God Spectrum

Introduction

What exactly is a god in Numbers is something quantifiable - the state of having an elevated and swiftly-regenerating magic pool. Such a state comes with side effects such as incredible powers and functional immortality. However, different sizes of pools bestow different effects on their wielders, meaning that a "ladder" of sorts is required to differentiate these rather large power gaps, as they are exponential.

It is important to note that it is a spectrum - that is, someone could be barely a step above lesser god and easily defeated by more powerful lesser gods - they are not all at the same level, but rather, fall within a certain range.

Table of Contents

Information

Ascension

It is possible to move up the spectrum (except to Magnitude Fragment levels), but not down it. Ascending means coming into contact with a quantity of magic equal to that rung's natural amount and storing it within the body*, which increases one's maximum magical capacity; if all goes well, the individual will ascend - which can be a painful process, depending on how far the jump is. However, attempting to de-ascend by removing magic from the self either fails (as the magic swiftly replenishes) or results in death (if heavily injured in this low-magic state).

Of possible ascensions, ascending to Gladarhood is considered the most painful - as it requires a complete restructure of the self into a primarily magical being rather than a mixture of magic and flesh. In addition, Gladar and above may have any sort of appearance, as they are not bound by flesh to the visage of one of the sentient races. There are no limits.

* This can be done by stealing a quantity of magic from a higher being and consuming it, being gifted this magic by a higher being, or a handful of rare and obscure rituals utilizing exceptionally unique ingredients.

Click on the image for fullsize.

Affinities

Affinities (sometimes called representations) are formed by beings who are lesser gods or higher on the spectrum. They are an overexpression of one or more conceptual wavelengths of that individual. As people generally do not know their concepts, many gods seek out their affinities through trial-and-error, and may refine or change their titles over time as their identity shifts or they discover specifics.

In simpler terms, a lesser god of art may refine into a lesser god of painting, then to a lesser god of watercolors. After experiencing a traumatizing event surrounding art, perhaps they call themselves a lesser god of aesthetic appreciation instead. There are no real restrictions on what someone may be a god of, especially as it is so personal.

Handcrafting

Anything on the spectrum that is a lesser god and above is able to "craft" new individuals of any rung below them, indefinitely. So, a lesser god can create as many demigods, Immortals, and mortals as they please, but could not create a Harmonic. So on and so forth.

Timelines? What's this about Timelines?

If you get confused by the "Timeline" information later, don't worry about it. There's a page here that goes more indepth; the TL;DR is that Timelines exist, Fragments can go between them and outside of them, and they contain unique copies of all the characters in the 'Worlds' section up there (points upwards to the nav).

Within Universes

These entities persist within universes, which are small bubbles of space contained within a Timeline. Universes are crafted by Gladar, and are integral parts of the overall Magninium cycle. People within universes are generally not aware that there are other universes outside of their own. "Universes" may be capitalized or uncapitalized in proper syntax; there is no difference.

Mortals

The most populous rung, obviously. They require sleep, food, water, and companionship, and may be of any sentient race. Mortals are capable of magic, most commonly the "three Ts", but must utilize gemstones for elaborate or complicated spells. They are important in the cycle in that they are mobile forms of magic that are exposed to new concepts, "learn" them, and then release that knowledge into the greater world upon death. Essentially, mortals allow Magninium to continually become new things as they invent ideas, mix concepts, and explore.

They are born as one of the sentient races and die at the end of their natural lifespan by their "soul" of magic exiting the body through a small hole in the chest. However, they do not physically age much, and remain in prime condition for their entire lives.

When a universe is first created, the lesser gods will randomly spawn hundreds of mortals that serve as the progenitors of that universe's populace. Some universes may track this lineage; others may not.

Immortals

Immortals are a natural mutation that occurs sometimes with mortal births, wherein the Immortal individual does not have a natural cap on their lifespan and a slightly larger magic pool. However, this mutation is not hereditary; Immortals may not neccessarily give birth to further Immortals. Immortality can be detected early through Okapi checking, or can be noticed by higher beings. Otherwise, the only way to know is to live longer than one's natural lifespan.

However, Immortals can die of any and all other causes - sickness, murder, poison, etc. They require food, sleep, and drink, as mortals do, and will die if their needs are not met.

Rarely, Immortality may be blessed onto a bloodline by a higher god. These Immortals will always give birth to more Immortals, as a fundamental aspect of their being has been altered. Oftentimes, these Immortals are known as "Saints".

Immortals are always capitalized; as is "Immortality" when discussing the specific type they display. Immortality of higher beings, which comes naturally, is referred to in lowercase.

