But now it's better to set aside the story of the gods. After all, it no longer affects me. This planet is still far from its end, and the great battle between gods is such a distant matter that it shouldn't even concern me. What truly matters to me is the subject of divinity — the kind of information that can actually help me help Elise.
Divinity is a complex concept. It's not simply power or energy; it's a law, a kind of cosmic principle that represents the very existence of something. Or rather: divinity is absolute dominion, unquestionable authority over that "something." But in practice, it's even more convoluted.
There are two main ways to possess a divinity: through faith or through true domain.
I've already explained faith. It works, essentially, as a network of many wills that give their power to a single entity, allowing it to become a god. With enough faith, a being can wield authority over a specific concept. But if their divinity relies solely on that faith, their power will be only as strong as the amount and quality of the faith they receive. Nothing more.
The other method, however, is much harder: true domain. Unlike faith, this method requires something concrete. It's not enough to wish to be the god of something — one must have real sovereignty over it.
For example, imagine a new god is born and wants to proclaim themselves as the god of fire. Just being born doesn't grant you all the flames in the world. Maybe they have power over the fire they themselves can create, or the fire they manage to subjugate by force. Maybe others will offer them fire as tribute — but that, again, falls under faith. Another example: a mage ascends and wants to become the god of magic. However, their authority would be limited to the magic of their own body or the magic directly surrounding them. They can't control all the magic in the world, because that existence is above them, and they hold no dominion over it.
That's one of the reasons why it's so hard for a new god to be born. Some beings may acquire the "divine gene," but fail to develop it any further. A new god must start small — with something they truly possess — and grow their divinity from there.
An example: a god establishes a simple flame as the basis of their divinity. Over time, they feed it, expand it, replicate it, spread it. As they come to control more flames, their authority over fire grows, and they dominate other flames. Their status as a deity also grows, entering a cycle of constant strengthening until they become a true god of fire.
Another case: a god chooses their weapon as their divine core. At first, it's just a regular weapon enhanced by their own power. But as they strengthen it, their divinity grows as well. Eventually, they gain enough power to extend their authority to other weapons, and end up becoming a god of weaponry.
In short, gods must begin with something small they can truly control, then grow it until that authority leads them to dominate greater things. It's like needing a key that's behind the very door you must unlock with that same key. At first, the power needed to become a god is out of reach… because you only obtain it once you develop that same divinity.
Although of course, there are exceptions.
A being already extremely powerful, with great natural authority over something, can become a god very quickly. Another path is to inherit a divinity: when a god transfers it to another, or when a pantheon recognizes a new rising entity and assigns them a divinity to include them in their ranks. Rare cases, but documented.
And that's how we ended up here, in the forest of the fief. I was pacing back and forth, one hand on my chin, thinking. Elise, meanwhile, was lying on the ground, staring up at the treetops. We were contemplating the subject of divinity.
We had already completely dismissed the path of faith. As suggested in the texts, it was too unstable. I didn't want Elise — my dear Elise — to end up transforming into something she didn't want to be, just because her believers distorted her image. So we chose the other path. Slower, yes. More complicated, too. But much safer. Later on, maybe we'd think about founding a cult to my sexy horse goddess.
"Unicorns?" Elise commented in her soft voice.
She didn't enjoy thinking about complicated things, and after discarding simple ideas like "me," "our love," and similar notions, she didn't know what else to suggest.
"Not bad, and it could work," I replied thoughtfully. "But I don't think it's enough. To solidify that divinity, you'd have to get other unicorns to recognize you as their goddess, and that would fall back into faith. Even if they didn't, it would be enough for the unicorn population to dwindle for your power to weaken. We'd need to ensure they reproduce in mass, develop settlements, a functional equine civilization…" I paused for a moment and smiled. "Also… while 'goddess of unicorns' sounds lovely, it has very little room for expansion. The power would be too limited."
Yes, gods are incredibly powerful in many ways, but their true strength lies in their divinity. Therefore, while being the goddess of unicorns wouldn't be bad, it wouldn't be enough if her main power was limited only to them.
"Magic seems like the most stable option," I murmured, moving closer to Elise to caress her cheek.
It seemed like a solid choice. Elise had great power and magical affinity. In fact, she hadn't yet reached her limit, which was a good sign. With that amount of innate magic, her foundation to become a goddess was much stronger. If she became a goddess of magic, she could assist mages, distribute power, even awaken magical abilities in those who lacked them. Magic is everywhere, and although consolidating such a divinity would take time, there was no rush. Elise was extremely long-lived. And with no other gods interfering, it was only a matter of patience. Time, after all, was something we had plenty of.
