are capable of creating their own funeral pyres.

Adolescence
"horn mittens"

Marriage and Courtship
Ifriti couples are driven by passion and intense emotion for one another and while this will often result in multiple events of intimacy there is only one event that marks an Ifriti couple as a unit. The Test. A ifriti couple, when they wish to join their lives together (or if one party wishes to solstice another party for their hand in marriage) they will present a test or trial for each to perform. This task is often a direct result of how desperately the couple wish to be together. Traditionally the task can be as difficult or easy as the party giving them wishes. It is a social understanding among Ifriti that if a female solicites a male for his hand in marriage (or vice versa) and the task presented is impossible, the soliciting party will often remove their request. However, giving TOO easy of a Task is sometimes seen as an insult to the emotion of the party of the solicitors. But it is not unheard of for deeply in love couples will give simple tasks to they can skip this “traditional” step of courtship and move to the marriage step of their courtship. After the Task has been completed by both parties, they will exchange earrings to be worn as a representation and a indication to the world that they have entered into relationship with each other.

The most famous Test that has been given in living memory was that of Mephanis Scourche to Luminessa Ardeo. The story goes that Mephanis fell in love with Luminessa at first sight and impulsively sued for her hand. After several meeting Luminessa proposed Mephanis’ task that was said to be impossible. Rather than taking the hint and withdrawing his suit, Mephanis shocked the city by accepting. This task is shrouded in mystery as it was never publicly disclosed but whatever it was, three years after Luminessa charged him with his Test, Mephanis returned with proof of his success. Now, legally Luminessa could have refused his success and proposed another test to him, thus giving him another chance to step back out but instead Luminessa accepted him. People speculate to this day on the reasons why she did. But whether it was ego or that she was impressed or even that she wanted to save social face, the two were wed.

Ifriti marriage ceremonies are entertaining affairs. Couples will request the audience of friends and family to come to a designated venue to watch the Trails of the couple. Traditionally a sand pit is erected and the couple will take on all comers in combat. In more modern times combat has been only one option of challenges. Other challenges have been known to be music, art, metallurgy, etc. After the challenges have been completed to the satisfaction of the parents of the intended, a ritual cleansing by fire is performed in which the clothes and selected items from the lives of the intended are destroyed and the couple is married, nude, by an officiant of their choice (either from the Church of the Walking Gods, A Priest of the Way of the World or a high ranking Fey from a high house). After this, the newly married couple will dress in their finest and have a grand party of feasting, music and games.

Funeral Rites


Biology
At the start of every season, Ifriti go through a ashing, which means that the top layer of skin on their body will ember and turn to ash. It’s a painful but beautiful looking process and saving your ashes for someone is considered romantic as it represents rebirth or new beginnings.

Keeping high temperatures for the mother is important in Ifriti pregnancy and reproduction to ensure healthy birth.