Hello again to everyone. We’ve come to another Shimmerverse blog and one that I have put off for too long. Now after this one, I should be hoping to get a blog on Equestria’s own personal gods but for now, we’ll go over some rules that govern the gods as a whole on Equis.

The gods of Equis for the most part operate under their own laws. They govern different aspects of the world and the lives of mortals and so gods only really have to confer with gods of similar roles. However, there exist standing rules that all gods have to abide by. These rules were set after a number of instances of gods gone astray and to stop that from continuing. This blog will be detailing the major rules and how to become a god.

Becoming a god:

In the world of Equis, there are many ways to become a god. Of them, they can be sorted into three categories. A common trait of new gods is to they receive many of the skills and memories of previous gods of the same category. This is not a complete process as every god has unique aspects to them and limits to their power, but it helps them accommodate their new abilities and use them to their full potential.

The creation of these new gods falls into three categories: birth, Created, and Ascended.

1: Birth

Purebloods, as they are referred as, are gods that were born naturally. Either from the union of gods or from mortal parents, purebloods have the greatest potential of the three main god types. This is because they were allowed to naturally absorb their powers and abilities as they were developing. This development gives them much greater access to the realm of their particular aspects. While they are indeed the strongest, they are also the youngest of the three god types as purebloods have only popped up in the last ten-thousand years.

Because of their greater potential, they are often chosen as the leaders of pantheons. This isn’t always the case, since this can be overturned by other gods. Purebloods are looked on with envy by the other god types and there have been instances of their power getting to their head. This lead Purebloods to be ‘purged’ in some cases in early history by other god types, monsters, and mortals out of fear. However, given the rules that the gods would come to abide, this has stopped and purebloods are much more accepted in their pantheons.

2: Created

Artificials, as they are more commonly referred as, are gods that were created through unnatural means. Either they were created by gods or given life by wayward magic, Artificials are powerful beings to withhold. They are also the oldest of the three god types, as it is known that The Great Unification that brought the five realms to the world of Equis initially cause magics to run rampant. This cause a spike in the rate of evolution, the creation of whole new creatures based on particular realms, the the ‘birth’ of Artificials.

As they are artificially made, they don’t have the access that purebloods do. This requires a natural conduit that only naturally birthed creatures can have. However they are the hardest to kill. Their artificial nature allows them to survive and heal from strikes and powers that would kill even a Pureblood.

3: Ascended

Ascended are the second oldest of the three types and are also the weakest overall. There have of course been exceptions to this. Ascended are mortals given the power and forms of gods. Because of this, their potential is usually limited as this power wasn’t gifted at birth nor were they created to wield these powers. In some cases when the ascension happens at a young age, the body can develop to better access new abilities and potentials, but this rarely happens. {Such as in the case of Cadance}

Ascended are the most vulnerable of the gods as it doesn’t take as much power or the same types of weapons to kill them as it takes to take down the others. However, ascended weren’t given their new powers for nothing. They are usually the subordinates of the other two varieties acting as exceptionally strong and tough warriors or guardians. While they are easier to kill then an Artificial or Pureblood, they are still incredibly hard to take down. They stop aging once they ascend into godhood, so with that comes many years of experience.

Rules of Existing Gods:

1: Pantheistic or Nontheistic nations

The world of Equis is filled with numerous gods, with many gods coming and going over thousands of years. Over time however, there have been a number of gods that have tried for a monotheistic approach to ruling. As in, no other gods were allowed to serve or be worshiped in said countries. This has caused problems either with megalomaniac gods wishing to cement themselves as the only god of the world or countries not having sufficiently powerful beings to protect themselves or run the government. Thusly, all nations are to have either a multitude of gods or in some rare cases {The Roman Empire}, no gods if said country chooses. This is to keep gods in check and balance the power between nations and the gods themselves.

2: Gods must keep earthly presences

As well, given the nature of mortals, the worship of gods can only be handled by gods present in the mortal world. This is to stop their message and presence being corrupted over centuries and doing more harm then good. Thus the rule that gods that are gone for more then 2-3 centuries with no word as to why are to have their worship transferred to a new god. This also goes with gods that have been confirmed as deceased.

3: The afterlife is not guaranteed by any which god

Another point against megalomaniacs and threatening the will of mortals, no god is to put their worship as a prerequisite to going to the 'afterlife'. Of course, the concept of the afterlife has changed with further magical and scientific means to resemble something completely different, but this rule still stands.

4: New gods are to be screened by a number of their peers before being given their new role

To become a sanctioned deity, you are to first be screened by a number of older gods in order to place you in a godly status. They can of course choose to cast you away either because you are not worthy {and thus be stripped of godhood} or deem said being just a powerful mortal.

5: The position of gods in a country can be changed if the mortals of said country vote in majority of this change

Gods are chosen by countries through democratic elections of mortals instead of gods when it comes to ruling a nation. If the mortals wish for a god to represent them or lead them, if the majority go for it, then the god can stay. For the most part, this has worked out well enough besides the rare wandering gods.

5744165

Is there a way to stop the cycle of memories transferring into a new host?

5744274 For Artificial and Ascended, there are ways of doing it. It's incredibly tricky and has only been rarely done. Most mortals and gods just allow it to happen

5744165

You say that the Greek/Roman Gods exist in this universe, are they two separate groups? Or do they shift between the "Greek" and "Roman" persona's

Cool. Are you going to make a list of who falls into what categories (like is Discord a created god, and such)?

5745225 They shift to whichever they like, so they are basically one and the same.

5745236 That would take a bit to think about and it might possibly have spoilers. So I won't define who is what till at least season 2. At least, for some of them. I will do my best to create a list of gods that the Shimmerverse Equestria have in their pantheons.

5744165
Are some gods considered cosmic level? i.e. they can affect the planet or are capable of controlling the solar system?

6076187
Technically, yes. Some of them are powerful enough that they could, however it's just agreed upon that they shouldn't since, well, conflicts between gods are already messy when its one just one planet. Sorting out who can do what with the solar system takes time, but on occasion, it happens. Celestia is one of them

5744165
Questions about 4 and 5
Are there sanctioned Chaos gods? and can a god quit being a god. Like I don't see one suddenly losing their power but, can they just decide there tired of being worshipped.