Demigods

A demigod is typically born from the coupling of a lesser god and anything below them on the spectrum, though stranger god pairings may also produce demigods. They have larger pools of magic than Immortals, and typically end up quite talented mages. They require some food, water, and sleep, but less so than the lower rungs - capable of going several nights without sleep, for example. They do not die of old age.

Unique to demigods is the ability to respawn. Demigods naturally attune themselves to places they feel safe - most commonly their homes - but can influence this location with a variety of spells and rituals. If killed, so long as their will to live is strong enough, they will wake up in these places a day or a week later, uninjured.

From an outsider's perspective, the demigod's magic begins collecting in these locations before coalescing and forming their body in a flash of light. The demigod is always sleeping when reborn, and report the sensation to be as if taking "a very long nap".

If a demigod's will is not strong enough, or their disposition not suited for it, they will not respawn. This is, of course, highly dependent on the individual.

Lesser God

Lesser gods are often the type of "god" that the lower rungs are most in contact with. They need to eat and drink occasionally, but their bodies will efficiently convert matter into magic swiftly; they must sleep at about the same rate. They are the first rung considered to be "higher beings", though they will also use the term to refer to every rung above them.

The exact duties of lesser gods varies in universes, but they typically involve themselves with governing mortals and their nations. They often create the continents or landmasses that mortals will live on, and create the progenitor mortals that will populate a universe. Often, they are deeply connected to their creations and enjoy tweaking them or admiring them.

Each lesser god is handcrafted by the Harmonics and Chaotics of their universe - often made for a specific purpose or to represent a specific concept. Lesser gods' culture often revolves around discovering this concept (affinity) and pursuing its study, use, preservation, or symbols religiously. Typically, affinities within universes do not overlap - not only do H/C not want to double up, but it's also seen as rude to claim the same affinity as someone else.

There are no limits to the amount of lesser gods in a universe, especially as two lesser gods produce a lesser god child. Technically, they are not even required for a universe to function properly, so some strange universes may lack them entirely.

They can be killed, but their bodies must first be drained of magic - then struck with a killing blow from a golden weapon. Otherwise, they will shrug off sickness or heal wounds quickly.

Harmonics & Chaotics

H/C are crafted by the Gladar, and are the most powerful entities within universes. They do not require food, water, or sleep - merely to consume some of the magic that the universe produces. They are guardians of the universe's magic cycle, and oversee its function typically from afar, ensuring it is working correctly and that magical saturation is kept in check.

Generally, they channel major concepts that ensure the rules of the universe they were born into continue to churn. Death, for example, only operates in a universe if a Death Harmonic and Decay Chaotic are present.

For a universe to function correctly, there are ten major concepts that must be represented, resulting in five of both types of god. For Harmonics, they are Hope, Water, Death, Change, and Sound. For Chaotics, they are Violence, Hatred, Apathy, Decay, and Anger. Harmonics typically represent culturally "positive" things, while Chaotics are culturally "negative". However, this has no bearing on their personality - the Violence Chaotic could be kind, peaceful, and pacifistic.

However, the above list is not definitive. A Gladar may add many more Harmonics or Chaotics to their universe as they please, so long as the number of both is kept equal. Universes that lack the integral ten still function somewhat, but are considered weak, small, and sickly - and often do not provide their Gladar with an impressive quantity of magic, if they provide at all.

They can be killed in the same fashion as lesser gods, though this is difficult as H/C contain much more magic.

Within Timelines

Gladar

Gladar exist outside of universes, but within Timelines, occupying the empty void around universes called Universe Core. Here, they can edit the landscape as they please, building up homes and cities, living and speaking to one another. They are beings made of entirely magic, and form protective flesh "bodies" around that magic in order to make interacting easier and provide themselves a layer of protection.

They do not need to sleep, eat, or drink, but may do so for pleasure. They do not have to look like any of the sentient races, and can control their appearance as they please.

They create universes, which provide them with a steady stream of magic. Though Gladar replenish their magic at an impossibly swift rate, having a powerful universe that provides a large amount of magic is seen as admirable and envious. Many universes are reflections of a Gladar's personal interests or identity, and they may handcraft unique rules or ideas to be used within their universe. For example, in Flameverse, the presence of Flames would be an addition made by the world's Gladar.

They are able to enter each other's universes, but this is seen as rude. They are capable of destroying universes as well - their own and others'.

