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SHRA'KT'LORShra'kt'lor is a fortress city that
houses the largestconcentration of githzerai.
It serves as both the capitalof the civilization and the headquarters of the githzeraimilitary forces. The greatest generals, spellcasters, andzerths of the race meet he re to plan or refine their strat-egy for battling
the githyanki and the mind flayers.Shra'kt'lor
is the most well defended of the githzeraioutposts- no force in Limbo could readily threaten thecity or its inhabitants. Teleportation circles are barredexcept on the fringes of the place, at always-guardedlocations beyond the city's outermost defenses. Thosewho use plane-shifting magic to arrive at these sites orwho approach through the chaos of Limbo aren't admit-ted to the city without the approval of an anarch.Beyond the entrance to the city wait
six layers ofnested defenses. Each one is dominated
by a fortressmaintained by a powerful
anarch chosen by ZaerithMenyar-Ag-Gith, who dwells at the heart of it all.GITHZERAI
I N THE WORLDZERTHIMON DOES NOT EXPECT US TO WAIT IN
PATIENCEfor his return. instead, we must pave the way for his efforts,so that
we can hasten the coming of our golden age.- The Teachings of Menyar-Ag
It's natural for githzerai to prefer to remain in Limbo.They have carved out
a well-ordered civilization inan environment
that they can freely manipulate withtheir minds.
When they visit other realms, particularlyCllAP'T'ER 4 I G ITT! AND TH.£rR ENDLESS WARthe Material Plane, githzerai
feel sluggish and aren'tcomfortable functioning
in a landscape that they see asbeing locked in immutability. Despite their disinclina-tion toward travel, the githzerai send groups away fromLimbo on a regular
basis to keep from giving ground intheir battles
against the githyanki and the mind flayers.ADAMANTINE CITADELSWhe n githzerai travel, they sometimes bring a sliver
ofLimbo along. Before they set out, a cadre
of powerful an-archs craft a citadel of adamantine out of the chaos-stuffaround them. Inside the structure is more of Limbo'sessence, left in raw form until it's needed. Then, in aneruption of psionic and arcane
power that only Men-yar-Ag can produce, the
citadel and its accompanyinggithzerai are transported
to another plane.After the transfer is complete, at least one anarchmust always attend the citadel to maintain its form andshape as
well as to utilize the chaos-stuff within. Whena citadel
is ensconced on another plane, the githzeraicreate a teleportation circle inside it to facilitate travelbetween that plane and Limbo.The appearance of an adamantine citadel on anotherplane creates a blot on the natural world. Life,
the onething that can't be spontaneously created
from the stuffof Limbo, is driven away from the location in a wave ofdread. Depending on the size of the citadel, the affectedarea can have a radius of between
several hundred feetand several miles. Birds avoid
flying over or near it,other animals flee the
area, and plants in the vicinitywither and die. Intelligent creatures can act normally,but being in the affected area is unnerving to them, and