Vennek - Fevarik Religion

Vennek is a Regalti religion and way of life that originated in the Crystal Highsands around four thousand years ago. It is primarily practiced by the Fevarik Regalti. This religion teaches that we are currently in the fifth iteration of reality, the most stable version of the Universe. The Universe is maintained by balancing Creation and the Void, a task left to the Tarik. Regalti contribute by balancing their lives between light and darkness, helping others to balance their lives, and by giving offerings to their favored deities.

Year Established: At least 3500 B.E.
Practitioners: 2.5 Billion Regalti

Table of Contents

Beliefs

Ventar - The Universe

Ventar can best be described as either the supreme being in the universe, or the universe itself. The Fevarik believe that Ventar embodies all of creation and all of the void at the same time. All things that are good, evil, light, and dark were created by them. Other than stories from earlier versions of the universe, Ventar doesn't play a large role in Fevarik society. they watch over all of creation, ensuring that balance is maintained. If it is not maintained, then they will destroy the universe and start over. The Tarik claim to work to prevent that from happening, but many of them try to pursue their own goals which is what throws the universe out of balance. The Star Ventar is considered a personification of their physical form. Humans may know this star by the name Betelgeuse

Tari

Regalti can contribute to keeping the universe in balance by worshipping their favored Tari. Tari (Plural: Tarik) has several meanings to the Fevarik. There is no separate word in their language for "God", so beings that other Regalti would consider gods like Baultar, Vala, Sevi, and more are described with the same word for what other regalti would consider for lesser beings like spirits. When the word God/Goddess is used, it is generally a helper term for non-Fevarik to determine which Tari is a physical being and which Tari is a concept or unseeable spirit.

Modern Fevarik separate the Tarik into three distinct groups, the Entarik, which are the first children of Ventar, the Keltarik, which are the grandchildren of Ventar, and the Notarik, lesser spirits and beings. The Entarik and Keltarik can be described as greater and lesser gods, but it shoud be noted that concepts with no physical being like time and emotions can be considered to be Entarik, even though there is no god of time or god of emotions.

The only beings that aren't described as Tarik include Ventar, and all living beings. When a Regalti dies, and when any living being dies they become a Keltari. Most Regalti ascend to the afterlife when they die. Those that stay on Collena are lost spirits that died without balance in their lives. They become Notari, and are often contained in special shrines so they don't escape and ruin the spiritual balance of other Regalti.

Selection of Entari

Vala - The Sun Goddess.
Sevi - The Moon Goddess.
Mintar - God of Force.
Halana - Goddess of Ice.
Baultar - The Toxic God.
Kellentar - Combined God of the Earth and Sea.
Sentar - God of crafts.
Kinta - Goddess of Animals.
Zefalna - Spirit of Creation.
Lorna - Spirit of the Void.
Shorna - Spirit of Time.
Marna - Spirit of Emotions.

Selection of Keltari

Arta - God of the Sky.
Eshani - Goddess of Luck.
Tula - Second Sun Goddess.
Rensa - Goddess of Ruins.
Mirda - Volcano Spirit.
Minta - Lightning Goddess.
Shentar - Spirit of Metal.
Ikon - Spirit of Quicksilver.

Spiritual Balance

It is the responsibility of each and every being in the universe to live their life in balance, to not stray into darkness, and to not bathe themselves in the light. This concept says that the center, the twilight between light and darkness is what is truly good in this world, and that both light and darkness can be evil. An example of light being evil is having too much material wealth. An example of darkness being evil is in lusting for that same material wealth. The most balanced, and therefore most good thing a Regalti can do is helping those in need to achieve their own balance. Disrupting the balance at all is considered evil.

Nanse Shan

"There is common beliefs in all religion. I believe in Karma, which I can boil down to cause and effect. You give help to someone, and someone will help you.
The Fevarik believe in Nanse Shan, or "Push and Pull", which means about the same thing. If I help someone, I am pushing their spirit into balance, and by doing so, my spirit will be pulled into balance as well, but if I push someone over the edge into darkness, then my spirit will be pulled with theirs."

- Asha

Practice

Temples

Vennek has large temples for worshipping the distant greater gods that no longer walk Collena, forced to watch over the Regalti from far away. They are among the largest religious structures on the entire Planet Collena. Many of these temples are composed of wooden buildings surrounding a large central courtyard. The smaller buildings house the priests. The main building has a sanctuary for certain religious ceremony. At the outer edges of the courtyard, there are often shrines for lesser gods and spirits associated with the greater god. At the center of this courtyard is a raised area that has a different design depending which specific God is being worshipped. Religious ceremony also changes between each of the greater gods.

In the case of the Goddess Sevi for example, the Central platform is a large circular wooden area with thousands of small glass spheres embedded in the wood. The glass is covered in several layers of clear resin to create a flat surface. The entire floor reflects the Moon Sephar and accurately displays the current phase of the moon, no matter what angle you are viewing it from. Religious ceremony is often held in the light of a full moon, and is held on the platform.

In the case of the God Kellentar, the Sanctuary is instead made of stone and the center of the courtyard often has a large shallow pool to reflect that Kellentar is the combined God of the Land and Sea.

Shrines

Aside from the greater temples, there are numerous smaller shrines scattered throughout the nation of Vefaria and neighboring nations. Many were built by the Regalti, but many shrines are also naturally occuring, being very ancient trees or strange rock formations. These shrines are often enclosed in a courtyard similar to the larger templesbut smaller. Organized religious ceremony is rare.

