Gibbou

The symbol of Gibbou is a wave of crescents, meant to symbolise her role as a wall against darkness.

## Summary

Gibbou is Galbar's goddess of the moon. She lives on the dark side and calls it her home. At the dawn of creation, when the Lifeblood finally managed to birth the goddess of the sun, Oraelia, Gibbou was born alongside her as her twin, tasked with safeguarding the life her sister created. She stands ever-faithful as the watcher in the night, ready to stop any villain who believes the cover of darkness will keep them safe.

## Domain over the Night

The night is when the shadow of Galbar envelops the world in its darkness, calling for the walkers of the day to rest and the creatures of the night to hunt. It is both a time of magnificent beauty and terrible fear, and Gibbou doesn’t shy away from neither the calm, tranquil aspects of the star-speckled sky and the bright, white moon, nor the cruel, uncaring thirst of the beasts in the shadows, but embraces them both in a duality of peace and terror. Her power appoints her to the guardian of peace when her sister Oraelia descends beyond the horizon, safeguarding life so it may grow the next day, and she keeps a watchful eye over the world, ready to punish those who disrespect the law of night’s peace.

Gibbou’s powers allow her more easily to shape and influence creatures of the night, offering blessings such as better eyes in the darkness, or curses such as restlessness. She is generally more powerful at night and much weaker during the day.

### Mastery of the Moon

Moon. Gibbou is goddess of the moon, or (possibly) moons. The moon is an object of beauty, reflection, admiration and tranquility, lighting up the night for its denizens and offering mortality inspiration for art and thought. The moon’s light functions as a beacon for the fearful and lost, and Gibbou wishes for all who see it to feel safe and peaceful within. Her innate knowledge of celestial objects also grants her great power of influence over objects orbiting Galbar, as well as the creation of these objects. Finally, the moon’s mighty pull on Galbar’s oceans and seas grants Gibbou control over tidal forces.

All these powers, however, ebb and flow with the phases of the moon, being strongest when it’s full and weakest when it’s new.

### Mastery of Respite

Gibbou’s mastery of respite allows her to easier bless life with calmness and mental peace after traumatic experiences. While she cannot erase these memories, her blessings may instead help life cope with them, whether this is a terrible loss or a difficult childhood. The mental respite granted by Gibbou eases the mind to a state of tranquility, allowing the blessed to bypass emotions such as panic and anxiety for the duration of the blessing.

Respite isn’t permanent, however, and all must eventually rest again. The respite portfolio also grants power of rest in general, and can turn the strength gained from a 15 minute nap into what one would normally gain from sleeping through the night. However, respite doesn’t necessarily require sleep, and can be achieved simply by meditation or general rest.

### Mastery of Peace

Gibbou achieves mastery of peace and quiet, granting her the ability to dampen sound, light and conflict more easily. While she cannot use this power to annihilate these things completely, she can turn screams into whispers, make brightness into dimness, and tranquilise bloodthirsty mortals and beasts. In essence, this power allows her to bring something from an energetic and unruly state to a calmer and peaceful one. None of these situations are necessarily permanent, but all can be made into a moment of peace.

## Domain over Protection

Not all are strong enough to keep themselves safe, and often, it's instinctive among both mortals and others to watch over those among their kin who cannot defend themselves against danger. Protection is the ward against danger and harm, exercised by anyone from those simply defending their families from hungry wolves, to a king's guards, to mercenaries hired to escort caravans through the wilderness.

This power allows Gibbou to more easily assist mortals in bolstering defenses, provide protective artifacts and technology, and to form groups and sites around the idea of safeguarding. However, this power is strictly restricted to defense, and cannot affect something that is meant directly as an act of offense. The power may only provide the shield and the armour - the spear is left to other to provide.

### Mastery of Armour

Armour is the heart of personal defense against those strikes too hard, too quick or too unexpected to dodge. From shields and plate to hides and pads - all falls under the compass of armour. It is restricted to what is worn, however - while a spear may be used to block, it is not born with main intent of doing so, as opposed to the shield.

With this power, Gibbou specialises in providing and empowering all sorts of armour to withstand different kinds of attacks.

### Mastery of Walls

Walls are a settlement’s defense against danger, and an key structure in most larger town and cities. Whether they be made of wood, stone or something harder, all serve the same purpose - to protect that which lies within.

Gibbou is here given the power to more easily construct and maintain walls, as well as the deeper knowledge to teach mortals to do the same.

### Mastery of Sentinels

Sentinels keep watch over their companions and communities, overseeing their surroundings to challenge any malicious attempts at attacks or ambushes. Since life first formed groups, they have always appointed watchers to keep themselves safe while the rest of the pack rests.

With this power, Gibbou has keener sight over groups in danger of being attacked, and can more easily grant mortals and animals the ability to spot brigands and predators in hiding. The creation of artifacts and holy sites relating to these purposes also come easier.

## Domain over Sin

Despite what many may say, the path to a perfect life isn’t in love and family and friends and a good house and… Okay, maybe it is, but ask yourself: Is that a fun life? True self-actualization comes from listening to your own volitions, appreciating the earthly pleasures, and indulging in what you know to be good for you - if you enjoy it, how could it not be? The ultimate form of realizing your own desires and needs comes in the form of sin - only those who listen to none but themselves have the power to indulge, while others remain chained to simple concepts like “duty”, “temperance” and “good health”.

