Presence

Many depictions of Ebb describe his metaphysical form as a spiraling vortex of pure darkness and pure light, intertwining and swirling around each other in a never-ending dance. This abstract vortex was supposedly large enough to encircle the entire universe, a halo of shimmering radiance and shadow, constantly shifting in position.

However, this is not the form Ebb typically took. The incomprehensible whirlpool of particles and waves comprising his true form would often concentrate into a single point in the universe, casting shade and shining light across random places as it compressed itself. Within moments, the vortex would become a physical humanoid body. Ebb preferred to take this physical form most of the time, finding it easier to interact with his creations and spread order across the universe.

Ebb's physical body was short, only around five feet tall, a rather surprising fact given the impossible scale of his metaphysical form. He appeared similar to a contractor, with a carapace split down the middle, but each side of this carapace was a different color. His left half was purple, representing his control over darkness. His right half was yellow, representing his control over light. Ebb had two large, long horns like a bull, one on each side of his round head. His purple left horn pointed down, and his yellow right horn pointed up. On his head were eight eyes, six of which were always closed. His other two eyes were always open, one glowing with a blinding light, the other seeming to emit a darkness black as coal. Ebb had four arms, as well as a pointed tail. Ebb's limbs were always described as incredibly thin, despite his seemingly average body weight. For this reason, depictions of Ebb and his creations typically take a rather simplistic style, with short, square bodies and thin stick limbs.

Ebb was always dressed in an incredibly fancy tuxedo, split in half by a seam down the middle of the back. The left half of the tuxedo was a pale yellow, while the right half was a dark purple, contrasting the tones of his carapace. His pants followed a similar pattern, except with the colors swapped. His shirt underneath his suit was a pale brownish gray, almost a perfect mix between the two colors. Ebb also wore a top hat and bow tie, similarly colored to his tuxedo. However, the bow tie had the sides of the colors swapped, like his pants. Orbiting the top hat on his head was a halo of darkness and light, exactly like a smaller version of the gyre comprising his metaphysical form. Finally, Ebb always held two conductor's batons, one purple and one yellow, each able to control darkness and light respectively. Some say these blessed items still exist somewhere in the universe today, able to give their wielder a small fraction of the control Ebb had over these domains.

Disposition

Despite the hatred darknidows harbor for Ebb, he is most often described as an amiable and optimistic god. All of his judgement was given out with a smile, no matter the severity of the chaos he was correcting. To him, the order he was imposing was making the universe a better place. Legends about his death say that his grin stayed wide even as his body was lacerated.

In texts written by the darknidows, Ebb is described as having a single-minded obsession with obtaining perfect order throughout the universe. What exactly counted as "order" in Ebb's mind is very rarely elaborated on. The common consensus of religious scholars is that order meant peace, laws, and a lack of anything too fundamentally disruptive, including overeating, hoarding, and similar selfish acts. All that matters to the darknidows, however, is that before Ebb's death at their hands, his strictly imposed laws stopped them from acting on their desires.

Although the darknidows typically focus on Ebb's harsh enforcement of rules, Ebb was a god of duality. Unaltered texts written by the lightonarchs mention not only Ebb's "lawful light side", but also his "flippant dark side". He had his own selfish desires, and while the darknidows were forced to live lives without the sins they craved, Ebb allowed exceptions for himself. Multiple tales describe Ebb eating excessive amounts of food, ordering grand statues built in his image, and even rarely being charmed enough by one of his subjects to engage in a dalliance with them. Most darknidows ignore this fact, since acknowledging Ebb's own sinfulness would make them hate him less.

Acts

Ebb's supposed origin is hard to place in most texts, often not described at all, but the most comprehensive tale of his birth claims that he "rose from two merging pools, an accidental amalgamation between waves of the purest good and harshest evils." Religious scholars have noted the connection to the tale of Good and Evil, and theorize that Ebb may be one of the lesser gods that emerged from the blood spilled in their conflict. Ebb's simultaneous duality of opposing domains is also rather similar to those of the limbo gods, providing more evidence to this theory. Despite this, no limboists regard Ebb as a major god, with a majority not even believing he existed.

Ebb's acts upon the universe are typically noted as millions of impossible to notice changes made using his powers over light and darkness that would slowly nudge the universe in the lawful direction he wanted. However, claims have been made that many intelligent species were directly visited by Ebb's physical form and gifted the ideas of law and monarchy. Whatever his acts were, none of them were particularly notable to his believers until the creation of Ninthircle.

