From a sermon by High Priest Ethalar:

And so too do the gods Bestow upon their servants a gift of their might, that they may be closer to the divine. Those angels who serve the heavenly realm, each granted authority over a piece of the divine to bring the rains, to guide the winds, coax the seedling from its slumber. It is they who paint the sunset with their wings, they who brush dew upon the ground each morning! It is their duty to maintain the world, and a heavy burden it is. Such, give them praise.

And so too, may a particularly devout and holy mortal, be given such a blessing. Those chosen by the gods in such a manner are truly blessed to be Bestowed with such grand authority. Heed their words, for they are wise and chosen to be exalted above all others. Such, give them praise.

Yet may ye all beware those most wicked creatures who have been corrupted by the Dark, for their very soul has been tainted into a wicked mockery of the Bestowal! They have been inflicted with the curses of their masters, and can be quite dangerous as they blight fields, inflict sickness, and deliver kill livestock with but a glance.

Truly, there exists no redemption for one afflicted by the Dark Gods, as their every thought is devious and turned only to spreading ruin. To be given such a ‘gift’, let alone be practiced in its use, necessitates many a foul disease or innocent sacrifice be offered to the wicked and the damned.

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From The Ikar:

To be Chosen, to be Bestowed with power by a god or their servant is to possess a mighty destiny, and it is thus most important to fully comprehend the magnitude of the gift given. For to be Chosen is to possess a shard of divinity itself, a direct connection to the gods, to be made unto the angels themselves. It is to act as the ambassador of the gods themselves, using their might upon the earth and with your very action, expand the domain of the divine.

When the Bestowal is first given, it is but a dim star, the capability granted but the tiniest spark of the god’s divine might. Orrae’s Bestowal of Flame may begin as but a simple ability to cause a sacrificial flame to light itself. Yet as the gift is delved deep within, as it is explored and mastered through discipline and mastery of scripture, practicing and mastering the gift, it shall not only be easier to call upon but so too will new abilities unveil themselves, the divine gift expanded and empowered as a second, third, or yet more still Bestowals are formed within the soul.

This expansion, this budding of divine might, is the true purpose of a Bestowal. To produce a bud, it is necessary to push beyond the limitations of the initial gift. A Chosen capable of lighting a flame may expand to grant control over flames, or to summon pillars of fire to defend the temple, or to heat a piece of metal to be forged, or used to soothe those chilled.

In doing so, not only does the Chosen demonstrate the might of the divine but so too do you spread their domain unto new fields, serving not only as an exemplar but a forebear as well. It is thus the duty of the Chosen to train, and to expand, then pass on their skills to the next.

For the gods need not grant their Bestowal upon each and every soul. Those they raise up to enact their will, those angels and spirits, and yes those priests possessing of their own Bestowal, who may pass along the gift of divinity. This is a gift, it is passing along hard work and dedication to another, that they may take and expand upon the work already done, reaffirming the original gift or carrying onward, forever growing the divine reach of our patrons and growing in power.

Yet not any may take this gift. Only those truly in alignment with the divine may serve as their living temples, their channels into the world. Those with wickedness in their heart may never receive a Bestowal of the Holy, just as those without stain cannot receive the Corruption of the Profane, as-

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

(A large section of the text has been rendered illegible, faded with magic and written over by a different hand)

Absolute nonsense! Bestowals have nothing to do with being so good that you begin to embody your god in action as well as mindset, they aren’t any kind of reward, nothing like that. Doesn’t matter if you get it handed by a god itself or an elderly priest who wants to retire, it’s all the same once it’s in your soul. A Bestowal is an enchantment, nothing more and nothing less.

Well, an exceptionally sophisticated enchantment which relies upon a godly portfolio to function, but an enchantment nonetheless! You don’t get them from ‘living the true life’ a god wants you to, you don’t get it by doing all your sacrifices and dedicating yourself to a single deity, you get it by being the closest mortal in reach to whatever spirit is trying to pawn a job off to someone else.

