Gods

Gods, also known as higher divinities, are the most powerful beings in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia world. At least some of them existed before the world itself, and were responsible for the creation of it and all the living things within it.

Summary
The "classical" white-wings-and-angelic-choirs gods reside in Heaven, a spirit realm dimension above the clouds which is inaccessible to mortals and monsters. Here the higher divinities dwell in vast palaces, while the "lesser divinities", such as angels and valkyries, live in castle towns serving their patron deity. These are the gods worshiped by the Order, with the Chief God exalted highest among them.

Aside from Heaven, some gods occupy their own relevant area of influence, e.g. Poseidon under the sea, or the Fallen God in her own dimension of absolute depravity, Pandemonium. Where Ares and Eros make their lairs is not clear. Each of the gods have their own interests, and not all follow the ultra-anti-monster policy set by the Chief God. The Fallen God and Poseidon are in open rebellion as monsterized beings themselves, and while Ares and Eros both nominally toe the party line, they both grant boons to humans and monsters who adhere to their teachings. Exactly where the cat-goddess Bastet sits in the celestial sphere isn't clear, but she has some human adherents as well as the affection of many feline monster girls.

The divinities are distinguished by having "vastly more power than the average human or monster", but humans (and monsters) still sometimes end up worshiping things that actually aren't gods, even though they have real ones to pick from. The nation of Zipangu seems especially prone to this heresy, with ryu and inari cults and their respective shirohebi and kitsune-tsuki attendants. Which is not to say other regions don't commit similar errors; both snake cultism and the Elemental Faith consider certain powerful (but ultimately non-divine) creatures to be gods. The one (formerly) mortal creature that actually has enough power and metaphysical clout to potentially be considered on the same level as the higher divinities - the Demon Lord - apparently isn't worshiped by anyone. Either the Fallen God or the non-theistic Sabbath serve instead for most monster girls' religious needs.

The mutability of the gods in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia world is an open question. At the very least, they can be monsterized or prove conspicuous by their absence, but actual clear-cut births or deaths remain somewhat mysterious. On this note, World Guide 3 confirmed gods can die, noting how difficult it is to use necromancy to resurrect a god. Eros is also noted to have made an elixir of life for the gods called amrita, suggesting that their lifespans have been enhanced by this.

List of Gods

 * This list just includes entities that really are gods; excluding, as mentioned above, those (usually Zipanguan) mamono who might entertain some worshippers.


 * The First Chief God - Said to be the creator of the world. Original Chief Deity. Allegiance and whereabouts unknown.
 * The Current Chief God - Current Chief Deity. Worshiped by the Order of the Chief God. Vehemently anti-monster. Badly weakened and injured in battle against Lilith and her husband, she has remained in Heaven ever since, speaking to humans through oracles and empowering heroes to fight monsters.
 * The Fallen God - The monsterized deity that rules over the Spirit Realm of Pandemonium. Sided with the Demon Lord after monsterization. Original domain and allegiance not known. Actively encourages the monsterization of humans. Worshiped by the Dark Priests, Dark Angels, and Dark Valkyries.
 * The Sun God - Deity that ruled over the Desert Kingdoms and empowered the Pharaohs, fought alongside the Pharaohs against the Apophis during the start of the age of the former Demon Lords, and also created the Genies. Allegiance and whereabouts unknown, but implied to have been killed alongside many of the Pharaohs.
 * God of the Sea, Poseidon - Initially aligned with the Chief God, but has since sided with the Demon Lord (the Chief God's command for her to kill monsters and humans alike en masse being the final straw for Poseidon) and become monsterized. Sea Bishops are granted power by Poseidon, allowing those at risk for drowning the ability to breathe underwater. Wadatsumi may be the name she is known by in Zipangu, where the Umi Osho perform a similar role to the Sea Bishops.
 * God of Fighting, Ares - Decidedly neutral, but known to give boons to her worshipers in battle, monster and human alike. Her worshipers include humans and various monster races. Her powers are believed to be one reason deaths in battles between human and monster armies are very few.
 * God of Love, Eros - Officially neutral, but in practice very pro-monster. It's speculated her role among the gods is so important that they are willing to ignore her acceptance of monsters. She is also known to reward mortals who perform good deeds with one of her many servants. Said servants include Houris, Cupids, Gandharvas and Apsaras. Its notable that her angels are so like monsters, that even when monsterized, there is barely any difference in their behavior.
 * Cat Goddess, Bastet - Presides over the Cat Spirit Realm. Monsterized and sides with the Demon Lord.
 * God of Wine, Bacchus - Officially neutral, but their scriptures do not include any condemnation of monsters, and they are worshiped by humans and various monster races. Satyros in particular are devoted.
 * Goddess of Life and Death, Hel - Monsterized and sides with the Demon Lord.
 * God of Smithing, Hephaestus - Neutral, blesses humans with superhuman concentration and surgical precision, allowing them to create weapons and armor favored by the gods.

