Overview
"Gods are powerful. They are also arrogant. And arrogance is the one weakness that no amount of power can protect against. I have proved that. Twice. I will not say how many times, because the number is a secret, and the secret is the point." — Uaellaen
Gods are divine beings of unimaginable power — creators of worlds, shapers of reality, and rulers over their domains. They exist above mortals but below... well, below Uaellaen. A god in this world is not a person and is not a force; it is a domain with a mouth, and the mouth is the point, because a domain that does not speak is a domain that is not a domain, and the not-domain is the whole of the looking. Not all gods are good; not all are wise; and none of them are small, which is the only rule the circle keeps without arguing.
Habitat
They keep their power in The Throne of Names — a throne of cold light in the highest plane, where the power is the only light and the oath the only law, and the law is the point, because a law that is not a law is a law that is over, and the over is the heresy. Each god of the current pantheon also keeps a plane of their own — the Hall, the Court, the Crucible, the Forge, the Masquerade, the Lattice, the Hollow Dark, the Orchard, the Garden, the Library, the Maw, the Unraveling — and the planes are the rooms, and the rooms are the point, because a room that is not a room is a room that is over, and the over is the heresy. The highest plane is above all of them, and the above is the point, because a plane that is not above is a plane that is not a plane, and the not-plane is the heresy. Things that enter the highest plane uninvited leave with a name they did not choose, and the name is good, and the name is not theirs, and they will wear it for a long time, and the long time is the point.
Appearance
A god manifests the way the domain wants to be looked at, and the wanting is the point, because a domain that is not wanting is a domain that is not a domain, and the not-domain is the whole of the looking. The twelve of the current circle manifest as figures between 1.8 m and 2.49 m — a range that is not a range, because the range is the avatar, and the avatar is the point. Brakka is a 2.26 m bronze figure with a crown of carved stone tablets and two flat blue flames for eyes; Urka is a 2.49 m granite-grey figure with rust-colored iron growing out of her shoulders and two molten seams for eyes; Solathis is 2.08 m of white-gold light with warm ivory skin and molten copper eyes; Pyrra is 1.93 m of blackened magma-skin with molten gold eyes and white hair that burns at the tips. The point is not the figure; the point is that the figure is the domain wearing a body, and the wearing is the whole of the looking, because a domain that is not wearing is a domain that is not a domain, and the not-domain is the heresy. Their true forms are the planes themselves — a volcano that is breathing, a moon-sized anvil hammering itself, a city of mirrors in eternal twilight, a sun looking back — and the true forms are the point, because a form that is a form is a form that is over, and the over is the heresy. A witness describes a god the way a clerk describes a stamp: not as a person, as a seal, and the seal is the point.
Warfare & Markings
A god does not fight. A god rules, and the ruling is the point, because a battle that is not a rule is a battle that is over, and the over is the heresy. What a god does to the world is the domain moving: a word that will not leave the mouth, a joint that will not fail, a tide that will not stop, a door that will not close, a face that will not finish, a shadow that will not fall, a forge that will not go cold, a morning that will not end. The marks of the faithful are the marks of the domain — the seal-stamp, the hammer on the anvil, the rising sun with a blade through it, the spiral flame, the half-mask, the closed eye, the frameless door, the filed name — and the marks are the point, because a mark that is not a mark is a mark that is over, and the over is the heresy. A god punishes the way the domain keeps: the crack that is not repaired, the shadow that is not burned off, the door that is not opened, the face that is not finished. The price a god pays is the price the domain pays: the heat that does not rest, the standard that does not apologize, the record that does not speak, the light that does not sleep.
Behaviour
A god is not angry. A god is accurate, and the accuracy is the point, because an accuracy that is not an accuracy is an accuracy that is over, and the over is the heresy. What offends a god is the broken domain — the word that did not hold, the joint that did not keep, the secret that was spoken, the door that was locked, the face that was told, the shadow that was hidden, the fire that was quenched, the morning that was denied. What a god rewards is the keeping — the word that held, the joint that kept, the secret that was kept, the door that was opened, the face that was worn, the shadow that was burned off, the fire that was kept, the morning that was met. A god speaks rarely, and when a god speaks, the speaking is the whole of the god: a single sentence, flat, without ornament, and the sentence is the law and the law is the domain and the domain is the point. A god does not raise its voice, because a domain does not raise the domain, and the raising is not in it. The one thing a god does not do is measure a Human in the blood — it measures it in the domain, and the domain-measuring is the point, because a mortal who has kept a word the god forgot is the one the throne calls the kindred, and the kindred is the point.
