Interlude - Lore - For the Record

Long ago, when the planes  were young, the gods of order took pity upon their mortal followers and,  with the aid of the gods of creation, devised a divine apparatus that  would both ensure all mortals would have the opportunity to ascend to  godhood and also to maintain divine churn – that is, to create an  opportunity for the gods themselves to enter the system of reincarnation  it also enforced. This apparatus consisted of:

• The Akashic Record, known colloquially as the Record, which operates  as the oversystem governing the cycle of reincarnation and ascension.
• The Soul, comprised of many parts to define the true self.
• The System, a unique means of managing the process of ascension by  acting as a limiter. Without a limiter, the divine energies an Ascendant  is exposed to immediately on beginning the process would shatter their  soul. Thus, forcing a period of growth allows them to ease into their  newfound divinity. This is accomplished via a Contract with a spiritual  being of some kind, which will then act as an overseer for the  Ascendant’s growth and direction.

The Soul itself is comprised of many parts, including:

• Corporeal or Material body – while not truly part of the Soul, the  body acts as a means of tying the Soul to the material planes in which  Ascendants and mortals dwell. A being without a body is said to be a  spiritual being, and are generally vulnerable to mana disturbances and a  number of other specific phenomena.
• The Akashic Self, or the true self defined in the Record, which will  typically be scrubbed of memory during the process of reincarnation.  There are some rare circumstances in which individuals may be  reincarnated with an unchanged Akashic Self – these are often Oracles or  the Chosen of particular gods.
• The Anima, the force that animates the body and ties it to the Akashic Self.
• The Ego, a conglomeration of accumulated memory and experience, an  intrinsic part of the Akashic Self that is wiped clean as part of the  cycle of reincarnation.
• Mana, an expression of divinity defined by an interaction between  the Anima and the Akashic Self to influence the material planes and  beyond.

Prior to the advent of the Record, most  mortals were unfortunately born or created with only a body and Anima,  thereby forever binding them to the material planes and offering no  potential for reincarnation or apotheosis. Only the Chosen of the  pantheons were gifted with the potential for Ascension, and the  proto-Souls of many of those were overwhelmed by the sudden presence of  divinity and were thus destroyed. Reincarnation was likewise reserved  for those whom the gods deemed worthy of it.

An enormous amount of divinity was required  to kickstart the Akashic Record, and so the gods of order in their  benevolence offered themselves as a sacrifice to set it into motion. The  Record itself is a divine perpetual motion machine, backfeeding  divinity from Ascendants as they grow and then using that same divinity  to power the cycle of reincarnation and the Ascension of others.

When an Ascendant reaches the peak of their  ascension, they may petition any god to lead the Ritual of Apotheosis on  their behalf, and induct them into the pantheons while also binding  them to a Domain. They may or may not adopt the name and role of a prior  god, and in fact many choose to do so. Some Ascendants are even  fortunate enough to acquire a Domain prior to Apotheosis, though most  don’t. Upon achieving Apotheosis, newborn gods no longer directly power  the Record with their divinity, and instead provide it indirectly via  those still on the material planes in the form of prayers and sacrifice.  As a result, many gods work to build cults in order to increase their  standing amongst their peers. After all, once an Ascendant becomes a  god, they lose the ability to directly influence the material planes  without a conduit or contracting party. The gods often use Avatars –  manifestations of themselves carrying a small fraction of their true  divinity – or Vessels – those who through faith offer themselves as a  carrier for their patron god, allowing them to express their full  divinity.

Precious few of the old gods of order chose  to remain as caretakers of the Record, to ensure its stability and the  egality of potential for the Ascendants it manages –

Although their names have long since been lost to time.