Venice

The Orcish God of War, Venice has long served to keep the Orcs from their savage and feral nature, with her guidance and presence in the world the Orcs have been relatively peaceful.

Venice was the second victim of Hirsa, falling to her in combat as her pride and traditions would not allow her to flee even a loosing battle, her body was buried and with her removal from the world, the Orcs returned to their feral and barbaric state, attacking everything in sight in a blind fury.

The worship of Venice comes in two forms: high (Bar’Ton in Orcish and Warship in Common) and low (Kir’ra Ton from the old Orcish for “believer”). Warship is practiced by Clerics, Paladins and Orcish Shaman dedicated to the tenets of Venice, while Kir-ra Ton is generally refers to lay persons or common practitioners. The two forms of worship both revolve around the upholding of certain martial codes (detailed below), whereas those called to Warship are expected to act as officers, generals or other high ranked members in their respected warrior caste or military, as while as unique rites and rituals.

History
 The origin legend of the cult of Venice began at the dawn of the 4th age, when the new pantheon was created. Venice gathered all the Orcish people, as well as the wild tribes of all races, near what is now the Orcish town of Grovence, and revealed to them the tenets of what would be known as the Bloodied Way. She carved her teachings onto the side of a mountain Glory with her maul, which went on to be adopted as the religion’s symbol. The carvings exact location is unknown, although many Venetian clerics have undergone pilgrimages trying to find it.

 The first major prophet and missionary for the religion, claiming to be a witness and attendee of the sacred carving, was Tar’vash, he copied down the text into a book which was titled simply The Bloodied Way. The book, written in old Orcish, is a sacred relic and is kept in the first Venetian monastery in Grovence. Tar’vash would begin a holy crusade to unite the orcs under the banner of Venice, crushing the old pagan ways, the atheistic tribes and the burgeoning cult of Abonal. Tar’vash did not exercise the same serverity with the tribes and communities of other races, and scholars are conflicted as to why. Some claim that this is due to Tar’vash’s conviction that the Orcs were Venice’s chosen people, and that conversion and adherence to the Bloodied Way was an obligation for Orcs, where it was a simple choice for non-orcs. Others claim it was due to military reason, Tar’vash being a competent commander, knew he could not conquer the herectial orcs and significantly encroach on human settlements.

 Regardless of the reason, the effects of this crusade have encarved the worship of Venice as an overwhelmingly Orcish tradition, nearly 90% of Orcs are part of the religion, and 95% of the religion’s adherents are Orcish (This includes both full bloodied orcs and half-orcs. The other 5% is usually found among the various barbarian tribes, with a large portion of this minority being Goliaths).

 Tar’vash’s crusade was a long and bloody affair, and with it came the formation of the first paladin order of the Venetian religion, the Bloody Mauls (see below) which are still active today. The prophet wrote no books other than the original holy book, but a series of anecdotes and stories from his life was written, called Lessons from the Blood Prophet Tar’vash, First Warshipper. It is unclear who wrote this book, or even if it was written during Tar’vash’s lifetime. Most scholars agree it was probably written fifty years after his death in the early part of the 4th age. Various Venetian scholars have written commentaries on Lessons but never on The Bloodied Way itself, as writing about the book is forbidden.

The Bloodied Way
The Bloodied Way refers to the general moral and ethical outlook of the religion of Venice, as outlined by their holy book The Bloodied Way supposedly written by Tar’vash as a direct transcription of the markings made by Venice on Glory Mountain. The book is made up of two sections, the first is a series of aphorisms with a pairing commandment, the second is made up of details on the rites and rituals of both laypersons and Warshippers.

The main tenets of The Way are: The second book outlines the daily practices and rituals set up for the two classes of followers. These are detailed below.
 * 1) Death in battle is the most honourable death. "Of all thy ends, that which is stained with blood is truly the greatest." (Book 1, section 1)
 * 2) Retreat, cowardice, and surrender are the greatest sins. "A river which stops pushing withers and drys up in the sun. Be like the  good river, never cease to rush forward, and let your current be filled with the blood of your enemies." (Book 1, section 1.5)
 * 3) Fighting is the only truth, the only measure of worth. "Your hands are measured by the greatness of its fist, all things are weighed as such" (Book 1, section 2)
 * 4) Strength, Endurance and Discipline are the highest virtues, because they are related to fighting and the ability to fight. "A closed fist must be strong, it must not tire and truly it must never waiver" (Book 1, section 2.5)
 * 5) Death in battle is final, and is rewarded by eternal rest in Venice’s plane, called Vira’Ton or The Holy Void. "When thee has reached the end of the Way, I will be waiting there for thee, and there you shall sleep eternal under the black sun of the Vira’Ton." (Book 1, section 3)
 * 6) Raising the dead is strictly prohibited, as it denies the warrior their due. If anyone shall steal away thy final rest, they should be cast down and destroyed, for their arrogance dishonors me. (Book 1, section 3.5)
 * 7) Healing a warrior is a sacred and pious duty. Holy are thou who seest your brethren along the Bloodied Way broken and wounded, attempt to aid them so they may continue towards me.  (Book 1, section 4)
 * 8) Warshippers must seek the greatest enemy in battle. I say to those who follow the Bloodied way: The gate to Vira’Ton is to be found in your greatest enemy.  (Book 1, section 5)
 * 9) The commands are final, eternal and unchanging. I, Venice, Goddess of War, have spoken and none shall speak after me, none shall speak above me, and none shall speak against me. (Final words of the first book).

