Prime God

"Prime God". This title is now thought to be myth and legend by virtually every religious and anthropological scholar in the known realms of the Universe, especially Ombs. Originally referring to the first true deities to emerge after Hyphernoen, with the opening of the Ark of Jereth and the subsequent loss of every deity aside from Jereth, the concept of a Prime God became an oxymoron.

Origin

The only literature scholars have at their disposal regarding the concept of a Prime God finds its place in the annals of the long-contested oral histories of the cults of Jereth, although more popular cults hint at the possibility of their corpus being tied to a figure who may have been a "Prime God" but was never considered such due to the lack of a concept in that society. Nonetheless, one thing is true: all beings known as "Prime Gods" were in fact, what any race would consider to be extradimensional and supernatural divinities that even the most notable "Gods" worshiped by contemporary societies would never compare to in terms of sheer cosmic power, intellect, and force. Unlike the Gods the races of the Universe serve contemporaneously, Prime Gods were universal forces who made their presence identifiable in any of the known realms of the Universe that they held dominance in. Other Prime Gods may have taken less involved approaches, but at the very least, their existence was never something questioned because they affected the worlds and realms they held dominion over merely by simply existing. None of what is espoused here is meant to suggest the beings who later were worshiped and recognized as Gods are not as important or somehow "inferior" so much as it is an attempt to reconcile not only their disappearance but also the vastly-diminished roles the Gods of today have in comparison to the Prime Gods of the past.

No matter one's position regarding the nature of a Prime God in comparison to modern deities that exist at present in the realms, all divine forces trace themselves directly to Hyphernoen Itself. Hyphernoen, in contrast to the Prime Gods, was the source of every fabric of both existence and nonexistence from the tangible and material, to the intangible and immaterial. Even our very thoughts, feelings, and emotions find their origins in Hyphernoen, and it is speculated that Hyphernoen not only created the Prime Gods, but could also shape new ones or unmake them upon a whim. However, oral histories that speak of a universal force comparable to Hyphernoen are even scarcer, speaking of a sudden disappearance that has since not been explained or accounted for, even by the very Prime Gods Hyphernoen created, leading to Hyphernoen's known moniker: "The Missing God".

Apearance and Nature

Prime Gods have no set appearance, but often in some cases chose to reflect the mores, iconography, and symbology of the societies that worship them. Others remain entirely indistinguishable from nature as divine concepts or personifications of complex cultural norms. The original Prime Gods, however, ruled or attended galaxies populated with disparate societies and thus never maintained a cohesive image outside of key emblems of importance to them that allowed anyone skilled in their respective cults to recognize their influences and presence in others. The Nature of the Prime Gods was equally-diverse, with some who were benevolent like Jereth and others who were notoriously amoral, cruel, or even evil. They were not incapable of relating to the desires and feelings of mortals, and those who remained distant from mortal races often did so for precisely this reason.

Abilities

Prime Gods have a range of abilities, both supernatural and practical, that vary from matter manipulation and the creation of organisms, to mental telepathy, control over unseen supernatural forces, and even the ability to exist in alternate realms that influence perceived time and existence. Those who exist between realms often were capable of something close to but not exactly omniscience, in that they could identify multiversal realities of mortals and lesser supernatural beings; in one reality, a person might not exist at all, whereas in another that same person viewed by the Prime God with this power would exist as a distinctly different person, with varying levels of similarity. Some could even grant special skills to their followers and as a result push them into a greater period of technological advancement than others. These affairs and accomplishments, however, were not things that happened in vacuums and often could impact the balance of power in realms that lacked these skills and abilities.

History and Culture

Prime Gods have a malleable culture scarcely known to even oral records, but their general history, as known by the saga of Jereth Himself, is otherwise established. A growing number of religious scholars have questioned the orthodox narrative, however, with some even arguing that the Prime Gods never existed and that the supremacy of Jereth is merely a fiction to suppress beliefs in local deities outside of him. Most however would never dare claim this belief publicly and as a result these arguments have remained mostly academic due in no small part to fears of reprisal from those who do fervidly worship Jereth.

One thing that is certain however, is that Prime Gods did not limit their appearance or the means by which they incarnated to the rules of the belief systems they were associated with, one of the key distinctions between them and the sprites - as well as lesser divinities - that currently exist. In their true forms, records detailed from the most ancient of cults have hinted that the Prime Gods that Jereth is associated with had their own social order, though it's uncertain whether that social order meant that the different Prime Gods themselves had differing levels of power. Some theories posit instead that their social roles were ranks that instead represented titles each had earned and were not dependent upon how powerful they were, although very powerful Prime Gods often took on positions that demanded such - i.e. keeping the balance of power between different Prime Gods in check, and settling disputes.

One theory posits that the Prime Gods culturally wore special clothing and ceremonial jewelry associated with their status. These also helped to identify them by the realms they were associated with, as well as their status within the collective of Prime Gods themselves. Like Jereth, they may have even been creators of their own unique divine artifacts and other things, possibly even natural materials, as another key motif amongst their kind. It is assumed based on what we now know about the existence of multiple worlds and realms, that the Prime Gods like Jereth themselves had their own realm in which they lived, possibly the first created after the disappearance of Hyphernoen.

Nonetheless, the general history of the Prime Gods is tragic one.