The Irda are the first born of the gods, creations of the Dark Queen, Takhisis. The Irda are the Ogres of old: a tyrannical, beautiful, blue-skinned race of beings ruling over humans in the Age of Dreams. The enslaved humans mined the mountainous country of the ogres for gems and minerals, allowing ogre civilization to prosper.
In 6320 PC, an ogre named Igraine is inspecting one of his mines with his daughter. A cave-in occurred, and Igraine barely escaped with his life. He ordered the cave sealed, trapping many humans and his daughter inside. One of the humans, Eadamm, disobeyed orders and led Igraine's daughter outside to safety. Because of his disobedience, Eadamm was sentenced to death. However, the law stated that punishment was to be meted out at the master's whim, and Igraine had no desire to kill Eadamm. The execution was postponed indefinitely.
Because of the Human's generosity, Igraine allowed his slaves much more freedom and his profits and production skyrocketed. When other ogres became jealous and learned of his "heresy," Igraine and his followers fled, leaving the slaves to cover their retreat in a rebellion against their masters.
Upon reaching the sea, Igraine and his followers were aided by the goddess Mishakal and passed onto an island beyond Ansalon, part of the Dragon Isles. This island was protected by powerful magicks, allowing only those traveling toward it at Solinari's high sanction to discover it.
Irda are inherently magical and rarely use weapons in combat; they are singular and contemplative, keeping to themselves much of the time. Irda possess the ability to shapeshift, an ability which they use often when traveling upon Krynn, for all other races fear them. They kept their beautiful appearance when the rest of the ogres were turned ugly
During the Summer of Chaos, the Irda were visited by the Knights of Takhisis who left their island undisturbed. However, fearing the worst, the Irda cracked open the Graygem, allowing Chaos to escape and wreak havoc on Krynn.
References[]
- Dragonlance Campaign Setting
- The Irda