Djinn

Context

Wishmaster is a C-list horror movie released in 1997. It put enough butts in seats to have three sequels (as of this writing).

This profile only covers the first two movies, though – it precedes Wishmaster 3.

The core character, the Djinn, is an evil genie who grants wishes in a warped and murderous manner.

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Background

Powers and Abilities

The Djinn is an extraordinarily powerful magical creature. He’s completely indestructible and wields mightily powerful magics. He is (un)naturally an eternal being.

These magics enables him to fulfil any wish from a third party. One exception is those that would result in a change of the universal order (including killing or disintegrating the Djinn itself). Another is wishing for extra wishes, since the number three is also a natural limit.

Almost all magics have to be used for fulfilling the wishes of others, as long as the Djinn is not truly free, except certain effect:

• Assuming a human guise (including taking other people’s appearances as long as he has acquired their entire facial skin).
• Travel between dimensions (he cannot summon other Djinns using this method, but can transport humans).
• Reading minds (making his trickery even more effective).
• Using mild telekinetic effects.
• Teleporting across huge distances.
• Regenerating any harm done to him.

Naturally, he can also absorb the soul of any human, at any time, whom he has granted a wish.

Furthermore, the Djinn is very cunning, both in the ways of magic and in the power of words. He’s access to certain spells that will summon the rest of the Djinn race if certain conditions are met (see the Rituals in his game statistics).

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History

Thus begins the story of the Djinns. One of the Djinns somehow managed to escape to the Earth dimension  in 1127 AD, in Persia. He’d been summoned by the current sultan, for purposes of entertainment. The master sorcerer of the sultan realized the danger the djinn entity represented and promptly started to craft a magical stone, capable of holding the djinn imprisoned within.

Meanwhile, the djinn, calling himself a Wishmaster, granted wishes to the sultan. The sultan asked to see wonders, upon which the djinn created atrocities of and onto the people of the palace, who died in severe pains and horrors. The djinn enjoyed this greatly.

The djinn, who now only needed a request for a third wish in order to be free himself, asked the sultan if he wouldn’t want to undo it all. The terrified sultan nearly made that his third wish, but the master sorcerer arrived just in time. He used his new magic stone to banish the djinn entity within it.

This occurrence went into people’s hearsay and legends in the form of genies in magical lamps, etc. The stone itself was placed inside a statue of the ancient and benevolent god of the Zoroasts, named Ahura Mazda . However the land, at that time, was Islamic in belief.

Modern times

In modern times, a fanatical collector found the statue intact among ruins. He ordered the shipping of the statue to his private collection in America. Unfortunately, when the statue was to be loaded on the ship, the crane driver was drunk. This resulted in an accident in which the statue fell onto another collector, breaking into pieces.

The collector himself was devastated as to the loss of this fabulous piece of art, but didn’t care much about the death of his fellow collector. Workers cleared up the mess that was the result, but one of them found a piece stuck in the stone, that resembled a valuable, red gem.

He secretly took it and sold it.

Alexandra, part 1

The buyer wanted to have the gem assessed. A geologist, named Alexandra Amberson, was charged with the task. Polishing it, using her breath, and a piece of clothing, she actually managed to wake up the inside-residing djinn entity. She saw some sort of impurity or the like within the stone, and sent it to a dear friend of hers, Josh, who’d investigate it using laser light.

Upon activating the laser the djinn absorbed its power and exploded the gem, thus releasing himself. He then killed Josh in the demolished lab and took over his body. The djinn’s interest now laid in acquiring souls, and to grant Alexandra three wishes. Upon the granting of the third wish he’d be able to summon his fellow djinns to Earth, which they then would devastate.

To better work in man’s world, the Djinn took on a human form and named himself Nathaniel Demarest. Alexandra began to investigate the happenings and finally met the djinn, realizing what he was.

The Djinn managed to grant Alexandra two wishes. But Alexandra refused to make a third wish, fully realizing that Earth would be doomed if she did so. At the place of the fanatical collector, the Djinn, managed to get the wish for the party of the century by the owner. Again, people were slaughtered in horrible manners, and basically everyone died sooner or later.

Alexandra, part 2

The Djinn caught Alexandra’s sister, who was at that place. He placed her within a burning painting. Alexandra had, since her early years, harbored great guilt over not having been able to save her parents from a burning house, only her sister. Faced with the threat of seeing her sister burn too, she became desperate.

Puzzling together material she’d read during her investigations, she, as her final wish, wished that the drunk crane-driver, Mickey Morraine, hadn’t been drunk two days previously when he’d dropped the statue.

The eager djinn fullfilled this wish, but actually changed the current world by doing so. The djinn had never been freed, nobody had died, including Alexandra’s friend Josh. The Djinn ended up being imprisoned within the gem inside the statue of Ahura Mazda. Alexandra went on to live with Josh. [Wishmaster]

Morgana, part 1

Some time after that, the statue was standing in a museum. During an attempted theft there, a fire-fight occurred between two thieves, one male and one female, and the night guards. A stray bullet from the female thief hit the statue which was destroyed. The gem dropped onto the floor.

The male thief was shot, after which the female thief shot the guard. The wounded male thief was dying and the female thief, Morgana, had to flee the scene before more guards arrived. Sitting there dying the man saw the gem and reached out for it. Unfortunately, the Djinn was now awake and asked the male if he’d want the pain to end.

