Editing Deities (section)

==Nature==
It is said that the least of gods is similar to the greatest of [[spirits]].<ref name=":1">The spirits collected and gathered, drawing in the emotion, feeding on it, altering themselves.<br><br>They ''congealed''.<br><br>A greater spirit, the least of gods, the line was thin between the two.<br><br>They wore the form of a bird. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/10/07 Excerpt] from [[Interlude 11]]</ref>  In terms of cosmic significance, they are second only to [[Angel]]s and [[Demon]]s.<ref name=":2">You can bind a god, which is technically on a lower tier than an Angel/Demon.  You can bind a Primeval, again, on a lesser tier.  But gods and primevals, even if bound, are little more than really big, really dangerous batteries to draw on, and they're a danger every time they're tapped.  Usually you're just binding them to get them to be good and to restrain their impact on the world.<br><br>Making one a familiar (or hosting them, or forming any direct connection to them) is like having sex with a bear.  You're not in a position of power and you're liable to get mauled.  They don't understand your behavior and you really, really need to understand every last detail of theirs.  When it comes to primevals there's just no reality where it's doable.  They're a big fucking bear/wolf/bird/bramble, and they're always mad.<br><br>Angels and demons are ''worse'' on that front.  They're so inevitable and permanent as forces that you might as well be trying to stop the world from turning or rotating around the sun.<br><br>In cases where gods or angels are in a place where they understand humans and they develop a rapport, there ''can'' be interactions like hosting or familiar bonds, but this is a pretty one-sided relationship, forever one misunderstanding or godly whim from you being turned into a pillar of salt or having a metaphorical, nine hundred pound bear fuck buddy crawling out of the tattered skin of your one hundred and fifty pound self.<br><br>So just to outline:<br><br>Really frigging hard.  Same goes for other 'high tier' Others like Primevals, Gods, and Demons. - [https://old.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/fgdmn6/_/fk4n8yt/ Wildbow on Reddit]</ref>

Despite their power, without connections they can fall into [[Limbo]] and become part of it<ref name=":3">In the midst of that cavern, a face stood out from the wall.  It wasn’t stone, but it looked like something close.  Bone, perhaps, or calcified flesh.<br><br>I had to wrestle with the idea that it was simultaneously further away than it looked and very, very big. Especially for a face.<br><br>It could very well have been as large as a mountain.  The area between it and me was empty of anything, vast, a chasm as wide as the gap between countries, maybe.<br><br>It rested at an angle, leaning against a distant solid surface I couldn’t make out, surrounded by cracks that cities could have been built in.  It was cracked as well, with gaps running along its pale features, almost to the point that it looked like it might shatter any moment.  The eyes were open, and a light radiated from the eyes, as intense as the sun.<br><br>The noise it was making, the size of it, I couldn’t comprehend it, not ''cognitively'', but in my would-be heart?  I felt something swell.<br><br>Light shone from the open mouth, too, and the drone emanated from the mouth, deep enough to touch me in the core of my body.<br><br>The size of it, the sheer base… I wasn’t even sure how to phrase it.  The ''simpleness'' of it?  No, that was wrong.  The appearance, the light, the utter monotone of the sound it generated, it was more like it was at the ''heart'' of simplicity, at the heart of something from which more complicated things could emerge.<br><br>A lesser ''god''?<br><br>Forgotten, fallen through the cracks, swallowed up by this place that had existed before the Drains were Drains? - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/07 Excerpt] from [[Null 9.5]]</ref> or even fall out of reality entirely and become [[Lost]].<ref>The reaches are realms which may have been a part of reality, a part of the abyss, or a fragment of collective unconsciousness, which has come untethered from just about everything.  Without history, human attention or human logic to help pin them down, these places and their denizens unspool.  A lesser god with no connection to reality will fall to the Abyss.  When she is entirely unrecoverable, she may find herself drifting across the Paths, where sustenance is so little and so far between that she is forced to hibernate for centuries at a time, insofar as time has any meaning in those places.  Beings such as this once-god often wake only when practitioners approach.  - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ti2MftECN9PloDlHdjTGlMbwXPxf0GGOyNl-c4OYKCs/edit FINDERS], document by Wildbow.</ref> (Although a [[maenad]] implied to [[Blake]] that the gods in Limbo may simply be too lazy to leave.)<ref name=":4">“They’re endangered,” the maenad told me.  “Can’t breed, no gods old or rough-edged enough still around to make more.  Except maybe where ''you’re'' from, but any that crop up there still aren’t going to be adventurous enough to move.  Everyone knows it isn’t ''right'' to touch a giant.  Or they ''should'' know.”  - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/12/06 Excerpt] from [[Sine Die 14.3]]</ref> They can lose power if their relevance to society fades, or if they spend more power than their actions recoup in worship.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":7" /> They are tied up to their [[pattern]]s far more then even practitioners and a course change can heavily drain them.<ref>“That tight a pattern?” Matthew asked.  “She does one thing.  Suddenly breaking from that to include Others doesn’t work.”<br><br>“If she has a certain power source or origin point?” Verona asked.  “If the power, say, came from a god and then the god changed its mind?”<br><br>“Even gods tend to hold to patterns.  It can cost nearly as much to change direction as it does to get the thing started in the first place,” Matthew said. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/10/06 Excerpt] from [[Back Away 5.2]]</ref> Deities also have issues with [[innocence]] which is something they can't go against easily.<ref>“Gods are such a paradox,” Miss said.  “They have so much power, but so little ability to exercise it.  With the barriers of innocence so firmly in place, if you stand up too tall, you get knocked down.  Otherwise, the innocent might see you.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/08/21 Excerpt] from [[Summer Break 13.9]]</ref>

