Some lore on the hierarchy of existence:

[u]Gods[/u]: Nigh-incomprehensible in both power and scope, gods are spirits that govern the very laws of the universe, closer in nature to ideas and concepts than sentient beings (though they [i]are[/i] certainly sentient). The degree to which they meddle in mortal affairs is unknown, but magic appears to rely on them for its operation. Inanimate rocks possess no ears to hear, after all; it is the Divine that listens to your spells and bends the world to your will. Magic researchers devote much time and energy to figuring out what the gods will listen to and what they will not.

[u]Demigods[/u]: Higher spiritual beings that borrow divine power and possess limited authority to wield it within their relevant spheres of influence. This category includes Angels, Demons, and the Ascended. Similar to the gods, they can delegate their limited divine authority to other people and thereby bend the world to a contractor's will. This is the primary way in which humans acquire magic power. Ascendancy to demigod status from mortality is the other way to do it, and to date, only 7 people in all of history have ever achieved it, with the Archon of Regret being one of them.

[u]Contractors[/u]: Individuals who have formed bonds with a god or demigod to do their patron's will in exchange for power. Prophets, sages, mages, wizards, and warlocks all fall into this category. Yddrog is technically a Contractor (with Regret), but he's strong enough in his own right to bend the rules.

[u]Mortals[/u]: Creatures that possess divine authority (or power) to manipulate the physical realm, be it creation or destruction, according to its natural laws. This is the power that demigods get in exchange; their authority is largely restricted to the spiritual realm, and it is through contracts with mortals that they can bypass this restriction to affect their agendas upon the world.

[u]Monsters[/u]: Creatures that possess divine authority to destroy the physical realm according to its natural laws. They have no authority to create or build, no matter how intelligent they may be otherwise, and are thus physically incapable of it. Breeders of monster armies (like Yddrog) compensate for this weakness by hiring unscrupulous mortals to handle the creative work - or luring mortals to their doom to take their stuff, a common occurrence in dungeons.