Answering yes on that question, the Djinn killed him and took over his physical form. When more guards arrived at the museum they found the form the djinn had taken, that of Nathaniel Demarest. Demarest pleaded guilty to all charges (murder, theft etc) and was placed in prison.

There he granted wishes, under the nick-name of the Wishmaster, to anyone interested. He took their souls in exchange for this service. Meanwhile, Morgana was having weird dreams of her having to fulfil a prophecy and that she’d meet an evil djinn. She sought the help from an old friend of her, Father Gregory.

Morgana, part 2

When the Djinn, alias Demarest, was happy with the number of souls he’d acquired from the prisoners, he promptly escaped. He employed some members of the Russian maffia to get him more souls. When that was done he made a new acquaintance in the owner of a large gambling hall, a man named Ross.

At the casino the Djinn, dealing out guaranteed winnings for the cost of the gamblers’ souls, managed to get the last of his needed souls. To be exact, he needed 1001 souls for a great ritual that he was going to cast and that would make him the master of the world.

He still needed three wishes from Morgana, though, and had to get those next. Tricking Morgana of two wishes, and taking Gregory’s soul in the process, he only had one to go. Hearing Ross state that he wished that this nightmare would come to an end, the Djinn started a real hell inside the casino. Everyone was locked in and slowly and gruesomely killed while Morgana had to watch it all.

Instead of wishing an end to it, her last wish was that the guard that she’d killed during the theft would be alive again. Just as the the Djinn would cast his final ritual, Morgana went forth and laid her hand on the gem in the Djinn’s hand, and recited an old spell of banishment she’d seen during her studies.

As a consequence, all souls were freed from inside the Djinn. The Djinn himself was banished back into the stone. Gregory, who got his soul back, was resurrected. [Wishmaster II]

Description

The Djinn’s true form is that of a large, hideous, dark demon. As such he’s large horns and a skin that resembles heavy brown metal armour.

In human form he usually wears the form of one Nathaniel Demarest. Demarest has a pleasant foreign, although unusual, appearance with dark hair. Being the size of an ordinary man, wearing a fine costume and using elegant manners usually results in positive interractions with human beings.

The term ’a voice like the sweetest silk‘ could be used to describe the Djinn’s devious manners.

The only distinguishing part of the Demarest appearance is the fact that, when feeling agitated, he constantly walks around with a bad, bad grin regardless of circumstance. This would be a constant case in a jail, which is filled with hundreds of potential wish-makers.

Personality

The Djinn is a member of a nihilistic and diabolic race. His greatest personal wish is to unleash the entire Djinn race upon the Earth so that they can destroy it together. Unfortunately, due to his nature, he reluctantly has to grant three wishes to the individual who first freed him from his captivity, in order to get that.

Additionally, he’s bound to use most of his powers for granting the wishes of others, until he’s been freed by granting his freer his third wish.

He’ll go to any lengths to receive such wishes. This is particularly true when said person knows what will happen upon the granting of the third wish, namely that the Earth shall be destroyed. Although the Djinn cannot, due to cosmic laws, himself directly attack a human being he usually finds a way to trick someone into wishing something that indeed can attack a human being.

The Djinn itself lives on wishes and grants one wish, and one only, to whomever requests him of said wish. As payment the Djinn will almost always take the wish-maker’s soul in return and absorb it into himself.

He occasionally takes on the form of human beings. But although very cunning and clever the Djinn is too eager to play any assumed role carefully; he’ll eventually reveal his true form after a while just for effect.

The Djinn will use extremely nice wording to trick humans into wishes that harm themselves or others. He will often use loved ones to strike at humans and force them make wishes in order to save them.

Party time

Never ask the Djinn for a party… since that really unleashes his powers. He’ll be able to kill anyone in the assembly in any atrocious way, since a true bloodbath is equal to the mind of the Djinn. A favourite tactic at such occurrences is to animate objects such as statues, paintings etc. The more gruesome the result, the better.

Common sneaky questions would include: “Do you wish that you hadn’t seen this horrible thing?” (answering yes to this question usually results in the wish-maker losing his eyes or even being directly killed by the Djinn since the wish is fulfilled that way also).

Once to a gatekeeper he asked: “Would you like to break out?”(referring to his work; when the poor gatekeeper muttered yes the Djinn created a huge glass box filled with water and teleported the man inside this cube along being bound in chains. The Djinn’s amused comment was: “Houdini did it in 30 seconds.”

Answering yes to “Would you like to remain young forever” would result in the Djinn changing the subject into a lifeless statue.

Since the Djinn is limited to fulfilling wishes he’ll keep talking as much as possible in order to trick wishes, who’ll then be horribly corrupted, from people.

Quotes

“Run, insect. Run and tell those that you know what you will. Tell them there’s something loose in the city. Something which lives of wishes. But tell them quickly, while you still have a soul.”

“I’m the face that stares back at you from the shadow of the mirror.”

Human : “My God !” (upon seeing the Djinn’s true form)
Djinn : “Not yet, human. Soon. Very soon I will be him.”

DC Universe History

The Djinn works best as a lone agent in a Magic DC Campaign setting. Possibly the Djinn originates from the fifth dimension of Mr. Mxyzptlk or the dimension of the Bat-Mite. Although having such a possible impish origin, he’ll still be extremely lethal.

By Dr. Peter S Piispanen.

Source of Character: Wishmaster – movies.