I get why gods want worshipers, that's a lot of power send there way. I get why they say that they provide the various heavens - to attract the worshipers and cement their devotion.

Why actually do it though? Why not simply discard, eat, or use the souls to power some kind of monstrous furnace to expand their power? What do they get out of it?

If you think about it, there seems to only be downsides to it. First IIRC it was implied in another thread that the souls are provided mana bodies in a vaguely similar process to demon making. While I'm sure each one is no problem for any deity worth the name, that would start to add up to a lot of power quite quick, especially for the more popular deities. Next you would have to provide living space - that means a expanding plane of existence, which I imagine isn't cheap to maintain much less expand even by divine standards. Then you have to keep a eye on your worshipers provide them with some purpose or activity or your going to end up with a awful lot of bored immortals, if that isn't a recipe for a knife in the back I don't know what is. While no one being would be a problem, even a god would have to worry that one of the multitudes would somehow figure out a way to overthrow him.

With all the downsides why wouldn't a god just say that he was going to take care of your afterlife and quietly chuck all the souls into the divine garbage disposal?

It seems they must get some advantage by keeping all them around, but what?

My first guess would be, they get an Army.

Total Bingo on the army...but not usually a first priority...

Yes, reprocessed souls are much more likely to continue in the faith than "new souls" thus you send them back, when they are ready and they are more reliable and more useful worshippers. 'Old Souls' tend to advance more quickly than 'new souls' and thus start raking in more mana sooner.

However, there are also a couple other reasons that tie out to another discussion in these forums....but I'm not at liberty to disclose that yet.

You know, I've got this contract with the author and if I "leak" information I have to pay a penalty.

Well, I think one big thing to keep in mind, the demons in the Abyss tend to pay more attention to Astlan because it's about the biggest pain in their butts...however, it's not the only mortal plane they have to deal with.

Not all demons in the abyss were summoned by Astlanian wizards, some (many) were summoned by and enslaved to masters in other worlds beside Astlan.

So for example, one might ask, why aren't more higher ups involved with this deal? Simple answer, because there are a very finite number demon princes, but quite a few ArchDemons and most are busy with stuff on other planes.

There is basically only one Abyss for a huge number of "planes of men" same with the realms of gods.

yes, every mortal on every plane thinks they and their world is the center of the universe...but really...they aren't.

The other races have their gods and they all have contracts to deal with them. The Sidhe are a bit more of an exception than most, as you point out. However there are Sidhe gods and some, presumably, do after life contracts or other deals. I personally don't know.

As to the last...well...not in book 2.... :)

Yes...it's huge and complex.

The story I am telling him is pretty straightforward though. I'm trying to keep him from getting distracted. He's like a kid in a candy story sometimes.

One goal is that he'll do some additional stories, or short stories, and that eventually others will want to write in the world as well.

A big reason for the encyclopedias (which are also time consuming) is so that others have the information necessary to tell their own tales.

Assuming they can get their hands on a crystal ball or a demon who's been there to dictate to them.

I can guarantee you that anyone who manages to summon Antfalken will get enough tales to write for a hundred plus years.

As to how many planes...well I don't know, but let me remind you that every plane actually has multiple worlds/planets stars.

That's why it's hard for demons to count. Sometimes you might get summoned to the same plane, but a completely different world, say on the other side of the galaxy, or the other side of the universe in a galaxy far far away...I remember when I was a youth, a long long time ago, working with this really great animage named Yoda...

But that's another story...

Fan Art and Fan Stories are all good things.

He's trying to think of the best way for people to upload stuff.

The Council of Wizardry Tumblr is one possible mechanism, particularly for art.

Stories--could be done in a forum with each story being a topic, or each author...or maybe come up with better module.

Summoning from an Earth, at this point in their timelines is very hard...see the topic on...oh shit...that's not a topic, that's book 2.

Well, for a spoiler scroll down:















Incubae and Succubae are very useful when it comes to demonic infiltration of low mana worlds. (hint they are the only beings capable of extradimensional sex--from the Astral Plane to the Planes of Men--very hard to defend against dream sex, particularly for virgins)

Yes...of course fan works would also give discussion points.

There are various gallery features built into the site...the forums have albums but also all users have storage space and can, in theory upload images and there should be some standard way(s) of showing them....

Really need to explore that....

The forum's albums are easy enough with the "photo" button at the top of the screen and then the double picture thing in the editor toolbar lets you pick an item from the album.

Give it a try! I find it therapeutic even when it doesn't turn out like I want...

Capturing demonic textures is particularly difficult...lighting in the Abyss is pretty crappy and everything appears flat and red...

That question is answered, by me, explicitly and exactly, in Chapter 86.

:)