You get a bit of magic, sure, but it’s rarely anything you couldn’t do with a proper ritual. What’s more, you only get that one bit of magic, unless you want to spend months or even years trying to figure out how to use a power to make someone bleed out faster to heal, or control a river of blood, or what have you. Oh, it’s possible, alright, but you gotta fight it, basically trick it into thinking that it could always do that thing, then and only then will your second-rate magical spark split itself in half and you get to start the whole process over again if you want to learn a third spell.

And if you want to be able to pass off the Bestowal to someone else? Well, good luck. Hard to tell half the time why the stupid thing won’t be passed along, even when the recipient is the most eager-eyed and hearted lad to ever serve. No, there’s no godly will behind passing the spark, it’s just based on the person’s magic, I’m sure.

Oh, and you better hope that if you don't get a Bestowal that used to be its own spirit! The last thing you want is a chatty angel giving you lectures about how best to use its magic and morality at every waking moment. Sure, it can give some pretty good advice, and even act on its own like it used to, but it is not worth having it for a chatterbox endlessly yammering on in your head. If that happens, try to bud off a new power as soon as possible and pawn off the original spirit to some other poor sap.

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From A Study of the Gods, by Istal

A Bestowal is a single idea, a single divine spark, granted, or Bestowed, to a non-deity. Some servitor spirits, such as the angels, may be nothing but a Bestowal, a fraction of divine might given form, thought, and word. The Crow’s Arch-Heralds are the Omens of Death, Wealth, and Rulership, each wholly encompassing an aspect of the Crow’s domain. Each of these Arch-Heralds in turn grant a section of their granted domain to their servitors, who may pass it along to yet more, each fragment more specific than the last. The Omen of Death, as an example, has passed off a fragment of its divinity to the Omen of Pestilence, who may in turn Bestow dominion over a single disease to either a new spirit created as an embodiment of the Bestowal, or passed to a mortal with the authority to inflict or cure that disease as they see fit.

This divine idea fundamentally alters the magic of whom it was granted to, making it trivial for them to work magics pertaining to their idea, requiring neither focus nor chant, yet very difficult to explore beyond that for the simple reason that their magics no longer work as is typical and thus common spells function quite differently for them.

This loss is rarely felt, as the powers granted by the Bestowal easily surpass the mortal magics which could be learned in a similar time, and may be grown and propagated beyond the initial ability. Just as a tree, when mature, may produce seeds, so too does a Bestowal. Substantial mastery of one’s gifting enables them to push beyond the basic limits imposed by the Bestowal and produce a second Bestowal within the soul. An example of this may be that of a Water Bestowed, whose initial Bestowal enabled them to summon pure water, gaining the ability to summon ice, or salt water, or to unleash the summoned water in a mighty wave.

There is no apparent limit to this expansion of power, all that is required is the Bestowed commit enough time and mental energy to exploring and developing their gift. This is where the final note of Bestowals becomes relevant, namely their ability to be passed onto another.

A Bestowal may not be given to any who already possess such a gift, whether it comes from a spirit or a mortal, but must be given to someone new. It may be given to one who formerly possessed a Bestowal but either lost or gave away all their power. Regardless, this new Bestowal functions just as any other Bestowal would, and the one who passed on their Bestowal loses the ability they gave away. It is possible to reclaim this power in time, but requires a new method than was initially utilized.

In this way, a single Bestowal may bud and feed into entire temples, families, even civilizations, so long as the gift is well-exercised and constantly pushed to its limits. In doing so, the portfolio of the god is shaped as certain aspects of their domain are expanded and others diminished. In some cases, this can result in the same god having radically distinct domains between two cultures, as the natural associations and developments develop in completely different ways, led by the Bestowals granted.

This, in turn, leads to the natural question of what defines a godly domain? Why does The Crow not have dominion over disease within the lands of Illuviar, where Carame’s Bestowals pertain to plagues instead? As we move on….