And yet… something still didn't sit right with me.
You see, while faith can distort a divine being, the establishment of a divinity can also do so. There are concepts whose symbolic weight can profoundly alter the essence of those who bear them: war, madness, death… Magic, although more neutral, is still something vast, intangible, and at times incomprehensible. Being the goddess of magic implies encompassing many things.
And Elise's personality… didn't quite align with that.
Maybe a part of magic would resonate well with her. There are countless types of magic, and surely some would suit her personality. But without other gods to compete for those aspects, her divinity would naturally begin to expand, trying to encompass the entire magical spectrum… and that didn't align with her identity.
So, although "MAGIC" might be one of the best options, I didn't think it was the right one. But I couldn't find a clear alternative either.
Extending her divinity to all equines instead of just unicorns would help, but it was still a limited category. On the other hand, if she took on a divinity like "LOVE," things could get dangerous. Considering our love… who knows what it might turn into? What if, instead of a goddess of love, she became a goddess of zoophilia or something equally absurd? It could happen.
Divinity doesn't just shape the god. The god also shapes the divinity as it's being born. It's a mutual, delicate process. And the first consolidated divinity is crucial—it defines the path.
It would be strange. And dangerous. There was no turning back if something went wrong.
"Why can't I be your goddess?" Elise asked, frustrated by my indecision. "You're all that matters to me—the only thing I truly want to possess."
Saying that, she stretched out her neck and rubbed her head gently against my chest.
"That would be silly… although plausible," I replied, smiling and shaking my head. "If I didn't resist, you could consolidate your divinity in me, and with how strong I am—and how I keep getting stronger—we might gain some benefits. But it would be a waste, Elise. It's your first divinity, maybe your only one. It has to be something you can make the most of… that we can make the most of." I winked flirtatiously. "Besides, I think it would be way sexier to say I serve the goddess of something, rather than the goddess of myself."
"Then… can't I just be the goddess of this place?" she asked, referring to our little 'love nest'.
The truth is, she just wanted to end the discussion we'd been having for a while now. I had been teaching her a lot about gods and divinity so that this would work out well, but her head was already overloaded. Yes, thanks to her new power, her mind had become more receptive and could grasp complex concepts more easily, but she still wasn't at the point where she could process so much information without getting tired.
She was a simple mare… if she could, her greatest wish would be for us to ride together for all eternity, without worrying about anything else.
"Well… it's not like I hadn't thought about it," I said, a bit embarrassed. "Actually, the idea of using the fief as the foundation of your divinity is a very good one… too good, in fact."
You see, when a god uses a place or a world as their divinity, they're developing what's called a "divine realm." This can be extremely advantageous—or dangerously complicated. A divine realm can vary greatly depending on its size and power. The god gains energy directly from that world, and can also dominate all the divinities that exist within it.
If the world is large, the god is extremely powerful. If it's small, not as much, but it still brings important advantages.
For starters, the god's power becomes equivalent to that of the world in question. If it's a world full of magic, then the god gains additional magical power proportional to the world's total magical energy. Also, collecting faith within that world becomes much easier—in some cases, it even happens automatically to a certain extent.
Of course, there's also a risk: if that world is damaged or destroyed, the god's divinity is seriously affected. But it's also true that, as long as the god isn't completely killed, that world can be rebuilt. And as long as that world exists, the god cannot truly die.
So, for a new god, consolidating their first divinity over a world is one of the best options… as long as they have dominion over it or the strength to claim it.
That's why using the [Fief] as a divine base… would be a masterstroke. This place is practically indestructible. In fact, no outsider with hostile intentions can even enter without permission. And on top of that, it has the capacity to improve rapidly and indefinitely. The laws governing this space far exceed many of those in the real world. Any god who consolidated their divinity here would have won the lottery.
"I guess… I thought that if I ever became a god too, I'd want to use the Fief as my domain..." I said quietly, a little ashamed. "Sorry for being selfish..."
I truly felt bad. She was my woman. My partner. And even though this option was perfect for Elise, I had been keeping it just for myself.
"I'm sorry," I repeated, with genuine guilt. I could be a bastard to the whole world… but not to those I truly love.
"It's okay if you want it for yourself," she said, caressing my face to comfort me.
The truth is, she didn't care that I was being selfish. I loved her. That was enough.
I hugged her, relieved by her understanding, happy for her tenderness… I really loved this spoiled, furry creature. But as I stroked her soft mane, the ideas from our conversation began to crumble and rearrange in my mind, until something clicked.
A brilliant idea.
My eyes opened, lit up.
"I've got it!!" I exclaimed.