Apotheosis

"Most boundaries are not absolute. One can cross between the realms of life and death, and between the mortal and the divine."

— Callisthenes of Macris

While most of the gods and spirits (collectively known as Numina) are born directly out of the beliefs of thinking beings, there is a sizeable population who are the result of Apotheosis - the transition from a mortal being into a god.

Except in very special cases, only a part of a person actually undergoes this transformation, and only after death. As described in the Structure of the Universe, the world and most of the creatures in it are made up of three components - physical, mental, and spiritual. It is the mental body or Eidolon that undergoes Apotheosis.

This happens when a person becomes a legend, and their Eidolon becomes the focus point of a collective narrative. The pressure of collective belief is known as the Egregoric Force, and this is the power which transforms an Eidolon into one of the Numina.

A New Being

While people talk about it as a transformation, it is more accurate to say that a new god is born out of the old person - a descendant of the original, more than a continuation of them. The newly created Numina will have many of the memories of the original (although they may have been warped by the very beliefs that triggered their apotheosis). But beyond this, very little is carried over. Numina do not have the same kind of physical bodies as mortal beings - instead, they anchor to locations in the Physical realm, and a Numina's body may be a building, or an island, or even a patch of sky. This by itself is enough to change someone's perspective, as a living mountain has a different set of priorities than the person they remember being. But the more critical change is in their spiritual aspect, known as the Pneuma. This contains the essential nature of the person who once lived, and it moves on after death. When an Eidolon undergoes Apotheosis, it almost always integrates a different Pneuma. This new spiritual body will resonate with the Eidolon, but it will not be the same, and the ultimate difference can be subtle or extreme. In cases where the Eidolon was itself warped by the Egregoric Force, it is more likely that the new Pneuma will be very different from the old, and the resulting deity will have a different nature and personality as a consequence.

Seeking Immortality

Many people have sought apotheosis as a way to cheat death. But it isn't an easy path to embark on, and much of it is outside the direct control of the would-be god. Apotheosis requires decades of dedicated worship before the Eidolon can ascend, and even then it is uncertain to succeed. It is most likely to work with people who became world-spanning legends in their lifetimes, with their deeds granting them sufficient impetus in the Dream to carry them through into godhood. Of course, this fame means that there will be a lot of beliefs and opinions about them, creating enormous pressure on the Eidolon to conform with their public image. Newly ascended gods have strangely flattened versions of their old personalities, and their memories are often changed to match the common narrative as opposed to historical fact. Apotheosis is a form of Dissolutio Identitatis, where a person's identity is crushed under the weight of collective belief.

Living Gods

In theory, one does not need to die in order to experience apotheosis. If there is enough belief about a person, that can transform a living being into one of the Numina, anchored to their living body and original pneuma, but gaining the powers and spiritual presence of a god.

In practice, it is nearly impossible for this to happen. It is a possible end result of Dissolutio Identitatis, and thus means that the personality and identity of the being undergoing apotheosis is irrevocably altered and simplified. The best known example of living apotheosis ever recorded is that of the gargantuan turtle and pirate haven known as Tortuka. You can read more about this creature here.

There is one species that has incorporated apotheosis as a part of their lifecycle, although it is not widely known. The Kitsunejin and their gods are a part of an ongoing process of apotheosis and reincarnation, and the Kitsunekami are all the results of apotheosis. Given that migration into the Dream is an integral part of their transition, it is uncertain whether the Kitsunekami are technically "living gods", but they do seem to go through the process without actually dying to do it. You can read more about the Kitsunekami here.

Type

Metaphysical, Divine

These Things Called Gods

The end result of Apotheosis is a spirit or god, collectively known as the Numina. These beings are found throughout the Million Islands, and are born from every culture. You can read more about Numina here.

Death in the Great Ring

Apotheosis almost always requires that the person dies before it happens, with very few exceptions. If you want to learn more about how death and the underworlds work in the Great Ring, you can read more about it here.

The True Names of Gods

One notable side effect of Apotheosis is that the new being does not have the same True Name as the original. A True Name is made up of physical, mental, and spiritual components that correspond to the parts of the person. Since (in most cases), only the mental body is continuous between the mortal and the god, two-thirds of their True Name is altered, making knowledge of the original ineffective. You can read more about True Names here.