I had originally written this as a reply in the Lore Drop thread, but it quickly spiraled out of control, so here you go, enjoy.
So as shown in the quote above, Tech has stated in lore that Dominion=Power, which is a very, very interesting concept as it leads me to wonder who has gained the greatest boost in power from the Fracture? I realize the Olympians are currently discorporate, but I have to imagine their souls are still connected in some way to their dominions, because otherwise the Sun should not be rising without Apollo. Unless their more figurative natures donât matter in the AU, but thatâs a topic for another time. I should also say that while what a deity controls is likely the deciding factor in how powerful they are, IE Zeus or Chronos (not Kronos) controlling space and time respectively, that said I imagine that an increase in what a Deityâs dominion is would still grant at least a substantial increase in power, with that said, the question becomesâŚ
âŚWho got the most out of the Fracture? I guess Hades is probably a contender, with how many souls have died his domain of the dead has expanded rapidly. Except that the Underworld is sealed, so heâs not recieving any new guests, and thus not expanding his place of power. So Poseidon is another contender, except that the oceans didnât really expand⌠if anything they should have somewhat receded. Because if the continents broke apart into the new islands, then thatâs a lot of water being displaced, flowing out until it reaches an uniform level, which is either very close to or potentially lower than it was originally, because itâs more area that the same amount of water has stretch over. So Poseidon likely isnât getting a boost either.
In fact most of the gods arenât getting boosts, because they donât have domains which can truly expand (Zeus being an exception as Space is constantly expanding, but heâs like⌠dead, dead, so shrug.) So who does this leave to get a power boost? Well those deities whose dominions have the possibility to expand. First letâs talk about those who lost power, Demeter, Persephone, and other agriculture or life related dieties. This is because, a lot of people died during the Fracturing, and agriculture would have taken some time to reestablish itself, and even then the lower population of farmers would lead to these dominions losing much of the power they would have enjoyed during the Golden age.
Now onto the weird edge case, Athena, as the goddess of wisdom, and battle strategy the loss of so much knowledge would have been a heavy blow to her. However, as time has continued, new knowledge is discovered, past knowledge is rediscovered, and new tactics are thought up. Thus, I would say that sheâs another of those who have stayed fairly consistent in ability after the fracture.
Now onto the deities whose dominion has expanded rapidly during the Fracturing, and the subsequent centuries, and they are, drumroll please⌠Ares and Dionysus.
Now I know what youâre thinking, these two are a very odd pairing to say the least, but just follow me here. Ares is simple to explain, conflict and war is constantly raging in one form or another throughout the Seas, particularly in the War Seas. Thus given the lower population, and higher amount of individual nations, and wars, Aresâs power would have increased immensely in the Post Fracture world. Basically, lot of wars = lot of power for Ares, simple like I said.
Dionysus, on the other hand seems like an odd choice, I know. I mean, I donât imagine thereâs a shortage of alcohol within the time Post Fracture, particularly with the increase in overseas travel, where it would play a vital role in keeping the crew and passengers alive as fresh water would not keep during a sea voyage the same way a stout drink would. However, this is not where I believe the growth of his Dominion lies. For you see, Dionysus is also the god of madness, and if there is something which has increased tenfold in this Fractured World, it is madness. Mageskin disease, the Dark Sea, even Chaos itself, all these things bring madness to the minds of mortals. Insanity is a rising and constant presence within the mortal world, and this above all other dominions has continued to grow.
Thus I conclude that Dionysus is, while not the most powerful Olympian, still the one who has gained the most powerful due to the calamity which has befallen the world. Granted he canât make use of this new found power, not without a body anyway. Regardless, Iâm sure that should he ever reconstitute, that the result would be as interesting as it would be potentially terifying.