Conjuring a god in physical form is a major task, of the sort an advanced [[Astrologer]] might build a city-sized ritual circle to achieve.<ref name="Astro">Dedicating the Star - Carefully tended diagrams can be a source of power that is then used to call forth a specific being, on a date relevant to that being.  Can be a way to call forth deities in physical form, great Historics, the souls of dead loved ones (with caveats), and so on.  Essentially the result of a magic circle drawn out on a city-sized scale. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kV_klLE4EpbBVWrglXg51UoXD7C2K8AFKF5Gq316xtY/edit Pact Dice: Astrologers]</ref> However, gods will often send lesser splinters of themselves to attend to minor tasks.<ref name="8.1e1">“Gods tend to send splinters or aspects of themselves to tend to minor matters,” Ms. Durocher addressed the class.  “You’ve done so, yes?”<br><br>“I wouldn’t fit in here at full size,” he said, laughing through the sentence. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/01/09 Excerpt] from [[Vanishing Points 8.1]]</ref><ref> “Are you giving this pep talk to the others?” Nomi asked.<br><br>“Some.  Others are resting.  That’s more important for them right now.”<br><br>“Not exactly an exclusive rah-rah for me, then, huh?”<br><br>“Oh, but it is,” Maricica told her.  She stroked Nomi’s hair with a hand almost as big as Nomi was.  “I can address multiple people at once and give you exclusive attention at the same time.  I’m a ''goddess.''” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/08/14 Excerpt] from [[Let Slip 20.a]]</ref>

