11.8 God Essence

The core of a God is Their essence; without it, an Immortal can cease to exist. While many mortals perceive this as a form of 'death,' it's important to note that the essence itself can indeed experience a form of death, as evidenced by the case of Lord Arion, the Truthseeker. He willingly sacrificed His essence to fuel the reborn essence of Lanos, Damariel. 

Instead of being completely destroyed, the essence can also be severed from its shell. Furthermore, it's worth discussing the concept of permanent damage to the essence, exemplified by instances like Lord Damariel's leg, removed by Odravh, the Abyssal, or Lord Severn's arm, lost during the battle with the Kerrithrim. Additionally, the eye of Galleus, the Voidseer, was similarly affected by the Kerrithrim, and these injuries persist across different shells, constituting a form of lasting harm to the essence.

During this most recent mortal Epoch, we witnessed numerous instances where events severed essence from its shell. The first was the severance of the essence of Lanos when He was trapped upon the Shadow Plane. Too far away from His followers to receive their dutiful offerings, the essence of Truth left His weak frame. In the second event, the essence of Fire passed from Rahn when too much Corruption was passed into His spirit.

In both cases, the essence remained undisturbed, and it emerged again with a new shell. Damariel, the Unbound, regained the essence of Truth in a new mortal shell. Similarly, the Essence of Fire re-emerged as the Goddess Auresae. Though both had, at their core, the same essence as their predecessor, their shell makes the essence manifest itself differently.

More recently, during the Creator's Monomachy, several shells were severed from their Essences. This included Lord Severn, Damariel the Unbound, Lady Ethne, and Empress Omei. The Essence of Instinct, previously bound to Omei's shell, has yet to re-emerge. However, the Essence of the Manipulator, Lord Severn, found a new shell in a Caentoi of the Bonro Sands named Tepevra and emerged as Lord Arvelis, the Jackal. The Essences of Truth and Fire were merged with the Essence of the Albedi Accordant of Fire, Seelis the Harlot, by the Eschaton to form the Accord of the Righteous, Lord Celezor.

Although not wholly severed, Slyphe, the Maelstrom's shell, sustained severe damage during the final battle among the Gods during the Monomachy. Consequently, a transition to a new shell became necessary, resulting in the creation of Lady Slyphe, the Dauntless.

Though these are only a few of the instances that are known publicly, it is known that this process of severance and emergence has happened many times throughout the Ages.