The Pack's Dragon
“Of course, there is a realm of magic.”
“Mmm,” he was dubious of her understanding but continued anyway. “Over time there were fewer gods and goddesses, and just their children remained, their bloodlines diluted by whichever species they had bred with. In the stories, the gods and goddesses could communicate with those of their bloodlines, and through them continued to rule in one way or another, and so their enemies would seek to destroy every member of a bloodline in order to lock that god or goddess into their non-corporeal realm, unable to communicate with this one.”