Vairacity

Vairacity is a religion that believes in the pursuit of truth and ascension. It is currently based in the town of Vashtair-Ande, in Frostmarch. It sees that all creatures (Schof) and spirits (Mashin) enlighten themselves into becoming Vairacit, or Truth. It is being led by one DocPockets, who claims to be a fallen deity wishing to enlighten others towards ascension.
== Common Beliefs ==
"There are only two things that separates mortality and godhood; the knowledge and applied use of power. In order to ascend, one must embrace all things material and metaphysical regardless of their personal views and morality. All gods were once mortal, and they should be respected as equals, not as idols to worship." - The Vairac Derendum. 
The religion of Vairacity believes that there are 9 planes, called the Verdea, and 7 levels of ascension. 
=== The Seven Levels ===
* Felchsof: Incomplete or artificial life forms generally fall under this category, though it is possible for other beings to be considered Felchsof. Felchsof have either no soul energy - also known as Mashde - or have lost it in one way or another. Some consider them to be not even alive at all, despite having all the biological functions of a living creature.
* Andschof: Typically composed of animals and non-sentient monsters, Andschof are the bottom of the barrel, though still miles above the Felchsof in terms of spiritual enlightenment. What sets these beings so low from others is that while they have Mashde, sometimes abnormally high amounts, Andschof have no way of controlling this energy or understanding it’s existence.
* Heulschof: Most human beings and other sentient creatures are Heulschof. They have moderate Mashde, and also have the potential to unlock potential energy. Their control of Mashde is very limited, and is often done subconsciously. If coming together, large groups of Heulschof can even change the weather with their Mashde. 
* Felchmashin: Spirits of the lower planes, or Felchmashin, roam both the Worldly planes and have some access to the Spiritual ones. Elementals, fae and poltergeists all fall under this category. They have exponentially higher Mashde than Heulschof, and much greater control. Despite generally being non-corporeal, they can affect Worldly objects and can cause much more damage on their own. Felchmashin are not known to generally cooperate with one another, though it is possible.
* Glerchmashin: Spirits of the higher planes, or Glerchmashin, are generally what people consider to be the gods. Their Mashde transcends all before it, second only to Vairacit. Unlike the others, Glerchmashin can change their form at will, and choose to be corporeal or non-corporeal. They have access to all but one of the planes.  
* Vairacit: To achieve true truth and power is to become Vairacit. In fact, it’s literally just the Glerchmashin word for truth. Little has been gathered much about what they are. DocPockets have been told that Vairacit beings are practically omnipresent, and act less as individuals and more as one hive mind.
=== The Nine Verdea ===
==== The Physical Planes ====
Abist: The lowest plane, Abist is the dark void that lays under every world. It is considered to be the largest of the planes, despite being completely devoid of life. There are some Glerchmashin that choose to roam in this area, but it is almost completely empty.
Naeth: Typically considered to be the ‘hell’ of the planes, Naeth is an inhabitable landscape, full of flames and monstrous creatures. There are very limited fundamental energies found in the Naeth, typically Emode. 
Felch: The general world that most creatures live in. Some call it Earth. Almost all of the fundamental physical energies are found in Felch, though most spiritual energies have been wiped off Felch after the Divine Disunion occurred. 
Ande: A world lost after the Divine Disunion, Ande used to serve as the gateway world between the physical planes and the spiritual ones. It’s said that strange Felchmashin roamed these parts, now trapped forever in eternal limbo.
==== The Spiritual Planes ====
Felvairac: Translating to “false truth”, Felvairac is the lowest spiritual plane, where Felchmashin roam. It is also where one’s spirit arrives when they dream, and their Mashde potential is increased tenfold. 
Seldehel: The plane of the five elemental energies, Aqde, Lafde, Brende, Embde and Cosde. Typically inhabited by Felchmashin and Glerchmashin who are attuned to the natural energies found in Felch, Seldehel can sometimes be a haven, but at other times be a difficult land to traverse.
Veldehel: The plane of the spiritual energies, Emode, Taride and Mashde. Inhabited by Glerchmashin who are attuned to spiritual energies. 
Mashtair: A massive vault of knowledge, Mashtair is akin to an infinite library, containing every text that has ever existed. 
Vairac:	A ‘plane’ accessible only by the Vairacit, next to nothing is known about Vairac’s nature. It is written that it is a plane purely made of ideas, of truth.
=== The Afterlife ===
Many within the religion debate what happens when one perishes, but there is a general understanding of what happens. Firstly, any form of living, be it Schof or Mashin (except for Vairacit), will eventually perish and fade into fundamental energies, and their souls joining Prielmash. Most creatures are not given the chance to ascend after death, and fall into the Abist, where their energy fades and recycles into the 9 planes. 
==Glerchde Tongue ==
Vairacity has adopted the Glerchde tongue, spoken by the residents of the former Lerchvashtair and, according to Docpockets, by most of the spirits and gods in the spiritual planes. It is unknown if the language was first developed by the Mashin who then spread it to Lerchvashtair, or if those who lived in Lerchvashtair created the language, and it became the dominant language in the spirit planes after they ascended. 
== Practices ==
=== The Five Rules of Faith: ===
# One must do actions of their own will. Your individuality must always be shining like the stars of the night. 
# One must embrace every aspect of the world. May it be life, death, happiness or grief, you must accept that these are elements of the world around you, and tools to an end.
# One must actively seek out self-betterment and knowledge if they wish to ascend. Without drive for new knowledge, one is doomed to stagnate.
