Skein of Worlds:The Divine Realms

Skein of Worlds « Cosmology and Setting « The Divine Realms

Note: some of the important details about deities and the divine realms remain undecided.

There is still one major piece missing from this puzzle; the Divine Realms, the homes of the various deities that exist across the many planets. The Divine Realms are much too varied to describe what how they look, but there are still some commonalities.

The easiest to see is how these places look from the Astral Plane. In fact, the vortices leading into them look much like the vortices leading back to the material plane, at least until you get close enough. In fact, there are threads running to and from these vortices. These threads are not the silver threads that link two portals though. These threads exist in many colors, though they aren't random. The best theory for now is that the color of the thread is related to the portfolio of the deity of that realm. Most importantly though is where these threads connect. Any material sphere with worshipers of a deity has such a thread linked to that deity's realm.

Belief

Note: this section is the least designed and fully thought-out

Deities depend on belief for their power, and they return some of that power to a few, chosen believers. The big question is, why the deities exist in the first place.

Insert table relating # of believers to divine rank here/realm size/etc, or that might be in GMs Guide

Pantheons

It is unusual for an individual to only believe in one deity, even if they only worship one. Often belief in one deity automatically implies belief in others simply because those deities interact with one another. This is how pantheons are formed.

The belief in a pantheon of deities has an effect on the shape of the divine realms. This usually manifests as a seperate divine realm, not belonging to any one deity. This place is connected to realm of each deity in the pantheon though. It is here that divine wars are waged, meetings are called, or other pantheon-wide interactions take place. There needs to be a term for such a place.

Since these places do not belong to one deity, they are shaped more by the belief of the worshipers than anything else. Similarly, no souls are sent to these places, and no outsiders are native to these realms. That's not to say that these places are lifeless. Many deities send many outsiders to these places for many reasons.

Outside the Divine Realms

There is one fact of vital importance in explaining how the universe works on an everyday level. Deities that leave their divine realm leave their divine power behind. This explains why deities rarely interact with the material plane directly.

Belief is channeled through the Astral Plane, along the colored threads, to the divine realms, not directly to the deity, so outside this realm the deity has no access to that belief. That's not to say that a deity has no power without this belief. No person or creature becomes a deity without first being powerful enough to warrant that level of belief.

Still, there are some benefits to divinity that few deities are willing to do without for long. The first among these is the simple fact that a deity cannot be killed. Their body can be reduced to ash and they will simply reform within a short while. Outside their realm they will be as vulnerable as they were before becoming a deity. While it may seem that few things could kill a deity, even without their divine power, those things exist. Note: Killing a deity outside of their divine realm may not actually kill them. Instead, they may be forced back to their realm minus one divine rank.

Souls and Outsiders

When a person dies, their souls travel along the thread their belief had previously traveled, arriving in their deities realm. Here they take on a form chosen by the deity. Believers in a nature deity may become animals in that deities forest realm, for example. These transformed souls are generically called outsiders, though there are many forms common enough to be known by more specific names. What happens to a person that claims no belief is a mystery. Few people really believe in nothing though, so it is likely that the most appropriate deity gets claim to their soul.

The opposite is true as well. When a baby is born, a soul is sent back. How exactly this soul is chosen remains unknown, though it likely came from the deity of one of the parents. Some people think that the soul is not sent until the baby is dedicated to a some deity. There seems to be no evidence that this is true though. Note: This shouldn't be left this vague.

Outsiders rarely remember the fine details of the life they previously led. Likewise, few people remember anything about their time as an outsider. Certain magics can dredge these memories up though. Another important point related to magic is the question of how resurrection magic works. Some spells take advantage of the fact that it takes a few minutes for the soul to depart a dead body. These spells simply revive the body and reattach the soul. Some spells take advantage of the fact that the transit from the material plane to the divine realms isn't instantaneous. In fact, it can take up to several days sometimes. During this time, the soul can be called back to the body. Finally, some spells attempt to call a soul back from the divine realms. At this point, the chances of success drop dramatically since it is the deities choice whether to release the soul or not. It is possible for the caster to gain permission from the deity before attempting to resurrect someone. Also, if the deity believes that the person will do more for them on the material plane, or if the deity decides to grant the caster a favor, they may simply release the soul. If they chose not to, no normal spell will be able to resurrect that person.

Note: I'm not sure exactly how leaving the material plane would affect outsiders. They should be very rare for some reason or another though.

Apotheosis

There are three known ways to achieve apotheosis and become a new deity. (I say that, but few people even know it's possible, much less how to do it.) None of these options are simple or easy.

The first is to gain believers. This may sound simple enough, but getting someone to believe you are actually a deity when you aren't is anything but simple, let alone convincing the number of people required to achieve apotheosis. They may say they believe in you out of fear or respect instead of out of truth. Note: Does worshiping an idea create a deity or find someone appropriate and make them the deity?

The second possibility is to steal part of another deity's divinity. This can be accomplished any number of ways from winning it in combat or in a game of chance to actually stealing something representative of that deity. In some ways this is the same as gaining worshipers, since the tales of this event will often convert at least a few people, and somehow, no matter what the circumstances of the original event, the tales will get out. Exactly how this happens varies for each such event, so no real conclusions can be drawn about how this works in general, at least for the moment.

Finally, there are ancient secrets that theoretically can allow anyone to become a deity. In practice, only very powerful individuals can actually benefit from these. Such secrets are always very well hidden, and each time someone finds them, they invariably hide them elsewhere to prevent others from finding them. Additionally, the paths laid out in this ancient knowledge are arduous, requiring a large investment in time and energy that only an already powerful individual can manage. A being that becomes a deity in this manner is often fairly weak for lack of worshipers, but since they are actually a deity, gaining the first few worshipers becomes much simpler.

No matter how it is achieved, apotheosis always results in the creation of a new divine realm linked by a thread of belief to the sphere where the deity's worshipers are. The new deity instinctively knows that this realm exists and how to get there from anywhere on the Astral Plane. What sphere of influence a new deity will have is primarily determined by how they achieved their apotheosis. If it was by gathering worshipers, then what they worship the deity for will determine that deity's sphere is. If they stole their divinity, how they did so will determine their spheres. The ancient secrets demonstrate different paths for different spheres of influence. (The path required to become a deity of war or a deity of knowledge are very different.) Rarely will a particular finding tell of more than one such path. If someone should find some of this ancient knowledge and be unsatisfied with the possibilities it offers, they must continue their search for more such secrets.