Temple of Vala by Chrispy_0 (Made with Dungeonfog)

1. Stone Platform
2. Priest Housing
3. Priestess Housing

4. Sanctuary and Reliquary
5. Entrance

An example of a Temple of Vala. The Stone platform in the center is picked from types that maximize solar absorption, and is sometimes covered in asphalt, preventing snow and ice from forming and allowing nearby people to feel very warm when under light from the star Fevaultar. Religious ceremonies are often held at noon, but unless it is winter, is often held at the perimeter of the stone platform instead of on the hot platform itself.

Common forms of Practice

Prayer

When a Regalti prays, by standing or kneeling, younger Regalti will put their hands across their chest, touching opposite shoulders. Older Reglati will put their hands together into closed fists and all the second knuckles of their hands contacting each other. They will then rest their forehead on their thumbs. Their tails are also brought up over their shoulders and are often touching their hands.

Usually praying is done internally without speaking and the expectation is that individual Regalti connect themselves with their spirituality when praying. If one does speak, it is usually done in a specific way, invoking the specific Tari and then stating the purpose of invocation. To end the prayer, mostly commonly, a Regalti will say "An Yana Matse" (I leave in balance), or "An Yana Eshma" (I leave in peace).

Meditation and Mantras

Meditation is a considerably more ordered and complex form of prayer. Regalti who meditate kneel or sit upright on the ground, usually in the courtyard of a shrine or temple. These meditation sessions are almost always done in a group and led by a priest/priestess. They then put their hands into one of 144 separate positions that is either the hands by themselves or holding prayer beads. Then they recite the associated mantra with the hand position.

The most common hand position is the same as when praying, then the Priest in charge starts by saying "Matse Eshma" (balance and peace), then other Regalti join in, until everyone is chanting in unison. There is no formal stop to a meditation session. Most Regalti will stop chanting after several minutes to several hours and leave the rest to continue chanting until they feel they are spiritually fulfilled. The Priest is often the last to leave.

Praying and Skin Color

Do remember the Regalti are aliens. The species undergo involuntary skin color changes depending on their emotional state. When praying to the Tari, Regalti skin often turns a violet color. (See Regalti - Color Perception and meaning)

When in the deepest levels of Meditation, some Regalti will experience a similar high to that gained from physical or sexual activity. They will display 'rainbow skin' where the mechanism responsible for red skin and those responsible for blue skin are no longer in sync.

Older Regalti measure their spirit balance by checking their skin color changes as they pray. If they turn Violet, they are considered in balance. If they only turn Red or Blue, then they are out of balance in the direction of light or darkness.

Feathers

It should be noted that Regalti grow feathers out of the tops of their heads where humans have hair. Regalti shed at least one a day. Instead of tossing them, most Regalti will save them, as well as keep any other feathers they come across (most mammals and birds on Collena grow some type of feathers). Then either during the day in honor of Vala, or during the night in honor of Sevi, they will put several feathers in a bowl, and set it on fire. They then say the following Mantra as many times as they feel they need to or until the feather stops burning: "An Frane De Ansa Kidse" (I give you my spirit).

This ritual is a symbolic way to give what the Regalti call 'excess spirit' to the two most important deities in their religion. Temples to Vala and Sevi will also collect excess feathers, and then priests will ritually burn them all once a month, on the day and night of a new moon, when it is believed that the two goddesses have the least amount of spiritual energy because Sevi is lost in the void.

Bloodletting and Baultar

Once a month, the more religious Regalti will take a stone knife and either prick their finger or cut their tongue. They will smear several drops of blood onto a thin shaving of veilwood, then burn it. Praying is discouraged. This ritual is for Regalti to give their 'excess spirit' to Baultar. This is meant to appease him and prevent him from ruining the balance of the universe.

Also related to Baultar, there is a large temple in Barun-Deth, Vefaria. In a nearby cavern, a miniature version of Baultar's temple is constructed and, every other year, when the planet Baultar is at its highest in the sky, the miniature temple is carted into the courtyard of Baultar's actual temple, then set ablaze while Regali hold a three day festival around the smoldering remains. The ritual mimics the burning of Baultar's temple around 2000 years ago, when Regalti stopped worshipping the great deciever. The only reason any attention is paid to him at all is his threat to end the universe unless Regalti give him their excess spirit.

Festivals and Celebration

There are multiple festivals held throughout the year all across the nation of Vefaria, marking special occasions and events in history. Pretty much every temple sponsors a festival each year, and the capital city of Vefaria, Barun-Deth, sponsors the largest fesitvals in the nation. During these, it starts and ends with a procession of priests, priestesses, and representatives of the Emperor, or even the Emperor himself. Pretty much every single festival has a different celebration and different foods are consumed. Festivals dedicated to specific Tari have once a year rituals performed as well.

Most festivals happen on specific daysof the year, but one of the religion's largest festivals doesn't happen on a set schedule and is instead held during the week surrounding a Lunar eclipse. Smaller festivals are held during full moons around certain points of the year but always happen during certain months. Other major festivals happen during the solstices and equinoxes.

Coming of Age and Ancestor Feathers

Each Regalti Family or Clan in Vefaria keeps a set of prayer beads that has feathers, some from long dead ancestors strung on it. Some of these ancestor bracelets also have feathers from extremely rare animals on them as well (including those from other worlds). Some of the more well kept ancestor bracelets have feathers over a thousand years old. The imperial ancestor bracelet is over 2000 years old.

These ancestor bracelets are usually all that remains from followers of the Vennek religion because this religion practice cremation. Regalti often keep them as part of a family or clan shrine to pray to long dead ancestors. These bracelets are also taken out on a Regalti's seventeenth birthday (about 23 earth years). The young Regalti wears the finest robe they can afford, and wears the ancestor bracelet, as well as various other religious articles. They are then led to a nearby temple where a priest purifies them and gives them the rite to adulthood. A feather is plucked from their head and a special craftsman preserves it and adds it to the bracelet.