After he had realized that the universe was too vast to bring true order to all at once, Ebb knew he had to start with a smaller project. He created a star system and deemed it Ninthircle, after the nine heavenly bodies that made up the system. He would create two species, one representing light and goodness, and one representing darkness and evil. These two species would be diametrically opposed to each other, and Ebb would bring perfect order to them. It would be challenging, but it would be good practice for the rest of the universe. Ebb created the darknidows and the lightonarchs, distributed them evenly among the planet Modes-Vehemens (known today as Vehemence), would let them bicker amongst themselves for a while, and then step in and change things for the better.

Just before the darknidows started a full-scale war with the lightonarchs, Ebb descended from above in a coalescence of light and shadow and spread his message across the land. Ebb told the two species of the benefits of peace, the value of order, and the joy of technological advancement. For two thousand years after this, the darknidows and lightonarchs lived in peace and harmony. However, seven darknidows gathered together to plot an assassination of Ebb, and their plan ended up working. These seven darknidows split Ebb in two, devoured his dark half and absorbed his powers relating to darkness, effectively becoming demigods, or as the darknidows call them, Sinful Lords. Ebb's light half was simply left to rot, either dissolving into nothing or being absorbed by Ninthircle's sun depending on different accounts. Ebb had died, and without his imposed order, the darknidows were free to slaughter the lightonarchs and live lives of sin.

_{A rare intact lightonarch carving of Ebb's history. The text roughly translates to a description of his acts in the previous section, up until his death. - Art by Babybowser101}

Cults

The Followers of Ebb: According to /{less}, the founder of the Followers of Ebb, Ebb's light half didn't simply vanish, its power stayed stagnant within Ninthircle's sun, Lux Finatim, for over six thousand years. A mere 150 years ago, /{less} built the massive Temple of Ebb on the formerly unnamed dwarf planet Schism, orbiting incredibly close Lux Finatim. Using the planet's proximity to the star, his mechanical knowledge, and some secret religious rituals, /{less} resurrected Ebb's light half into a robotic body. This chassis was given the temporary name "Deadgod Ebb Artificial Droid Spirit Vessel 1.0," but the acronym DEADSV1 stuck.

Since the creation of DEADSV1, /{less} has supposedly frantically been searching for the remains of the Sinful Lords in order to resurrect the other half of Ebb and complete him, but according to /{less} himself he's had no luck. DEADSV1, meanwhile, has simply stayed on the Temple of Ebb for his protection. With the help of numerous robotic copies, DEADSV1 started the Anomaly Rehabilitation Campaign, an initiative to take the dangerous anomalies from the Ninthircle system and rehabilitate them into proper members of society.

While the Temple of Ebb is a ring-shaped superstructure encircling the equator of Schism, its size does not reflect the size of the Followers of Ebb. Beings from across the universe have joined the cult and adopted Ebb as their god, but the Temple of Ebb only houses around two thousand members. Most of the space in the temple is taken up by anomaly containment centers made to house the subjects of DEADSV1's Anomaly Rehabilitation Campaign. Currently, an estimated five thousand anomalies of various notability are contained in the Temple. How many of these anomalies have been properly rehabilitated in the last century the campaign has been in progress is currently unclear.

Anti-Cults

Screwebbism: Almost every darknidow in the universe is a part of the aptly-named religion of "Screwebbism". Screwebbism revolves entirely around the hatred and spite of Ebb and the worship of the seven Sinful Lords who killed him. Each Sinful Lord is a perfect model of one of the seven most prolific sins in darknidow culture. In order of power hierarchy from least to greatest, the pantheon of the Sinful Lords includes Oreanar, the Envious Dissenter, Quroogor, the Slothful Idler, Vanadias, the Lustful Trickster, Kelnaria, the Greedy Founder, Valicarn, the Gluttonous Void, Silzael, the Wrathful Godkiller, and Azelium, the Prideful Heir.

Screwebbism was founded by the Sinful Lords directly after the death of Ebb, and its influence immediately spread to every darknidow in the Ninthircle system. The lightonarchs, who loved Ebb, were outraged by the death of their god, and tried to fight back against the darknidows' sudden outburst of sinful deeds. Unfortunately for the lightonarchs, the weapons from their ancient war with the darknidows had been destroyed by Ebb, and without the aid of technology, they were easily overpowered by the darknidows' natural prowess for violence. Valicarn, the Gluttonous Void, used his influence to gather an army of darknidows to hunt down every lightonarch in the Ninthircle system and eat them alive. Horrifyingly, this plan was successful, leading to the extinction of the lightonarchs.

