Gods of Galath

  Gods are beings possessed of Divinity, the pure power from which all elements derive.  

Divinities

The beings known as Divinities are distinct from the category of gods, although often collated in casual usage. Unlike gods, they are the ultimate source of all divinity, the quintessential energy of the world and beyond flowing from the interaction of these beings, and most especially that of the Fundamental Divinities, TOand PI, and to a lesser extent their adversary VA. The process of Creation brought forth the Foundational Divinities and the Divine Artefacts, both of which groups were also capable of creating divinity, primarily through the Foundationals' manipulation of the Artefacts.   The Second Ennead, Dragons and Giants received their divinity directly from the cosmic deities. While possessed of immense power, none of these second-order divinities actually expends their own divinity, instead drawing it from the greater divinities as needed. The Second Ennead drew power from their grandparents, PI and TO, while the Dragons and Giants drew on the reserves of the Artefacts.   Divinities are not gods, and seek no worship. They expect the reverence of lower beings, but the specific forms of worship have no value to them, and provide no power to them.  

Gods

Gods, properly, are those who acquire divine through the specific mechanism of forming a pact of sovereignty or congregation with a Sympaticmortal, or more often a group of mortals. They begin their existences as spirits, usually natural spirits dwelling within the Primeval Wilderness, although a few have urban roots, or may even be born of the Corona or the Ash. All, however, are set apart from their brethren by a potential, a mirror to the ephemeral sympatic nature, which gives the spirit the ability to form pacts. Such spirits, when identified, are call small gods. The term godling was once used, but now refers to the part-mortal offspring of incarnate gods.   A pact of congregation, or more potently of sovereignty, binds a small god to their new state or flock. The act of swearing their first pact begins a process which, if maintained through ritual and worship, empowers their apotheosis as a truly divine being called a lesser god. They acquire a small measure of divinity, enough for their transformation, by binding the pact oath in the name of one of the Artefacts, but thereafter gain more through the worship of their followers. The more followers, the more devout their belief, the more rites they perform and the greater the sacrifices they offer, the greater the power the god can gain, wield and in turn offer to their clerists.   At a certain point, a god with enough worshippers will achieve the status of greater god, or 'great one'. These gods, usually sovereign gods or those with at least influence on a national scale, are much like well-worshipped lesser gods, for the most part. A cult that can describe its god as a great one has a certain cache, but the real difference is only apparent when the pact at the heart of the cult is broken. A lesser god whose worshippers abandon it, or who betrays the terms of their pact, immediately loses all of their divinity, but a great one has a portion that is its own, regardless of worship or pact. Thus, even if abandoned, a great one may find itself returned to prominence one day, if it can secure a new pact.  

Divine Pacts

Pacts of Sovereignty

The aim of any small god is to secure a pact of sovereignty and to take its place in the creation of a nation. During the Era of Empires the gods were barely worshipped, while the Sacred Era saw the small gods take direct control of their own countries as divine monarchs. After the Godswar, however, the gods withdrew from the world, and a would-be monarch would instead forge an oathbond with a would-be god. The god would gain - or secure - their divine status, while the monarch would receive temporal power and influence to aid them in creating a kingdom. In time, the divine partner would become the patron god of the new nation and benefit from the worship of a national church.   Pacts of sovereignty are always sworn upon one of the Divine Artefacts, which both binds the oath absolutely and provides the lion's share of the god's initial divine energy. Sovereign gods are almost always great ones, unless their chosen monarch entirely fails to forge their kingdom.  

Pacts of Congregation

In a pact of congregation, one or more members of a society make an oath-bound agreement with a god to worship them. This creates a cult of worship, which provides divine power to the deity, in exchange for which they exercise their influence on their divine domains on behalf of their worshippers, as well as providing power to their clergy. Pacts of congregation usually start small, but if successful will grow. There are ceremonies for passing on the bond of the pact, so that the cult does not collapse when the pact holder dies.   Pacts of congregation are sworn on what will become the cult's primary hallows, and the god's divinity is primarily fuelled by the worship of sympatic mortals.  

Forms of a Pact

Sovereign pacts often take the form of a sacred marriage, or less often a kind of adoption ceremony in which the monarch becomes the child of the god. They are usually combined with a coronation and/or enthroning ceremony, and are focused on the singular figure of the monarch-to-be.   Pacts of congregation, on the other hand, have a broad focus, encompassing the entire mortal cult entering into the pact. They take the form of a model service, with the central rituals of the cult echoing this pattern down the years.  

Oblations

Lesser than pacts, oblations are the private relationships between individuals and their gods. They are usually made between a mortal and a deity who already possesses a cult, and grant particular favour to the supplicant, usually as a clerist of some sort. Relationships with gods without a pact of congregation tend to take the form of warlock pacts instead of clerical oblations.   Clerical oblations are loosely divided into six types:

• Orators preach the word and creed of their god with an eye to converting others to their faith
• Exemplars undertake good works in order to provide material proof of their cult's virtues and value, as well as for the good of their own soul.
• Guardians undertake to defend the faith and the faithful, as well as those who fall under the god's protection.
• Avengers undertake the darker work of the cult, punishing those who are wicked under their creed, including those who represent a potential threat to the cult.
• Pastorals undertake to guide and protect a settled congregation.
• Palatinates look to the organisation of the cult, and to upholding its cause and influence in political circles.

 

The Names of Gods

Gods have three different names, or rather, names of three different types:

• Kenning - A descriptive name for common usage and everyday worship. Great Ones in particular may have multiple kennings.
• Mononym - The least secret name of the god, a single-syllable designator known by all clerics of that god and used in greater rites of worship and the casting of divine magic.
• Cryptonym - The greater secret name, known only to high clergy of the inner circle and other celestial beings. It is used to invoke the full power of the gods and critically to pass a pact of congegation to a new anchor, and is inaudible to non-believers.

  While the Primordial gods are openly named, other gods are not. They are close enough to the world to hear if their name is used, and too much divine notice is bad.  

Cults and Churches

Most active gods have cults. Because of the nature of a pact of congregation, very few gods are able to maintain more than one or two separate cults, so they are always local organisations, but the larger it grows, the more diverse a cult's membership and appeal become. The membership of a cult is divided into devotees and clerists. Devotees are lay members of the congregation, while clerists are those who undertake oblations to the cult. The larger the cult, the greater the number of distinct oblations among its members.   A church is a more formal institution, usually acting as an umbrella organisation for several cults which, by their cooperation, are granted sanction by the sovereign cult of a nation. Cults within churches not only answer to the church's hierarcy, they also adopt a more formal structure themselves, including the formations of secondary orders within the cult's growing membership. Instead of individual oblations, the clergy of a church are typically divided into temple (orator/pastoral/palatinate), cloistered (exemplar/guardian/pastoral), mendicant (orator/exemplar and occasionally avenger) and martial (avenger/guardian) orders.