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=== Deva ===Sam's pronunciation of the name ("Deeva") suggests a relationship to Hinduism wherein a "deva" is used to refer to demi-deities. It is unclear how this usage relates to the [[daeva|daevas]]seen in [[1.16 Shadow]].
: ''Originally, the word Asura ... meant any supernatural spirit—good or bad. Hence even some of the devas (demigods)... have the epithet of Asura. In fact, since the /s/ of the Indic linguistic branch is cognate with the /h/ of the Early Iranian languages, the word Asura, representing a category of celestial beings, became the word '''Ahura (Mazda)''', the Supreme God of the monotheistic Zoroastrians. But very soon, among the Indo-Aryans, Asura came to exclusively mean any of a race of anthromorphic but hideous demons.''
[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/iml/index.htm '''Indian Myth and Legend''' by Donald A. Mackenzie] further links the etymology to the nature of 'deva':
:'' In the old Persian language, which, like Greek, places "h" before a vowel where "s" is used in Sanskrit, Ahura (= Asura) signifies "god". The Zoroastrian chief god is called Ahura-Mazda, "the wise Lord", as Varuna is addressed in early Rigvedic hymns, "wise Asura and King", and "the all-knowing Asura who established the heavens and fixed the limits of the earth". On the other hand "daeva" in the Iranian dialect, which is cognate with Sanskrit "deva", "god", came to mean "demon". "Asura" is derived from the root "asu", which signifies "the air of life", and "deva" from "div", "to shine", or "deiwo", "heavenly".''
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Div_%28Persian_mythology%29 Wikipedia's entry on Divs] suggests that they are more ambiguous than evil, however (or rather, that 'demons' aren't necessarily considered evil in Zoroastrianism, a point Monstropedia makes about Devas in Hinduism also). Wikipedia also translates 'div' directly as 'demon'.
=== Resheph ===
