Journal of the Gods

Before time existed, Ix did. The solitary entity dreamed, and from those dreams the universes took form. Ix created the Primordial Gods to steward them, then breathed the first intelligent life — the Ancients — into existence. The Ancients eventually turned against their creator, forging a weapon to destroy him. The weapon failed. It shattered Ix instead. Each fragment became a god of the modern world. In his final act, Ix bound the universes into the physical realm, the mystical realm, and the Soul Planes, and sealed the Ancients in the void. What the gods are, then, are pieces of something that once held the cosmos together — now divided, each managing a portion of what Ix once oversaw alone.

Primitive Gods existed before the shattering and require no worship to sustain themselves. The Shard Gods emerged from Ix's fragments, bound to specific domains and dependent on followers to remain powerful; without worshippers they diminish back to shards — inert, discoverable, dangerous. As the mortal races spread across Dort and diversified, new gods emerged from the fabric of the universe itself — called Ex Nihilo Gods — born for singular purposes, sustained by the success of their cause. Bound Gods arose from specific geography, drawing power from their land; they cannot extend influence beyond it unless they sever that tie. Children of divine unions inherit a mix of their parents' limitations and abilities, though one constant applies: they do not fade.

The gods are real. They answer prayers, grow stronger through worship, and conduct their own conflicts through mortal proxies. They do not physically manifest on the Prime Plane — not since the Fall of Izon in 2300 ME demonstrated that gods can be killed. What follows is the current recorded pantheon.

The gods of Dort are not all the same kind of thing. They arise through different mechanisms, hold power differently, and fail — or don't fail — through different vulnerabilities. Understanding the distinctions matters practically for anyone who deals with them.

Ix was the Primordial One. He existed before the framework of the universe, before time, before division. His power was without parallel: he created universes through dreaming, breathed intelligence into the void. The Ancients, his first sentient creation, eventually turned on him and shattered him with an incomplete weapon. What Ix was, the gods of today collectively are — fragments of a singular whole, each managing a portion of what he once held entirely.

The Primitive Gods emerged first from Ix's vision. They are forces of nature given will, stewards of the cosmos who predate the concept of worship. They do not require followers to exist and offer little in return for veneration. Their limitations are fixed: they cannot create life or shape matter from nothing. They simply are, as mountains simply are.

The Shard Gods are the modern pantheon — each a fragment of Ix's shattered being, bound to a specific domain. Their strength is tied directly to the vitality of what they govern and the number of people who worship them. Without followers, they diminish over time, reverting toward inert shards. They can be rediscovered in this state, which raises questions best left to theologians and desperate adventurers alike. Unlike the Primitive Gods, Shard Gods can create life — they simply cannot shape matter from nothing.

Ex Nihilo Gods emerged from the universe's own fabric, called into existence for a purpose. Their power is sustained by the propagation and success of their cause. They can shape matter, but the spark of life is beyond them. They are, in essence, ideas made divine.

Bound Gods are geographic. They arose from Ix's cosmic dust mingling with the forces of a specific place and draw their power from that land. Within their domain they are formidable; outside it they are diminished, unable to extend meaningful influence until they sever the geographic tie. Cutting that tie is possible but comes at a cost.

Children Gods are the offspring of divine unions, their capabilities a product of lineage. Two Shard parents produce a child that can create life but not shape matter. A Primitive parentage shifts the dominant inheritance toward the non-Primitive parent's traits. A Bound God parent ties the child to broader geographic concepts rather than specific land, making transcendence more achievable. The one constant across all Children Gods: they are eternal. They do not fade. Whatever they are, they remain it.