Temple Verata

Temple Verata is one of the main Religions of the Virasana Empire, charged with teaching the faithful. Their main temple is the Lacrimosa Monastery on Tempest, where they also safeguard dangerous artifacts at the Krypta.

## Tenets of Faith

To the Verata, God is a Zen-like riddle in the sum of everything, and each attempt to name or describe them would by itself be faulty.

God has given each soul the means to reach enlightenment and salvation on their own, a state in which the single person understands God's perfect plan and thus can live in perfect peace and harmony, a state the Verata call Clarity. But each one has to learn how to listen to those teachings within their innermost hearts, and not be distracted by base needs or false counsel. Much falsehood is out in the world, keeping people from reaching Clarity, and it is the duty of the Verata to seek out and rectify what is not true in the Eye of God.

Most Verata give a vow of poverty, eschewing all worldly possessions, and a vow of chastity, to keep them free of any obligations other than their quest for Clarity.

As it hinders the way to Clarity, any sort of intentional falsehood is seen very critical by the temple. Actively causing an innocent to come to the wrong conclusions is considered a cardinal sin by the Verata. (A famous, hotly disputed exception to this rule is a lie that would end someone's suffering.)

## Vestments and public perception

Scientists of the Faith, these red-robed priests evoke very mixed emotions in the general public - on the one hand, they are trusted advisors, inspectors and barristers, on the other hand, their zeal can cause bloody witchhunts at the drop of a hat. Generally, they are highly intelligent, well educated people, and are rumoured to be aware of the truth of every word spoken - even their own.

With their minds occupied and often filled to the brim with matters beyond a layperson's understanding, there is the recurring cliché that the Verata do not show as much discipline towards their personal space and hygiene as they do to their mental excercises. While this is mostly a wild exxageration, many Verata go by with the bare minimum of self-care - to the point that some have to be remided that their bodies need more sustenance than coffee and ink.

## Politics

As the 'lawyers' of the church, it is also the domain of the Verata to publish *Bannbullen* (lit.: bulletins of banishment, church bulls) - official proclamations banning technologies, items or people from the Empire, effectively allowing Temple Belligra to enforce those bans without fear of recrimination.

For many years, the Verata were feared as rabid inquisition. It was only after the Purge of the Verata and the Edict of Universal Truth in 2116 ET that they became the (mostly) even-handed voice of justice they are today.

The temple is headed, as much as that is even possible, by Archdeacon Karla of Tempest. The process of selecting a new Archdeacon is lengthy and convoluted, but the results are almost always unanimously considered wise. Often, a newly annointed Archdeacon's first action is to initialize the selection process of their successor.

## Training

After having been accepted into the temple, novices are trained in one of three major branches. Either as Inquisitors, who actively seek out evil, uncover and - if need be - destroy it. Or as Magisters, who spend their lives in seclusion and research, either trying to straighten up the mess left by past generations or searching for as yet undiscovered facts. Lastly, they could train as Barristers, offering legal, forensic or other intellectual help to those in need.

Novices in training keep their birthnames but will take up a new name upon ordination, signifying a clean slate free from previous conceptions or binding ties.

Most Verata enter an vow of celibacy to keep their mind free from distractions, though vows of poverty, honesty or others are also common. Verata are forbidden to enter marriage, as well as any action that would oblige them beyond the commands of their Faith. As the chastity vows are meant to curttail distractions, they are focussed on abstention of romantic relationships, not abstention from sexual activities, even though many Verata elect to conflate the two.

Contrary to common belief, most Verata are reluctant to pass judgement of any form. While their awareness of their own shortcomings is crucial to their ability to discern the truth in everything they encounter, it also makes them aware that they will never have *all* the facts, and thus any judgement will inherently be flawed. Once a reasonable amount of facts has been gathered, though, most Verata trust the judgement of a Belligra for their innate sense of justice.

In a Triecclesial Court, they usually take the role of defence, as their impartiality is so well known that even defending the most heinous crimes will leave their both their reputation untarnished. Also, no one would ever doubt a Verata not to use every means at their disposal to prove a point, so no one would accuse them of failing in their duty should they lose a case.

## Orders within the Temple

* the Order of Charitable Reclamation - tasked with reclaiming dangerous artifacts
* the Saint Tarquinius Division - tasked with uncovering organized crime, particularly within the church
* the Order of Saint Trinity - tasked with cybernetic research and security

## Snippets

* *bannbulle* De Carbonis et Siliciae, detailing the appropriate use of cyberware and for the first time opening the possibility that EIs could have a soul.
* *bannbulle* De sacris Separatio Anima et Materia, forbidding the creation, alteration or any sort of tampering with supernatural powers by any artificial, techonological means.
* *bannbulle* Donum Anima, Donum a Dei: Following the events of The Demon Prince of Khadân, it was declared that having a soul was a gift from God, and no mortal could ever judge who were worthy or not. Thus every creature, upon request, had the right to be tested if they were souled or not, thus gaining Full Personhood Status.
* the Edict of Universal Truth, (*Ex Edicto Vero Universalis*)
* Ex Edicto Ostracismo Cibi Animarum, *(Condamnation of the Soul Eaters)*

 Karla of Tempest Saint Nicodemus | Notable Holdings

## Other Articles on Temple Verata

 Archdeacon Donum Anima, Donum a Dei Edict of Universal Truth Ex Edicto Ostracismo Cibi Animarum Order of Charitable Reclamation Purge of the Verata Saint Tarquinius Division