Gods, as described by the Universal Strata Model, are a product of Natural Personification, specifically Material Concentration: the result of the Unreal’s inability to manage excess amounts of Real. Gods are subject to unique rules imposed on them by this altered and improvised form of Unreal. Despite this Gods are capable of interacting and existing in Reality like normal entities.
Theogenesis is the study of Gods, how they work, and why they exist. It is a study primarily taken on by astronomers, and especially wizards.
Creation & Domains
Further information: Natural Personification
Gods are known to be created via two means: Natural Personification, and domain subdivision. Despite this, only two Gods are known to be products of personification, the Gods of What Is and Is Not. All subsequent Gods were created by other Gods through the process of subdivision during the Quickening.
Natural Personification, specifically Material Concentration, creates Gods as a way to resolve an imbalance in the interaction between the Real and Unreal. This original imbalance, resolved through the creation of the Gods of What Is and Is Not, appears to have been stabilized enough that no further Gods have ever been created in this manner.
Domain subdivision, unlike Natural Personification, is a willful act that may be performed by one or more Gods, dividing their domain(s) into two or more domains and creating new Gods to preside over them. It is unclear if domain subdivision is a fundamental ability of Gods, or if it was created with the creation of the First Epoch Star.
What constitutes a God’s domain is not entirely understood by theogenists and is an ongoing area of study. A God’s domain is understood to be the portion of the Real which the Unreal that the God is constructed from was created to manage. A God is not necessarily limited to only control over their domain, but do have significantly stronger control over that domain.
When Gods divide their domains they typically retain ownership over the entirety of their domain, succeeding only a portion of their control to the newly created Gods—this creates lesser-Gods. Lesser-Gods do not own a domain, but simply control a portion of a domain. In some scenarios Gods may choose to completely forfeit ownership of a portion of their domain—in this case, they create a higher-God. Higher-Gods are special in that upon their death the domain which they own is not retaken by a God earlier in their lineage, unless the higher-God has had children of their own their domain ceases to be overseen by a God entirely.
If a higher-God has subdivided their domain and created lesser-Gods then upon their death their children may be promoted to higher-Gods. If there are no child Gods for the domain to be passed to then it is possible for the portions of the Unreal which make up a domain to become inaccessible to Reality—that God’s domain ceases to exist. The mechanics of this are not well understood and are most famously documented in the Lost Elements Star.
As Gods domain’s are divided and joined together a trend of non-fundamental emergent property domains emerges. Godly Lineage Models is are models of the Gods’ lineage’s, used by theogenists to classify, trace, and gauge God’s based on various aspects of their creation.
Appearance & Hearts
Gods’ physical presences in Reality come in the form of their hearts, single points in space which represent the position of the God. Gods’ hearts form highly reflective spherical black orbs around themselves by repulsing incoming light, obscuring their position. These hearts are described in a multitude of stars, including Mortality Revisited, the Afterlife Star, and many stars throughout Death’s Star System.
Several factors regarding Gods’ hearts appear to change depending on the materialized state of the God. The more material a God is the larger its heart grows, vice versa the less material a God becomes. Gods’ hearts also exert a repulsive pressure on their surroundings which wavers the more material a God becomes.
While not a property of the heart itself, Gods are known to draw in entities related to their domain, arranging them into stable structures around their hearts. These entities provide protection to the God while also allowing them to express themselves physically.
Abilities
Gods possess a wide range of abilities derived from their relationship with the interaction between the Real and Unreal. Many of these abilities were first established with the publication of the First Epoch Star and have since been regulated through the passing of various legal stars. Examples include the Material Limits Act, Spatial Act, Energy Act, Relations Act, and many more. Most notably, the Harmonic Treaty severely restricted the influence of Gods over the Plane in an effort to prevent further God-War-like incidents.
Beyond their abilities of domain subdivision and the repulsive pressure exerted from their hearts, Gods are also capable of manipulating Reality. The extent to which they can do so appears to depend on numerous factors, including their degree of materialization—the more materialized a God appears to be, the less control they exert over Reality. A God’s effective range of influence also seems to diminish with distance and materialization, they exert a stronger control over areas closer to their hearts. Additionally, interference from other Gods sharing the same domain can weaken each other’s control, and some domains are subject to far greater regulation than others—energy Gods have heavily regulated domains, unlike elemental Gods.
Gods are also capable of publishing stars to the heavens. Unlike organisms which require limn to forge stars, Gods can form stars without external resources. To Gods the creation of stars appears to be a natural act, requiring little conscious effort or preparation. Gods may choose whether a star should be published or remain on the Plane. Multiple Gods may also come together to publish stars. Legal stars which inhibit a Gods control over their domain must be published by or contributed to by the God(s) (or those God’s parents) who will be effected.
Upon their death, all stars published by a God will fall back to the Plane as heavy metal debris. These remnants retain the general form of the original star, but preserve little, if any, of the language which was inscribed onto them. Gods are capable of reviving fallen stars and republishing them, though the mechanisms behind how this works are a mystery.
Gods are unable to enter the Great Fog for an extended period of time, though what happens to them inside of the Fog is unknown. Many stars published during and following The Great Poleward Fog Migration detail the casualties which occurred as a result of the shrinking Fog.
Materialization
Gods are capable of undergoing a process known as dematerialization, wherein they forego their existence in Reality as a physical entity. It is unclear how this works or where the Gods go, though works such as Historical Depictions of Gods and The Nature of Gods have attempted to address this. Materialization exists on a scale, where Gods can either be highly materialized or lightly materialized. Factors like a God’s emotions, or the Material Concentration of their domain, seem to have an impact on how materialized a God is at any given point.
Gods have complex and emotional minds, like living things, and see survival as a positive. If threatened, to sustain their survival, Gods will assume defensive and offensive capabilities—but, to do so must further materialize, increasing the size of their heart while simultaneously decreasing the repulsive force which would normally protect their heart. In some instances this can create a negative feedback loop, wherein a God begins growing more materialized because of their desperation for survival.
If dematerialization was voluntary and the conditions are right, a God may willfully reenter Reality at their own command. Through Material Concentration they may also be rematerialized without their consent. The exact mechanisms and modeling behind dematerialization and Material Concentration are not well understood and are an active subject of research by theogenists.
Half-Gods
Main article: Half-Gods
Highly material Gods are capable of holding sensual relationships with organisms, although their ability to do so is highly regulated by the Relations Act. These relationships are capable of fertilization of either party—the God or organism—although how this comes about is not well understood. The resulting pregnancy gives rise to either a Demi-God or Womb-God depending on whether the mother was the organism or the God respectively. Neither Demi- nor Womb-Gods are well understood phenomena.
Death
Gods’ hearts are susceptible to disruption by foreign bodies; to kill a God requires lodging a foreign object into their heart. This process is described across various stars, many of the same which describe their hearts.
The exact mechanisms by which a God’s death works are debated, but it’s believed that by disrupting the heart the Unreal which holds them together is disrupted, causing a collapse. It’s hypothesized that a God can be brought back from the dead by their original creator(s), and this seems to be supported by recorded interactions with Gods, though there is no recorded instance of this occurring.
This article is considered complete for the moment, but is missing sections which can be elaborated on as the setting develops! If you think it needs expansion now, suggest an edit through a GitHub issue!
This article could use expansion on the history and cultural impact of Gods.