Demigod

Demigod, also referred to as Half-God, is a mythological race referred to in religion and fables. In Genus Reditus and Assecula de Genus they are considered God's 'kin' that inhabits the Godrealms, effectively making them gods.

Religious Context

The book of Genus involves eight Demigods as God's 'messengers' that visited Surface to establish a land for the 'chosen' people. This land became Radosis. The eight Demigods each represented four dualities of life, which became central concepts to Redeos and Asseculs. A major difference between the two religions, however, is Redeos' belief that the Demigods left Surface to watch down from above, and Asseculs' belief of the Demigods being present among us, only hidden. The latter belief gained large foothold in northern parts of Surface, and spread its way to a subset of Church of Langenthal: Devout Asseculs.

Four Dualities

#	Domain	Symbol Animal	Patron Deity	Characteristic
1	Creation	Snake/Beetle	Lysa	The symbol of infinite growth, Creation represents a belief in progress and change, and the transition from chaos to order. It is represented with white; the symbol of life and peace.
2	Destruction	Scorpion/Bull		The symbol of entropy, Destruction represents the inevitable breakdown of any and all systems, and a transition from order to chaos. It is represented with black; the symbol of death and war.
3	Sincerity	Dog		The symbol of honesty and purity, Sincerity represents a strong optimistic belief in the good of others, and the concept of trust and good will. It is sometimes represented with white, the symbol of peace; other times with red, the symbol of love.
4	Deception	Monkey		The symbol of impurity and ingenuity, Deception represents the corruptive force that spreads doubt, distrust, anger and hatred. It is sometimes represented with red, the symbol of bloodshed; other times with black, the symbol of hatred.
5	Reason	Owl		The symbol of the mind, Reason represents the desire to objectify and structuralise the natural, and to recreate it synthetically, but also rationalism; the disregard for emotions in favour of logic. It is represented with blue; the symbol of enlightenment.
6	Empathy	Lion		The symbol of the heart, Empathy governs sentimentality, emotions and a desire to follow one's true self, but also a respect for nature and harmony. It is sometimes represented with red, the symbol of love; other times with green, the symbol of nature and courage.
7	Ethics	Camel/Horse		The symbol of moralism and stoicism, Ethics represents the resolve to change and restrain oneself, and to hold strong principles, willpower and adherence to social order. It is represented with blue; the symbol of calmness.
8	Aesthetics	Cat		The symbol of decadence and selfishness, Aesthetics is a hedonistic instinct to indulge in greed, lust and gluttony, but also represents pragmatism, shallowness and beauty. It is represented with yellow; the symbol of wealth.

#	Duality	Meaning of Mastery
1	Creation & Destruction	In order to create, one must first destroy. This duality symbolises that life and death are two sides of the same coin, and that nothing is infinite.
2	Sincerity & Deception	Blind naïveté is as toxic as blind hatred. To be distrustful of ill intents is to guard oneself, but to trust others is to take care of oneself.
3	Reason & Empathy	Reason allows Mankind to evolve far beyond animals, but Empathy makes sure one's humanity is not lost in the process. There is a time for emotions, and a time for rationalism.
4	Ethics & Aesthetics	The duality symbolises treading the balance between freedom and order; selfishness and selflessness; to be able to enjoy life's bountiful experiences without succumbing to it.

The Old World

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Content below is considered metaknowledge.

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Demigod, also referred to as Half-God and Hochländer, is an ancient race associated with the old world, and the cross between Celeste, inhabitants of the Godrealms, and Humans. While considered below Celeste, they still carry magic affinity through their blood which can be passed to some degree to Human offspring, but their lifespans, while still long compared to a Human, is significantly shorter than that of a Celeste.

In the old world there was great difference between Demigods, as various races of Mankind evolved and adapted with unique traits, which in turn made Demigods resemble other Mankind races much more the thinner their lineage to Celeste became. While some pure magic affinity was sacrificed in the process, they gained other, more specialised affinities for certain type of magic, as well as distinct features. Another consequences was a reduction of lifespan, as normal reproduction became more commonplace.

One such 'specialisation' was what is today referred to as Divine; it was one of the purest Demigod races, as they had a distinct opposition to non-magic races such as Humans. However, through a limited gene pool, they underwent much of the same lineage thinning as other races; they became more 'specialised', with frailer bodies and stronger minds, and a particular affinity for destructive magic, however, unlike almost all other races, kept the longest lifespan of remaining Demigods. One could think some of their unfortunate traits could be a result of their tendency for inbreeding.

Another Demigod offshoot is Elves; similar to Divine, they kept a large affinity for magic in exchange for a frailer body and stronger mind, but other traits could not be more different. Elves became excellent analytics, and discarded sentimentality in favour of a strong rationalistic belief. Eventually, Elves surpassed their innate magic affinity with artificial magic, and gained insurmountable knowledge of metaphysics to the point of achieving an artificial cosmic magic. This colossal feat turned them into a threat to Celeste, and they were forcibly attempted rooted out; as a result, they became an exceedingly isolative race, and in fear of a purge, used their cosmic magic to conceal themselves in spacetime. In fact, Misthliþ was created as one such hideout, and has thus existed separate in the spacetime cosmos for many millions of years prior to the Cataclysm.