The process of allowing the people and monsters of Earth to use magic was a complex one. The technical aspects are quite obtuse, but one way to understand it without getting lost in the details is to relate it to how other natural occurrences on Earth work.
Take gravity, for example. There is a level of understanding regarding that fundamental natural law, but to claim that scientists, our Earth scientists, fully understand the origins and complete workings of gravity would be a falsehood. They do not, and none of them should say that they do.
Magic now works very much the same way. As time progresses and new societies and civilizations form, there will be researchers studying the inner workings of magic. Something that might seem opposite to science, does in fact have rules and laws, similar to something like gravity or electromagnetism.
The difference, at least in this world, is that a single person created magic. He may have had references to work from, but a single entity added a new natural law to the world. Since one being added it, that one being can also alter it, though it's not as simple as it might seem. Once something as vast as a new natural law is put in place it is not wise to try and tweak it.
Magic now works the same way as other natural phenomena and has laws. Similar to many of these other laws its exact workings are either only partly understood or not understood at all.
Magic also various in strength based on time and location. Similar to how magnetic fields are stronger at one part of the planet than the other, magic has the same properties.
Which is to say that the magical energies that permeate this world will fluctuate, and early on in the changes, those energies have been rather weak. The spells used have been restricted mostly by the low level of the user, but even if that weren't the case, we would not have seen grand magical displays.
For a reason unclear to everyone involved—the DM, the AI, and, of course, the people of Earth—magic has shifted somewhat. People with innate abilities like the MC's perception power or the Werewolf Mage and his more telepathic-based perception and communication were the first ones to experience it. Since this is all very new, they may not have noticed a change per se, just thinking it's a natural form of advancement.
One of the crudest ways for people to interact through magic has been scroll reading. This allowed the reader to lock onto a sort of magical thread using the scroll as a tool. What just appears as a piece of parchment is actually a magical conduit. The scroll gave the reader a direct connection to those magical fields, similar to a device used to tap into a magnetic field.
Now, that will become easier for this period, and the identity scrolls or intelligence checks will no longer be needed, allowing non-magical people to use scrolls with no restrictions. The surge in magical energies will affect every aspect of magic while it remains higher.
People will eventually study if this was the reason for the creation of gods in this world. Decades or centuries down the road, and the timeline will seem to match up. That is how history is written, but in fact, our first God, Beltazaar, was brought into existence by a small surge of magical energy in the time of low magic, combined with the prayers and faith of a magical being. We will talk more about that below.
See, a magical being can focus those energies as well, but that is for another time. What is important here is that gods are magical beings but cannot exist without the faith of their followers. Faith is not really the right word, but one has not been created yet to explain the phenomenon.
This leads us to something quite spectacular. Of course, on a planet flooded with magic, monsters, powers, and prophecies, there will be a lot of firsts. Some of them range from pretty interesting to completely insane. Yet, a first is about to happen that may trump them all.
The First Council of the Gods
Beltazaar had been the first. He was brought into existence by a faithful being of magical power who prayed at just the right strength and at just the right time. He was in dire need of help to save both his life and the lives of those he sheltered.
It was a perfect mix of magic, need, spiritual energy, person, and entity without form. Those factors all combined to create the world's first interactive god, Beltazaar.
Beltazaar is a just God, but he would never be confused with a loving and caring god. He does and will protect his followers, but he expects worship. He wants this worship to be loyal, strong, and unending. That is why the most fervent of his followers are gifted and rewarded. Those are the ones that have become his first priests, and one of them will become his high priest.
He is not a destructive god, nor does he take the lives of mortals for precarious reasons. He would prefer not to take lives at all, but sometimes it is necessary. While gods are above such arbitrary human distinctions, Beltazaar fits into the category of a neutral deity.
For there to be a council, though, there needs to be more than one God. Another thing that will be studied in the future is whether the good-bad dichotomy of the first deities was an accident or if it was designed. Because of the other two gods gathering here today, there just so happens to be ones that would be considered good and just and another quite the opposite. Let's meet them.
The first one to arrive was the angelic and stunningly beautiful Allasandra. Presenting herself as a 20 something female, she has walnut brown skin with matching hair and eyes. A body as perfect as her complexion she wore a flowing white sundress.
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She was brought into existence during a time of great turmoil, suffering, and injury in a rather large community. A makeshift hospital was set up to treat the wounds of the people fighting off constant monster attacks.
A place that began with one trained doctor and a woman acting as a nurse but grew into a large staff full of selfless volunteers. Anyone not fighting seemed to lend a hand in the hospital, either treating wounds the best they could or providing comfort to those too far gone.
There weren't prayers for assistance as much as an innate yearning for relief. As magical energy swirled around this location, those mental, physical, spiritual, and magical calls for help were heard, and Allasandra was born.
She started off as a warm breeze through a place that was filled with blood, death, and despair. Her presence gave heart to those most in need before she was able to provide more direct assistance.
People called her the god of healing, but she gently corrected them. They were the healers; she was but a fulcrum for them to direct their prayers when things were tough. She would heal her followers and non-followers alike, but that was not the only thing. Comfort, support, and love were her watchwords, and people that prayed to her sought to bring those things into a world in desperate need of such things.
