Rules for Gods
In Jewels and Gods, there are two evil gods, Zyr and Soraya. Soraya is the god of Sodales, while Zyr is the god of Marjiba. As I've written before, there are five other gods - most of whom are classified as good, or at least not evil. A couple are somewhere in the middle - neither evil nor good.
Now, you have to establish rules for the gods (just as there have to be rules for magic and mages). I suppose you could have gods with unlimited powers. But it seems to me, if you do that, then as soon as you have an evil god - one bent on destruction - with unlimited powers, then the story would end pretty quickly. Right?
So, the first rule I decided on is that gods are most powerful in their own countries and mostly limited in their powers in other countries. They can go to other countries. But they can't just make something happen in another country, good or evil.
The corollary of that - the second rule - is that, if a god is behaving badly toward the people of his or her own country, the other gods can't just make everything better. They can try to talk sense into the god who is being bad. But they can't make the evil god do something he or she doesn't want to. And they can't interfere in what the evil god is doing. If people flee the country, the good gods can offer refuge. But they can't go into the country that isn't theirs and just make things better.
Another corollary - the third rule - is that the gods have to see to the destruction physically. Soraya, for example, can't kill the Jewel Keepers when they are in Sodales unless she finds them and physically sees them. Likewise, Zyr can't destroy his enemies from afar. He has to confront them where they are. Then he can kill them with his god powers easily.
The fourth rule is that the gods can't fight each other directly. They can - and have - put barriers up against the incursion of another god, who might be trying to invade, for example. But they can't go to war with another god and confront them god to god. To do so would destroy the world.
Today's writing was about Zyr, the evil god of Marjiba. He'd been put to sleep - semi-quelled - by the former Keepers, Aidan and Sorcha, who were the heroes of the Reunion trilogy. In Jewels and Gods, Sorcha and Aidan have bonded magic, but not the ultimate power of the prophecy. In this trilogy, that power belongs to the Jewel Keepers. And although the Jewel Keepers know that Zyr is evil (and Soraya), they can't quell them. Not yet. They haven't yet found all the Jewel Keepers. In other words, they haven't fulfilled the prophecy. So, Aidan and Sorcha had done what they could to curb Zyr's evil ways by casting a spell to put him to sleep. No one knew how long it would last. But it was the best they could do with their bonded magic.
Now, at this point in the Jewels and Gods trilogy, Zyr wakes up. And he's pissed. Angry at the dark mages who were supposed to protect him. Enraged that the former Keepers have fled his country, so he can't take his revenge on them. And frustrated by the tribal leaders who have tried to deny him his right to rule.
The Keepers have fled. In keeping with Rule #3, Zyr can't do much about them. But he does destroy everything they touched in Marjiba - buildings, inns, parks.
And he can take revenge on the dark mages (Rule #3). He kills the lead dark mage, the one who let the Keepers get into the palace and semi-quell him.
Then, taking the new, sycophantic dark mage with him, Zyr travels around Marjiba and destroys the cities and leaders who would not cooperate with him, who threatened his power. Because...again, Rule #3.
The other gods watch and wish they could do something to help the Marjibi, to save them from their evil god. But they can't. Rule #2.
Then, he tries to invade Amboria, mostly because he just doesn't like Amita, their god. But Amita, though she can't confront Zyr directly (Rule #4), can stop him from coming in with a barrier at the border.
And Zyr can't just take his revenge against Amita or any of the Amborians because of Rule #1.
This is why there are rules for gods.
Now, you have to establish rules for the gods (just as there have to be rules for magic and mages). I suppose you could have gods with unlimited powers. But it seems to me, if you do that, then as soon as you have an evil god - one bent on destruction - with unlimited powers, then the story would end pretty quickly. Right?
So, the first rule I decided on is that gods are most powerful in their own countries and mostly limited in their powers in other countries. They can go to other countries. But they can't just make something happen in another country, good or evil.
The corollary of that - the second rule - is that, if a god is behaving badly toward the people of his or her own country, the other gods can't just make everything better. They can try to talk sense into the god who is being bad. But they can't make the evil god do something he or she doesn't want to. And they can't interfere in what the evil god is doing. If people flee the country, the good gods can offer refuge. But they can't go into the country that isn't theirs and just make things better.
Another corollary - the third rule - is that the gods have to see to the destruction physically. Soraya, for example, can't kill the Jewel Keepers when they are in Sodales unless she finds them and physically sees them. Likewise, Zyr can't destroy his enemies from afar. He has to confront them where they are. Then he can kill them with his god powers easily.
The fourth rule is that the gods can't fight each other directly. They can - and have - put barriers up against the incursion of another god, who might be trying to invade, for example. But they can't go to war with another god and confront them god to god. To do so would destroy the world.
Today's writing was about Zyr, the evil god of Marjiba. He'd been put to sleep - semi-quelled - by the former Keepers, Aidan and Sorcha, who were the heroes of the Reunion trilogy. In Jewels and Gods, Sorcha and Aidan have bonded magic, but not the ultimate power of the prophecy. In this trilogy, that power belongs to the Jewel Keepers. And although the Jewel Keepers know that Zyr is evil (and Soraya), they can't quell them. Not yet. They haven't yet found all the Jewel Keepers. In other words, they haven't fulfilled the prophecy. So, Aidan and Sorcha had done what they could to curb Zyr's evil ways by casting a spell to put him to sleep. No one knew how long it would last. But it was the best they could do with their bonded magic.
Now, at this point in the Jewels and Gods trilogy, Zyr wakes up. And he's pissed. Angry at the dark mages who were supposed to protect him. Enraged that the former Keepers have fled his country, so he can't take his revenge on them. And frustrated by the tribal leaders who have tried to deny him his right to rule.
The Keepers have fled. In keeping with Rule #3, Zyr can't do much about them. But he does destroy everything they touched in Marjiba - buildings, inns, parks.
And he can take revenge on the dark mages (Rule #3). He kills the lead dark mage, the one who let the Keepers get into the palace and semi-quell him.
Then, taking the new, sycophantic dark mage with him, Zyr travels around Marjiba and destroys the cities and leaders who would not cooperate with him, who threatened his power. Because...again, Rule #3.
The other gods watch and wish they could do something to help the Marjibi, to save them from their evil god. But they can't. Rule #2.
Then, he tries to invade Amboria, mostly because he just doesn't like Amita, their god. But Amita, though she can't confront Zyr directly (Rule #4), can stop him from coming in with a barrier at the border.
And Zyr can't just take his revenge against Amita or any of the Amborians because of Rule #1.
This is why there are rules for gods.
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