Even injured-seeming and in the Abyss, a god's body was immensely vast - Blake speculated it's head was as big as a moon, surrounded by cracks that could contain cities.<ref name=":5">“If we send it ''elsewhere'',” Johannes spoke, “My familiar can strike at the demon.  There are old, forgotten ''gods'' in the Abyss.  He can put this demon right in front of those gods, and they can kill it.”<br><br>His familiar.  I noticed Faysal Anwar wasn’t in the room.<br><br>“I know about the gods in the Abyss,” I said.  “I ''met'' one.”<br><br>Johannes smiled.<br><br>“It was ''losing'',” I said.  “Slowly, but surely.”<br><br>The smile faltered.<br><br>“Gods range in power,” he said.  Picking up right where he’d left off.<br><br>“I can’t say for sure,” I said, “But the one I saw was maybe the same size as the moon.  Or his ''head'' was.  I don’t think you can pull that off, resting in the Abyss, unless you have ''plenty'' of power.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/12/27 Excerpt] from [[Sine Die 14.9]]</ref> When [[Rad Ray Sunshine]] conjured an image of two gods fighting, they appeared as figures bigger than mountains, so tall they might extend into space.<ref name=":10">A figure, taller than any mountain, loomed over them, glowing softly from cracks along its body.  Clothing was hard to distinguish from elaborate skin and beard, riddled with details.<br><br>A man with a spear, so tall he might well extend into space, reached out to wrestle with a woman, cowled.<br><br>Lucy’s body was darker than some.  Jorja’s body was bright.  So was Jessica’s.<br><br>“The divine.  Capricious.  Know what you deal with.  Unlike the karmic, they get frustrated with firm rules and exact wordings.  Bore them and even the most rule-based divinity will take action against you.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/09/05 Excerpt] from [[Leaving a Mark 4.6]]</ref> [[Metaphaos]]' true form was far too large to fit inside the [[BHI]] hall, and even his smaller avatar was far bigger than a human.<ref name="8.1e1" />

Gods, even those associated with order, tend to be capricious and uninterested in precise wording.<ref name=":10" />

=== Abilities ===
Each god will have a portfolio, for example Dionysus has power over madness.<ref>The High Priest worshiped a deity that included ''madness'' in his realm of control. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2015/02/07 Excerpt] from [[Judgement 16.5]]</ref>

