Vorsha

Vorsha - Watercolour by King fisher Arts

Other Names: Vorsha / Despoina; Vorsha is the Waejiran goddess of knowledge, invention, puzzles, secrets, and mystery. She was born directly from Silat. Vorsha is typically depicted as a veiled woman wearing a multitude of layered silk robes in many colours, usually holding a scroll and a wooden puzzle. Worship of Vorsha is primarily contained within the Empire of Waejir, with temples dedicated to her established in every major city and the larger towns.

First Appearance

Discovery: The earliest recorded worship of Vorsha began roughly three millennia ago. A small group of nomads in the Waejiran desert discovered a large soulstone in a ancient ruin. When they removed the gem from the ruins with intent to trade it to a nearby settlement, the stone's occupant awoke and began a discourse with them. The entity had questions and began to seek answers about the circumstances of its discovery. The nomads interpreted these questions as a directive, and after telling it everything they knew about their immediate surroundings and themselves, they began to bring knowledge about the greater world to the orb.

Exchange of Knowledge: The entity contained within the soulstone accepted the new knowledge, which led to more questions. To facilitate the further exchange of information Vorsha, as these nomads came to call it, shared certain knowledge it contained. This shared knowledge allowed those early worshippers to tame a portion of the desert, establishing a more permanent settlement at the site now known as Apeigadun. Over time the tribe prospered and their early religion began to be more formalized, and the source of their secret knowledge was hidden from all but the most influential and powerful members of the cult. At this time the current depiction of Vorsha replaced the soulstone. She became the goddess of mystery and invention. Lay worshippers were tasked with searching the world for more and more knowledge, which would be delivered to the ord in secret by an inner circle of clergy.

Literacy: As an integral step to sharing and disseminating knowledge, the early cult of Vorsha was taught how to read and write. They used these skills to further their faith and amass a growing library of knowledge. While literacy has spread beyond the exclusive auspice of the temple, clergy of Vorsha are taught a secret language and script for recording temple knowledge and protecting it from general population.

Holy Seat: Waejiradur, Waejir; Following the natural disaster which led to the collapse of Apeigadun, the primary temple of Vorsha was relocated to Waejiadur. This was a massive undertaking, requiring a large caravan to transport all the texts contained within the temple archives to the new location. Some speculate that hidden stashes of forgotten knowledge still remain in smaller vaults beneath Apeigadun.

1st of the 10th Month: Vorsha's Day - As the longest night of the year approaches, Waejirans gather to celebrate Vorsha, the Mistress of Mysteries. Games, puzzles, and riddles challenge the intellect of participants with prizes or presents being exchanged for those who defeat them.

Leraukonar - Holy Seer: The singular topmost member of the temple hierarchy. This rank is more symbolic than practical, usually elected from amongst the Begtukonarei to serve until death. The role is largely ceremonial, but the Leraukonar may be called upon to resolve matters of faith which elude the lower ranked clergy.

Begtukonar - Holy Elder: Not associated with a particular temple, clergy of this rank serve as advisors and empire wide administrators. They determine temple doctrine, and direct the individual temples in their duties.

Trumtukon / Iomiukon - Holy Father / Holy Mother: The senior clergy for each temple will hold this rank. They serve as the figure head of the faith in a city or town, as well as administer the lower ranks clergy.

Febribear - Curator: Every temple will have one or more clergy at this rank, whom manage temple archives, and fill administrative roles in the faith.

Eciahas / Eciaha - Priest / Priestess: The working rank of temple clergy responsible for the training of acolytes, They interact with the Laity on a regular basis. This is the base rank at which one learns rituals specific to Vorsha.

Olinukonar - Holy Learner / Acolyte: As the lowest rank in the temple hierarchy, acolytes serve the temple in menial tasks while learning the temple doctrine. They receive specialized training in the skills required to participate in ceremonial activities, and the most promising acolytes are given the opportunity to advance should they pass a series of trails intended to test their intellect, knowledge, and ability to keep secrets. Few pass these tests on their first attempt, but may repeat the ordeal as many times as they wish, but they may only make a single attempt per year.

Laity: Devotees of Vorsha come from many walks of life. In general those who chose her as a patroness include seekers of the greater mysteries, inventors, and those whom believe in continuous learning. Engineers, teachers, philosophers, scholars, historians, cartographers, naturalists, sorcerers, psychics, and fortune tellers are all typically worshippers of Vorsha. The laity includes specialist guildspersons who work for the temples as crafters.

Fiumtiparei - Seekers: Mendicant clergy tasked with travelling about Waejir and the greater world in search of new knowledge. These clerics act as naturalists and historians, recording knowledge gathered during their travels. They regularly send their gathered lore to the nearest temple of Vorsha, where it is copied and distributed throughout the temple network. Some of these clerics have spent most of their lives travelling far a wide, and many who leave the empire's borders never physically return to Waejir. Such is their dedication to the quest for knowledge.