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 ====== Vormaxia ======
+//"Cognito ergo sum."//
+Vormaxia is a deity that is usually ignored, but affects everything. She is a representation of the power of the mind in its purest form. She is fueled by creativity and innovation. She guides her existence and the lives of her followers through knowledge and wisdom.
+On [[settings:jaern|Jaern,]] she is also famous for being the goddess who surpassed the godpact. Her avatar, Kira, was an adventurer whose actions still have ripples that affect the world of Jaern to this day.
+===== Aspects =====
+On most planes, Vormaxia has three major aspects she is known for, with each representing a piece of her domain. In the special case of Jaern, Vormaxia maintains a fourth aspect. Each aspect appears to different people under specific conditions.
+==== Vormaxia-Kira ====
+Once a living mortal, this aspect of Vormaxia has a fairly consistent appearance. The story goes, she was created to be an avatar for Vormaxia in order to be accepted into the fold of Jaernian deities. This avatar, known as Kira, helped the avatars of [[gods:almar|Almar]] and [[gods:zepherin|Zepherin]] to ascend.
+She appears almost the same as she did in life. She’s more personal than the other aspects of Vormaxia, and especially more personal than the other deities. This is mainly due to her having a place to reside on the plane of Jaern itself. Vormaxia-Kira usually projects images of herself to adventurers who call directly upon her. Unfortunately, she is also limited to the plane of Jaern, meaning adventurers on Cahyali and other planes cannot call upon her power and instead must rely on the other aspect of Vormaxia for their various purposes.
+==== Vormaxia-Mementa; The Encyclopedia ====
+Vormaxia-Mementa is one of the three major aspects of Vormaxia. She appears as a human woman in her thirties wearing clothes meant to be more functional than stylish. Her clothes are always filled with pockets galore, and stuffed to the brim with books, quills, and papers. Some say a radiant pale blue light shines from her eyes whenever she utilizes her divine power.
+Mementa is said to have complete knowledge of the known multiverse, and potentially even knowledge of the beyond and those above known existence. Occasionally she’ll mention names of people who don’t exist or are unknown and unperceivable to the other deities with the exception of [[gods:orus|Orus.]] Mementa is also the least emotional aspect of Vormaxia. Some believe her tone of voice is almost robotic.
+Mementa appears to followers the least often. Whenever she does, it is to gift information, giving only to those who have asked directly for knowledge.
+==== Vormaxia-Crea; The Muse ====
+Vormaxia-Crea is the second of the major aspects of Vormaxia. In appearances, this is the most normal form of Vormaxia. She appears as a goblinoid woman in her twenties with frizzy hair, wearing a loose yellow peplos and a blue chlamys. On occasions, she wears a white himation as a sort of shawl or veil, usually as a sort of disguise.
+The Muse is perhaps the most powerful of the three major aspects. Born from the mind’s natural spirit of creation, she represents innovation. She is a being of pure imagination.
+Crea is said to be the most passionate and excitable of the Vormaxia aspects. She can forge almost anything into reality from her pure power of imagination. Unfortunately, her creations are still bound to the physical laws of whatever plane they reside on, meaning there are some inventions she has that only work on certain planes.
+Crea usually only appears to the most learned and eager of inventors and engineers. Occasionally, she will appear to rulers, politicians, and others desiring change to spark new laws, systems, or general socio political ideas. Other times, she is thought to cause cultural innovations such as new artistic movements or sometimes music genres. All of these come from Crea’s love of invention, innovation, and imagination.
+==== Vormaxia-Cognitia; The Thinker ====
+The final aspect of Vormaxia is Vormaxia-Cognitia. Her appearance is said to be different in almost every instance of appearance. In reality, The Thinker permanently resides on her divine plane, with every appearance of her elsewhere being merely a mentally forged projection meant to communicate with those who have called upon her without striking any fear. In reality, Cognitia is a large brain, a massive consciousness constantly connecting the knowledge of her followers and their ideas, fusing them together through thought and reason.
+Cognitia is said to be the most logical of her aspects. Born from the connection between knowledge and ideas, she appears to those who seek answers to life’s troubles or who wish to find reason and truth. This includes offering wisdom and guidance to many philosophers, writers, scientists, teachers, and natural problem solvers. Cognitia is the aspect who appears the most often. She describes this method of assisting her followers as “Socratic,” supposedly naming it after one of her earliest followers from the faraway plane of E-yarth.
+===== Origins =====
+Vormaxia’s true origins are shrouded in layers of mystery. While everyone on Jaern knows the stories of Kira and Cronk, there are very few throughout the multiverse who know where the true Vormaxia comes from. There are many stories, of course, but most of these are speculation spun by her followers with Vormaxia never confirming nor denying any story. Being the only secret Vormaxia chooses to keep, only a select few know her true origins. Not even all the deities know of her origin. The only gods that know where she truly comes from are Almar, [[gods:atena|At’ena]], [[gods:mishra|Mishra]], Orus, [[gods:tarus|Tarus]], and [[gods:zepherin|Zepherin]]. The following three stories are just that, stories. One of them may be correct. None of them may be correct.
+It is said that the true Vormaxia appeared one day on what is currently her divine plane. Existing only as a consciousness, Vormaxia thought that she existed purely because she was capable of recognizing her own thoughts. Born entirely of nothingness, she exists because a singular neuron was formed of cosmic randomness and proceeded to think the rest of itself into existence. This curious being capable of forging thought into reality eventually began to collect knowledge from across the planes until eventually this eternal being gained the knowledge of everything, becoming the Vormaxia we know today.
