Vera

**Vera** (literally "faith") is the native and ancestral religion of Donat. There is no official name for practitioners of Vera, though Donatians coloquially use the term верници/*vernitsi* believers. Vera has no central authority in control and much diversity exists among its practitioners. Vera is often regarded as pantheistic for believing that the divine elements of virtue and sin are spiritually present in all existing matter. Donat's religious structure consists of 73,35% followers of Vera "in some way", 21,92% atheists and 4.73% undisclosed or of other beliefs.

## Beliefs and practice

Vera is primarily based on a dualist system of belief. According to Vera, all matter was formed from the *bad cloth* (**sin**) and the *good cloth* (**virtue**). Physical matter is never in a state of equilibrium or purity, meaning that things cannot consist solely of one element, nor can they consist of a perfect balance between the two. While this is universally accepted among all practitioners of Vera, it is debated whether people should seek to fulfill a perfect elemental balance in their spirit, or if they should seek to achieve elemental purity through committing acts of virtue.

Although Vera is severely decentralized and is divided into hundreds of sects across the country of Donat, there are three core beliefs which all practitioners of Vera accept:

1. the existence of sin and virtue as coexisting forces which run & form the world and its inhabitants,
2. the existence of venerated spiritual beings called Duosters,
3. the omnipresence of sin and virtue within all living and non-living things.

### Polytheism-pantheism debate

Vera is considered to be **polytheistic** for its veneration of spirits called Duosters (Donatese: Двостар / *Dvostar* twice as old, pl. Двостри / *Dvostri*). Duosters are thought to be spiritual beings which possess a perfect elemental balance. This is the result of post-creationist sin and virtue not being able to impact their spirits, meaning that all things are elementally neutral in conception. However, Duosters are not typically regarded as deities or divine creators, but rather as enlighteners and guiders of all people. Vera is also not primarily focused on the existence of these beings. For these reasons, Vera is also considered to be more of a **pantheistic** religion.

Some practitioners of Vera believe that Donat is 'holy land'. This belief was more widespread during the Middle Ages & especially during the cultural period of Felimanophilia, when foreign religions were shunned. However, this stigma has carried on into the modern era and is the main reason why there are little to no foreign temples in Donat. Some consider it improper to practice one's faith in public in any way if it is not Vera, as it greatly disturbs the natural order of things. The hardships that the Rutherish Invasion of Donat brought to the region is precisely explained through this, as the Rutherish introduced the region to their religion and beliefs.

### Spirituality

The definition of the word 'element' within Vera is very vague. Some consider elements to be the sins & virtues themselves, while some think elements are divided into a pair of one sin and one virtue. Regardless of the definition, among a vast majority of sects in Vera, there are thought to be seven core sins and virtues:

* ***Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath*** and ***Pride*** as sins,
* ***Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness, Patience*** and ***Humility*** as their respective virtues.

Vera harshly condemns idolatry, believing that the essence of an element cannot be created by man and is only present in nature. For this reason, some sects include *Idolatry* as an eighth sin. Vera is also a **karmic** religion, meaning that anything done or thought by an individual is equally retributed.

#### Spirits

There is a clear tier system of spirits in Vera. The most revered and powerful of these spirits are called **Duosters*.*** Among most sects, there is thought to be seven Duosters, each representing a pair of one sin and one virtue. Duosters are omniscient, immortal and omnipresent through their respective pair, but they are not omnipotent. Duosters may be confused for deities or gods, but this has never been the case in mainstream sects of Vera. Duosters have names that are unknown to practitioners of Vera, though some sects claim that they can denote names to them. In all mainstream sects, though, it is blasphemy to name any Duoster, as it would be a sign of their subordinance.

The second tier - below Duosters - includes **ghosts**, which are divided into **great fairghosts** and **great malghosts** (Donatese: велике добродуше - велике злодуше). They are the harbingers of good or evil and cannot be seen by one until their true name is called out. This is typically called a summoning rite. By calling out their true name, these spirits submit to whoever has called their name and will not leave one's presence until they have completed one favor for the person. These two spirits are equal in rank and, depending on the morality of the situation, either can be more appropriate for the favor that needs to be done. If the spirit believes it has been tricked, it can negate the request at any time and feast on the soul of the person. For this reason, summoning rites are generally discouraged.

According to tradition, some ghosts can be summoned without their true name being called out. For these particular summoning rites, the summoner would have to follow specific instructions when trying to invoke a ghost.

The third tier's existence is not present among every sect in Vera. It consists of lesser spirits of good and evil called **dim fairghosts** and **dim malghosts**. They rely on shapeshifting to deceive or appeal to the living and appear as fairies, elves, mermaids and similar beings. Some believe they explain the deities of other religions, which are typically regarded as false.

