<book title="A Look At The Gods And The Overdeity">
<page>
<title>A Look At The Gods And The Overdeity</title>
<author>CrusadingKnight</author>
<text>Year 2 After the Sack of Tirnym</text>
<text>Letter from Ephemetheus to the Sages of Tarsengaard</text>
<text>Hail wise sages of that learn'd school! As you know, I have devoted my life to the study of the beings which we call "Gods", and tried vainly to pierce the veil of the Overdeity with my wit. Though that failed, the research of the divinities has been a success! I have succeeded in classing them into these categories and definitions:
* Ascendant: A being imbued with an immortal power, by some higher power.
* God: A being able to order and command (within bounds set, we must guess, by the Overdeity) a sphere of influence, and affect events through the use of avatars. There are currently nine active deities which I have been able to record.
* Demigod: A mortal who has ascended through the will of a greater power to immortality, but can still appear on an roam the Lands Eternal at will. They have no spheres of influence, no avatars and few devotees, but can change events greatly all the same.
* Avatar: Also known as a champion, these are mortals who are imbued with powers and talents by a patron deity. These aforementioned powers and talents usually manifest as those contained in their god's sphere of influence. They cannot achieve immortality in this way though, as my research into cases have proven that never has such a thing occurred in all history - I conclude, therefore, that the immortal flame is only Overdeity's to grant.
As well, I have discovered that there is more reason to see the hand of the Overdeity herein - it becomes apparent that a god cannot create another, contrary to claims by some. This is proved by the following points:
- Necessary Energy: I believe that only the Overdeity has the energy to create a god, as the necessary energy must be equal to the strength of the god themself. As far as we know, the Overdeity is possessed with boundless energy.
- Balance: The created gods have always been in balance, and never appeared to be of use to the gods they profess created them. On the other hand, by researching past events, I have seen that the Overdeity works in a way above Good or Evil, perhaps incomprehensible to all but itself. The pattern, or lack of one, in the ascensions matches these results.
- Wisdom: Even as mortals, we can see the easily apparent wisdom of the Overdeity of withholding such power from the lesser deities, so that they cannot cause irreparable damage to the world.
A final proof is the most noticeable change which has been wrought - before two years ago, the gods roamed upon the Lands as they pleased, but now they are held from it. This could not be wrought of any mortal being, not even all the gods, because their own doubts would nonetheless prevent them. This leaves only one presence great enough - and by Aluwen's holy name, a noble enough presence to spare us!
As well, in my researches, I have run across some exciting evidence about that energy which we refer to as ethereal power. That is, through training and schooling one's mind, more power becomes available - this shows that ethereal power, which upholds the gods, stems from the mind of each being. It is possible, even, that one being could become as powerful as a god, and perhaps transcend in all but immortality! The last makes no difference, though, for scribes throughout the Lands have noticed a disturbing phenomenon: Since the retreat of the gods, Mortos seems to have abandoned his sway; we do not die, nor grow past the age where one would normally die. The slain warriors return to us, and, in time, recover - this can be no miracle of mortals! With this, it is my thought that one can eventually, given enough time, attain a power and station rivaling that of the gods! This is also to my great distress, for I can certainly prophesy that when this comes about, a war greater than any before will unfold, changing entirely the destiny of the Lands. Brothers, we must wait and see what will unfold - and believe in what must be the boundless wisdom of the Overdeity, whose existence is at last proven.
I believe in this way, brothers in the quest for Knowledge, we have turned over another stone toward unveiling the mysteries wrought and uncovered in the Great War. I leave it to you to verify these claims, while I continue my studies, for the sake of the collection of knowledge, so that we may more completely understand our place in the Lands in these coming years. Aluwen's light and the Overdeity's might guide us through the coming darkness.