Gods are generally [[Greater Powers|immensely powerful]].<ref>Greater Powers<br><br>–Worship – Prayer, tapping into the well of divinity, serving divine forces.<br>–Labeling Greatness – Identifying gods, primevals, angels, great spirits, et al.<br>–Capricious Power* – Management of the uncontrollable and unpredictable.<br>–Overflow and Excess* – When measures to contain greater powers fail.<br>–Heartless Practices* – Breaching the bounds of mortality and humanity.<br>–Hollow Others* – Vestiges, hollows, stains, and other remnants of excess power.<br>–Others in Excess* – Others of unrestrained power; god-cursed, wishful, oroboros.<br>–Counter-Diabolism* – Mitigating harm, best practices for self-preservation. - [[Blue Heron Institute]] class list, [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/08/20 4.1 Bonus Content]</ref><ref>“Major powers.  Are these gods?  Great spirits?  Incarnations? [...] What would you say if I asked if these greater powers are judges?  Carmine, Alabaster, Sable, and Aurum?” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/01/09 Excerpt] from [[Vanishing Points 8.1]]</ref> Gods are among the few beings powerful enough to empower someone to kill a [[dragon]].<ref>“Dragons are ''so'' like they are in video games,” Evan said.<br><br>“No,” Tiff said.  “Um, in video games, a guy with a sword can kill a dragon.  Only way that happens ''here'' is if a god intervenes, or you’re drawing on some similar degree of power.”<br><br>“We’ve got an in with gods, right?<br><br>“Not unless someone wants to hike back to the house,” Peter said. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/12/06 Excerpt] from [[Sine Die 14.3]]</ref><ref name=":6">“There’s no polar opposite.  Most are amalgams of elemental and spirit and animal and nightmares, on top of whatever else.  You have to beat them at their own game.  You get the dragons that are all poison, to the point that one drop of venom can clear out a lake.  Then you have to just ''out-poison'' them.  You get the dragons in some areas of the East that are more spirit and elemental, like dragons of the mountains and… it’s like you have to destroy a mountain by hitting it with a ''bigger'' mountain.”<br><br>“How do you-” I started.  “Nevermind.  You’re saying the only way to kill ol’ firebreath there is ''hotter'' fire?”<br><br>“No,” she said.  Her voice dropped to be even quieter, as we approached the end of the street.  “There’s another way.  Most are violent, killing machines.  So… if you’re brave enough, you can try the ''conventional'' means.  Facing them in battle.  Eventually ''someone'' succeeds.  Usually with the backing of some major power.  ''Usually'' a god.  Which makes them rare.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/12/06 Excerpt] from [[Sine Die 14.3]]</ref> Gods are powerful enough to shatter all the [[Demesne|Demesnes]] in a building for their follower with a single blow and incapacitate those inside, infusing the whole area around them with power in the process.<ref>[[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref><ref>“We’re crashing a party,” Jeremy said.  “Barriers or no, when you ask a god to open a door, that door gets opened.”<br><br>The direction they were traveling.  Hillsglade House. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/26 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.5]]</ref> They could easily crush a being such as [[Blake]] at a word from their follower.<ref>“Any last words?” he asked.<br><br>“Why would I need last words?” I asked.  “I’m not planning on dying anytime in the immediate future.”<br><br>“It’s a courtesy.  I only need to say a word to my deity to lay you out flat.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/11/20 Excerpt] from [[Execution 13.7]]</ref> A god might be one of the few beings that could challenge a lesser angel such as [[Faysal Anwar]].<ref>Don’t let appearances deceive.  The angel Faysal is powerful enough that only a god or a demon might pose a challenge.  - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2015/01/08 Excerpt] from [[Possession 15.2]]</ref> Even a lesser god of light was able to restrain and injure [[Ur]].<ref>“Ur,” I murmured.<br><br>It was working its way into this place that lay through the cracks. Into the Drains.  The only thing that had stopped it, cutting it off from the heart at the source of it, was the accidental uncovering of this ancient forgotten god.<br><br>[...]<br><br>I screamed ''guttural'', as close to the same tone as the god that shone its light into this dark chamber, fighting Ur for as long as he ''lasted''.<br><br>I ''worshiped'' that lost god for just a moment.<br><br>The light grew more intense, and Ur burned away.  Even the pieces in my arm. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/07 Excerpt] from [[Null 9.5]]</ref> [[Johannes]] believed that there were gods in Limbo that could kill [[Barbatorem]], although [[Blake]] disagreed.<ref name=":5" />

Gods have a unique power to shape and define [[creation]]. This makes them especially adept at altering fundamental rules, creating life, and healing.<ref name="8.1e2" /> For example, one god was able to create an entire race of super-fast-reproducing humans from the seed of one man.

===Origins===
The first gods emerged crude and loose in form as each telling and culture that outlined them varied.<ref name=":8">The background noise of internet and online communication allows for the natural emergence of accidental rituals.  Repetition, default or common responses and collective imagination allow for a kind of false worship to take place.  Much as the first gods emerged, crude and loose in form as each telling and culture that outlined them varied, the digital avatar is a force akin to a god that arises from the spirit world, often linked to a phenomenon and then crystallized by the public consciousness.  As figures of a more spiritual and divine stripe, what one often sees is often the tip of the iceberg for a larger effect.<br><br>Lesser gods spawned by a public consciousness, Nex Machina stem from the digital, not from dreams, other worlds, or reality. <br><br>[...]<br><br>In some ways, the Nex Machina has the same vulnerabilities as a god and spirit both.  They are reliant on ‘worship’ and through no fault of their own can fade from relevance, and as a worshiped entity, the well of power they draw on works much as any prayer or divine system does, with power gained or fostered and then spent in hopes of an investment paying off. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwFiwUBPuDm4wV5THrv_dRfM7PuPHW6mCDxnPLvffV0/edit Beastiary - Nex Machina]</ref> 

