While we have seen evidence pointing towards the gods being alive and well both from the comic and from Minna, I don’t think they’re the most reliable sources.
From the comic:
Firstly, while the Icelanders do say that they’ve been “spared by the gods” from the illness, I think everyone that remembers the prologue knows that the murder of everybody that came towards them is most likely what did the trick. Because, if the Norse gods truly were the only thing that spared them, then the Norwegians should have also been spared, being believers themselves.
Secondly, if the gods are alive, why haven’t they shown up on the physical realm to rid the world of the illness once and for all? Surely an army of valkyries and powerful gods, both Norse and Finnish, would do a better job at cleaning the world than merely giving some powers to some people that still have the basic survival needs of a human and can also suffer from the effects of the rash (ex: Reynir), unless they wouldn’t actually be able to do anything much better than the mages they bless if they themselves came to Earth, since they are so few and/ or weakened by the illness.
Also, while we have seen a magical entity come to the physical realm (the Swan) in the comic, not only is she a bird (hence not affected by the rash), but she might also be from one of the few afterlives not touched by the rash, since Tuonela is supposedly quite isolated and not inhabited by many active people, most of its population being under ice (“It is an abode of quiet”, page 751).
Thirdly, if Odin and Freyja were the ones actually giving powers to the Norse mages, as believed by the Icelanders, why would they give such uncharacteristic powers. Wouldn’t they be more inclined to give war and battle related powers (like superhuman strength or godlike agility in battle), rather than runes that seem to have the ability to trick trolls in some sort of way (set them on fire if they step on them, not let them get close to the thing it’s drawn on, make them unconsciously avoid a certain area)? Granted, we have yet to see the full potential of rune magic, but I can’t imagine it being more than a few more aggressive runes (like Reynir’s modified fire rune). I still think Norse mages are provided powers by a divine being, just not the ones we were led to believe are responsible. Maybe a certain someone whose name starts with an “L” is giving all these “tricky” runes (just a lil’ headcanon of mine
).
And finally, on the topic of Finnish magic, it seems likely that it is merely a genetic mutation of normal Finnish DNA (perhaps caused by the rash interacting with Finnish genes in some sort of way), because mage powers seem to be transmitted genetically and I think Minna has said at some point that every Finn has a luonto and can use magic to an extent. Mages are just able to use more powerful magic by using their luonto’s full power and calling to higher beings. Also, it’s my personal belief that the gods and demigods they call upon act like a placebo, making them think that, by praying to them, they help the mage, when in reality it just makes the mages focus on the spell, thinking that they are helped by higher entities therefore making the spell work in their favor. Because, if they can help people when they are called upon, then why wouldn’t they help humanity of their own free will, unless, of course, they either don’t want to, which I don’t think is the case, or they can’t, because they’re not alive anymore (hope that makes sense).
And also something else from Minna:
While she did confirm in some of her past streams some things about what the gods are like and how their magic work, I don’t remember her concretely saying that “Yes, the gods ARE in fact alive”. Also, from the way she has formulated those answers, I don’t think she herself has thought about certain aspects of the gods, which she wouldn’t need to do if most of them weren’t actually alive anymore. I think she has also said at some point that she might be required to not answer certain questions or maybe even lie about certain things she’s asked so as to not spoil the comic. She might have even had to formulate those answers on the spot, so as to play with the in-comic that the gods still live and not spoil the story (I sincerely hope I’m not putting words in Minna’s mouth, because this is all from my memory and I hope it’s accurate to what she has said. Also, I hope this doesn’t sound like too much of a conspiracy theory
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But, if most gods truly are dead then this brings up an even scarier possibility: where do non-Finns go when they die if Tuonela is the only safe afterlife left? Did pastor Anne lead those souls to a heaven ravaged by the rash or was she guided to Tuonela by someone before she reached her doom? Are all the other people in the known world also guided to Tuonela by the remaining gods, telling them that they are going to the afterlife they were meant to reach, but in reality being led to the Finnish afterlife?
