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 its creation 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 shrouded in mystery.

List of Gods

 * The First Chief God - Creator of the Universe. 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.
 * The Fallen God - The monsterized Deity that rules over the Spirit Realm of Pandemonium. Sided with 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.
 * Poseidon - God of the Sea. Initially aligned with Heaven, but has since sided with the Demon Lord after becoming monsterized. Sea Bishops are granted power by Poseidon, allowing those at risk for drowning the ability to breath underwater.
 * Ares - God of War and Fighting. Decidedly neutral, but known to give boons to her worshipers in battle. Her worshippers include humans and various monster races.
 * Eros - God of Love. Decidedly neutral, but known to reward mortals who perform good deeds with one of her many servants. Said servants include Houri's, Cupids, Gandharva's and Apsara's.
 * Bastet - God of Cats. Presides over the Cat Spirit Realm. Monsterized and sides with the Demon Lord.


 * Bacchus - God of Alcohol. Neutral and worshiped by humans and various monster races. Satyros' in particular are devoted.

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, but the Chief God is 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 and, 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.
 * 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 unkown 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 considered a heresy by the Order which exalts serpentine Monsters, and apparantly has a Snake God at its head, though this may be just a term for Echidna's. Its adherents use various rituals to turn Human women into members of the Lamia family.
 * 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 they Ryu use to gather enough Spirit Energy to call the rain when needed. The Ryu are 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.

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=