"Quintessential"
is a term not often used on the Outer Planes -- it refers
most often to the fifth Elemental Province (see my
exhibition on the Ancient
Planes
in this very mezzanine for more information on that).
However, sages and philosophers also use the word to
signify the embodied essence of an entire race. The best
known Quintessential is Primus, the symbol of all
Law and the ruler of the modrons. But what of the other
planeborne races?
Well,
only the "pure" races have Quintessential leaders. True,
the baatezu have their Lords of the Nine, the tanar'ri
have Abyssal Lords, the archons their Thrones and the
eladrin the Fairy Queen. But powerful though these being
may be, they are not the essences of philosophy that
leaders of the other planeborne races
represent.
See,
there are five quintessential planeborne races: the
modrons are all that is Law, the slaad embody Chaos, the
guardinals are pure Good, and the hearts of the yugoloths
are utter Evil. Between them all, the rilmani represent
total Neutrality. Of all these races, only the modrons
have an obvious leader, but delving deeper, we find that
all five races have more in common than first meets the
casual gaze.
Though
the rest of the Multiverse knows of Primus the Modron
King, it seems the modrons themselves do not. In the
bizarre hierarchy of the barmy boxes, each rank is only
aware of the caste immediately above and below itself.
Thus of all the modrons, only the secundi know of Primus
himself. The rest of the race merely assumes that there
is a leader, and through their belief in natural
superiority the Quintessential ruler is
sustained.
The
chant goes that the rilmani also have a ruler figure in
their mythology, though they have never confirmed nor
denied this to the outside world. It's rumoured that the
leader of their race is none other than the Lady of Pain.
Consider the evidence: she dwells at the Spire as do
they, she remains as aloof and uncaring as the rilmani
themselves, she too is metallic in colour, and her powers
are unknown and mysterious. It's reckoned the reason the
rilmani keep so quiet about it, aside from their
customary enigmatic nature, is that the Lady herself does
not know she is their figurehead, and nor must she know.
Why not? Who can say, cutter. Perhaps the rilmani are
worried that she'd flay the lot of them for worshipping
her, even though by rights they ought to!
As
for the chaotic slaad; these creatures would at first
seem to be too disorganised to have a unifying leader,
and indeed, none is present in their religious or social
structure. They do, however obey a rigid caste system of
colour and strength. Weaker slaad are deferential to
their stronger brothers, and this hierarchy continues
right to the top. It seems that slaad assume their have a
ruler, though they seem to have no idea what it might be.
Or do they? Planewalkers have often commented upon the
slaad's curious tendency to congregate around their
Spawning Stone. Could this apparently innocent
rock in fact be some sort of racial leader? It's a
theory, at least.
What
of the yugoloths? While these fiends are at least as
secretive as the rilmani, more is known of their beliefs.
Maybe that's because you just can't bribe a rilmani like
you can a yugoloth! These most fiendish of fiends
apparently believe in and fear their leader, who may or
may not be the legendary General of Gehenna. If
not, the leader may be of the rarely mentioned "Clan
Baern". While the ultroloths appear to rule the race,
I have it on good authority that only the ultroloths know
there are creatures of more pure and dangerous evil than
themselves. I'd dread to meet one of those
bloods!
Finally,
the good Quintessential. There seems to be no single
answer here; depending upon who you ask, you'll be fed
different chant. A yugoloth source of mine steadfastly
swears that there used to be a leader of Good, only the
tanar'ri slew it thousands of years ago. The guardinals,
who you might expect would sneer at this and refute it
wholeheartedly in fact do not. Privately, they seem
divided on the issue. Some guardinals believe their
oft-prophesied Great Leader has not yet arrived, and wait
patiently for signs and omens of its appearance.
Planologists predict its arrival almost yearly, though
nothing has yet come of the flam they seem to talk. Other
guardinals reckon that their saviour has already arisen
(pointing to countless obscure harbingers to back up
their claims), and maybe there's a sect of them out there
actively seeking it out, in whatever guise it may have
adopted. Detractors argue that when the saviour emerges
(returns?) good-kind will surely know about it! A final
bunch claim they don't have a leader, and that it doesn't
matter a fig, because evil is its own worst enemy and
don't need anything to oppose it.
Alas,
I cannot prove a word.
