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[Really, it's just easier if she does this over text. But something has been nagging at her mind recently. Nothing terribly important, given her idea of going back to her world is just. Never. Happening...]

Indulge me in some curiosity, if you will. Gods, deities, whatever you wish to call them, what was the prevalent theory where you're from?

I know the ones where I'm from were... well, they existed, you could tangibly see them and they could speak to someone if they wished. Their domains certainly existed and there were Orders and Temples dedicated to a few. And their domains could range from... well, from something like fate to partying.

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[He really probably shouldn't. Honestly, there's no reason this might go any better than any other conversation they've had, but unfortunately (for both of them) this is a topic of interest to him...]

Gods exist in my world, though they were merely gods after a fashion. Not quite the typical expectation one might have for such beings, though they are figures of faith and prayer. Less did their believers come into existence because of them, as some would entertain gods being linked with mankind's creation, but more they come into existence because of their followers.

Viewed thus, mankind is responsible for the creation of gods in my reality. Though they are better known and more accurately named primals. What such a particular being was associated with depended on the beliefs of the followers, for it was by their design and conviction. These beings of faith could indeed become tangible, if one knew how to summon them, but they were little more than the living will of the summoner.

Likewise, the summoners became enslaved by their gods made manifest. For without believers, a god cannot exist.

[You know what, this is a topic she can at least be civil about, mostly.]

Is that so? It was... something almost similar, in a fashion, to the kind I'm familiar with. They existed in their particular domain but could not exist if they did not have any followers or believers. Which is... interesting, given how some of them tended to operate or what their domain was over.

Though summoning is less... I suppose less summoning and more willing and calling for them to come help them out. Usually in the forms of druids, paladins, that sort of ilk. As I said, Orders and Temples dedicated to them, usually the ones that had sects that could call upon their power if it was necessary and their god deemed it as such.

I must ask, however, these supposed gods of yours, were they connected to anything in particular or were they more just powerful beings called upon by others?

Would they come into existence from a folktale, mayhap a particularly noteworthy hero that inspired and gave rise to faith? In such instances, it truly does seem to be a situation of the chicken or the egg, doesn't it?

As my line of questioning might suggest, these primals were often linked with mythological figures or characters from folklore. They could have very well been simply a man known for his heroism, or a particular unparalleled talent, but eventually such a person—real or imaginative—became a legend, then a god. Never would such a summoning truly evoke the figure in question, but the primal would take the form of the summoner's perception of them.

So, in essence, they were naught more than powerful beings that others would create through their prayer, faith, and offering of suitable aether. After all, it is not as if such power can exist from nothing but hopeful thoughts.

More that they had always existed, but it wasn't until people believed in them that they came to exist. Or, as was the case with dear sweet Reginald, were just so good at what they did that they became a god after their passing.

That may be the case in your world, which is actually quite fascinating in how they manifest, but when a summoner of a sort calls for them, the god themselves answers. Or, in some cases, they have an entourage of sorts that goes to do their bidding.

Such is the case of the Reapers for the Raven Queen of my world, for instance.

So, your gods were effectively always mortals at first? Interesting.

On my end, these beings are more or less fiction made reality. They are not merely sitting about waiting to be called upon, they have no further cognitive ability than what their believers give them. They are beings of naught more than faith, no more a truly living being than a character in a story. Naught but a construct and a tool, for their personal purposes.

Do you know what is responsible for awarding such fallen mortals that power? Is belief alone enough to manifest power in your world?

Ah, no. Not all of them, anyway. Some have always been beings from other planes of existence who ended up connected to ours somehow. Such is the case with a few, others are mortals made into gods. It just depends upon which realm you're speaking of.

Merely tools to be used as those who could call upon them deemed fit, then? A sad existence, if they had any sort of sentient mind to them and could comprehend their situation.

I don't know the specifics of it, as it was explained by me, poorly, by the god of partying, was that if someone embodied the concept of an already existing pantheon better than the current god, then they were ascended to that position.

Whether or not you want to believe the words of a god that is constantly either drunk, hungover, or high, is up to you. I put little stock in it.

He would not seem a reliable narrator, no. Yet, there might be some truth in his drunken ramblings. It is all rather fascinating.

I suppose I neglected to mention that likewise living people can become primals as well. Should they themselves be the center of such faith and belief, they can perform such a ritual that would bind the primal to their very being. However, this is dangerous for a mortal that has no means to protect themselves from the primal's influence. There are those with a gift of immunity to such tempering, powerful souls with just as powerful wills, and if one were to complete a primal summoning with their body as the vessel, they would control the god as themselves.

So, in these instances, the primal arguably holds a sapient and sentient mind, though it is not truly of the primal, but the vessel. They are but masses of aether, crafted by their artisans for their distinct purpose.

As for the deities of your reality, even those whom were not born of fallen mortals, are they all truly at the mercy of mortal belief?

[Someone has been messing with their 'Gear, it seems. The Trainer ID is there, but as a jumble of unrelated numbers and letters that would have to be de-encrypted first to reveal the actual ID. This text is also private, for some odd reason.]

Is there significance to the question? My answer would also depend on how exactly one defines deity.

That would depend entirely on how restrictive you are concerning "where I'm from", and on what exactly defines a deity.

[The fact that these refer to two separate situations should alarm him more than it does.]

[a complicated question even in her own world, but she figures she'll do her best from her point of view.]

Gods in my world are... more concepts of the Mortal races of Rivaersa, as they do not truly exist themselves. Unless you count the planet herself, but most agree she's less a god, and more a living planet. We Immortals have become the idea of Gods, as we are as ancient as Rivaersa herself. The most ancient race, the Tharsi, are the closest to godly beings as any would get in my world; but again, they are not gods themselves, just a powerful and ancient race that spread knowledge through my world's inhabitants. Many "gods" of my world are merely the ancient Tharsi that bestowed knowledge upon the peoples, or any of the other ancient peoples and races. Mortals seem to take comfort in designating godly status to these ancients, which many of us find... strange and awkward at times.

[Willow has found it uncomfortable to see people grovel at her feet due to her race if they've found it out, with Phoenixes being worshipped as the Sun's messengers and mouthpieces.]

man, i don't know whether any of the gods were real where i came from originally because there was never any real evidence for them i don't think?
but uh. i guess i am a god? kind of?

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