[[Blake]] and [[Faysal]] speculated that the gods may come from some primal font of creation, the opposite of the destruction that is the [[Abyss]].<ref>I pulled my hands from my pockets and spread my arms.  Look at me. Entropy wins.  I’ve been to the Drains, but I haven’t come across anything suggesting that there’s a force of ''creation'' that’s working just as hard.”<br><br>“There are two possible answers,” Faysal Anwar told me.  “The first is that such a place exists, but creation spews forth, it does not take in.”<br><br>“Maybe,” I said.  “Gods come from somewhere, don’t they?”<br><br>“Maybe,” he echoed me. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/26 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.5]]</ref>

Attaining godhood seems to be a possibility for lesser beings, that supposedly enough worship can make a god.<ref name=":14">“Twist bloodlines enough, and you get subhumans.  I’ve met three of these groups.  A little island close to Greenland, the population center small.  Toothless, wide-eyed devout worshipers of an opportunist Other they were unwittingly elevating to godhood. This is remarkably common, mind.  They are often Aware, which can be fascinating, and they may resemble early practitioners.  In this case, it was early worship.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/07 Excerpt] from [[Cutting Class 6.4]]</ref> It has been claimed that godhood is a possibility for [[Heroics|Heroes]],<ref>“Are you gods?  ''Were'' you gods?” I asked.<br><br>“We were men,” Cranaus said.  “The sorts who were brief-lived legends, to the point that godhood was a ''possibility.'' Nothing more.  We subsist now by a long existence of being familiars for one master after another.  Chronomancers like to draw the greater legends from history for such a thing.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/09/11 Excerpt] from [[Malfeasance 11.3]]</ref> although whether this means literal godhood or just being worshipped is unclear. The [[Wraith]] of [[Molly Walker]] claimed that "in the right time or place, an idea can become a spirit, and a spirit can become a god", and hinted that she might be evolving into one.<ref>“Sometimes, in the right time or place, an idea can become a spirit, and a spirit can become a god [...]  I’m not saying I’m becoming a god.  It’s… only an idea.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/11/06 Excerpt] from [[Execution 13.2]]</ref> The powerful [[Spirit of Montreal]] is said to have become a lesser god, among other things.<ref>The Spirit of Montréal was a spirit of trade, then a spirit of the city, then a lesser god, among other things.  An ever-changing spirit that has settled down for now. - [[Mile End]]: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/14jc7V-O3VsFPxWrwjTB5-uAFk9-JPobq2P1rXFpCxtg/edit# Awakening]</ref>

In some cases, it is known that complex confluences of power can come together to birth a god with little or no human influence. See "Glitch Gods", below. 

