Matthew Hunter <matthew at infodancer.org> writes: > In my opinion the nature of divinity (in speculative > fiction, anyway) is the submersion of identity in aspect. > That is, in most fantasy worlds, you don't have "a god" who > just happens to be a god. Gods are gods OF something, or > sometimes of several things, and their powers are derived > from their nature. Simply being a powerful sorceror is > insufficient to make one a god. But an assassin could take > on the role of a God of Death, or a patron god of > assassins. True, and that's practically a definition of polytheism. As for Vladio being the God of Assassins, remember that the only ability we *know* gods (and demons) have is being able to manifest in more than one place at a time. So the rumor that Mario is still around isn't evidence against the theory. > An excellent example of this would be Cotillion from > Erikson's series of novels. You know, when this thread started I immediately thought of Erikson's universe (probably since I'm currently re-reading _Deadhouse Gates_ while waiting for my copy of _House of Chains_ to arrive). For those of you unfamiliar with these books (the first will be published by Tor in June), much of the plot concerns conflicts among Ascendants, which Erikson describes (in an interview I found online): "All gods are ascendants but not all ascendants are gods. Hopefully, more will become clear as the series goes on. It's the notion of merit taken as far as I could manage; ascendancy is what happens when you pay for it, and pay for it dearly." While Ascendants are immortal, it looks like you have to die to Ascend (based on the four examples I've seen in the series, only one of which had an eyewitness). > Now, Dragaera doesn't have to follow those rules. But the > Dragaerean gods appear to have aspects, rather than being > merely powerful beings. So I suppose it could happen. And it's amusing (to me anyway) to imagine Vlad & Co. in Erikson's universe. High House Magic anyone? Queen -- Verra Consort -- Adron e'Kieron General -- Sethra Lavode Healer -- Aliera e'Kieron Soldier -- Morrolan e'Drien Virgin -- Devera Chef -- Vlad Taltos --KG