God of War - Karmic Cycle [AU]

Introduction

I've been writing this fanfiction for a while now, in small increments, ever since God of War Ragnarok. However, I've been struggling in deciding whether to release it or not. The benefit of God of War as a franchise is that it explores mythologies and religions that have already gone extinct. So if the creators make any controversial decisions, they don't have to worry about retaliation from the followers of said religion. This fanfiction, however, explores a mythos that is very well still in practise and is followed by approximately 1.2 billion folks worldwide.

I struggled because I didn't want to get attacked in the comments or in the reviews by people who find offense in what I write. And although I am uploading this now, it does not mean that I am no longer apprehensive about it. But rather, I have come to terms with the fact that it is impossible to satisfy everyone, and there will always be someone who will take offense with what you do.

However, I am writing this preface so that those who intend to read this fanfiction do so with an open mind and without the preconceived notion that I am trying to blaspheme or insult Hinduism in any way, shape or form.

About Me

I am a practising Hindu. I have been so since the day I was born. Though I wouldn't classify myself as a devout follower as I still maintain a healthy bit of scepticism in all the claims my religion makes. I think this is important for anyone, since there is a very thin line between fanaticism and faith that those without the inherent scepticism in place fail to recognise.

I was brought up listening to the stories my grandparents told me about gods and the legends associated with them. This mostly acted as guiding principles for me as I grew up, helping me understand what was right and what was wrong. And in some ways they were also entertaining to listen to since Hindu mythology does not portray the gods as infalliable entities. They have unique quirks and personalities that make them - dare I say it - human in some ways.

As I grew up, I also took the time to read and understand the scriptures that were a part of my religion's history. And though I cannot claim to have read the Ramayana, Mahabharatha in its entirety in its original Sanskrit, I can claim that I know them well enough to recite the key bits off the top of my head.

All of this is to say that I am not someone from the outside looking in. I follow the religion I am writing about. Of course this doesn't mean that those who follow a religion are precluded from being accused of blasphemy or disrespect when talking ill of their religion. If this is what is perceived when you read this fanfiction, understand that I am not doing so intentionally. The right thing to do is to bring this point up in the comments or in my Discord. If it is a reasonable statement then I will address it.

About this Fanfiction

Hinduism is an old religion. Perhaps the oldest religion in the world. Although there are a lot of scriptures within the religion, very few have lasted the test of time. And unlike a lot of modern religions, a good portion of the knowledge regarding the teachings and stories of the religion are transmitted through generations via word-of-mouth.

This also excludes the various branches, sects and subsects that interpret the existing religious texts in different ways. So I can confidently say that no two Hindus will have the same interpretation of an event in Hindu mythos.

I would liken this characteristic like a comic book universe. Take the DC universe as an example. You have so many interpretations of the character of Superman. Every new artist has their own interpretation of the character that it often becomes difficult to place him on a power scale. In some interpretations he is as fast as Flash, in others he isn't. This in and of itself makes it difficult for fanfiction writers to write about the character. What most do is to choose a frame of reference - a fixed universe (lets say Young Justice or DCEU) and work from that.

This means that you don't have to worry about the variations that are inherent to the comic book universes. If some reader comes along and says some nonsense about Superman being able to swallow Kryptonite because one particular trade had the character acheive that feat, the fanfiction writer can simply say that, "This isn't the same universe, and kindly scram!".

To that end, I am going to adopt this same stance when writing this fanfiction. I am creating an, let's say 'author's universe', with regards to the Hindu Mythology. This means that I will be taking some creative liberties when working with the characters that are a part of it. This is necessary so that I can pin down ONE interpretation of the character and stick with that. This does not mean that the gods will be doing something that is out of character.

For example, (and please control your emotions to not get triggered by what I am about to write): Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu embody the two extents of ethics, i.e. the means justify the end and the ends justify the means. In nearly all interpretations of Lord Vishnu, He is shown to be someone who will go to any extent to ensure that the world is preserved and "evil" is vanquished. Lord Shiva does not subscribe to that, as it is shown that he is more perceptive to the intent rather than consequence.

You will notice that I placed "evil" in quotes as the idea of good and evil are a heated point of debate in Hindu Mythology. As it is an old religion, there are certain indicators of what is right and what is wrong that cannot (and should not) be held up in modern times. But this theme is something that I cannot explore briefly. I will, however, be exploring it in this fanfiction.

Now, coming back to the earlier point, the two characters have common traits that persist through most interpretations. I will use that as a schematic to build a version of them in my universe. Let's say that 90% of the character will be from the shared universe, and 10% will be my own interpretation.

This is important to not just have a believable character that people can relate to and understand, but also to anchor down a timeline (which you will see is important in this fanfiction).

So this means that if you think that I have missed something in my interpretation of a particular character, it is intentional. That is not part of my universe. If you are insistent that this interpretation is incorrect, then I kindly encourage you to write your own fanfiction with that interpretation. You can copy mine verbatim and just change the characters to fit the interpretation that you believe is right. After all, neither God of War nor Hinduism belong to me (the former belongs to Santa Monica Studios and the latter is public domain).

Conclusion

Read this fanfiction with an open mind. If you are someone who gets triggered easily, then this isn't for you. Leave comments if you have opinions. Leave reviews if you like or dislike this work. But please be civil.