Dreams of Divinity

Theros posesses a unique maraphysical property: things believed and dreamed here eventually become real. The collective unconcious of mortal people has the literal power of creation, though the process unfolds over the course of countless centuries. Thus, the gods of Theros and their servants were believes, dreamed, and narrated into existence, materializing and becoming fully real as a result of mortal belief in their power. As stories were told, sacrifices made, and devotion given over ages, the gods formed and gained lives just as real as the mortals who dreamed them into being.

Does that mean that the gods of Theros are less powerful or less divine than the gods of other worlds? not at all. Once a dram of belief in Theros becomes reality, it is just as real as any other thing, and the gods have been real for a very long time. The people of Theros believe them to be divine, ageless, and all-powerful, and therefore they are.

A single individual can't do anything to make the gods less real or change the nature of a god. Threatened with the wrath of Heliod, for example, a mortal can't simply "disbelieve" the god out of existence or turn his wrath to kindness. It's the collective unconcious of every sapient being on Theros that shapes reality, and changes to that reality occus on the scale of ages, not moments.

In practical terms, then, the gods of Theros are no less real, powerful, or important to Theros than the gods of other worlds are to those worlds. Notbly, though, these gods have influence only over Theros and the two planes connected to it: Nyx, the starry realm of the gods, and the Underworld, eventual home of all dead.

Gods and Devotion

The central conflict in Theros is among gods, striving against each other over the devotion of mortals. Mortal devorion equates to divine power: when people fervently pray to a god, when they piously observe the god's rites and sacrifices, and when they devoutly trust in the god's divine might, the god becomes more powerful.

The competition for mortal devotion isn't necessarily a zero-sum game. The people of Theros don't believe in one particular god to the exclusion of others, and the most pious people pray to all the gods with equal fervor. But a deity's goal is to increase the number of people who, when faced with peril, will call on that god for help. It's that trust, that reliance, that faith that gives the gods their power, not merely ideas and concepts.

Mortal beings - heroes and monsters alike - often become unwitting pawns in the contests of the gods. Having a powerful champion is an indication of a god's power - and can potentially increase the god's own power. A champion who acts as an agent of a god among other people helps increase those people's devotion to the god. And if a hero should happen to strike down the agents of a rical god along the way, all the better.

Fate and Destiny

Two closely related concepts loom large in the way mortals think about their place in the world: fate and destiny.

The idea of fate is that the course of each mortal's life is predetermined, spun out on a tapestry woven by a trio of semidivine women, the Fates. Gods aren't bound by the strands of fate, their lives and legends are constantly changing and endlessly uncertain. In the case of most mortals, it's thought they plod along their predetermined path from the beginning to end, carrying out the tasks appointed for them until they complete their journey to the Underworld.

This fairly bleak view of existence is undermined by the heroic ideal exemplified in myths, legens, and the lived experience of Theros's people. Heroes, by definition, are people who defy the predetermined course of fate. They take their fate into their own hands and chart their own courses, striding boldly into the unknown, striking down supposedly invincible foes, and resisting the will of gods. Theor proud defiance of fate is rewarded when they at last complete their mortal journeys; worthy heroes spend their afterlives in Ilysia, the fairest realm of the Underworld, where they finally rest from the struglly of their lives. In many cases, their works also live on, both in the stories of future generations and repeating in the night sky among the stars of Nyx.

Destiny is different. The strangs of destiny are spun from the hair of the ancient god Klothys, but they don't chart a predetermined future. Destiny establishes the order of things, the hierarchy of being, the relationship between gods and mortals, the instincts and impulses that govern mortal behavior and other aspects of the way things are. Gods and mortals alike are constrained by the threads of destiny. Mortals can do little to alter them, but more than once the arrogance and presumption of the gods have caused the strands of destiny to become tangled. The god Klothys enforces the bounds of destiny. She isn't only the spinner of destiny's strangs but also and avenging fury, punishing the foolhardy gods who tangle them.

Champions and Heroes

The champions of the gods number among some of the most influential and inspirational figures in Theros. These mortals have personal relationships with the gods, potentially servings as divine agents in the world or being compelled to action by immportal schemes.
Still others were born with divine gazes set upon them, whether due to their remarkable abilities of the circumstances of their birth. Through their lives, champions experience the blessings and curses of their divine relationships. Some might brandish incredible powers granted to them by the gods, others, however discover how fickle and vindictive the gods can be.
How a champion contends with the whims of a deific patron defines what makes them a hero, whether they seek incredible ways to court immortal favor or forge a path that throws off the bonds of destiny. Regardless of the course they choose, the deeds of champions influence belief in the gods, but even more so, they fill the hearts of Theros's people with hope and wonder.

More than just for their deeds, heroes fill an important role among the inhabitants of Theros. Legendary heroes form a vast collection of well-known archetypes whose deeds create cultural touchstones and shape modern philosophies. They also embody the potential of mortals to be more than mere drops in the raging river of fate.
Tales of heroes teach that greatness is achievable and that there is more to the world than what any one individual knows. The people of Theros see the truth of this in the powers of the gods and in the immortal constellations that fill the night sky. Even as the names of individual heroes might eventually fade away, their deeds live on as heroic archetypes - such as in the case of the nameless champion in the renowned epic, The Theriad.
These archetypes teach and inspire, whether they're represented in tales of journeys or creation, in sculptures rising above polis roofs, or in the temples of the gods. Throughout Theros, those who seek greatness typically begin by deciding what heroic archetype they most closely align, with and letting that ideal influence their fate.

The heroes illustrated throughout this introduction are examples of heroic archetypes. The General, the Protector, the Vanquisher, the Hunter, the Provider, the Warrior, the Slayer, the Philosopher, and others like them are idealized figures who appear in narrative and theatrical drama - sometimes with personal names attached, but often without. Tales describe the Slayer destroying a hydra ... and a mighty cyclops, and a dragon, and a Nyxborn giant, and a Iamia, and any number of other creatures. Did one Slayer do all that? No, the archetype has become the repository for legends about many different heroes, all of whom are are notable primarily for slaying something.

The heroes of a Theros campaign might aspire to emulate one of the great heroic archetypes, or they might strive to forge an entirely new mythic identity, to be remembered by name in tales of glory forever.