Living God
"To Become A Living God Is No Small Thing. It Means That You Become One With Your People, And They Become One With You. You Are No Longer A Person - You Are A Nation Entire."
Living Gods are those magicians who have learned how to forge a bond with a congregation of worshippers. As the focal point of a religion, they gain immense power and immortality. Until the death of the Pharaoh Undying during the Dragon Wars, no Living God had perished in eighteen centuries, and his demise has caused the other Living Gods to worry about their own immortality.
An Ancient Magic
The first Living God was the Pharaoh Undying, who ascended into his power in 1233 AE, over three thousand years ago. As the ruler of Kemet, he already had immense power and prestige, and was worshipped as god even before he became one. He was also the foremost magician of his age, and many believe he was the most knowledgeable and powerful magician the world has ever known.
For nearly five centuries, most believed that his feat could not be replicated, and no other Living God would ever walk the earth. But in 758 AE, Elissa of Qartis ascended into her power to become the second Living God in the world. In the two and a half millennia since she ascended, at least thirty-two other magicians have managed to find their way to godhood, and there are rumors of others who have hidden themselves from the public eye.
The Burdens of Divinity
When one becomes a Living God, they tie their wellbeing to that of their worshippers. It provides immense power and endless life, but only so long as the people continue to believe in and worship the god. Should a god's worshippers die off or become disillusioned with them, the power of the Living God is diminished. For this reason, most Living Gods have taken control of the nations where they live, and operate as absolute monarchs over their territories, mandating their worship and providing for their people. How pleasant it is to live under the rule of a god can vary, but they do take care to protect their population from such things as plague and famine - dead people do not make good worshippers.
An Idiosyncratic Ritual
One of the reasons that so few magicians become Living Gods is that the ritual is inherently idiosyncratic. The rites used by the Pharaoh Undying would not work for anyone else, and each Living God since has had to reinvent the magic for themselves. As described in Magic, Idiosyncratic Magic is extremely sensitive to the conditions it is cast in, especially to the caster. Some would-be gods found that the conditions for their personal apotheosis could not be met; in one example, it would have required simultaneous lunar and solar eclipses. For those whose rites seem unachievable, changing themselves may be the only way to approach the problem. Notoriously, the Living God Gaiserix had to remove one of his own eyes to meet the conditions of his apotheosis. Others have had to forgo certain foods, adopt lifestyle changes, or spend years in quiet reflection before they changed themselves enough to develop rites of ascension that could be performed.
Jealous Gods
Most Living Gods do not share their worshippers. Doing so weakens them dramatically, and leaves them vulnerable. The Living Gods of the Pallaman Empire were an example of a group of gods sharing worship, and they were weak enough to be severed from their worshippers by The Church, leading to their demise.
The Idiosyncratic Ritual is a very interesting and unique practice. You have a great concept of ascension here which I really enjoyed.
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Or, if you want something darker, Crux Umbra awaits.
Thanks!