Background
When the Dawn War broke out, the djinns were
quick to stand beside their primordial progenitors.
Some sages say this was due to simple loyalty, though
others claim that this was the only way the djinns
could be able to retain their wondrous power over the
unbridled elements of the Plane Below. The victory of
the primordials would also cement their own power
over creation. At first, the war went in favor of the
elemental forces because the gods were scattered and
disorganized. But when the forces of the Astral Sea
unified under the leadership of the war god Achra—
later known as Bane—and the primordial called the
Queen of Bronze fell before him in battle, the tide
turned.
When the immortal armies crushed the elemental
hordes, the djinns sent out a call for their geniekin to
gain the upper hand in the conflict. This call went
unheeded. The reclusive dao declined to enter the
fray. The greedy efreets offered many excuses, never
openly denying the djinns’ request. If the individualistic marid gave any reply, it will never be known.
What matters is that the djinns stood alone in the
end, and are still paying the price for their part in the
Dawn War. Their race, especially their caliphs, was
imprisoned. One of these caliphs was a female djinni
known as Zephyria, the Daughter of Winds.
Once an arrogant calipha native to the fabled First
City, Zephyria was cast into a beggar’s bowl in a cruel
attempt to break her spirit. For decades, the Daughter
of Winds raged helplessly inside the wooden bowl. As
the storm inside her waned, she became feebly aware
of her surroundings. It took years for her to be able
to hear what happened in the vicinity of the bowl.
When Zephyria managed to calm the hurricane
of her heart, she began not only to hear what was
around her, but also to listen.
As the centuries passed, the bowl that held Zephyria passed from owner to owner. As it did so, the
bound djinn witnessed myriad mortal dramas and
joys, betrayals and charities. Most important, she
witnessed the mortal potential for compassion. And
as the voices merged in her mind, she began listening to something she called the Unseen Speaker. It
might be a figment of her own frail mind, a fragment
of her personality that she created to cope with her
imprisonment. Or perhaps her suspicion is correct,
that she managed to achieve unity with an underlying
conscience of the cosmos, beyond god and primordial. True or not, the existence of the Unseen Speaker
brought peace to the Daughter of Winds, and eventually brought her freedom.
Zephyria managed to influence the wielder of
her bowl in subtle ways, guided by the whispers of
the Unseen Speaker, bringing good fortune to those
wielders that possessed a good heart. The more she
redeemed the beggars and the poor souls that used
the bowl, the more Zehpyria expanded her senses,
until the bowl was shattered and she was released. It
is said that the beggar that was holding the bowl that
day became the first in a long line of kings.
Freed from her millennia-long imprisonment,
Zephyria again wandered the cosmos, guided by the
whispers of the Unseen Speaker, until she chanced
upon a dilapidated djinn palace in the Elemental
Chaos. There, the Daughter of Winds took residence,
restoring the palace to its former glory and moving
the cloudmote it rested on to the frontier between the
Elemental Chaos and the natural world. Having experienced firsthand the possibilities of a world made
permanent by the gods, she was determined to spread
the whispers of the Unseen Speaker, easing suffering
and bringing peace to a cosmos ravaged by war.

Appearance and Personality
Zephyria‘s serene and humble demeanor is a great
departure from what is expected of the proud djinns.
Even though she is taller than the tallest goliath, her
simple bearing makes human-size beings feel more
at ease than they otherwise would. Her long, white
hair is tied in a simple braid that reaches down to the
small of her back. Her white and gray flowing garments, though they are well made, are unadorned.
Her gleaming, sky-blue skin boasts no jewelry, except
for a simple silver chain that holds a blue diamond
over her heart. Atypically for djinns, Zephyria prefers
to walk on two legs. She still retains the ability to turn
her lower body into a whirlwind.
Petitioners who seek out the legendary Zephyria are taken aback by her unassuming poise and
whispered words. Those who are granted an audience with her must be patient, because she pauses
in mid-sentence, as if listening to someone else
who is speaking to her. Regardless of dire news or
severe emergencies, Zephyria remains calm, and she
punctuates her sentences with words of the Unseen
Speaker’s wisdom

Contacting Zephyria
Making contact with the Daughter of Winds is deceptively simple. A petitioner seeking to hear Zephyria’s
voice must first give something away to a person in
need, perhaps a coin to a beggar or food to someone
who is hungry. If no one in the vicinity satisfies this
requirement, the agent must become the person in
need, forsaking food and water until hunger and
thirst begin to set in. After either of these conditions
is met, the petitioner closes his or her eyes and feels
the gentle breeze that carries the whispers of the
Daughter of Winds.
Reaching Zephyria’s palace is a more straightforward affair, but by no means easier. The traveler must
climb to high terrain, whether a mountain peak or a
hilltop, that is covered by low-lying clouds or fog. If an
agent of Zephyria is among the travelers, the clouds
will gather until visibility is negated. Before they
know it, the travelers will be stepping on the clouds,
and as the fog parts, they will emerge within sight of
Zephyria’s palace.

Palace
Standing atop an enormous cumulus cloud that floats
close to the border of the natural world, Zephyria’s
palace is a testament to the skill of the djinns. The
placid serenity of the blue sky beyond it and the quiet
majesty of the cloud it rests upon are echoes of the
personality of the palace’s owner.
Zephyria’s palace is a round, domed structure at
least 600 feet in diameter, made of elemental marble,
solid cloudstuff, and silver ornaments. Abstract
designs along the walls are reminiscent of flower
petals, clouds, and sunbursts. Four minarets, each
1,000 feet high, flank the main structure. Each of
the minarets is tipped with silver domes and is said
to house one of the four winds that blow through the
natural world.
The interior of the palace is surprisingly spartan.
Although the walls, floor and ceiling are lavishly
decorated with mosaics and inlaid silverwork, few
luxuries are available for visitors other than soft cushions to sit or lie on. Underneath the central dome, a
spiraling column of clouds marks the origin of the
Unseen Speaker’s whispers—or so Zephyria claims.
There are no servants inside the palace, but that
doesn’t mean it’s deserted. Several pilgrims volunteer
to work in the palace, tending to Zephyria’s needs
and helping her in the ongoing task of renovating
the place. Even her own agents must be prepared to
contribute their labor, replacing cracked tiles or plastering the walls.