Deities

> "Do you wish for utter freedom or have guidance in your every step? You cannot have both, yet you blame us for blood your own kind spills." ~Data
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Deities are the Higher Powers representing and cultivating the properties of life.

They are functionally immortal, and have no physical needs in order to survive. Though some partake in more earthly comforts, their existence is solely sustained through belief.

Deities respect freedom of expression above all else, and thus do not interfere with most mortal conflicts. This decision eventually lead to their extinction.

## Life Cycle

Deities are formed from concepts integral to mortal life. When mass belief to this concept becomes solidified, a soul of a deity is born in the image of the vessel. The race of the deity often comes from where its concept originates from. It will then develop its qualities and abilities further, keeping pace with the focus of its concept's evolution.

One of the biggest shifts in this regard is the goddess of Vitality, whose first form was that of a nursemaid, wrapped in white and decorated with medicinal herbs. As magic developed, her form turned more rigid and glass-like, eventually looking akin to a colorful potion tincture wrapped in silk bows.

If the soul is not worshipped significantly, that deity is considered a minor god. While still immortal, they are only more powerful than mortals by a short step and are easily influenced by their perceptions. Minor gods often acts as oracles to mortals, or servants and messengers for more powerful deities.

If the soul is older or more worshipped, they gain the power to form their own personalities and traits. Thus, they are less reliant on the beliefs of the mortals that gave them strength. Independent deities like these can only be killed through body, rather than disbelief.

Whichever type of god they may be, if they are killed by violent means, they will inevitably be reborn as long as their base concepts are solidified. In contrast, their concept being forgotten, obsolete or dismissed en masse leads to that deity slowly fading away from memory. If that concept resurfaces, the soul will be reincarnated as new.

Their cycle came to an end after both forms of death were performed during the War of the Heavens.

## Epithets

Epithets are alternate names where a single deity may be called. Countries personify a concept inconsistently due to regional and localization differences. This makes a certain aspect of the god more prominent through worship.

The god of Fire is considered a benevolent and nurturing god in the north (epithet Calor), but a fickle and destructive god in the south (epithet Uro). Depending on which epithet is more worshipped at the time, the deity's form changes to reflect that perspective.

More powerful gods can choose to only acknowledge epithets and therefore not adapt to popular belief.

## Way of Life

A deity can come from all sorts of concepts and places, making a lot of what mortals understand about themselves inapplicable to their gods.

Concepts personified are often abstract such as Knowledge, Vitality, War, Mana, and Decay. Such causes deities to be confused by the concept of biological sex. Deities merely choose if they wish to conceive (conceptually female), contribute (conceptually male), or help raise (both or neither). As natural shapeshifters, their bodies will then reflect that.

Deities' biases on unions and relationships are not dependent of gender, but incompatible concepts. Decay and Celebration, for example, had to invent a tradition to honor the dead in order to be accepted by their peers.

### Children and Demigods

A child cannot be conceived by two deities physically, but a concept born linked to two deities are considered their child, regardless of the nature of their relationship. For example, Vitality and Storm are parents to Harvest, despite the former often irate with the latter. Whereas Harvest and Hunt are both mothers to the minor god of Gastronomy.

Demigods may also form during the union of a compatible mortal and deity. This instance, however, often leads to the absence of one parent. Deities cannot visit or interfere with the lives of mortals often enough to raise a child, and mortals must not enter the sanctuary of deities without divine purpose.

### Champions and Patrons

When a mortal receives a calling, accepting such tasks would grant them the title of Champion or Paladin. In return for their success and devotion, their patron grants them a boon. Such boons are dependent on what type of deity their patron is.

Phenomena based concepts often gift abilities to their champions, while object based concepts prefer to give gear with special properties.

A special bond will also be formed between the champion and patron, permitting the mortal to step into their patron's sanctuary on a whim. These bonds and boons can be revoked if the paladin can no longer perform their task, the oath is betrayed, or the deity dies.

Deities can only have one champion at a time, as the oath takes a considerable amount of power that can take decades to recover.

### Guidance

Deities have made a pact to minimally interfere with Terradios or the concepts of other gods. This makes the gods more reclusive and keep to themselves, only watching from afar.

Most paladins are only allowed to campaign further worship of their patron, with very few instances of their tasks be to influence other parts of the world. However, with the freedom to interpret their calling as they please, some paladins interfere with other paladins of similar oaths. Due to the pact, their patrons then cannot aid either champion, and animosity between the two deities might brew in the background for any slight to their chosen .