Neither Faerûn nor the Realmspace crystal sphere of the Prime Material Plane possessed a clearly defined path by which mortals could ascend to godhood.
Legends and historical records did contain genuine examples of mortals becoming gods.
Jergal, the ancient god of death, eventually grew weary of his duties and chose to grant his divine power to three mortals, creating the Dead Three. This was the earliest recorded example of mortals ascending to godhood.
Near the end of the Time of Troubles, the mortal Cyric recovered the stolen Tablets of Fate and presented them to Ao. As a reward, Ao elevated him to divinity.
In other words, mortals had only two known paths to godhood: inheritance and divine elevation.
A god was part of the laws governing the universe. Fundamentally, gods were aggregates of abstract concepts, representing phenomena such as birth, aging, sickness, death, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. They were personifications of divine portfolios, entities existing on an entirely different level from biological life.
There was no step-by-step ladder of cosmic ascension like something from a superhero comic, nor were there neatly structured mutant power tiers. Even the strongest adventurers remained mortals. They possessed no divinity, controlled no divine portfolios, and could not generate divine power.
Skyl knew three relatively mature paths to godhood: Mantling, the Collective Soul, and Law.
Mantling was exactly what its name suggested. One assumed the identity of a god, imitated that deity, and acted in their name until the world came to believe that person truly was the god's incarnation. Then, through a complicated and extremely dangerous ritual, the aspirant stole a divine spark and forged it into a divine rank.
The most successful example of this path was Talos, the Ninth Divine of The Elder Scrolls.
The Collective Soul was the path Skyl's true self had followed. It gathered countless souls together and transformed their combined existence into a god. The ancestral deities worshiped by the High Elves in The Elder Scrolls were collective beings formed from many souls.
Skyl had achieved his supreme accomplishment by devouring the soul of an entire universe, making his version of the Collective Soul path far stronger than the ordinary method.
The system of Law came from the world of Elden Ring. In the Lands Between, the Erdtree carried the divine rank known as the [Elden Ring] and nurtured the divinity known as the [Elden Beast]. A being who merged with that divinity became the god of the Lands Between and assumed control of the divine portfolio known as the [Golden Order].
Queen Marika was the most prominent example.
When the Infinity Scepter transformed into the Silver Tree, the divine artifact became a vessel for divine rank and began nurturing an extremely faint trace of divinity. The moment Wizard Skyl merged with that divinity, he would immediately enter the ranks of demigods.
It sounded as easy as injecting himself with super-soldier serum, and the actual effect was not all that different.
However, ascending through the system of Law came with one enormous limitation. The god's power became bound to the divine tree. They prospered together and suffered together.
The divine tree could be destroyed, polluted, or corrupted. Any damage inflicted upon it would be reflected in changes to the god's portfolio and divine power.
That was precisely why Skyl's true self had not chosen to become a god through Law. Besides disliking the Golden Order and preferring to forge his own path, he had recognized the inherent weaknesses of gods bound to systems of Law.
His warlock avatar was far less particular.
Becoming any kind of god was better than remaining mortal. Besides, if the avatar caused trouble, Skyl's true self could protect him. Having a powerful backer made a tremendous difference.
Even if his true self could not handle the consequences, the avatar could always flee. At worst, Skyl would lose one incarnation, which would barely inconvenience him.
Doric had merely asked what he meant by Elden Ring's power system, only to receive an extensive explanation.
Once the young druid understood the purpose of the sapling before her, she began worrying on Skyl's behalf.
"Aren't you afraid someone might steal something this important?"
Doric glanced suspiciously around them. It was already past midnight. Insects chirped and birds called throughout the surrounding wilderness, while countless hidden gazes seemed to be watching from the darkness.
"Of course I am, but it only takes one simple step to prevent that."
Skyl gently pressed a finger against his forehead and slowly drew a pure white flame from within his skull.
The purified lights inside the skull were normally formless and could only be seen through spiritual sight. From Doric's perspective, Skyl merely touched the center of his forehead and then placed his fingertip against the tip of the Silver Tree's central trunk.
A faint pop sounded beside her ear.
A candle flame ignited at the top of the Silver Tree. Its radiance was dazzling, and the flame itself was milky white.
The normally invisible lights inside the skull had become clearly visible, yet they remained untouchable, a cold fire that produced no heat.
The divine tree had already resembled a branching candelabrum. Now that a candle burned upon it, it looked even more like an exquisite work of art.
"That little night-light of yours looks pretty nice," Stan remarked.
Skyl rolled his eyes. "Couldn't you say something more impressive?"
Doric stared curiously at the flame. "Why did it catch fire?"
"That flame is light, wisdom, and thought refined to its purest form."
The candlelight was reflected in Skyl's eyes.
"I grafted the Tower Dream onto the tree's crown, creating the earliest foundation of its Law. Unlike the leaves of the Erdtree, the leaves of the Silver Tree will not record fate. They will preserve knowledge and inspiration.
"Once I become a god, I will create a dream plane within its crown to shelter my followers and scholars. Their thoughts will gather into candle flames, causing the crown to flourish. Eventually, that dream plane will become an entirely new Outer Plane."
Skyl spoke softly, almost as though he feared that a single breath might extinguish the flame.
The ambition revealed by his words made Doric hold her breath. Even Stan turned to look at him with open approval.
"Oh, several more flames just appeared."
"Those are a few new interns in the Tower Dream contributing their candlelight."
Skyl smiled faintly and pointed toward the four newly ignited flames.
"This one was offered by Livia Miko of Waterdeep, a frail but hardworking young girl. This one belongs to Bordon Karpin of Daggerford, an honest and dependable carriage driver. This one is Tawna from the Way Inn. You've met her before. The last belongs to Zim of Waterdeep, a sorcerer whose power has yet to awaken."
"How can you tell them apart?"
"Telepathic links, young lady."
Skyl smiled and looked up at the moon.
"It's already well past midnight. We should continue traveling. Once we reach Dragonspear Castle, I'll need to buy a flowerpot and plant the tree properly…"
He paused as another thought occurred to him.
"Oh, right. I also need to buy a horse when we get there."
The group resumed their journey. Doric transformed into a small bird and perched on Skyl's shoulder.
At first, she had been unwilling to remain so close to him. Yet after everything that had happened that night, she had unknowingly begun to trust the warlock.
Autumn gradually deepened.
Candlekeep welcomed and bid farewell to travelers every day. The ancient library was perhaps the greatest repository of knowledge anywhere on Faerûn. Scholars and curious travelers gathered there from every direction, creating a scene of constant prosperity.
Candlekeep owed its enormous collection to one unusual rule.
Unless they received special permission, travelers wishing to enter Candlekeep were required to present a book as an entrance gift. The book could not already exist within Candlekeep's collection, and it needed to possess genuine academic or research value.
Anyone hoping to slip inside by throwing together a few pages of meaningless fiction would never succeed.
After more than a month of travel, the visitor from Wildspace finally arrived at Candlekeep.
Skyl had originally come on a whim, curious to discover whether Candlekeep's collection could rival his Tower of Tomes. After planting the Silver Tree, however, his attention had shifted toward Candlekeep's scholars and monks.
The scholars of Candlekeep spent nearly every waking moment immersed in ancient texts. They were ideal candidates to become Avowed of the Silver Tree. With their participation, the tree would grow far more quickly.
Besides, the very name Candlekeep seemed perfectly suited to the Silver Tree.
Had this been the Wild West, an outlaw gang would already have been plotting how to recruit every last one of them to its mountain hideout.
As for how Skyl intended to persuade Candlekeep's scholars to join him, that would require careful planning.
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