[Askoga]: 89.Novels.Devil's View

Because I’m sure you’ve all heard his story, about how he created the world, I won’t tell it again, except to say that he fibbed a little. Each of us had a hand in the creation of you and your world. And long before the beginning of your recorded history, your ancestors recognized that, and they worshiped all of us, that they knew of. Everything was right with the world. There were, of course, battles to be won, blood to be shed in retribution for a wrong, plagues to be survived, balls to attend, and all such things I’m sure you’ve heard of.
But then came That Day. We’ve none of us given it a name, but you know which day I speak of. The day he decided that he wanted to be the only god you humans worshiped. The day he spoke to young, impressionable Abraham, and made him break all of the idols in his father’s shop. Granted, the idols were not in the images of our True forms, most times, but that is beside the point. The point is that he was power hungry, and wanted to be the only one you humans worshiped.
So sprang up this new religion, worshiping only him, and it came to be called Judaism, and later, when he became hungrier for attention and power, there came along other monotheistic religions. You all know the stories, of course. But what you don’t know is how I actually came to be cast out of that place you call Heaven, and what it was that happened to the other gods and goddesses. And you are similarly ignorant of his lust for power.
He is Tom, the one some humans refer to as God. Those of you who do, wrongly assume that he is the only god. Even he admitted to you that it isn’t so.
There are many of us here, in what you have dubbed Heaven, but which we still call Garvela Edont, or sometimes simply Edont. We live together, mostly peacefully. Truthfully, we do have arguments, which do occasionally escalate into fights, but not as often as you humans do. Sometimes, if there is a particularly bad argument among us, then there are particularly bad wars among you. The World Wars are a prime example of that, but there have been others.
Each god has his or her own unique personality. We each treat our most faithful followers differently. You could say that we hold a special place in our hearts for those who worship us. And we ask different things from our followers, as well. Someone who wishes to always be helping old ladies across the street or visiting the sick, for example, would do well to worship Tom, or one of the other gods from that side of Edont. Someone who wishes, on the other hand, to spend his or her days plotting war would do well to worship one of the gods who prefers to have a hand in the wars. Certainly not me. I prefer that my worshipers, if they plot to kill, do so quietly, singly. For revenge, or retribution. Or perhaps my worshipers are the quiet, lurking type, with the sly eyes, sleek intelligence. Yes, that is what appeals to me.
As for Tom, since he is the one I’m telling you of, you might call him a kindly god. He is nice to those who follow him blindly. He will help any being in need, man, woman, beast, god, or otherwise. To portray him as only evil, that I can not do, even though he has done such to me, over time. He does, indeed, have his good aspects. But also, he has bad ones. And since he will only tell of his good attributes, it is my duty to inform those of you who will listen of his bad ones. And remind you of how evil he can truly be.
Thus shall I begin my story with the time you humans first were introduced to us as gods.
At first, you did not really realize that we were special. We were simply another animal. One to be feared, like the other fearsome animals of your world. But soon you came to understand our language, and speak it for yourselves. You began to see us as higher beings, gods. And eventually you came to think deeply. Oh, there are other animals whose intelligence rivals, or even surpasses yours, but you do not wish to hear of them, and so I shall not mention them any farther. That is one thing you inherited from Tom, that god many of you so adore. Your arrogance.
At first, each of the gods served a purpose. Each of us had a different forte, and a different niche appealed to each. I, for example, preferred to deal with the dead, and later with the sly. Tom, on the other hand, preferred the role of leader. He dealt with the “pets”, the people who sucked up to him. He dealt with those in power. Oh, yes, at the beginning he only dealt with them, and not with the meek, or those in need of assistance. That came later, after That Day. Sure, occasionally he would see to a person in need, but only if that person had the potential to become a devoted follower.
We were all content in our roles. I stayed mostly in my dark piece of Edont, which was thick with trees and dead people who did not wish to be reborn, creatures of the night and shadows that sometimes came to life. There were some other gods who came to me, to work with me and help tend the trees there, but they were all quiet, for the most part, and content to leave me in charge of the souls. At that time, the main Gate into Edont led directly into the heart of my realm, so it really was I who tended to the majority of the dead who came into the garden.
All was right with the world. The other gods kept a good enough amount of war and bloodshed that my days were filled with the wonders of death. Sometimes I would start a plague, to keep things interesting, and other times I would let the gods in control of the wars do the trick. Tom didn’t like it, of course. We were interfering with the “natural order” of things, and killing off “his” creations. But always, always, you would multiply again, and Tom would enjoy himself once more.
Tom, himself, loved to play with you. If someone made him angry, insulted him such that he could not ignore it, he would strike them down. If people stopped worshiping him as the leader, his wrath would rain down on them. Sometimes he would impregnate human women with his seed, and would give the resulting child his favors, and the abilities to do some magic, and he would forgive each of those children almost anything. But we, we were not allowed to do any such things without better reasons.