Vermella Worship FAQ

[Gaby]

I crave amusement, and what amuses me most are the huge misconceptions most of this server have about Vermella (whether made jokingly or in earnest).

on a more serious note, in developing the lore for this single god, I have, rather inadvertently, made an entire subculture, with their unique brand of morality and beliefs that drastically differs from the rest of Altera. something I've noticed about creating a culture with their own traditions, history, and belief system: people love to question every single aspect of it.

I mean, look at how many people go and question the Engem's motives? already I have had so many people come to me like,

"if your all pacifists, why are u fighting war"
"how can Vermella even real god she's literally Shalherana+Sallana"
"so we can just use blunt weapons right"
"stone isn't alive tho"

so you can just go ahead right now. ask any burning question you have about Vermella worship, ranging from the Legend of Vermella Red-Tail, the Law of Red, Falandraal and its secretness, Vermella's godliness, to the exact reason why they don't do marriage. I will answer them. no matter how weird

(please, questions that are excessively gory or sexual, place them under a spoiler. or better yet, don't ask them. we're PG-13 here)

EDIT, NOTE:

*Not sanctioned by Vermella.

on questions not pertaining to the Vermella-worshipping subculture, take what I say with a grain of salt. these questions are written from the perspectives of the Followers of Vermella, who are not Vermella herself, and have no way of knowing the true nature of the gods.
the answers I give are beliefs held to be truth, but they are beliefs. Vermella the god may be entirely different from the picture her followers paint her as. please take note of this.

 

[BarbarianGaming]

So you believe everything is alive?

 

[Exclaimer]

to the exact reason why they don't do marriage.

dammit

First entry for the FAQ (I was gonna post a ton of typical questions but now I actually have one of my own)

How is marriage dealt with?

 

[RexJen]

Can a follower of Vermella get married? Because I did not know about this :3

 

[Michcat]

*Not sanctioned by Vermella.

Myths are perfectly lovely, though, and I personally love them. Just making it clear that Gaby has not communicated with me (or anyone else who worked on the god backmatter, currently only me remaining within the staff.)

If it is decided the lore is to be altered without continuity I will respectfully ask all my work be removed and essentially the new business starts from scratch. Nothing is yet decided, though.

 

[Somnastra]

(Also confirming that this has not been communicated with any staff. Gaby, you're really making a habit of this, come ooooon.)

 

[Gaby]

Myths are perfectly lovely, though, and I personally love them. Just making it clear that Gaby has not communicated with me (or anyone else who worked on the god backmatter, currently only me remaining within the staff.)

If it is decided the lore is to be altered without continuity I will respectfully ask all my work be removed and essentially the new business starts from scratch. Nothing is yet decided, though.

I have actually discussed some of this lore with you, in the past. if you would like me to run my answers by you before posting, I'd be happy to.

most of these questions will be matters of culture however. I believe. unless people start asking me questions that don't have to do with the overarching beliefs of the people who follow her.

(Also confirming that this has not been communicated with any staff. Gaby, you're really making a habit of this, come ooooon.)

;_;

 

[Michcat]

Culture is fine.

When yer contacted me I said "Yeah this is great! Just make sure folks know OOCly 's a myth"

Edit:

EDIT, NOTE: on questions not pertaining to the Vermella-worshipping subculture, take what I say with a grain of salt. these questions are written from the perspectives of the Followers of Vermella, who are not Vermella herself, and have no way of knowing the true nature of the gods.
the answers I give are beliefs held to be truth, but they are beliefs. Vermella the god may be entirely different from the picture her followers paint her as. please take note of this.

Awh, you didn't have to be that harsh- But thank you so much! That makes things a lot clearer
Feel free to do whatever you want, I'll quit pestering you

 

[Gaby]

right. I think there may have been a misconception.

I am only speaking from the perspective of the average Follower of Vermella.
would you expect a common worshipper to know the answers to everything? heeeeeeeck no.

 

[Gaby]

Can a follower of Vermella get married? Because I did not know about this :3

How is marriage dealt with?

heh. knew that would beg the question.

first thing to note is, Vermella worship was started by a group of Red caparii. the reds don't strike me as a people who are very big on the marriage thing. in fact, judging by the bootie calls, I'd say the cultural norm is either casual relationships that barely last a single night, or downright polygamy.
does that sound like a culture that would develop marriage ceremonies to you?

while the caparii culture is not universally Vermella-worshipping, the fact remains that for the longest time, the only people worshipping Vermella were caparii. specifically, caparii who most likely don't get married.

of course, today in Altera, we have people from all races worshipping Vermella, and because marriage has absolutely nothing to do with Vermella at all, there is absolutely nothing restricting a Follower from getting married.
you know, there's just not any Vermella-specific marriage vows. not until someone decides to make some up.

(personally, I don't think a Vermella-specific marriage vow is necessary. thats like asking "are there any Skraag-specific marriage vows" like whats the point.)

 

[Valonyx]

how do rock even haf lif D:
I cant even-

 

[Gaby]

So you believe everything is alive?

simple answer: no.
houses definitely aren't alive. neither are swords.

how do rock even haf lif D:

to begin:

what is the definition of life?
the common person will say something like "it grows" "it requires sustenance," or simply "it's alive."
modern biology currently defines life as something that fulfills 6 criteria:

1) it can reproduce
2) it goes through homeostasis
3) it has cells
4) it needs energy
5) it responds to stimuli

clear definition, yes? the problem is, it gets blurry at the point where someone is discussing things like crystals, which technically fulfill all the criteria of life.

but we're not talking about modern science. we're talking about the middle ages, a period when people thought sickness was because someone had too much blood, and they had a perfectly detailed and rational explanation for this theory.

so with the framework of "doesn't know about cells, homeostasis, or any concept of modern biology,"
what is alive?

to the Followers of Vermella, this answer is simple:

1) it has blood.

but you're thinking, "what about plants?"
plants have blood. it's called sap.
"blood" is simply defined as anything that flows through a body, to give it the capacity of life. (and as we all know, Vermella is the goddess of blood)

so clearly, for rock to be alive, it needs blood. what might the blood of rock be?
surely, it couldn't be that odd crystalline material that grows in the bottoms of caves, gives off a reddish glow, and holds a strange power that can make things move?