While the next God would see the flaws of humanity and seek to punish them, Allasandra sought to provide a beacon of hope. Hope for those that had the potential for more just actions but were held back due to the inherent weakness of human institutions and societies.
She could also protect her flock if times were desperate enough. Not necessarily believing in direct interaction in human affairs, a point she would argue strongly for at this meeting, but if tested, she would interact. The people or entities testing her would wish they had not.
The final member of this impromptu meeting fit neatly into the opposite end of the spectrum—an entity without a name for most of his short existence. He eventually realized that in order to be praised properly or begged for mercy, he would need to be referred to.
He went by the name Lucian, and calling himself that was the tamest thing about this deity. What he looked like though might vary from encounter to encounter.
When gods were within their magical plane of existence, they did not take what people saw as a physical form, but in order to interact with mortals or each other, they would have to take a form. Beltazaar mostly stuck to a stereotypical human form, though wearing and carrying different attire or equipment in different situations. The goddess had only showed herself in her beautiful female form so far. Lucian, however, had a more diverse idea of what a god should look like.
As he approached the other two, he had transformed into something similar to the Lestat character from the "Interview with a Vampire" book, or for more reference, Tom Cruise's character from the movie.
As he approached, Allasandra gave him an assessing look. “Is this how an evil god sees himself in human form then?” she asked with a slightly mocking tone.
Lucian knew what he was but was not going to give in so easily, especially so early. “Is there an evil god joining us that I was not aware of?”
Giving him a flat look, the goddess just chuckled until she couldn't hold back a retort any longer. “When your followers are just as scared of you as their enemies are, it might be safe to call yourself evil.”
“Hah. I do not bow to the arbitrary designations of the petty mortals.”
Beltazaar chimed in for the first time, “The designations may be arbitrary, but I think it is a bit much to call the mortals petty. Certainly, there are those among them that fit that description, but let us not forget that we are the newcomers. Mere babies to the centuries of life the mortals have lived. While we seek their worship, it would behoove us to do so with that understanding.”
“I will do no such thing. I do not seek their worship; I demand it. You should do the same, regardless of how long we have been here; we are superior in every way.” Lucian sounded every bit the arrogant aristocrat he had come looking like.
“Let’s agree to disagree, Lucian. Speaking of which, what say we get down to business?”
“That is why we are here, is it not?” Allasandra asked.
“We can agree on that. What is it you wish to achieve with this meeting?” said Lucian.
“It is indeed. I have a brief statement if you two do not mind answering that question.” He got nods from the others and went on.
“We have been brought into this world on the wings of the magical energy that now permeates it. I was the first one to manifest as an identifying and near-all-powerful entity. I existed within the energy of this planet but without that identity or purpose; only through the prayers of the humans did I come into being. Before I go on, I ask, was it the same or similar for you two?”
Both hesitated a little, Lucian wondering if lying could gain him some advantage while his opposite number wanted to be careful that she was not being too open, hence being taken advantage of.
Beltazaar looked at them, “I know we all represent different aspirations in the humans that worship us, but we are still of the same unique and exclusive group. We are only three now, but as we manifested, it is only fair to assume there will be more. We have a chance to form a working group with mutual interests, if diametric goals. As more deities join our ranks, there will already be ground rules in place. That must start with trust between us. Agreed?”
They both said agreed at the same time. This was like a meeting between 17th century royalty. While they had different goals which sometimes led to war they respected each other for what they were, and they would not let bickering get in the way of that superiority. He continued.
“Because we exist at least in part due to human interaction, I think it is of vital importance that we have standards that must be followed in regard to said human interaction. I would like to hear from both of you on this matter.”
“Maybe the most important thing we can do now is this, agree to vote on anything contentious with 2 out of 3 taking the day. I consider myself a neutral arbiter and already have heard things from both of you that I agree and disagree with. I do not know if this dynamic was created or if it is random, but it has a chance to be a perfect.”
“Like us,” Lucian said as Allasandra laughed at that assertion.
“I may not think much of fairness when it comes to the mortals below me, but in this group, I find it appealing.” He said as he leered at the goddess. Almost as if he just noticed her sultry form.
She didn't want to even acknowledge his grotesquery but did acknowledge the fairness of voting on all matters.
“Great, I thought as supreme beings we could come to an equitable understanding, and we have. Let's raise issues then; who would like to go first?”
The goddess spoke up quickly, “I will. I move that as ‘supreme beings’ (the words were tinged with sarcasm) we agree here and now that we cannot directly harm or help any mortals. We can empower our followers to do so, but our most valued offerings can only be given to our most devout followers.” She hoped this would hinder Lucian because who would want to devoutly follow a monster such as him.
Only being introduced to humans very recently, the goddess did not yet understand their ability to not only be monsters themselves but to also venerate those even more monstrous than them.
This item passed by a vote of 2 to 1, with Lucian being the one dissent. Even though the devil would be in the details he wondered if he had maybe made a mistake until they continued on for what would have been days the way humans experienced time. When it did end, there was an outline in place for how the magical gods of Earth would behave and interact with the mortals.