Kir’ra Ton life
The life of a believer (a lay person in a Venetian culture) is marked by an acute deferential attitude towards that society’s martial class. This includes a) feeding warriors in the village before anyone else (Book 2, section 1), b) giving shelter and aid to warriors when asked (Book 2, section 1) and c) obeying the commands of the warrior class (Book 2, section 2). Kir’ra Ton life is marked mostly by submission, the entire martial population has largely been seen as simply support material for the warring classes. However it is important to mention that this does no give those who follow Warship carte blanche to do what what they will on the rest of the population. As detailed by the second section, the martial classes have a religious and social responsibility to the civilian one, very much akin to a paternal relationship. A warrior cannot strike a unarmed person, cannot take without need, and cannot profit from or enjoy the suffering of a non-martial person. (Book 2, section 2)

Warship
Those who belong to the martial or warrior caste of a society are governed by the much harsher rules of Warship. There are several levels of Warship, reserved for each rank (in a general manor) the first is plainly a Warshipper, meaning any fighter or soldier. The second and third are given the same level of importance, although they govern different parts of warrior life. First the paladin class, are meant to be examplair soldiers in the ways of war, avatars of Venice which lead through example of great deeds and martial prowess. They offer their enemies to Venice, and they are describing as “Chasing their own death through the seeking of glory” (Commentaries on the Lessons written by Shaman Bel-Zar). The third are the clerics, which although present on the battlefield, support and ensure a consistency in the lifestyles of the various warshippers. Observance of holy rites and healing the wounded are their primary function, as well as fighting (no one is exempt from this). The fourth refers to two different groups which act as heads of their respected domain. The first, akin to a general, would be the High Paladin, in charge of making both strategic and managerial decisions regarding military logistics and warfare. The Bloodied Way specifies that the best military commands are constructed in a dictatorship, and forbids the rule of a military council or shared command. Shamans, the second of the final group, are the spiritual leaders of any Venetian community, something similar to the high priests of other religions. They administer the rites for the community, and appoint both paladins and high paladins. Unlike High Paladins, Shamans rule in a council of three.

The Blood Mauls Paladins
During the early years of his conquest, the prophet Tar’vash founded the first paladin order of Venice, the Blood Mauls. They are the oldest continuing order, and answer directly to the High Paladin Eltra and the Shaminic Council of Grovence. They were noted for swift and exacting violence, and were lead by Tar’vash himself. Although there are many Holy Orders today, the Blood Mauls are revered by other Paladins, and entry into the order is highly coveted. Their symbol is a blood red maul, which is usually into a shield or piece of armour, as well as tattooed on the right hand of the paladin (which becomes their holy symbol).

Ravik, an orphaned human raised in Grovence, became the first human paladin to be introduced to the order at the personal insistence of Shaman Zeltan Eldrak. This led to what would become known as the Jaffir Heresy, a coup led by then High Paladin Jaffir Vas’Tor, which was at first abetted by Zeltan. Jaffir did not believe that any human could survive the initiation ordeal, and struck a deal with Zeltan wherein if Ravik failed Zeltan would step down, and allow Jaffir to personally take his neck. Ravik however, passed, and after his voluntary exile from Grovence, Jaffir led a mutiny, a cardinal sin in Warship, against Zeltan. In the ensuing insurrection, Zeltan was killed by eventually Jaffir was beaten by paladin named Eltra Zastram, who then became High Paladin once Jaffir fled the field.

Jaffir’s whereabouts and current plans are unknown, although some claim that he has sought out the old gods, while some claim he is searching for beings and creatures in other planes. Most scholars agree that these rumors are most likely propaganda efforts, and that he is either dead or biding his time.

Common Misconceptions
The worship of Venice has suffered many misconceptions, the majority of which are tied to general attitudes and stereotypes about orcs. First, that the religion is a rather simple, kill-or-be-killed ethic, and as Mustrum Ridcully once put it “A religion without a theology.” This is self-evidently untrue, and Mustrum’s comments are obviously influenced not only by his own racial prejudices, but also the Unseen University’s overall disdain for religion. Second, that only Orcs and Half-Orcs worship Venice. Although this is untrue, there are several reason why this perception of the religion exists. Firstly, Venice herself was an Orc, and the mythic First Witnesses were overwhelmingly Orc. Secondly, the prophet Tar’vash’s army was overwhelmingly Orcish, and he concentrated mostly on securing Orcish dominance. Thirdly, even before the rise of the cult of Venice, the Orcs were a martial people, and so the perception that they founded an orcish religion from orcish values is not entirely unfounded. However, there are direct textual references to the more multi-racial tenets of Warship. “Wood, steel, stone, fire and ice, all will seek and drink blood, and will follow me on that Bloodied Path” (End of Book) The implication is clear here, that no matter the sources, the worship is the same.''' '''