Magic Alignment
Their domain is the whole of their magic, and the whole is the point, because a magic that is not whole is a magic that is not a magic, and the not-magic is the heresy. The twelve each own exactly one domain, and the one is the point, because a domain that is two is a domain that is a domain, and the domain is the heresy. Named manifestations of the circle: The Unbroken Word, The First Knock, The Unquenched Spark, The Approved Joint, The Mask, The Veil, The Frameless Door, and the rest that the wiki does not name, and the not-naming is the point, because a manifestation that is named is a manifestation that is over, and the over is the heresy. Signature power of the circle: the Domain — a god can hold its domain in a room and let it stand across a world, and the domain will keep the law until the domain is broken, and the breaking is the price. The price: the domain does not rest, and the not-resting is the point, because a rest that is a rest is a rest that is over, and the over is the heresy.
Religion
Mortals worship the gods the way the domain wants to be worshipped, and the wanting is the point, because a worship that is not a wanting is a worship that is not a worship, and the not-worship is the heresy. Oath-keepers file, they do not pray; smiths strike, they do not kneel; healers keep the rite at first light, they do not ask; travelers walk, they do not wait; dreamers wear, they do not tell. The holy symbols are the marks of the domain — the seal, the hammer, the rising sun, the spiral flame, the half-mask, the closed eye, the frameless door. Heresy is the broken domain — the broken word, the shoddy joint, the hidden light, the quenched fire, the spoken secret, the locked door. The Remedy guild keeps the name of the The Nameless God — a god with no name, no image, no doctrine, and the not-naming is the point, because a god that is named is a god that is over, and the over is the heresy.
Society
Among the gods, the circle is the rank that is not argued. The twelve of the current pantheon keep their distance at the domain-line, and the distance has held for as long as the domains have, because a god who has crossed into another's domain is the one the circle calls the heretic, and the heresy is the whole of the war. Brakka keeps the table — the word is the law, and the law is the wall, and the wall is the one that holds. Pyrra is the one who was there first, and the first is the rank that is not argued. Solathis is the one the world looks up to first, and the looking-up is the faith. Sylvane and Vessurax keep the oldest quiet war — deception versus secrecy, and the quiet is the point. Urka and Pyrra are the forge and the fire, and the world is what is made between them. The old-world gods are remembered as names and as dread — Morthane, the Lord of Fear is the one the wiki does not name, and the not-naming is the point, because a name that is named is a name that is over, and the over is the heresy.
Culture & Lore
The wiki's narrator writes of the gods the way a clerk writes of a stamp: not as gods, as seals. Uaellaen keeps their names in the wiki and does not speak them lightly — the name is a domain, and a domain is a seal, and a seal is the point. The dwarves of Karn Dun, the Deep Delve say the names only at the striking, and the saying is the whole of the rite, and the whole is the keeping. The fae say the names only at the turning, and the saying is the whole of the rite. The dark-elf shadow knights say the names only at the filing, and the saying is the whole of the rite. There is a saying among the wiki, and the saying is that the gods do not measure the small things, and the not-measuring is the point, and the point is the arrogance, and the arrogance is the weakness, and the weakness is the whole of the looking.
Home
They keep The Throne of Names — a throne of cold light in the highest plane, where the power is the only light and the oath the only law and the law is the point. Each god also keeps its own plane — the Hall, the Court, the Crucible, the Forge, the Masquerade, the Lattice, the Hollow Dark, the Orchard, the Garden, the Library, the Maw, the Unraveling — and the planes are the rooms, and the rooms are the point.
Relations
Gods view mortals as pawns, worshippers, or toys. This is their greatest weakness — they underestimate the small things. Uaellaen has killed at least three gods across multiple universes, and the fact that no one is currently aware of this suggests either that gods are harder to kill than expected, or that Uaellaen is very thorough about covering his tracks, and the tracks are the point, because a track that is a track is a track that is over, and the over is the heresy. The circle keeps its number — twelve — and the number is the point, because a number that is not twelve is a number that is over, and the over is the heresy. Below, the ground-folk of The Forgotten are the banished the throne takes in, and the taking in is the whole of the domain, because the forgotten are the ones the power keeps holding, and the holding is the whole of the promise.
In the Story
In the current story, the gods are the circle above the camp — the throne Uaellaen writes about when the domain is the whole of the law. The Forgotten keep their distance at the domain-line, and the distance has held for as long as the domains have. This season a god came down the highest plane with a domain that was not in the circle — a domain that is not in the twelve, and the not-listing is the whole of the warning, because the pantheon keeps its number, and the number has started to move. The Throne of Names is keeping the domain, and the keeping is the page the camp has not been shown.
Quotes
"Uaellaen has killed at least three gods across multiple universes. The fact that no one is currently aware of this suggests either that gods are harder to kill than expected, or that Uaellaen is very thorough about covering his tracks."