### Sects and symbolism

There is a multitude of sects inside Vera, as it is a decentralized religion with no central authority. The ones which garner the most believers are the sects pertaining to the veneration of a certain Duoster, or, as is more commonly defined, a certain pairing of a virtue and sin. Other sects either diverge from the seven major sects or are independent from them entirely. The following is a list of the seven major sects:

1. the Sect of **Fauna** (representing Chastity & Lust)
2. the Sect of **Flora** (representing Temperance & Gluttony)
3. the Sect of **Stone** (representing Charity & Greed)
4. the Sect of **Air** (representing Diligence & Sloth)
5. the Sect of **Soil** (representing Kindness & Envy)
6. the Sect of **Thunder** (representing Patience & Wrath)
7. the Sect of **Fire** (representing Humility & Pride)

A high percentage of believers belong to the Sect of Stone. Belonging to one sect does not exclude oneself from belonging to another. Sects which do not primarily revere a Duoster usually have more controversial claims. For example, there are sects which claim that there are eight virtues (and therefore sins), often including *Idolatry* or *Despond* as an eighth sin. Contrarily, there are sects which claim there are only six, five or four virtues and sins. A large portion of sects often challenge the existence of lesser spirits.

   The most significant symbols of Vera represent the 7 elemental pairs, along with their natural meanings, which mostly stem from the **Donatese creation myth**. These symbols include ***Ugon**, **Zarok**, **Levka**, **Luden**, **Svelo**, **Oblovit*** and ***Zhud***. Traditionally, symbols are written down on pieces of letter or wood as talismans. They are present on all shrines and religious scripture.

The **lesser cross of Donat** is commonly used in Donatese clergy, while the greater cross has become the national symbol of Donat. In today's clergy, most priests abide by the double-sided symbolism of the lesser cross, with one side, called the *Superus*, representing the Duosters and heavenly virtues, crossing over the bottom side, called the *Profanus*, which represents mankind or Donatians. In Donatese, these sides are called "Duoster side" (двостара) and "man's side" (људова). On physical lesser crosses, the *Superus*, the "divine" side, is marked by a hanging metal bead on one end. It is always in an upright position. The other side, which is without a bead, is the *Profanus*. Contrary to the nation's flag, the Donatese cross has never been made out of any sort of metal and continues to be made out of wood.

### Practice

Temples of Vera are miniscule and most of them are located inside important buildings of public conference, such as town halls. These temples are more alike to enclosed shrines, with offerings placed in the form of foraged items that are believed to contain the essence of a virtue or sin. Later, these items are then burned by monks or priests. Practitioners of Vera believe that this rite is done to cleanse Donat and give back what the spirits granted to them.

## Literature

*The myth directory for Vera is contained at the bottom of this heading. There, you can find subpages pertaining to Donatese mythology.*

*This heading is incomplete. You can help by telling me to get off my lazy butt.*

### Myth directory

* Donatese creation myth
* Ending myth
* Exodus myth

## History

The concrete origins of Vera are unclear at best. Some have stipulated that, because of its heterogenous nature, Vera was never one unified religion. Because of this, it ought to have taken shape from many local beliefs which merged under one identity as a sense of community started developing among the Proto-Donatians. Because the ancestral land of the Donatians is Kanita, Vera was under the influence of other faiths in the region.

Vera is thought to have diverged from a common ancestral belief with the modern **Svjeto** religion of Illjika. Some claim that the existence of the Duosters had replaced the main deity of the original faith - the Holy Mother - while others claim that the Duosters were worshipped along with the Holy Mother. A third hypothesis states that Duosters were actually *malevolent* *spirits* or demons in the original faith. Regardless of the case, it is generally concluded upon that Vera had to be radical in relation to the religions that surrounded it. This is thought to be one of many consequences of regional conflicts which the Proto-Donatians had to endure in Kanita. To ensure their survival, their religion had to have complex concepts different from the religions of the civilizations that surrounded them. This is reflected in many core concepts of Vera, such as the absence of deities and pantheism, both of which were irregular for the region. The denouncement of all other faiths is thought to have originated during this point as well.

After the Donatians' exodus to the continent of Ripiero, migrations across Donat started happening on a wide scale. For this reason, large temples separate from other buildings were seldom built, as they were both impractical and unnecessary. Places of worship were, as such, relocated to shrines inside places of communion and large public gatherings, as well as to individual shrines in homes. If the period of time spent in Kanita can be defined as the **identification** of Vera, the period of time between the exodus and the Rutherish Invasion of Donat can be defined as its period of **maturity**. During this time period, the religion came to be largely diversified and expanded upon through scripture. This time period is characterized by the appearance of sects. Contrary to popular belief, the religion was not largely transformed during Felimanophilia - the cultural movement which promoted admiration for the Ancient Felimans - but, rather, the religion of the Ancient Felimans was warped to fit the narratives of Vera.

During Rutherish occupation, the development Vera - as well as Donat as a whole - stagnated. By this point, the religion was already 'mature', however, it would never see a period of centralization nor reform because of the Rutherish occupation. The leftist academia of 19th century Donat and secularist policies of the USDR helped increase atheism among the population, which is apparent in Donat's modern demographic structure.