Apotheosis/What does it mean to be divine

Being divine is nothing to scoff at, but it is not as grand as one may think. Being divine, for example, does not automatically make you a god or a goddess, even though these words are used interchangeably in some cultures. Divines are mortals more often than they're not, and becoming a divine does not secure anyone a place in some Pantheon.

Another common misconception about divinity is the assumption that having an ability or being a magister requires you to first become a divine, since divines always have cool abilities. That's not true; some normal people are born with unique abilities, and even normal people can cast spells without relying on abilities. Think of it in this way; all ability users are not divine, but all divines are ability users.

So, what does being divine really mean besides fancy titles and a lot of street credit? To be divine simply means having mastery over one's own spirituality. Because of this, to be divine also means to be transhuman, or posthuman. In some cases - depending on the divine ability, of course - divines can possess superhuman capabilities, like speed, strength and endurance. Divines also tend to have superior mental abilities in regards to spellcasting, allowing some to use magic greater than that of mere mortals, but these gifts are not for granted, ever.

The most important thing about divines is of course the divine ability, which every divine possesses. Everything about them hinges on these abilities. It can be almost anything, but not literally anything, especially since divines start from the bottom, when they are still weak, relatively speaking. No divine in the history of man has been omni- anything for example, and that's unlikely to change in the future. Most abilities, while always powerful and handy, also come with apparent weaknesses and limitations. It also has to be said that while there are many similar abilities that are shared between many divines, they are always unique in some capacity. For example, ten divines may possess the same ability of telekinesis, but they all operate between different rulesets, and they all have unique caveats attached to their brand of telekinesis.

Training and cultivating powers is about as important to divines as exercise and diet is to bodybuilders. If you eat well, count calories to the gram and don't skip days, you're going to get an amazing physique. Likewise, if you use your divine abilities daily and always look to push yourself to the limit with them, you're going to get better. More often than not, powers are trained by simply using them and by exploring new ways to use them in different situations. It never is simple and straightforward though, and some methods are always better than others. Tracking the training progress can also be very hard, and it's usually reserved to scholars and professionals trained in "Divine arts", who are able to read "Star charts" that are reflected from individual's soul via magic. Observing changes in these charts can even be used to determine effective ways to train some specific areas and weak points individual may have. Think of manipulating these charts like using a talent tree from an RPG; with each level-up, you get new points that you allocate to the places where you think they can benefit you the most.

All that can be said about mere divines, but what about those who surpass divinity by becoming deities? Well, to be a deity simply means becoming even more powerful. With every step taken forward and towards the apex, the ability becomes stronger, and its limitations less apparent. Deities do not simply have a mastery over their spirituality either; they also have mastery over their physical being. They tend to be biologically immortal, and in some cases they may even be able to gain control over their appearances. It's not unusual for them to be able to change their physical appearance to look younger or older, or their biological sex to swap in between, or even somewhere in the middle. It's also common for deities to be able to transform completely or partially to animals, monsters and creatures. These options are not available for all, and some do not even want them, but to be a deity means to have at least one of these body-altering abilities. Some divines may even be able to manipulate themselves in all of these ways. Before I move forward, it has to be pointed out that there is no clear, distinct point where a divine starts being a deity as far as their divine abilities go, but every divine kind of agrees that the like goes along with biological immortality. There is a LOT of grey area between being divine and being deity though, since some become able to use body-altering abilities way before their abilities become more powerful, or vice versa.

It is also possible in theory to ascend to godhood, when you're not merely a deity anymore. This is something that's not very well understood, because no mortal has ever been proven to succeed in doing this in their lifetime. It has been theorized that godhood is something that is reserved to the afterlife, which is not out of question, especially since there are plains of existence other than just the mortal coil. Gods also don't tend to have impact on the "physical" world through their abilities, and rarely even communicate with mortals, leading some to believe that this "theory" is nothing but an unfalsifiable hypothesis, and that godhood cannot be reached in that way. This, however, will not be discussed in this entry, as this page is meant to demonstrate the abilities and limits of divines while they're still mortal. What happens in afterlife shall remain a mystery.

So, to summarize things, let me simplify everything in a little graph, which also assigns numbers to each "level" of divinity.

LEVEL	CLASS	DESCRIPTION
Tier 4	God	???
Tier 3	Deity	A human with a full mastery of his or her abilities. In addition to having mastery over their spirituality, they can alter their appearance in various ways and are often immortal.
Tier 2	Divine	A human being with a fully awakened divine ability. They have mastery over their spirituality, and are physically and/or mentally superior to those in tiers below.
Tier 1	Ability user	A human being with an awakened unique ability, which they can use to very minimal extent.
Tier 0	Ordinary mortal	Normal human being with no special abilities whatsoever. Vast majority of them can use magic with proper training.