Deity

A deity (frequently called a god, or an Anunna-Seraph), is a being with exercises dominion over an aspect of creation, or occasionally a large item within creation. For instance, the Pater Imperious claims dominion over the Reymal Empire, Kal'a is claimed to have dominion over the servants of Kol, etc. The actual extent of a deity's domain is, however, far more controversial. To what extent does the Nordric God of valor lay claim to the acts of valor that Kolites commit in opposition to him? While it is tempting to circumscribe deific action by religio-national boundaries, it is doubtful that this is an accurate picture, nor is it likely that a domain is restricted to active worshippers. Rather it seems more likely the case that deities have overlapping domains, perhaps forming in some sense implicit hierarchies, where some gods encompass different or larger domains, and some have domains that override the domains of others--like, perhaps our feudal system. Sometimes, it seems likely, more powerful deities allow a certian degree of free action to nominally lesser deities. How and by what process this is decided is shrouded in mystery.   The border between more powerful spirits and lesser gods seems a very weak one indeed-another product of the human wish to draw clear boundaries where the lines are smudged. At what point is a river or stream's highest nymph a deity? Gods, too, have overlapping domains. It seems there are a few possibilities.   1) The Domain/Affinity distinction is arbitrary, and there exists more accurately a continuum of power: the rock spirit of a large rock is more powerful than that of a small pebble. The distinction lies solely in the sense of dogma, not of an ontological reality.   2) The Domain/Affinity distinction lies on the question of who has worshippers from whom they can draw power. It is unclear if this is a learned technique or something more fundamental to the nature of our universe.   There are three main classes of deity, which correspond directly to age and indirectly to power. First of these are the Archaeons, who existed before time. Those who are uncontroversially considered to be members are the Leviathans, Kol, the unknowable Outer Gods of the Far Realm, and the Lost Twin Serpents. Second are the Elder Gods, who became deities before or shortly after the Twin Harrowings of Hell. These are believed to include Nergal, Tyr, Kardumak, and many others, many of whom have been forgotten. Third are the Younger Gods, which were mostly divinized near or after the fall of the dragons, up to today. These include all known Ascended Saints and Apotheons, the Four Horsemen, Garm Glittergold, and others. Some include Kami as a fourth category which is continuous with the other three (see debate above).