Ijiraq

The Ijiraq were once used as spies and assassins by those who controlled them. They appear as half-man, half-mist but can take almost any form, making them particularly deceptive. When encountering one, you will see it out of the corner of your eye, then if you try to observe it directly they are completely elusive. If and when an Ijiraq allows you to see him, it is only in the moment before he intends to slaughter you. Ijiraq were known to be summoned and commanded by one of the curse tablets of Hades.

Ijiraq encounters are almost always with the male drone, which feeds on the male half of the One Power. This is a painful experience for the channeler, and results in their death if the ijiraq is not detached, usually through the ijiraq’s death. They can only feed when a channeler is actively holding the Power, and once attached, the channeler is not voluntarily able to let go of the Source.

The Hive

Ijiraq exist in hives, each one connected to a single Queen. Hives cover a geographical location of hundreds of miles to up to a thousand miles, and individual ijiraq can freely roam within range of their queen. If the queen drastically shifts her location, the hive will adjust accordingly.

The queen is linked to each of the ijiraq in her hive, but the ijiraq of a given hive are not necessarily linked to each other. So an ijiraq may share knowledge, senses and experience with their queen (kind of subconscious telepathy like between identical twins), but it’s not consciously controlled. A queen may then decide to disseminate information to the remaining members of the hive.

Males within a hive remain individuals and do not share a mind, but due to the telepathic nature of the connection remain highly loyal to their queen. They have limited abilities to communicate with each other, but it is always through the relay of their queen, who can prevent or limit it if she wishes. They can also speak to creatures outside the hive if they choose, though this is rare, so they are usually considered by Atharim to have limited cognition.

Queens and the Curse Tablets

Queens are asexual despite their title. They do not hunt, but can possess female channelers and act through them. Possessions may only occur while the channeler is holding the One Power, and she may not voluntarily release it while attached. How to prematurely sever this link once it’s established is currently unknown, as the only known example involved the channeler in question (Oriena Rusayev) making a bargain with the Queen which possessed her. The bargain formed a permanent psychic connection, initially reminiscent of the connection between queen and hive, and Oriena was released but was also bound to her promise.

Possession is an unpleasant, painful experience. The channeler’s body may be puppeted, and the Queen is able to use the One Power through her. The channeler herself remains aware during the experience, but is locked inside her own mind. Possession also allows communication between host and queen, and an ability for the queen to impart visions connected to the host’s lives in past Ages.

Although the psychic link which forms a hive appears compatible with humans, repeated possessions by the queen result in a slow deterioration in the host. This usually manifests in nosebleeds, unconsciousness, and seizures, and will eventually cause the host’s death. The queen seemed uncertain about managing the effects on Oriena, so it’s likely a link with a human was not something it had tried before. It’s also possible the binding oath remaining unfulfilled also played a part in Oriena’s physical symptoms.

It is not known how long queens live, but they retain knowledge from long ago Ages. They also appear to have an ability to recognise the past identities of a soul, or at least those who lived in the 6th Age Greek pantheon. This suggests that the queens themselves may be the original ijiraq bound by Hades’ Curse Tablets.

Little else is known about them. Such as if they can communicate with each other, allow for overlap between their hives, or are allies or enemies with each other.

Oriena’s Bargain and Human Hosts

Oriena’s bargain for her release (and to keep her life) was to free the Queen from the Curse Tablet by destroying it and killing those responsible — both Nikolai Brandon and Armande Nicodemus. Though she made some nominal efforts to enact this revenge, it ultimately proved an impossible promise to keep.

While connected, Oriena developed a sense for the ijiraqs’ location in relation to herself — both the queen and the males. She was aware of the psychic communication amongst them, but usually unable to interpret or understand it clearly unless the queen spoke to her directly. The male drones came to protect her several times, although this may have been at command of their queen rather than loyalty to her.

Oriena eventually freed herself (after a fashion at least) through a battle of wills during a possession. At the time she was trying to forcibly extract information from the queen concerning the device controlling Sasha Petrova. In the end she leveraged the hunger of the male ijiraq, promising they could feed on Sasha if they helped her release him. As a result the queen was overthrown, and the male ijiraq’s links reverted to Oriena. It’s unknown if the queen was killed as a result.

Since the Curse Tablet controlled the queen directly, the male ijiraq are free of its directive. They seem to be connected to Oriena directly, as she can now hear them speak clearly.