Modern Screwebbism has no cohesive structure or method of worship. Near the end of his life, when asked about how to properly anti-worship Ebb, Silzael was famously quoted as saying "DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT! A LACK OF STRUCTURE IS WHAT THAT BASTARD WOULD HAVE HATED MOST, AFTER ALL!" Some believe that the only reason Screwebbism is even a registered religion is that due to a legal loophole, the darknidows were able to classify the entire Ninthircle system as a church. Because of this, they can avoid having to pay any taxes on imports from across the universe.





_{A popular Screwebbist hymn entitled 'CONNECTION SLAUGHTERED', written by darknidow composer DJ Bloodletter. The hymn represents Silzael, the Wrathful Godkiller, beheading Ebb, severing his connection to the universe and granting darknidows a 'new number'. - Audio by Babybowser101}

Creations

Although the darknidows and lightonarchs are his main creations, Ebb is theorized by some to have created multiple other species across the universe as experiments of whether the concept would work. Pyronians are possible prototypes of the lightonarchs based on their easily comparable biological structures and psychic powers, while skokakrio are seen as possible prototypes of the darknidows for similar reasons. Angels and daemons are also often brought up in debates about possible creations of Ebb, for their obviously dichotomous personality traits. Ebb is also the supposed origin of the anomalous fauna inhabiting the Ninthircle system, such as shadow-preying shadodida, ominous gleamwalkers, light-eating voidwing moths, and the mythical cryptids darknidows call "Bringers of Fulguration" that are rumored to be able to steal a darknidow's regenerative powers.

Demi Gods

Although most information on demigods of Ebb comes from ancient times, a few similarities between them all can be easily gleaned. Demigods always had some sort of "split" in them, whether physical, mental, or metaphorical. Their two halves would be symbolic opposites.

Demigods of Ebb were said to control domains related to different aspects of light and darkness. Although their control would be very weak, each demigod would control two opposing domains at once. For instance, a common darknidow fairy tale follows the story of Moonbeam, a demigod with control over both fear and bravery. The tale ends in typical violent darknidow fashion, with Moonbeam failing at her quest to help lightonarchs overcome their fears and dying a brutal death at the hands of Valicarn, the Gluttonous Void.

While most demigods are said to have been hunted down and killed by darknidows, DEADSV1's Anomaly Rehabilitation Campaign has acquired several anomalous entities with similar abilities to demigods supposedly killed in darknidow lore. The common theory among religious darknidows is that the powers of the demigods spread to their murderers after they were killed, albeit in even weaker forms.

Special

Flood Drain: Can even death stop the ebb and flow of the tides? Can one absolute inevitability override another? Or do they contradict, neutralizing each other and creating something new, something greater?

Only time can tell.

The Last Will and Testament of Prolux-Icara

This will surely be the last thing I will ever write. My name is Prolux-Icara, and I was once the most trusted acolyte of the Receding Tide himself. I started out as a simple cleric of balance, but as I showed my faith, I was able to attain a place at his side. It had been just over a century since I started when it happened. A darknidow named Vanadias invited Ebb over for tea when meeting him after a peace-promoting event. Normally Ebb only shows up at larger public events like that, but I could tell that something about the darknidow's charisma had caught Ebb's eye. He insisted on joining her for a date. I ran a background check on her, since although any attempt on Ebb's life would surely fail, it was always good to be safe. Vanadias seemed to be as pure of heart as any darknidow could possibly be.

It's rather ironic to me that giving in to the desires that darknidows adore so much was what sealed his death by their hands. Ebb went to the diner, and although he told me to stay behind, I had to follow him. Hiding in a planter beneath a pile of dead bushes, I saw Vanadias lead Ebb to the empty lot behind the diner. I saw her shadow, spread out and distorted over a large area behind her, suddenly disappear, revealing six other figures. I saw a particularly menacing darknidow run out of the shadows at top speed. I saw his twin scythes glistening with the red light of the sunset. I saw my god die.