+It is said that the true Vormaxia was born to humble parents on a now unknown plane. Through hard work and intense study, it is said that Vormaxia was able to learn the secrets of immortality, creation, and godhood itself. After millenia upon millenia of amassing knowledge, Vormaxia finally achieved what many would call complete godhood, ascending to the deity we know today.
+It is said that the true Vormaxia was not born but created by a scholar studying the miracle of life and creation. Being completely artificial, Vormaxia had natural capabilities that surpassed any normal sapient creature when it came to collecting and retaining information. Eventually, this artificial being grew in power as the people around it recognized it for its intelligence. She began to not just store information, but use it for things such as philosophy and invention. Over time, this being amassed enough power, wisdom, and knowledge to ascend to a deity.
+The story of Vormaxia-Kira goes as follows:
+Kira was born to a humble family on Jaern. Growing into an intelligent and curious woman, Kira became a powerful adventurer known for her tactical mind, strong intellect, and encyclopedic knowledge. At one point on her adventures, Kira gained knowledge of the existence of Vormaxia, a deity disallowed from interacting with the plane of Jaern due to the God Pact. Kira’s true purpose as an avatar born of a piece of Vormaxia’s mind was revealed to her, as a loophole through which Vormaxia could extend her influence to Jaern. Thankfully, Kira took this revelation in stride, ascending to godhood and successfully surpassing the Godpact. Almar and Zepherin, two friends of Vormaxia, were able to use this loophole in the Godpact before Vormaxia-Kira worked with T’or to revise the pact and disallow other extraplanar deities from affecting Jaern.
+===== Priesthood =====
+The followers of Vormaxia are known as **Vormaxians.** This goes for every known plane, as her name does not vary like the rest of the Jaernian deities sometimes do.
+==== Initiation and Duties ====
+The process of becoming a Vormaxian requires dedication. Each initiate must undergo an eight year program with a specialized focus of their choice. During this time, each priest is expected to obtain near fluency in at least three languages if they are not already fluent in three. In their training, an initiate is also taught how to apply logic and common sense to all situations. At the end of this rigorous program, an initiate must take a test. They are expected to obtain a perfect score on this exam. Those who do not succeed on the first try are allowed to retake the exam two weeks later, as many times as they wish.
+Once an initiate is accepted, they are mostly free to choose their own path. Working with the temple’s organizer, they are free to pursue whatever form of research or study interests them. Many go into the field they studied as an initiate. Some care for the temples’ libraries. Others move on to serve as public figures preaching education and enlightenment. A few go on to do fieldwork around the world.
+==== Temples ====
+Vormaxian temples serve many different functions depending on the founder and which aspect they focus the most on. Each temple is headed by an Organizer who maintains the temple's main functions, keeps track of schedules, and decides which priests handle certain tasks for the temple’s well being. An **Organizer** is selected by the seven most senior members of a temple. This Organizer serves for ten years, or until they wish to retire. An Organizer may be reelected as many times as the senior members see fit.
+Most serve as research centers for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and magic. These are called **Esploros.** An Esploro may specialize in certain fields depending on their location and relation with other temples. For instance, Esploros that focus on the study of medicine may work closely with temples of Isis. Others that study law and barristry may work with T’orites in court trials and investigations.
+Others, called **Lerni,** serve as centers of information and education. Many of these act as schools or public libraries. The libraries work constantly to collect and codify as much information as possible in order to determine truth. It should be noted that these archives do not accept information that can be easily proven incorrect or discredited. Information is good, but it must also have integrity.
+==== Priestly Culture ====
+Priests of Vormaxia have no generalizable appearance. They and their clothes come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The only true identifier for a Vormaxian is that they usually carry an excess of quills or paper on them. Some may have Vormaxia’s symbol sewn into their clothes. All of this is optional. The only required apparel is personal protective equipment when inside a lab. This is less because of divine ritual or tradition and more because of safety precautions that the researchers must abide by.
+Not all worshippers of Vormaxia are researchers. Most are, but plenty turn away from the study of mathematics, science, or magic and instead turn towards the studies of ethics or philosophy. Many of these followers of Vormaxia have overlap with or a shared respect for Orus. Others focus more on education of the masses. Many of history’s greatest teachers and educators have fallen into this crowd as well. Among the priesthood itself, every focus receives similar levels of care and recognition. Despite this, the philosophers and the educators among the priesthood usually receive less respect from society than the Vormaxians who fall into the fields of research.
+==== Holidays ====
+Across the multiverse, most priests of Vormaxia do not celebrate holidays relating to their religion, including [[settings:cahyali|Cahyali.]] Most view holidays as a distraction from their research, studies, or creation. On occasion, a brief party may be held after a division makes a new discovery or to celebrate the final initiation of a new priest, but these exist on a case-by-case basis and are usually held by individuals rather than being officially sponsored by a local temple.
+There is one major exception to this, and that is the plane of Jaern. On Jaern, Vormaxians recognize the **Day of Ascension** on the 16th evening of Kild. Famously, this was the day that Kira revealed herself as an avatar of Vormaxia. Jaernian Vormaxians recognize this holiday by hosting a small banquet at the temple in the evening. After a brief prayer led by the temple’s elected high priest, the celebrators are free to eat and socialize for the rest of the night.