"Kindle"
The following is the prolouge, maybe the forward, to a series of novels I'm writing with my boyfriend... I'm simply... very proud of it, and it sort of fits into a WotW for "kindle".
All have potential for godliness, a spark that could kindle into the leadership which allows us to take and govern the lives of man and beast, affect the very fabric of the worlds. It asserts itself in different ways, and the exact mechanics of its effects are... shrouded in mystery greater than what sleeps in the center of a star.
Ascension is rare - some say it is instigated by stress and pain, others by sheer luck, and, in softer words, yet others say that there are great ones who broker the deals in which mortals ascend to be immortals. In this the great ones choose: Will the mortal as immortal derive their power from belief of others, or belief in the self? Will their godliness be by divine right or self-righteousness, their power from without...or within?
A God may have infinite power, based on their followers. Should they have a world, a plane, a universe, or even a single, most devout soul which calls their name in the dark of the night, begs for their mercy in pain and for their blessing in joy - they will have great power. Should they lose that belief... their power will dwindle, comparing to a powerful mortal.
Demigods are similar, however: their power is limited, for though they may have the greatest of beliefs in themselves, their power can only go so far and thus while they are their greatest strength, they are also their greatest limit. After time though, that constraint on the psyche slowly wears away, as if the iron bars of the mind were worn away by the sand of time, and should Demigods survive to number their years in greater millennia, they can approach, if not surpass, the power of the gods. And yet, in all of this power... still it can be questioned: why are we here? What gives our choices the power we derive from them? Where comes our right to live? The gods? The Demigods? Or the great ones, the watchers which guide our stewards to greatness? Are the great ones true? Who are we?
- The Red Book, Anonymous
All have potential for godliness, a spark that could kindle into the leadership which allows us to take and govern the lives of man and beast, affect the very fabric of the worlds. It asserts itself in different ways, and the exact mechanics of its effects are... shrouded in mystery greater than what sleeps in the center of a star.
Ascension is rare - some say it is instigated by stress and pain, others by sheer luck, and, in softer words, yet others say that there are great ones who broker the deals in which mortals ascend to be immortals. In this the great ones choose: Will the mortal as immortal derive their power from belief of others, or belief in the self? Will their godliness be by divine right or self-righteousness, their power from without...or within?
A God may have infinite power, based on their followers. Should they have a world, a plane, a universe, or even a single, most devout soul which calls their name in the dark of the night, begs for their mercy in pain and for their blessing in joy - they will have great power. Should they lose that belief... their power will dwindle, comparing to a powerful mortal.
Demigods are similar, however: their power is limited, for though they may have the greatest of beliefs in themselves, their power can only go so far and thus while they are their greatest strength, they are also their greatest limit. After time though, that constraint on the psyche slowly wears away, as if the iron bars of the mind were worn away by the sand of time, and should Demigods survive to number their years in greater millennia, they can approach, if not surpass, the power of the gods. And yet, in all of this power... still it can be questioned: why are we here? What gives our choices the power we derive from them? Where comes our right to live? The gods? The Demigods? Or the great ones, the watchers which guide our stewards to greatness? Are the great ones true? Who are we?
- The Red Book, Anonymous