Patreon Insight: Solar, Lunar, and Terran Gifts

Hello everyone. Today is going to be a rather small Insight as I breakdown the three Gift types and how they differ. This isn't the first time I've covered gifts and it certainly won't be the last, but before I mostly looked at the Lunar Gifts. These are the Gifts that are received by humans, Ferrans, Miriel, Kairosi, and any other race that may be derived from humans. 

So, what about the others? Well, first off, let's start with some universal qualities that are shared between all three types. And now I'm regretting that phrasing as it makes it seem like there are significantly more shared qualities than there actually are. In reality, the main thing they share is that all complex life is granted a Gift based on what they are and when they were born/germinate.

Moving on to what makes the three types different, we have a fair bit more to talk about. As I've discussed before, Lunar Gifts are split into eleven sets of three with each Gift in a set sharing a common theme. Each set is also tied to a dual lunar cycle which is the period in which the two moons go from full to full. The gift that an individual receives in this period is determined by the orbit of Rowan'el as it takes three full orbits to complete a dual lunar cycle. Each lunation has a different gift tied to it. The exception to this is during a Lunar Eclipse which results in the individual getting a random Gift and a double Solar eclipse which hasn't been recorded. Overall, there are thirty three Lunar Gifts and the cycle repeats every three years..

As for Solar Gifts of the Al'duur, they are tied to the five seasons that are recognised on Illyria. Now before anyone asks, I know that the idea of there being five seasons is kinda weird, and I intend on covering it at a later date. Until then, I ask that you accept it as a quirk of the setting. Anyway, there are twenty Solar Gifts in total which are then divided into ten sets of two. Like with the Lunar Gifts, each of these sets has a theme associated with them. With Solar Gifts, however, the constituent Gifts are treated as opposing extremes within that theme. They are also granted based on which half of a season you are born in and the cycle repeats every two years. Furthermore, similarly to Lunar Gifts, Solar Eclipses result in the Al'duur receiving a random Solar Gift and no one is sure what happens during a double Solar eclipse.

Finally, we have Terran Gifts which are special case compared to the other types. Basically, I'm using Terran Gifts as a catchall term for the various Gifts that are granted to all other complex lifeforms, be they animals, plants or fungi. Terran Gifts are further divided by taxonomic genus. Each genus gets a set of six Gifts that can be granted to the members of said genus. The Gift is determined by the year that the lifeform is "born". For animals this is when they hatch or are birthed. For plants, it is when they germinate. For fungi, I admittedly do not know enough about them so they can be largely ignored but they do technically receive Gifts. Overall, Terran gifts tend to be weaker/simpler compared to Lunar and Solar Gifts and many of them are effectively shared between different genuses. 

And we are done. Until next time, farewell.