# One must demonstrate and apply their knowledge in their day-to-day life, whether that be an everyday practice, or a demonstration of power.
# One must never steal power or knowledge to further themselves. You must either earn your place, or be given it generously. Cheating and cutting corners will only result in misfortune. 
=== Rituals of Ascendence: ===
# Pairash - To see past the appearances set before oneself, and sense the fundamental energies that surround them. It will usually take between 1 minute and 2 hours to begin sensing the energies, to which afterward you can begin studying their flow, and their place in reality. Distractions may hinder you, but meditation is possible in any environment. Meditating when there are high concentrations of any type of energy, particularly Emode, may cause damage if you aren’t prepared.
# Tripul - To any deity or paragon of one’s choosing, a sacrifice can be made in their tribute. Note that this ritual is not to revere or worship any gods, rather as a sign of respect to their ascension, and establishing your own intention to become literal equals with them or to surpass them. Depending on the deity you are leaving your token of respect to will influence what you sacrifice. For example, Glerchmashin attuned to Aqde will have bottles of water offered as tribute. A full guide on what to sacrifice and how can be found elsewhere.
# Lusde  - Once one has studied the natural energies, an application of this understanding can be used. A common example is the creation of life, even in a rudimentary form. Ancient texts show that Felchsof are commonly created by practitioners of Vairacity. 
== Notable Figures ==
=== The Vairacit Luide ===
The Vairacit Luide, or Guides towards Truth, are a set of mythological saints and figures present in Vairacity
The All-Saint, Vairca: Before Felchmashin and Glerchmashin there was an ancient world filled with unenlightened Schoff. Vairca was said to begin as naught but an Andschof, also considered a Felchsof in other texts. Vairca was but a slave to their masters, living most of their life completely unfulfilled. However, when a plague struck the land, killing off most of its inhabitants, Vairca experienced an enlightenment. It’s contested by the ancient Luide how Vairca experienced this enlightenment. Some say witnessing the corpses of it’s fallen brethren gave it the perspective it needed to ascend, others say Vairca killed the inhabitants themself as a form of mercy, and absorbed their Mashde to continue their legacy. Regardless, Vairca now had the Mashde equivalent to a Felchmashin and began to go on a journey to teach others of the ways of Vairacity. 
The Sacrifice, Grenthor: While he was never given the chance to ever achieve Vairac, Grenthor showed kindness that many are incapable of. In order to help a group of practicing Vairacits known as The Einmash, Grenthor trapped himself into an endless death loop, stunting his own spiritual growth in order to benefit the group.
The Beacon, Illuin: An alleged descendent of Vairca, Illuin was a Queen of the then bustling city of Lerchvashtair and ascendant to Glerchmashin. She was famous for her conquest over neighbouring cities and the mass development of knowledge and Vairacit practicing.
The Heretic of Lies, Gorvirn: Most notorious for his set of books accusing Vairacity, or rather how it was being run at the time, of being nothing but a web of lies spun by the oligarchs to promise power to the poor and keep them subjugant, Gorvirn was banished from Lerchvashtair where he famously claimed "Verdeagul huen Cellderen!" - "The Judge shall feast on your deaths!". Some believe that he was actually an apprentice, or even blood relative of Illuin. 
The Fallen, Prielmash: Less of a single entity, and rather a collective, the term Prielmash refers to all the souls that have been lost to the Abist, their names and identites forvever forgotten. whether they were Andschof or Glerchmashin, everything joins the Prielmash. Depictions of Prielmash show an eldritch entity of a thousand faces and limbs whispering into the ear of a scholar, tempting them towards death.
The Elemental, Dente: Most likely where the word for energy stems from, Dente was a famous sorcerer long before Illuins time, being able to control all seven of the fundamental energies to a level of abundance and precision unprecedented, and still unsurpassed even now. 
== The Ancient Texts ==
DocPockets currently owns a collection of books all relating to Vairacity, though she's still on the search for more. They are as follows.
Vairac - Unknown: The original recounts of the life of Vairac can be found in this faded, purple antiquity. Like many of the Ancient texts studied, the author is now long gone, and most likely never to be found. It is written in Glerchde, though there are many words now lost to time
Godhood: There and Back - Illuin: This was where the original Rituals of Ascendence were written in this ancient black book. Illuin speaks of his own journey from Heulschof to Glerchmashin, and writings of how she achieved this. It also contains records of the Nine Verdea, and Illuins travels there.
Vairacit’s Falsehood: Books 1-3  - Gorvirn: A coveted book, left unread by all. It is covered in a black cloth, and despite attempts of burning it, the collection Vairacit’s Falsehoods has been left unscarred. 
A Commentary of Gorvirns “Vairacit’s Falsehood”: Books 1-7 - Unknown : The only known record of the contents of Vairacits Falsehoods, due to original being forbidden to be read, A Commentary breaks down Gorvirns claims and explains why they’re wrong. The author never reveals their identity, but some historians believe it was Gorvirn himself who wrote the commentary after reconsidering his views.
The Felchmashin Compendium and The Glerchmashin Compendium - Unknown T. : Signed off only by a single T, these compendiums are much newer than the other books, being only roughly 400 years old. It’s possible that this wasn’t the original version of the books, and has been updated over generations. Regardless, these two contain a comprehensive ‘bestiary’ of Felchmashin and Glerchmashin.
A Collection of Disunion Recounts: Volumes 1 and 2 - Felseravae Voldiniol: Rather than a single writing, a collection of letters, journal pages and illustrations are contained within these two Compendiums, all from the time of the Divine Disunion.
Category:Religions
Category:Traveler's Era