List of Minor Gods

 * God of Art - People blessed by him can create masterpiece paintings or songs that are so magical people can be overwhelmed by emotions just by taking a glimpse of it. Allegiance unknown.
 * God of Knowledge - People blessed by him can become scholars with inhuman capabilities like the ability to process things inside their head with computer-like speed. Allegiance unknown.

List of Faiths

 * The Order of the Chief God - The largest and most mainstream of religions amongst humans and non-monster races. It is headquartered in a large nation sharing its name, headed by a Pope. It espouses that there are multiple gods, the Chief God being prime among them, but there are several sects within it dedicated to gods other than the Chief God. Some gods have been rejected from the pantheon due to siding with monsters in the ongoing conflict, others who are more neutral, granting blessings to humans, as well as monsters, are tolerated, though viewed with suspicion. It considers monsters to be inherently evil, though exceptions for especially peaceful monsters are made, and the anti-monster fervor varies from kingdom to kingdom. Most Angels follow the gods of this pantheon. Worship of gods who have been monsterized is considered heretical (let alone worshipping monsters as gods directly, per se).
 * The Fallen Faith - The faith surrounding the Fallen God who resides in Pandemonium, their worshipers focus on the corruption of the pure into hedonistic indulgence, prime among the adherents are Dark Angels and Dark Priests. Adherents often perform 'missionary' work converting others to the faith and corrupting them, but upon obtaining a partner they like, these duties cease. Many worshipers will make a pilgrimage to Pandemonium with their partner to experience never-ending pleasure.
 * Elementalism - A faith worshipping various elementals, and exalts those with close ties with Elementals, such as Trolls. It is unknown how the faith is tolerated in Order lands, but it is split between two factions, those who believe that monsterized elementals are a natural evolution for Elementals and should be exalted, and those who believe that monsterized elementals have been corrupted.
 * Snake Cultism - A monster-worshipping faith which exalts serpentine monsters, and apparently has a Snake God at its head, though this may be just a term for Echidnas. Its adherents use various rituals to turn human women in their ranks into members of the Lamia family, while male members seek to become the husbands of Lamia family monsters. The highest goal is to become an Echidna themselves, but since such a ritual is also the most difficult and lengthy, most members are satisfied with seeking to become lower tier types of Lamia.
 * Ryu Worship - Ryu, native to the Zipangu region, are often worshiped as water gods for their ability to control the weather and call rain. Men are gifted to them as husbands, who the Ryu use to gather enough spirit energy to call the rain when needed. The Ryu is attended by Shirohebi.
 * Kitsune Worship - Inari are often worshiped in shrines in Zipangu. Occasionally, the Inari will produce Kitsune-bi and turn their shrine maidens into Kitsune-tsuki.
 * Tezcatlipoca Worship - The Ocelomeh revere these other monsters as gods, practising a violent faith of bestial lust.

Book Information

 * Refer to: Early settings info, Divinities and God's Servants and the Structure of the World

Divinities=

Divinities (MGE1, p211)

 * -|The Chief God=

The Chief God According to The Order (MGE1)

 * -|The Truth=

The Truth (MGE1)

 * -|Other Gods=

The Other Gods (MGE1)

 * -|References=