1st Report on Religions, by Tolic Pevlar

Celestian/27/238 Pw
In this world, there is no ambiguity as to the existence of beings regarded as gods & goddess'. They exist, that may not be in question, but there has been a lot of research and questions posed by scholars and researchers as to their true nature and origins. I wish to culminate the common, conclusive points that I could find regarding the Deities into a short, informal report for easy consumption.
What is common knowledge to most religious organizations and scholars who take an interest in the topic, is that these entities for the most part have not always existed. SOME such entities are believed to have existed at the formation of the world as it's known to exist today. There is no conclusive, and will likely never be any conclusive evidence to determine if they are responsible for the creation of the world itself, or were created with it.
Depending on which religion you ask, you might get a different answer.
Some insist that as their god or goddess claims, that they created everything. But there are few who genuinely make such claims today.
Others will say they are the god of goddess of a race, responsible for their creation. These claims are more likely to be true, to an extent. As for example, it is known that Great Dryads, Archfey who are regarded as Demigods, and sometimes become gods, are responsible for the creation of the Alraune. Though, individualistic claims to that are muddied by the loss of information over time and the deaths of many such entities.
Which brings up another point, these entities are known to be able to "die", though if that means the same thing as the death of a mortal soul it is unclear. Regardless, many such entities, and those more likely to have created the world and races if any had created them at all, are recorded to have died in semi-regular power struggles throughout history.
These power struggles occur over the very relationship of mortals and deities, and that must be understood before it can be further discussed.
So, what is the relationship between mortals and deities?
Deities preside over certain aspects of the world, be it the most basic of natures of reality, or specific nuances as niche as the concepts of competition, marriage or even bastards. A deity comes to "preside" over an aspect of the world as they mature from Demigods into Deities, based entirely on what they find to be the most interesting to them. It is in the nature of these entities often to be largely obsessive over the things they take an interest in, and that obsession shapes their own souls and natures as they gain power over that aspect of reality.
Deities are sometimes, for these reasons, likened to obsessive collectors and hobbyists with too much time on their hands. At least, some brave scholarly souls have made that comparison before. A more pragmatic view might be to say that they choose their job in life based on their interests.
In any case, a Deity will find their aspect in their interests, and their may be more than one Deity for the same aspect. What then, do they do?
On a separate note, the Domain of a god or goddess seems to be less related to their aspect of control and more to their nature. It can often be related to their aspect, but not necessarily.
A Deity will offer benefits and protections to souls that devote themselves to them, or to souls that they find, well, mesmirizing. If a mortal accepts their protection then they will find their way to their domain when they die, and it is only in death that their souls truly begin to benefit the Deity beyond entertainment value. Souls strengthen their Domain, contributing to them directly with their passive energy and active participation making them more powerful and better protected. It creates an environment of growth for a Deity, allowing them to grow stronger as well.
It is in some ways a form of insurance, for a soul and for the Deity. Such domains are also what foster life, as the energy from them affects the planes and the growth of life.
Why then, is it necessary for a soul to seek protection from a Deity in death?
Well, because there are dangers of course. Evil creatures, evil Deities who gain power not by the cohabitation with mortal souls, but by consuming them. This is one of the few ways for a soul to truly be destroyed. Further, there are also dangers to mortal souls even before the threat of such entities. Without the protection of a Deity a mortal soul may lose themselves, their sanity and suffer an unending existence as a ghost, an experience of unending pain that erodes the soul's sanity. Or a soul might be eaten by an elemental, a surely painful process that erodes and fuses the souls of both entities to give birth to some variety of Djinne. Wayward souls are also in danger from creatures of the mortal plane, who might seek to use the energy produced by them to use for themselves. In short, there are a slew of dangers for wayward souls before even beginning to discuss the demons and devils of the 9 hell's.


That is a rough overview as to the general knowledge of Deities and their relationship with mortal souls as far as our organization has been able to determine beyond much doubt. Though some of my compatriots have posited a few additional questions that hadn't yet been included in this, admittedly informal report.
Why are there so many Deities if their domains get stronger with more followers? Why would they not consolidate or fight more fiercely for their followers to secure their own domains as much as possible? Why do we have this situation and environment of these Deities generally cooperating and cohabitating as religions within societies?
I may need to continue my investigations and ponderings to answer these questions.