Tl;DR, rock, or rather, The Stone (AKA, the entire earth) is a living thing,
because it has blood, and that blood is redstone.

 

[Valonyx]

but ven i taek rock in my hand, and i throw at rock wall, and the rok goes boom, it no bled?
me no understood

 

[Gaby]

but ven i taek rock in my hand, and i throw at rock wall, and the rok goes boom, it no bled?
me no understood

because you only took a small portion of the larger body of the Stone.

thats like me taking a strand of hair, snapping it in two, and wondering why it didn't bleed.
or peeling bark off a tree, cutting the bark, and wondering why theres no sap

 

[ACU20]

Why is it, that Vermella is considered the god of life, but it's Shalherana which brings the followers back?

 

[Gaby]

Why is it, that Vermella is considered the god of life, but it's Shalherana which brings the followers back?

oh boy.
first of all, people aren't revived by Shalherana herself. they're revived by the Sisterhood of Shalherana. the Sisterhood practices mysticism, which is magic, which technically isn't affiliated with any god I don't think (not since She Who Is Beyond Names died that is) (I checked. for some reason Silas isn't god of magic)(mods pls refute me if im wrong)

secondly, yeah Vermella is god of Life. so is Shalherana.
"but gaby!" people cry, "thats not possible!"
well, Vermella is the daughter of Shalherana, and thus falls under what I like to call the "Persephone Clause"

namely, Persephone is the daughter of Ceres, god of growing things
Persephone is the god of flowers. which, you know, shouldn't make sense. thats a growing thing too.

the catch is, Persephone and Ceres represent two different facets of growing things. while Ceres was the great bulk of the growing things (especially crops), Persephone was the flowers, all the pretty, dainty parts of growing things.

back to Vermella and Shalherana.

the key difference between Vermella and Shalherana is the difference between plants and animals.
as any Housekeeper would tell you, Shalherana is the goddess of Green Life, that which grows and spreads. Vermella is the goddess of Red Life, that which holds energy and passion, that runs and eats and fights.

to answer your question, the reason the Followers of Vermella are revived by the Sisterhood of Shalherana is simply because there's no powerful mystic who just so happens to follow Vermella.

 

[Gaby]

reviving this thread to say I want you guys to ask questions. do it. the answers will be enlightening.

now that thats out of the way...
@BrianAT16 asked an interesting question via pm and im copy-pasting it here, as it is relevant:

So I was wondering...
Is Robert still banished even after he died? What I mean is, is his blood still not sacred and can it still be spilled without breaking the vow to Vermella?
I know this probably seems like a weird question but I have been wondering for awhile...

"that question, of whether one is still banished when they're dead, would ultimately be a question to ask Vermella.

there's actually a lot more behind this question, but the short answer, regarding Robert specifically?

yes, he's still banished.
Vermellan Law does not deal in matters of the past, only matters of the present.
banishment is not something the followers impose on someone. in an odd sense, it is the banished who decide their own banishment, for when they consciously violate the law of red, they are already separating themselves from the path of Red. they banish themselves.

questions such as these become much simpler once you start thinking of things in the framework of the here and now.
does Robert's death absolve him of banishment? no, he is still alive.

Robert's past violation of the code only matters so much as it has proven to the followers that he is a traitor to the path. should the time come that he proves himself willing to walk the path again, he will be granted amnesty. but such would be very difficult for him now, as he was already given a chance to walk the path and learn, but had then proven himself ultimately unwilling to learn.

hope that answers something"

 

[Exclaimer]

Hm, I'll throw in a few questions.

"-What do Vermellan followers think about surgery? It does involve inflicting wounds, and spilling blood, to fix more prominent injuries like broken bones or infections.

"-Some things like mushrooms and kelp do not have obvious sources of blood. Do Vermellans consider them living things?

 

[The Courier]

Hrmm, what might they view "Justice" as? Obviously they do not spill blood, but would the group over all have a code of "Justice" or is it the universal justice we all tend to go by today?

 

[Gaby]

"-What do Vermellan followers think about surgery? It does involve inflicting wounds, and spilling blood, to fix more prominent injuries like broken bones or infections.

I would think that saving someone's life falls under the "absolutely necessary for survival" clause of the Law of Red.
that said, surgery is probably not a... popular medical procedure. and likely unnecessary. I mean, we have mysticism in this world. surgery probably is seen as something barbaric and primitive.
then again, I don't know much about the general nature of Alteran medicine, so...

"-Some things like mushrooms and kelp do not have obvious sources of blood. Do Vermellans consider them living things?

Salheira had a conversation with Brogan (@BarbarianGaming ) about exactly this. he squished an ant in front of her, looked down at it, then said,
"I see no blood"
Salheira's response was "just because you don't see its blood, doesn't mean it is not there." (more or less. broken common ftw)
invisible blood is still blood. mushrooms and kelp grow and thrive. the energy for that must come from some kind of blood, however invisible it is.

hope that explains something.