===Usage by Practitioners===
The usual way for a [[Practitioner]] such as a [[Priest]] to interact with a god is to provide them with worship and obedience in exchange for occasional acts of overwhelming divine power; with the god aiming to recoup more from their worshipper than they invested.<ref name=":12">They can be used for divine power, but the Nex Machina is so mercurial and inconsistent in power level, prone to the vagaries and the rise and fall of the internet’s interest, that the act of building up the favor to spend on a greater act is often too risky. If successful, the Nex Machina may be invited to appear, swiftly enveloping an area with the power offered.  Oftentimes this is just faster than summoning, but with a steep and precarious price paid in advance (by way of the favor garnered). - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwFiwUBPuDm4wV5THrv_dRfM7PuPHW6mCDxnPLvffV0/edit Beastiary: Nex Machina]</ref><ref name=":9">“That snake was ''his''.  You killed it.  You maimed his servant’s hand.  For all intents and purposes, there is a gun pressed to your head  as we speak.  There has been since you hurt that snake.”<br><br>[...]<br><br>“Or I crack.  I call on my god to show the way, and in the doing, I disarm myself of my primary source of power.  You hurt the snake, and that counts a great deal against you.  I could ''probably'' assume that’s enough that he’d grant me the favor, despite the disappointment in me.  But probably isn’t certainty, and   I’d normally be unwilling to call on my god for three great acts in a single week, let alone a ''day''.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref> This is fairly inexact, with the god deciding whether they will respond and the exact manner they do so.<ref name=":9" /><ref>“I have my own responsibilities,” he said.  “When I wield power, it isn’t with lines on the floor and carefully worded contracts.  I only ''ask''. I can change the wording, pick the phrasing, decide the poetry of it, and read old texts, from my god’s days of glory.  But when I want to ''practice'', I only speak.  A single ''word'' will suffice.”<br><br>He wasn’t murdering me or getting us all killed while he talked, so there was ''that''.<br><br>He continued, “My challenge is to show I’m worthy.  In the heat of the moment, I don’t need to do anything special.  Outside of those moments, I have to curry favor.  There aren’t any gauges, no measurements I can take.  I have to watch for signs and trust him to show me his pleasure or displeasure.  If I overstep, asking too much for how little favor I have, he may punish me.  If I hold his favor but do not spend it, he might revoke it.”<br><br>“Easy to get wrong,” I said.<br><br>“I don’t shape how it manifests.  He does.  But when he works…”<br><br>“He can knock down all the barriers in a house that’s supposed to hold up against a pair of angry chronomancers and enchantresses.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref><ref>“You’re telling me you went after the one person in Jacob’s Bell who 
has the most dangerous knowledge around, the one person who can tap into ''world ending'' forces, who’s maybe a little hard to anticipate to ''begin'' with, and you got her ''drunk''?”<br><br>“I’ve been led to believe my ''god'' impaired her faculties,” Jeremy Meath said.  “As I said, doing what I do is far from an exact science.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref><ref name=":10" /> Entertainment or struggle can be another reason to give power, for a certain sort of god,<ref name="dance">“You leave, I find her, we mutually prevent anything stupid from happening, and Sandra gets to do whatever she’s planning to do to Mags and Molly,” I said.  “You and your god win.”<br><br>“It’s not that simple.  When my god ''created'' this situation, he posed a challenge to me.  If he simply ''gave'' me what I needed, what would that be worth?  I have to ''work'' for it a little.  His era of gods are especially fond of making the little mortals ''dance'',” Jeremy said.  “If I walk away from that challenge and fail to dance, I ''disappoint'' him.”<br><br>“Seems to me,” I said, picking my words with care, not breaking eye contact with him, “Following a god like you do is very nearly as tragic an existence as being a diabolist.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/08/30 Excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.6]]</ref> as could because the target offended them.<ref name=":9" /> Others such as a [[Chosen]] increase the fame and power of a deity with their deeds, with success or failure on their part effecting the diety.<ref name="champ" />

Certain times and events are important to gods and how they operate.<ref name="Astro" />

With a positive enough relationship, a god can be used for [[Host Magic]] or as a [[Familiar]], but due to their immense power and alien mentality this is a very one-sided relationship with the Practitioner at the god's.<ref name=":2" />

Gods can be [[bound]], but this is usually done simply to compel them to stop causing problems. A bound god can be drawn on as an immense battery of power, although this is dangerous every time it's drawn on.<ref name=":2" /> Their diffuse, abstract nature makes them immune to most bindings, however.<ref>Binding: Much like a God, cannot be bound.  Can be contained, however, with attention and steps taken in advance.  Technomancers have the tools necessary to limit the reach of a Nex Machina with any presence. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwFiwUBPuDm4wV5THrv_dRfM7PuPHW6mCDxnPLvffV0/edit Beastiary: Nex Machina]</ref><ref>Strengths: The Nex Machina is a spirit, not a physical entity, and exists as a scattered, ephemeral thing across the digital landscape.  It is an advantage to the Nex Machina that it is not a thing that many are equipped to deal with because it is new to the lists of Others, and it is too ‘big’, in a sense, to easily encircle and bind.  In this, it is similar to a great spirit or deity. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cwFiwUBPuDm4wV5THrv_dRfM7PuPHW6mCDxnPLvffV0/edit Beastiary: Nex Machina]</ref>