《The Observer's Notebook: The Dungeon Gods Edition》 An Introduction of Mana Within the Segmented Verse, the Universe that The Dungeon Gods takes place in, Mana is the energy source powering all magic. Without Mana, magic of all kinds would be impossible. But, whatis Mana? Here, I will introduce you to the basics of Mana, consisting of its nature,and the attributes. First: The Nature of Mana This is asked from a scientific viewpoint. Physically speaking, what is Mana? Clearly, Mana possesses some way of delivering energy, so, is it a particle? Or a wave? The answer, is neither. Mana, much like light, possesses both particle- and wave-like properties. A Mana "pulse", where a large quantity of Mana in the environment is disrupted and thus moves away, like a ripple in a lake, travels in much the same way as a wave, while caring naught for the environment in the way. However, when energy is supplied by that "pulse", it is supplied instantaneously, like a particle, rather than over a period of time, like a wave. So, from a scientific standpoint, Mana is much like light, being neither a wave nor a particle, although unlike light, Mana cannot be sensed through the normal senses. Instead, in those with the ability to manipulate Mana, it directly stimulates certain parts of the nervous system, producing a variety of sensations depending upon the attribute of the Mana. Second: The Attributes of Mana All Mana contains attributes, related to The Four Elements, The Opposites, The Cycle of Reincarnation, or Destiny. All these attributes have no impact on the general nature of Mana, essentially meaning that any device used to detect Mana would be unable to detect the attributes of Mana. The attribute of the Mana in an environment, makes all magic using that attribute stronger, and easier to cast, while negatively affect other attributes, depending on their relation to the environment''s attributes. The possible attributes are as follows: The Four Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. These four exist in a cycle, where Fire > Earth > Wind > Water > Fire. Almost all other elements in the world that are used in magic, whether its lightning, magma, ice or otherwise, are actually just variations and combinations of these Elements. Perhaps because of this, all Elementals within the Segemented Verse are only of The Four Elements or The Opposites.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The Opposites: Light and Darkness. These two are a self-contained cycle, each one both strengthening and weakening the other. When combined, they form the element of shadow within magic, but shadow is not an attribute of Mana. Despite common belief across a majority of worlds, neither Light nor Darkness have anything to do with morality. Light is not inherently good, nor is Darkness inherently evil. It is entirely possibe for a "good" man who cares about and constantly helps others to use the Darkness, and for a cruel and "evil" man to use the Light. This is likely because Reality has no solid concept of good and evil, for they are opinions developed by lifeforms within the Multiverse as a whole, rather than an inherent and recognised part of Reality. The Cycle of Reincarnation: Life and Death. Like The Opposites, these two are a self-contained cycle. The combination of these two prduces the magic element of Rebirth or Reincarnation, but again, this is not an attribute. Similarly, again, to The Opposites, Life and Death have nothing to do with morality. Destiny. This exists on its own, and is unrelated to all other attributes of Mana. The Destiny attribute does not appear naturally, unlike the other mentioned attributes, and is related to, but does not control, time. Through Destiny attributed Mana and magic, it is possible to predict, but not guarantee, the future. This is because all of the future is a product of countless different events, and knowing of the end-result, even if you want it, can be enough on its own to make you act differently enough to such events to create a different outcome. This is why such predictions are only accrurate to any degree when the prediction is of the near future, or of a massive event in the far future. Not commonly recognised, and not mentioned earlier, are two other attibutes: Arcane, and Divine. Arcane is, in essence, Pure Mana. The other attributes are essentially an expression of the environments'' "tainting" of the Mana. Technically, when someone or something absorbs and stores Mana within themselves, that Mana is Arcane attrubuted, as the environments "taint" is removed upon entering the body. Upon use, however, it is "tainted" with the attributebeing used. Divine Mana, however, is basically the power of the Gods. All other attributes only affect their specific parts of reality, even Arcane. Divine, one the other hand, can do anything at any time, although it too is technically a "tainted" version of Arcane Mana. The only beings capable of using Divine Mana, are Gods. There have been many attempts by other beings to use it, but Divine "taint" does not appear natuarally, only when a God is working magic.
