Villager Lore

" Hrooooom Hraam Hireeeem           :▭|

Hmmmraaaaahh hoo hmizzle hmra >:▭|

Hrumunk Hramunk Hrahrahra          <:▭|

RRRRRooom hmra mra mrereeeen :▭| "

-passage from the Player's Testament.



Cosmology
Rathnir is among many layers of realms. All 12 of these exist as a sphere, with Rathnir right in the center. It is believed that the sun and moon stay perfectly still, and the sphere of all 12 realms. Geographically on the sphere, Rathnir is right in the center. The skytoward realms are thinner than the earthtoward realms, and the villagers have no knowledge of them, however engage with them in ritualistic practice.

There are 12 layers total, the order is as follows:

Fifth Aether (Hmriiiii heugh)

Fourth Aether (Hmriiiii uwu)

Third Aether (Hmriiiii heheh)

Second Aether (Hmriiiii o_o)

The Aether (Hmriiiiiii)

The Sky (Hrallllllll)

Rathnir (Hroruum)

The Earth (Hrooooom)

The Void (Uuuuuuu)

The Nether (Hmaaaaam >:▭|)

The Second Void (Uuuuuuuuu o_o)

The End (Hmeeaaaam)

This is one sphere which is believed to be an apple hidden in the leaves of a cosmic tree (Hnaya Hno). With the arrival of the players, the villagers added Paxia and Jagdas as other "Appleworlds" (Hooorooom).

The villagers say that the world is finite and with barriers so that it spinning doesn't smack Hmra and Henu out of the sky.

Religion
The villagers believe in 2 gods and 2 pairs of dualities-

Gods:
the Sun god Hmra

the Moon god Henu

Dualities:
the Earth force Hmar

the Sky force Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam

The sky is central to Villager religion, as the day/night cycle proves fatal each 24 hours. Their bitheism shows as 2 opposing gods of the sky, who struggle over total control of the sky force of Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam. The Earth force, however, is totally untamed, and thus remains wild.

Spirits:
The Villagers believe in a variety of spirits which influence the world of Rathnir. There are no specific categories of spirits, but they can originate from venerated ancestors, folk gods, ideas, characters, natural phenomenon, and more.

Souls and Afterlife
The Villagers believe that xp orbs are the life force of a creature, which means that ores are considered living beings and trees are not.

When a Villager dies, it is believed that their soul will go to one of the other realms, hopefully to the highest Aethers, depending on judgement from the Sun god Hmra.

If one is deemed unworthy, they will be made into a nether mob for a lifetime. If they continue to be unworthy, their soul will then become an enderman, and then cast out to the deepest void.

If one is deemed worthy, they will climb the stairs of the Aethers, eventually becoming one of the most holy and powerful spirits.

The Player's Testament
The player's testament is a single written book containing three aspects of Villager tradition: a creation story, the adventures of hero twins Hireem and Hraam, and a villager chronology of Rathnir, along with parts mixed in about astronomy. The book was written by one of the earliest players to inhabit Rathnir as he sheltered a few villagers in a cave

The Player's Book
The Player's Book was not written by a player, but was written by kidnapped librarian villagers who were forced to write their myths and laws. The myths are short stories that number 12-

The Librarian and the Gold Snake Irodrial, The Engineer and the Mad Moon Goddess, The Banishment of the Pumpkin Charmer, The Running Prophet Splits the Glacier, The Awakening of Wisdom & Her Visions, Songs of the Cliffjumped Man, The Death of the Spirit Horse & The War of the Brothers, The Lonesome Ravine, Visions of the Red Sun, The Path Making King, The Ascension of the Child, and The Diamond Apocalypses.

Copies of this book are extremely rare, as Stoney has only ever given a single one out. Each section has certain laws, social values, and cosmological views embedded within the stories.

History
After the arrival of players, Villager Society soon collapse and the villager culture soon died out.

Some are trying to revive the religion, but the villager's culture are very obscured. With only a few people in all of rathnir that still classify themselves as a member of Villager Lore.

Hyyhs-Ahhmwheeehhhh
A text describing a reoccurring tale in most Western and Eastern (and presumedly Southern and Northern) villager cultures describing a period of war before the age of non-villager settlement in which the lands were roamed by great animalistic spirits and when villagers were in a constant state of war against both eachother and the spirits, eventually resulting in the rise of a great conquerer by the name of Hyyhs-Ahhmwheeehhhh, who introduced golemancy into the world and slew a great demon.

The plausability of this myth is debated but at least some parts must be true, as they leave behind archaeological evidence, such as an especially giant iron golemn in the ground.

Hhhmaaaa Heeem
Hhhmaaaa Heeem is an author and poet who most famously reflected on the arrival of players in the world of Rathnir:

Mothers and daughters kept our house clean- the floors are swept, and the food is on the table.

The family may bicker and be hostile on purpose, but at the end of the day the house of clean,

Love is still shared all around, and we continued as one out of a bright past.

Let not it be forgotten that dreadful day, when the players infested like termites and ticks.

We knew its implications, the terror and destruction awaiting us from the hands of these people.

Our scholars buried our gods in coffins, our enchanters burned and scattered our artifacts.

Our mothers and daughters were torn from the house with a violent vigor,

Only to return to it torn and destroyed- twisted into an altar for artificial gods on the surface.

Must you remember this day, when our civilization now taken, in lowly exile it awaits.

One player amongst them returns from infiltration, they who learn their villager nature.

One day from among them, the anointed turns the sword back and raises the shield forward,

and ransoms our glory from their doggish servitude.