The head of Jib

On the first day of every month, a giant called Jib would wake up before sunrise, to enjoy a cool drink from the moon.

One night he had a dream that he had grown so tall he could reach the sun, and despite the heat, he did not burn. The next morning he shared the dream with his older brothers, boasting; “One day I will grow tall and drink from the sun too!”

Jib began to have the same dream every night, and every morning he would make the same boast, until his brothers had finally had enough, and decided to make a fool out of him.

So, one night, when the moon was low, the brothers built a fire beneath Jib’s bed, and tied his long golden hair to the bedposts. Jib was fast asleep, dreaming his usual dream, when for the first time, he began to feel the heat from the sun’s rays growing hotter and hotter, until they started to burn him. The pain became so intense, Jib, jumped so high out of his bed, he ripped out his golden hair and sliced off his head on the edge of the moon. his Body fell upon the shores of the Southern (Niad) continent, and his head fell upon the Luft peninsula, where he still sleeps, dreaming, no doubt, about the sun. Over time his head and body turned to stone, and have ever since been known as the Giga Mountains, and Jib’s head.

Riddles of Jib

Jib’s head sleeps upon the edge of the cosmic ocean,
His giant body on the yonder shore.
No one knows how long he has dreamed,
The dream of dreams (‘Riddle River’ 6.16).

Who can enter the labyrinthine mind of Jib,
to wake him up? (‘Visions and Verses’ 6.16)

Sources

1. The Niadia: Book 3.268
2. Riddle River: A Therazian book of ancient verses, supposedly written by Theraz himself.
3. Visions and Verses: Gavrok includes this riddle, mentioning that it was known to his people (Nehar-Shanar), and further mentions that the Mofians told this riddle to their young before their so-called Abandoning (an obscure rite of passage into adulthood).
4. Kly’s Journal: According to Kly, this myth was depicted on the ceiling of the Grand Chamber of Lumin (a prehistoric cave used for ritualistic purposes).

Origins

The Jealous brothers feature in the Japanese myth of Okuninushi, and is a motif that has many parallel’s. For this myth, I was thinking primarily of the Biblical story about Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 36).

Jib’s head was inspired primarily by Bran the Blessed (The Second Branch of the Mabinogi), and also the myth of Orpheus, who visited the labyrinthine realm of Hades, to recover Eurydice, and was eventually torn apart by Maenads, the female worshippers of Dionysos (because of his allegiance to the god Apollo), who tossed his head in the river Hebrus. The head sang all the way to the shores of Lesbos, and became an oracle.

There are various sleeping mythological characters, including Dagda, Polyphemus, Adam, Dionysos, Noah, Vishnu, etc.

The labyrinthine mind of Jib is based on the myth concerning the Minotaur who lived in the labyrinth, until it was killed by Theseus.

Beyond the Islands

Beyond the Islands, there exists nothing but thunder and storm, and a gold and silver mountain in the middle of an endless turbulent ocean. A solitary figure sits cross-legged upon that mountain, as if half asleep, with endless tears pouring down his face. His skin shines like silver and his hair glistens like gold. He wears a cloak of blue, and at his feet lies a poppyhead staff, broken in two pieces.

Though sleepy, his thoughts are sharp and focused. He is ever attentive to the storm that threatens to engulf the mountain. He understands the language of the thunder’s roar, as it rolls across the dark archway of the sky. The path of the lightning bolt he determines, and every crashing wave he knows by name, because they are his: The lost and frightened children of the time before time.

Unmoved with perfect resolve he sits. In his heart he sees not the storm. He sees only the perfect lands. He cries not for his creation, but rather sings a song, swinging his poppyhead staff high, and sprinkling his children with seeds of blessing.

Teach us that song also.

Sources

1. Riddle River: A Therazian book of ancient verses, supposedly written by Theraz himself.
2. Visions and Verses: This strange tale is the opening verse to Gavroc’s book of prophecy, although it is believed to be much older, dating back before the destruction of the Luftic tribe of the Nehar-Shanar.

Origins

The storm is typical of the primordial state of all things before creation. The mountain is the Axis-Mundi, and the poppyhead staff is the tree of life. The creator figure sits upon the mountain in a pose much like ‘Cernonnos’, as depicted on the Gundestrup cauldron, and proto-Shiva on Harappan seals. He is much like The Nordic All-Father, who also wears a sky cloak.