Vepribism

== The Beginning ==
Some time ago, but not too long, a player known as Slagathorn broke open an obsidian tomb holding a destructive god-like being within, this being marked Slagathorn as it's worshipper, but this was not something Slagathorn agreed to, Slagathorn did not worship The Zarzaleus, instead, he sought to seal it away once again.
This however, was not an easy task, but Slagathorn found Somebody, he was unsure of who he found, but they said could help. Together, Slagathorn and the person sealed The Zarzaleus back within the bedrock tomb before it could do anything, protecting the world from the destruction that would have otherwise been brought upon it.
This person revealed itself to be Augmentum, Old God of Growth, Augmentum was once worshipped by thousands of people, but The Zarzaleus killed nearly every single one of them, after which the god and their remaining followers sealed it away within an obsidian tomb deep beneath the ground.
Augmentum then left to guard the tomb for eternity, but later, when they looked away from the tomb, for only a moment, Slagathorus had accidentally broken it and freed The Zarzaleus.
Augmentum told Slagathorn to leave them to continue protecting the tomb, telling them of their replacement, Vepribus, God of thorns. Slagathorn created a village within a spruce forest, naming it after this new god he had heard of, building a shrine to the god, attracting it's attention, and being deemed as a follower of the god Vepribus.
== Beliefs ==
Vepribus is believed to be a god dedicated to justice, peace, and beauty, sweet berries are those ideals taken form, the thorns on their vines deterring those who are too hasty, and allowing a calmer, more peaceful approach to excel, and beauty needs no explanation, the bushes themselves are frequently used as decoration by humans.
In Vepribism, it is believed that every star in the sky is a god, watching down on everything, and due to this, all rituals are to be done at night, when the gods look down onto the world.
At the abandoned town of Vepribus, an altar stands atop the tallest hill, the berries that grow upon this altar at sacred and not to be touched.
== Religion ==
=== The Gods ===
The main gods in Vepribism are Vepribus and Augmentum, both the Gods of nature, Vepribus is the current god, while Augmentum has retired from their duties to ensure the Zarzaleus never escapes.
==== Vepribus ====
Vepribus is the center of the religion, being master of all plant life, and creator of the sweet berries, Vepribus is still young, for a god that is, at about 22,000 years old. Vepribus has been a god since Augmentum began guarding the Zarzaleus, which has been around 16,000 years. Vepribus, despite being a god, cannot tend to every single plant in the world, so he created several gods to assist him. Vepribus still does not let any god aid with anything relating to his precious sweet berry plant, he alone is responsible for that, and should any lesser god even request to help with a single one, they risk being replaced, and they know this too well. 
===== Arbores =====
Arbores is the god of trees, growing them, ensuring they produce saplings, and making them sturdy for when they are inevitably cut down for construction, when there's a storm, sometimes Arbores will let a tree be knocked down near mortals, just to spook them, the tree will never land on something important, like a house, or a person, and is usually easy to remove.
===== Gramen =====
Gramen is the god of grass, it sounds boring, but grass is one of the most important plants in the world, being food for the many wild and domestic animals that roam the planet, we mortals also frequently consume a variant of grass, wheat, baked into breads, cookies, and cakes.
===== Messis =====
Messis is the god of harvest, she helps Gramen with his wheat, but she alone is responsible for every other farmed crop in existence, potatoes, carrots, sugar cane, beets, everything.
==== Augmentum ====
Augmentum is not currently performing the tasks of the god of nature, and instead has taken the duty of protecting the Zarzaleus, for if the Zarzaleus is freed, the world would face certain doom. Before they took up this duty, they were the one and only god of nature, having existed before even humans, being born when the first seed planted it's roots. Augmentum grew with the plant life, becoming stronger, and as they grew, so did their influence, they did not need lesser gods to aid them, while Vepribus is still young for a god, requiring assistance.
=== Deeds ===
In Vepribism, there are things that a follower should and should not do, these actions could be obvious, like no murder, but some are a bit unique.
==== Good Actions ====
* The frequent consumption of sweet berries is something highly valued, as sweet berries are a gift from Vepribus, meant for his followers.
* Carrying a trinket of some sort in the name of Vepribus is something that should be done for anybody who follows the god, this trinket can be used similarly to prayer beads, or it can just be an item dedicated to Vepribism. The item can also be an armor piece, an example is how Slagathorn wears blue dyed boots for his trinket.
* Of course, rituals in the name of Vepribus are important, like with any other religion.
==== Bad Actions ====
* The Destruction of any sacred item or structure is considered unforgivable and is the one who commits this crime shall be severely punished and forced to reconstruct a destroyed structure, or forced to spread a large amount of wildlife, any attempt of justification must be in the presence of no less than two prophets, unless there is only one prophet currently in existence, at the site of a holy berry bush.
* Mass destruction of plant life is to be punished through the actor attempting to justify their actions in the presence of a prophet. If the actor fails to justify their actions, the punishment will then become re-planting and re-growing the plant life that was destroyed
* Consumption of Holy Berries is reserved only for a Prophet during a ritual, and only on special occasions, any other time is forbidden.
* Killing another Vepribian is forbidden, and during war times, Vepribians are not allowed to fight each other, only those who do not follow Vepribus, only when solely Vepribians remain may fighting occur, and when one's health is low, they should retreat, rather than die in battle. If Vepribus deems one side guilty, then any Vepribians siding with them may be freely killed without punishment. Disobeying this rule will be punished through attempted justification in the presence of a priest or prophet, should the actor fail to justify their actions, .
* Disrespecting a prophet or priest is not allowed, and will be punished with the consumption of a single poisonous potato. If there are no poisonous potatoes available at the time, then it will be postponed until one can be acquired, if this act is performed multiple times while no potatoes are available, multiple potatoes will be given at once.
* Disrespecting another Vepribian is not allowed, but it is not severely punished, unless the disrespected is a priest or prophet.
===== Punishment =====
Common punishments for those who perform a bad action are:
* Attempting to justify your actions in the presence of a priest or prophet to avoid other forms of punishment.
* Consumption of a poisonous potato, as a punishment in the form of health damage.
* Spreading wild plant life, to make up for bad actions.
Category:Religions
Category:Traveler's Era