DISCLAIMER: There IS a picture at the end of this, but most of this is just me letting my imagination run wild as I draw.
I’m currently dreaming up a new world to draw for, in which gods are commonplace entities that you can find anywhere.
Gods vary greatly, but are defined by three factors:
- Unlike normal creatures, they do not evolve, instead spontaneously coming into existence.
- They are naturally immortal but can be killed.
- They collect worshipers so as to provide human souls with an afterlife.
The flipside of a god is a demon, but “demon” and “god” are purely subjective terms; if there are two rival gods, the followers of each will view the other god as a demon. Some gods are just so annoying or malevolent that EVERYONE views them as demons, but exceptions exist. The sea god from two posts ago (who I’ve named “Horongo,” which is Maori for “to drink/swallow”) really ought to be considered a demon for how crappy a god He is, but His worshipers are too stubborn to realize that, so they continue to worship Him. It’s like being in a bad relationship.
Most gods will create some sort of Heaven to send their followers’ souls to when they die, while others may simply let them roam free as spirits. (Gods are vital because without their intervention, human souls simply dissipate after death.) Crappy gods like Horongo will just get lazy and let others do the work for them; Horongo eats so much that He attracts scavenging barracudas, which He employs as psychopomps. His Holy Legion of Barracudas carry his followers’ souls down to the ocean floor and spit them out there, where they live in darkness for eternity. Horoism is obviously a terrible religion.
Horongo’s just lazy, but you can also follow a more malevolent demon if you really want. If you die as a worshiper of them, though, be prepared for a really terrible afterlife. Here’s a picture I did about a year ago of a demon-god from the same dream as The Stained Glass God:
I have no idea where He likes to keep His souls, but it probably sucks ass. He’s probably got like ten souls in there, who all thought He was just MISUNDERSTOOD or that they could CHANGE Him.
