Order of Varagord

This ancient Order originally only admitted males but in more recent times, some of the more progressive Temples have begun allowing female acolytes to train alongside their male counterparts.

Steeped in tradition, adherents of Varagord prefer to cultivate an air of mystery.  Acolytes are required to possess sorcery powers and be devoted to studying alchemy, personal alchemy, crystal theory and other sorcerous disciplines.

 

Varagord rarely manifests in any visible or physical form. He is depicted in iconic paintings as a mystical bearded man with an intense stare, facial tattoos and hidden symbols in his long wavy hair.

There are two distinct branches of this Order — the Varagan branch and the general Varathusian branch.  The Varagan priests wear black leather collars and often leave their upper bodies bare.  The Varathusians wear the usual black silk robes.

The Varagans consider artificial crystal implantation to be blasphemous, thus they will only train those with natural crystal bonds or Aureant powers.  The Varathusians are less rigid in their admission policies but they have to be discreet so as not to risk offending the Varagan branch.

The Varagan branch includes the obscure subset known as the feeder priests.  As the name suggests, they are responsible for procuring and preparing the special sacred food which Varagans use in some of their religious rituals and mystical healing techniques.  Thus all feeder priests also train as healers.  They are sworn never to reveal the secret procedures involved in preparing the special food.

Some Varagan priests (especially feeder priests) also learn how to play the wapa, a traditional Varagan musical instrument consisting of a long metal tube with gut strings stretching lengthways along the outside. It takes decades to master this instrument and those who teach it are assigned the prestigious rank of Captain. (In Varagan society this is not a military rank, but the title assigned to an expert instructor in any skill or art). Wapa music is often played during Varagan religious ceremonies, as well as for entertainment purposes.