An Introduction to the Cosmos

The Paradigm

The gods fall into a few distinct categories, Prime, Major, Minor and Old. Those of higher status collect a 'tax' from those below, the major gods collect from the minor. The worship of mortals translates into a form of currency for the gods, a currency that grants not just power, but relevance. This system of supplication and taxation is what the gods call The Paradigm.

Prime Gods

The Prime Gods, Gaia - Creation, Azrael - Order, Kharn - Chaos and Athanatus - Death, were the first to manifest as minor miracles upon Theas. These miracles were quickly venerated by the local life forms, all representing different aspects of their lives. Over time, each manifested a domain of their own, ones that adopted the characteristics they were attributed. Many minor gods 'lease' a realm from the Prime, offering payment in terms of worship collected from mortals. As an example, Anubis - Nurian deity of death, leases a realm from Athanatus. This economy has resulted in the Prime gods fading from the memory of mortals but still maintaining their domains and power through the collection of the 'tax'.

Major Gods

They reside within the Heavens, having amassed enough of a following or collected enough in tithes from the minor deities, these dominant beings do not lease but rather own an estate with the Heavens. The High Heavens is the apex, the deity with the most worshippers and power resides here. A position highly coveted and leads to the machinations, schemes and out-manoeuvring that they call The Great Game. Not all deities who reside within the heavens are of a goodly or lawful nature and usually do not encompass one domain or trait, Gods of Murder, Law, Justice, Wisdom, Deceit all hold estates here.

The Great Game

The Heavens is a hotbed of divine politics, naturally, all these contrasting ideologies lead to dislike and sometimes outright hatred. The goodly natured resent the evil, the ordered resent the chaotic. This leads to machinations and power-plays, where they are constantly vying for the supplication of the minor gods to attain enough power and influence to diminish or banish their foes. They cannot operate openly however and are required to utilise mortal vessels to wage their secrets wars.

Minor Gods

These do not have the following to “purchase” an estate within the heavens. Some try to forge their own way by leasing a realm from the Prime Gods, others have no fixed abode and instead, pay the major gods tax to operate from their estate. These are by far the more common deities in the lives of mortals as they are the most forthcoming with patronage and blessing. To be noticed is to be relevant.

Old Gods / Forgotten Gods

These have fallen out of favour with the mundane realm and usually with their peers. Fading into obscurity due to a lack of presence, oversight or machinations of other deities. Many of those who were previously rulers of the High Heavens have found themselves here. Being more powerful than others does usually result in them disliking and scheming against you.