I can barely even bring myself to write what happened next. The seven darknidows cut Ebb's body into chunks of holy viscera and devoured him piece by piece. The more they ate, the more dark purple mist emerged from Ebb's remains before being absorbed into their bodies and items they were carrying. As they engorged themselves with power, I realized that they had left Ebb's right half completely intact. Suddenly, a glimmering light of hope flickered in the indescribable horror that I had just suffered. Of course they would leave his light half alone, of course they wouldn't even want to touch the part of their god that represented everything they loathed! I began to formulate a plan. Once the septet had finished their impossibly blasphemous meal and made their leave, I rushed out of the bushes towards Ebb's remaining half.

I couldn't bring myself to absorb his power the same way the Sinful Lords had, but I needed to do something. So I found a bag large enough to fit half a body in, took what remained of Ebb, and immediately looked for a place to hide. I knew what would happen now that the darknidows had murdered Ebb, and sure enough, once the announcement was made, lightonarchs were being killed across the entire system. The only place I would be safe was the nameless rock so close to Lux Finatim that darknidows refused to land any ships there. Somehow, I managed to get out of that wretched city undetected, and found a disused spaceship. I flew off Modes-Vehemens immediately.

With all the ships passing from planet to planet under the sudden regime change, I was able to get to the rock without much trouble. And now I'm here. And now that I've had some time to think, I know what I must do. Although the chances are very slim, there may be a way to bring the Structured Conductor back to life. When that mist of darkness was absorbed into the Sinful Lords, I saw it coalesce on certain objects on each of them. Azelium's sunglasses and triangular amulet, Kelnaria's hat-crown, Silzael's twin scythes. All these objects hold pieces of the dark half of Ebb's soul. If these objects can be gathered together... that half of him could be restored. Ebb's dark half would need a vessel, some sort of living body without the will to think, but I'm sure that by the time this text is found, the technology of the future will have far surpassed ours. Perhaps a body could be cloned for him.

But of course, Ebb's light half would need to be kept intact as well. A second vessel would be needed, and once the two vessels are filled with the two complete halves of Ebb's soul, they would combine into his reincarnation. And while no darknidow would dare come to this rock as things are now, as I have stated, there is no telling the future. If I put Ebb's light soul into an object or even myself, some future darknidow could come and figure out a way to destroy it. So I'm going to take Ebb's light half to a place no darknidows will ever be able to go, a place nobody could dream of going without knowledge of Ebb's rituals of light.

I'm going to fly straight into the sun with Ebb's remains. He will become light within light, ceaselessly shining on his own murderers until he is able to return, and I will be forever by his side.

And I'm leaving this book on this rock, in a place only a fellow follower of Ebb would know to look. To you who is reading this, know that there is hope. You can be the one to resurrect our god. When he returns, all I can hope for is that he will have mercy on those who wronged him.

(This text was provided by /{less}, who claimed to have found it on the planet now known as the Schism before building the Temple of Ebb superstructure surrounding the planet. Its validity cannot be confirmed nor denied.)

Trivia

• Only one tale tells of Ebb's abilities in combat, as he was a relatively passive figure, promoting peace and order among the darknidows and lightonarchs. In this tale, Ebb fought off an unknown and likely extinct invading alien species. Ebb wielded his two conductor's batons like magic wands, spreading maladies among the invading forces en masse rather than engaging in combat directly. Supposed maladies Ebb could inflict included blindness, sunburns, symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, and amnesia. While he used his powers from afar, an army of darknidows and lightonarchs fought the weakened aliens head-to-head. According to the tale, the war was won within a week.

• On the anniversary of Ebb's death, darknidows celebrate a holiday called GODKILLERS' EVE, commemorating what they consider to be their collective act of godly murder. Darknidows put on masks and costumes to make themselves look even more terrifying, then go door to door, stealing from the houses of their neighbors and setting up booby traps inside. Because every darknidow celebrates the holiday all at once, everyone ends up both stealing and having their items stolen, leading the darknidows to consider everything "evened out" at the end of the night. To let others know that a house has already been ransacked, darknidows carve pale red gourds called "fleshsquash" into the shape of Ebb's head and place them outside the house's door.

• There is no direct confirmation of Ebb's existence aside from the historical records of the especially untrustworthy society of the darknidows. Many limboists who deny he existed claim that his supposed creations are anomalies of the Neo. Those who aren't religious at all simply think the universe is such a naturally horrible place that the darknidows could easily evolve and prosper on their own.

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