Divine Paint

The earliest instances of gods wearing war paint or makeup has long since been lost, but speculated that the practice began as way of differentiating themselves from normal members of their own kind. The earliest surviving depictions of the gods often show the markings as the only differentiator, with the large body sizes, unusual colors, or unique traits of the gods having come much later into the pantheon's imagery and representations. In depictions of this era until The War of Black Ash, gods with divine paint were almost always shown in war scenes, either as the victor or as having been killed by a rival, representing martyrdom. Around this period, depictions of mortals wearing similar paint to their patron god began to become more common as a shorthand for depicting priests, gods' heirs and loved ones, or those carrying a boon from the pantheon.   It remains unknown if such depictions of the pantheon were spurred by the gods at large actually using divine paint themselves, or as a convenient shorthand in art of them. Some gods, in particular Ferventi, God of Wolves, were known in the War of Black Ash era to make use of dried blood or similarly hued minerals to look as though having been recently in combat as a show of power. Whether this extended to many other early era gods has scant evidence, with what little there is often suggesting that other gods may have been copying from Ferventi himself. It is known that the other most prominent example of a god using divine paint comes from Fire God Vega following his arrival in the Republic of Shanai, particularly using poisonous berries from the island whenever he traveled out of the region.  

Modern Times

In the modern era, divine paint is widely used by the pantheon, with many gods using specific patterns either to their species or themselves as an individual. Oftentimes patterns and colors of divine paint are passed from one god to their successor with only minor adjustment, and have become traditional amongst that species and their following.   Amongst mortals, it is considered to be in bad taste to wear the exact same paint as a god without express permission, being one of their priests, or related to the god in some fashion (an heir, demigod, or direct descendant). Such practices are also in turn heavily discouraged by the pantheon themselves, as many gods have openly spoken out against mortals doing so, viewing the act as mockery or claiming oneself to be on par with the divine. Exceptions exist on a case by case basis with many members of the pantheon, such as Ludovic allowing members of his following to copy his divine paint in the every day, or Ferventi, God of Wolves allowing such for during times of war and strife.