As Goddess of Sin, Gibbou embodies the consumption of whatever makes you feel better right now - those extra minutes (or hours) in bed every morning; that extra little dram (or jug) of wine every night; that extra little handful (or sackful) to your salary without your boss knowing. Sloth, hedonism, the abandonment of duty, health and dignity for that extra rush - she inspires laziness and binges as a tool to delay action, to coax others into being slaves to their own desires, needs and wants. The destructive nature of such behavior is a natural part of life. Some people just can't handle addiction.

## Persona

In many ways, Gibbou resembles a somewhat shy and awkward teenager. For the most part, Gibbou is an energetic and clingy character, deeply fond of physical contact (at her own initiation, that is). At times, she can also be terribly emotional and easily brought to tears. She enjoys the company of other gods, and frequently goes out of her way to reach out to others to socialise under the stars. She adores all manner of life and keeps a number of gardens in her realm where she grows vibrant fungi and bioluminescent plants. She also loves bats.

Due to what she perceives as repeated failures on her behalf as a goddess, however, Gibbou's self-esteem has taken multiple hits over the last few thousand years, making her incredibly fragile emotionally. This caused her to descend into a fit of sloth and addiction, sapping her will to do her mission as detailed below.

Gibbou’s mission, as agreed between her and Oraelia, is to safeguard through the night the life the Sun has provided life to during the day. While Gibbou is generally sweet and gentle in her manners, she puts on a strict, grim visage in the night, seeing herself as a chosen guardian over life from the wickedness lurking in the dark. Because of this, she tends to look upon all non-nocturnal animals who walk out in the night with great suspicion, though it’s not always easy to see the nature of criminals and murderers in the dark.

Much less when one’s observing all the way from the moon.

## Appearance

### Base Form

Gibbou’s base form is humanoid, standing 182cm tall with skin as blue as the twilight sky. Hidden under a mass of dark blue hair appears a smooth, shadowed face with eyes pupiled with moonlight. Her forehead sports a white waxing crescent, down from which runs a bright line which splits into two halfway down her nose and follows her cheekbones into her mass of hair. A similar line begins on her lower lip and traces her chin down her throat, connecting to an array of symbols and lines covering the rest of her dark blue form. She smells vaguely of a chilly evening in the forest.

For clothing, Gibbou wears a long-sleeved overshirt and long trousers, both spun with threads of the blackest night and speckled with lights like the starry sky. Around her head, she dons a crescent crown similar to that of an laurel crown, only fashioned in the light of the moon. She usually wears a small smile, contrasted somewhat by a slight chill to her skin, not quite unlike one one would feel on an evening stroll.

### Domain Form: Terror of the Night

Perhaps ironically, Gibbou’s first domain form symbolises everything cruel and wicked about the night. Taken in order to deter aggressors against herself or that which she holds dear, it is the emptiness of a black night, taken by momentarily snuffing out every other source of light except for two burning orbs like bleeding moons, staring her targets down. Gibbou can choose how much she wants to dim the lighting around her, and its effect can in many ways be countered by other gods’ powers.

### Domain Form: Shield Against Evil

Gibbou's second domain form. Her base form is covered from top to toe in thick armour plates forged from the hardest materials known to reality and enshrouded in a cape that itself rivals the defensive properties of steel in spite of its cloth-like texture. With the exception of her face, her every inch is protected by metal, leather and cloth.

## Worship and Influence

Gibbou is first and foremost a druidic goddess, and receives most of her prayers and worship from societies with an influential share of druids. However, the moon is seen as a god or godly objects in other societies, too, like in the Itztli Lakes civilisation, where she is known as Hathen, a god of death and destruction.

## Relationship with Other Deities

* Oraelia: Oraelia is Gibbou's sister and her closest friend and ally. She loves her above all else in existence, and follows her in whatever she wishes until the very end.
* Neiya: A mortal enemy of Gibbou, their relationship has been sour for 2000 years after an incident on Galbar. To this day, Gibbou still hasn't forgiven her.
* Illyd Dyll: A close friend and ally of Gibbou, the god of harvest is someone Gibbou feels she can just spend time with forever without a care in the world.
* Firinn: While not explicitly disliked, Gibbou is still wary of the truth god's cryptic nature. She never seems to quite understand it.
* Aicheil: Like his brother Firinn, Gibbou cannot wrap her head around the Dreaming God's nature, either. She considers him an acquaintance.
* Fe'ris: Gibbou considers Fe'ris a little brother, considering she had a hand in his creation. He's a bat, too, so that's a big plus.
* Klaarungraxus: Gibbou considers the ocean god a friend. He's sweet and kind to her, so she cannot help but like him.
* Meghzaal: Meghzaal is an old acquaintance, one close to Gibbou's heart for being born out of one of her creations. She hasn't seen him since the creation of Antiquity, however, so she doesn't know what's become of him.
* Cadien: While Gibbou likes him, she thinks Cadien is misguided in some places, particularly in his admiration for Neiya.

## Creations

#### Avatars

* Twilight
* Titania

#### Ecosystems

* Neverday Island
* Moon-Reef

#### Mortal Species

* Trolls
* Night Elves

#### Extraordinary Species

* Nightsnapper
* Salt Crab
* Owlix
* Black-footed cats
* Dormirons
* Voidwillies
* Beholders
* Watchtowers

#### Artifacts

* *Hir*
* *Tsukigami-no-Kokoro*
* The Shades of Eternal Night

#### Curses

* Vampirism
* Midnight Madness