Gladar can fuse by reverting to their basal magic form and melding their magic with another Gladar, which forms a new flesh body. This fusion is a shared, piloted experience of the fusees - it does not form a "new person" at all. Fusions are limitless in how many Gladar may participate, but upholding one comprised of many Gladar may prove difficult as disagreements and arguments break their concentration.

They can be killed, but their flesh body must first be destroyed, and then their magic consumed. However, Gladar's magic retains their consciousness, even when eaten - meaning that they often become headmates to their killers.

Though Fragments can make Gladar, typically they do not; Gladar are naturally spawned when a Timeline is born and their number rarely changes.

"Gladar" is always capitalized, and its plural form is Gladar. It's pronounced glad-dahr.

Outside of Timelines

A "Timeline" is a huge swath of magic that contains all the aforementioned entities and worlds. There are many unique Timelines, with their own versions of characters. You can read about them on their page.

The following are entities that are naturally born outside of Timelines and can survive in the void between them without harm.

Fragments

Fragments were created the moment the Main Timeline was born - when the fusion Genesis split apart into lesser pieces, small fragments of their magic scattered across the infinite Connected Timelines. Each Fragment woke up in their own Timeline and, overcome with love for creation, have pledged to protect it from harm and ensure its infinite life would be protected*.

There are few limits to their powers. They are essentially able to time travel, and can create anything they please. They are unkillable (except by Magnitude Fragments), and are magic-based entities. They have full control over their appearances, but typically mimic their Timeline's standard - a Timeline where all the races are actually cats would have Frags that prefer cat forms, for example.

They generally keep their involvement in Timelines low, in order to avoid disrupting them. Many Frags are content to merely watch creation occur, and relish in its existence. Many are part of an organization called the Coalition of Reality (or the COR), which documents Timelines and ensures their protection by establishing laws and authority.

Not every Frag has a positive view of the COR or Timelines - but they are few and far between, typically operating underground or beyond the eyes of the COR.

Fragments cannot fuse with one another.

Magnitude Fragments

The supreme entities, only a breath below Genesis and Bereave - the creators - in terms of power. They are the fundamental concepts that form the foundation of all other concepts, the language that Magninium is built off of, and are innately attuned to the world in ways that are hard to fully describe. The integral structures they represent are simple 2D shapes and the four forces. There are only thirty-three, and there never can be more.

They were created when the primordial fusion Singularity split themselves into Genesis and Bereave, and huge shards of their magic shattered into the fundamentals of all things. They became sentient soon after, and are the oldest entities alive.

Mags are constantly existing on the conceptual and physical plane simultaneously; their physical form is closer to a finger puppet than their "self". Their conceptual wavelength is so overwhelmingly powerful that their very presence warps the minds of lesser beings (even Frags!) into obeying their commands, however implicit. They can suppress this for a period of time, however. They can warp their appearance as they please, but always have hollow pupils in the shape of the integral structure they represent, and enjoy keeping a single large horn.

They are unfathomably powerful. Timelines are broken and reformed at a wave of their hand. The rules of reality are mere suggestions to them, built off their very rudimentary being. They barely comprehend mortal concepts such as death, and think of the world in its grandest scope - Timelines are mere cities to a Mag.

Despite this, they are idealistic at their core. They cherish and love the world, and seek to protect it, just as their lesser Frags do. They enjoy giving themselves "impossible tasks" of fixing various wrongs they see in the world, and occasionally bicker over what constitutes a "problem" or "solution". They adore one another on a deep level, well aware they are of a limited number - their magic reacts with pure joy upon interacting with another Mag, meaning they can easily sense each other's presence.

They can be invoked by lesser beings by calling upon their conceptual wavelength and begging for help or assistance; the Mag may answer if they please and help if they wish to (which they typically do). Many Frags worship Mags as supreme gods, and there are many Mag Cultists running around.

They can bestow blessings on individuals that highly empower them and warp the lesser beings' concepts to be closer to that Mags'. Blessings cannot be removed, but multiple Mags may bless the same individual. Blessed Frags typically end up as cultists of that particular Mag. Despite this, the COR's records of the Mags are somewhat incomplete, as information is difficult to find on the more reclusive Mags.

Mags, like Gladar, are capable of fusing with one another. When doing so, they create an entirely new person - comprised of some sort of combination of their shapes, typically in 3D. This fusion is upheld so long as the "halves" or "portions" of their mind are in sync; Mags who disagree on foundational ideas cannot hold a fusion together for long (nor do they want to).

Magnitude Fragments can be found here (my own) and here (Lunila's). Mag fusions are stored in this folder. I will simplify this description by turning it into its own page... eventually! There are some concepts I need to talk about in more detail OTL