Xibal

Xibal (Pronounced: shi-bal) is the mysterious god of fire, death, and chaos. He is rarely worshiped outside of cults, and by the natives of the Luxtamerian colonies. Xibal is one of the deities to emerge from Akna. He usually appears in the form of a black dog or a child with a dog head.

Description
Xibal, like the other Akna deities, theoretically could take on almost any physical form, and none saw his true form without going mad from the sight. Drawings by those gone mad often depict a dog with its skull pulled out of its face, with flashing multicolored eyes. There are documents of him also depicting himself as a small, sick child, and a normal house dog.

Realm
Xibal's realm is a deserted land of volcanic waste and toxic gas. There are a few habitable areas, often occupied by demons and chaos beasts. He can only, however, inhabit the underworld, where he rules over the souls of dead, and guards the prison of evil demigods and monsters banished from the material plane.

Personality
Xibal has gone completely mad, and disregards the living in all of its form. He views law as a form of cowardice, and an inability to accept the nature of reality. He had a very childlike attitude towards life, seeing everything as one big pretend game. He is very paranoid and will lash out at anyone who tries to gain his trust.

Activities
Xibal cannot traverse between planes and is a prisoner in the Underworld. He often spends his time reincarnating souls and ruling over the demons of his world. He sends spirit guides to lead spirits to his plane, often taking the forms of dogs.

Powers
Xibal is the god of fire and can bend volcano eruptions to his will. He can lay a mist of madness or disease onto villages. Having domain over the spirit world, Xibal has the power to reincarnate or send spirits to the material plane. He often gives his worshipers necrotic powers.

History
Xibal has a long and complicated history. He is the youngest of the children of Akna, and is said to have had a fascination of life, and in learning of death, took control of it and guided the souls of the lost to a safe afterlife. At some point before civilization,

Relationships
Xibal is the sibling of Laka and Caelum, and has a deep hatred of Caelum for banishing him to the Underworld. Chronos was similar to a father figure to him, but now views him as a tyrant and coward. The only other deities Xibal holds no animosity towards is Laka and Akna. In fact, Akna, as the creator of souls, is often held in high regard.

Worshipers
The worshipers of Xibal often have to hide in the shadows, as in many places (Nocturn, Luxtamare, Harstrom, Vala and Vala's colonies) it is completely illegal. Mentioning Xibals name is said to bring bad luck, and the only time he is invoked is in a funeral. Any other mentions of him is often associated with necromancy and dark magic, and is strictly forbidden.

Before being conquered by Vala, most of the Islands and Mixcoatl had institutional worship of Xibal, believing him to be a neutral and necessary force in the world. Their society was built around his worship and appreciation, some even committing human sacrifices in his name. This has been made illegal in the colonies and anyone caught in the worship of him is sentenced to death.

Dogma
Xibal's ideals are based off of the "reality of an unpredictable life", the value of joy, and often a disregard for life, as there is an afterlife anyways. Laws are simply rules made up by people who think they can avoid unpredictability, and often only want power. Chaos, death, illness are seen as not only inevitable, but necessary. Most followers use the metaphor of a forest fire. In order for new trees to grow and life to survive, the older trees must burn. Children are held in high regard, and seen as the epitome of chaos and joy in their peak form.