Zerthimon

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In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Zerthimon is the prophet-leader of a group of humanoids called the githzerai, cousins of the githyanki.

[edit] History

The githzerai and githyanki, originally a single race known as "the forerunners," escaped enslavement by the plane-spanning illithids. The rebel leader Gith is responsible for the names of both the githzerai and githyanki. Gith wished to lead the people in destroying all Illithids and any other species she deemed would be a threat, but Zerthimon rose up and opposed her, believing that this evil would lead them to destruction. The people fought divided, and when Zerthimon was killed his people fled to Limbo, where they would learn to refine a sense of calm in the middle of Limbo's endless chaos.

[edit] Zerthimon in other media

In the computer role-playing game Planescape: Torment, one of the potential party members is a Githzerai follower of Zerthimon, and it is possible to learn the basic tenants of Zerthimon' teachings (referred to as the Unbroken Circle of Zethrimon) through conversations with him (which unlocks special wizard spells for the protagonist and the Githzerai). According to Planescape: Torment, Zerthimon's teachings can be summarised as following.

Strength lies in knowing oneself; those who do not know themselves are lost and open to the manipulations of others.
A willingness to learn is a sign of strength.
Endure and, through endurance, gain strength.
Learn to see the whole, or be blinded to the truth.
Many in unison can accomplish more than many alone.
Seek balance, or lose sight of your goal.
Patience is a virtue.
Focus and discipline are the key to strength; division is the key to weakness.

Possible Spoiler: When in the Fortress of Regrets, talking to the evil incarnation reveals that he forged the Circle of Zerthimon owned by Dak'kon. As such the teachings contained within it may not be accurate. The evil incarnation says that they may be true, but he doesn't know.

In the game Neverwinter Nights 2, the player meets a githzerai that espouses a similar belief to that shown in Planescape: Torment. One commonality is the emphasis on "to know". The emphasized version is used for knowledge of great signifiance, such as self-knowledge. This is due to the githzerai's origin in Limbo. Their homes can only exist by the collective will of the people, so being very firm in your knowledge and beleifs is a survival trait to the githzerai.