This has been an introduction of Mana within the Segmented Verse. Please, comment below if there is anything else you want to know. Also, if you see any errors, please inform me. Do Enjoy. :) The Hierarchy of Gods First I suppose I should mention that referring to the Gods as having a Hierarchy is slightly misleading, as the "society", if you can call it that, of Gods does not follow typical rules to be considered as having such. However, the term "Hierarchy" is the most suitable one I''ve been able to find. Technically speaking all Gods are equal in status, However, divisions and levels of social power do exist, albeit in an unofficial manner. Different "communities" of Gods, commonly referred to as Pantheons by the mortals of the Segemented Verse, tend to possess their own way of determining status. For example the Greek Pantheon, seen shortly on the mortal world of Earth before being executed by CoG for a wide range of acts against Reality, valued the number of Demigod children born between Gods and mortals, and determined status based upon how many such offspring a God had. Zeus, a God who held the Authority of [Fire], granting him access to its progressed state, lightning, ruled the Pantheon due to his incredibly large number of Demigod offspring. Poseidon was a close second, and Hades, interestingly enough, was last. Unlike the other Greek Gods, including the "Maiden Goddesses", Hades actually had nearly no Demigod children, as he possessed a greater belief in the concepts his brethren had tossed aside, and was even responsible for alerting CoG of their attempts to break several Taboos. Hence, Hades is the only Greek God that still exists, although his location is unknown. Several leads seem to indicate that he is on Earth, or one of its nearby worlds, but Observation at this level seems incapable of finding him just yet. Beyond the social means of identifying status, technically, the Authorities of the Gods, sometimes referred to as Divinities, should also indicate the status of a God in relation to others. Thus far, 18 Authorities of been discovered, although I suspect there are probably more. Those that are known, are as follows:
Authority Title Authority Title
[The Four Elements] God of The Four Elements [Destiny]The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Prophet God
[Fire] Elemental God [Knowledge] Scholar God
[Water] [Wisdom] Enlightened God
[Earth] [Evolution] God of Evolution
[Wind] [War] Political God
[The Opposites] God of Balance [Peace]
[Light] Solar God [Race] Racial God
[Darkness] Lunar God [Life] Vital God
[Reincarnation] God of The Cycle [Death]
As a cursory glance, it would seem that the divisions of power are obvious. Surely, the Elemental Gods obey the God of The Four Elements, and so on? But, in reality things are not that simple. Authorities are both very important and yet pointless to a God. Authorities determine how the Gods are allowed to interact with the mortal worlds, besides the use of their Dungeons, from before receiving their first Authority. Said Authority also represents what area the God manipulates, and even what blessings and curses can be delivered by them. The Gods of The Four Elements, however many exist at once, can perform all of these acts through the power of all four base elements, Fire, Water, Earth, and WInd. However, they are limited to the base powers of these elements. For example, they can only control the aspects of Fire that relate to fire. More progressed aspects, such as lightning, are beyond their reach. On the other hand, an Elemental God can access all the power of their elements, including its upper levels and, should they possess multiple Authorities pertaining to the elements, even the fusions of these elements lie within their grasp. The same kind of logic applies to all Authorities. Within The Dungeon Gods, it was noted that the reward for developing sentient life was becoming the Racial God of said life. This would seem to be a downgrade, until you realise the power of the [Race] Authority. It is the only Authority that allows for blessings of and interactions with mortals regardless of the Faith the God has accumulated. Any other Gods needs to have acquired Faith that, like how Mana is used to cast a spell, can be spent on various divine acts. Whats more, Racial Gods possess the ultimate authority over their sentient species. They cannot outright forbid the power of other Authorities, such as [Death], from affecting the species, nor can they outright control the other Authorities, but, if they command that Wars shall be raged, pr Peace shall begin, the Political Gods will make it so. If they command that members of their race shall become Prophets, the Prophet Gods shall make it so. Should their instructions interact with the other Racial Gods, the other Gods serve as mediators. With this, one can easily see why the position of Racial God is heavily valued. The Nature of the Segmented Verse The Segmented Verse could both be described as unique and also one of many within the Multiverse. Over the Eternities, countles segmented universes have appeared, some so splintered they''re barely cassifiable as Universes. However, until now, all of these have occured naturally, and the formed segments are uneven, rough, as if the Universes they are from were made of glass and someone struck them with a massive hammer. The Segmented Verse, on the other hand, is artificial. It consists of seven segments that take up an equal part of the whole, and are seperated in an orderly manner, with no overlap or friction. In fact, they''re so cleanly seperated it would not be false to say that they are practically seperate Universes at this point. Another difference though, is in the lifespan of the Segmented Verse. All segmented universes that have appeared to date, save this one, have had completely normal lifespans of one Eternity, on average, much like almost all other universes. The Segmented Verse, on the other hand, somehow consists of age-staggered segments, each lasting exactly one Eternity, and staggered so that their ends, and inevitable rebirths, are 1/7 of an Eternity apart, meaning no two segments end and begin at the same time. What''s more, the segeemnts reform seamlessly as part of the whole once again. When a Universe ends, although another one near-instantly takes its place, it normally never takes on the same characteristics as its old iteration. This unusual system has caused the Segmented Verse to be the second oldest Universe in the Multiverse at 723 Eternities, being outlasted by approximately 1,000 Eternities by the Primeverse. If you believe what is spoken, this is all because of an entity within the Segmented Verse called the Creator of Gods, among other titles, which supposedly split the orignial version of the Segmented Verse, a fully whole Universe, into these seven age-staggered segements so that the Segmented Verse could be everlasting. The strangesst thing, however, is that such an act should not be physically possible, even for an entity on the level of this ''CoG''. Further study is needed.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Message to the Greater Council of the Silverlined Sector, Dear Honoured Great Ones, Attached to this message is an intercepted historical research document made by a Primeverser on the nature of another Universe, the Segmented Verse. It is my firm belief that this ''CoG'' is either a possible canditate for a new Observer, or has somehow gained the aide of a rogue Observer. Either way, the fact that this Segmentation even occured is indicative of the Truth, and I request that this be investigated fully, to determine whether or not the Edicts of the Prime have been broken, as I believe may be the case. Your ever-faithful servant, Observer Julian Clynt.