Neutral Ground, a tale of parallel worlds, p.2

The gods were part of a hierarchy of spiritual entities that no lonerr exists, either in Mae'lef or Ka'lef.

.  The Well
..  The paragon powers* (one per race)

... The gods (many racial pantheons arrayed beneath the nameless Paragons)

.... The great spirits (avatars that were the gods' direct hands in the world)

..... The Internecines (strange ethereal beings at were mankind's go-betweens with the gods)

* quasi real entities that created the well as a pool of power and a tool, and created the gods and various races to make war with it in their names and with the well as a tool

The gods rebelled against the paragons and severed the chains between them before they were corrupted by the poisoned Well. The corrupted Well was effectively destroyed, taking with it the very paragon powers that had created it.

The gods were decimated in number and lessened in power. The great spirits unraveled, their power running through the internecines and the people and into the land, becoming spirits of places and things. The Internecines dissolved into a web of life and magic connecting all of the spirits, including those that inhabited the people and became part of their souls. the gods are shadows of themselves, more abstract concepts than anything else.