Osterian Villagerism

Osterian Villagerism is a diferent interpretation of Villager Lore, made by the osterian people as they learned and adapted things from Villager Lore that they learn from the original population of Osteri, villagers. This religion not only includes many conceps from it's original version, but adds many elements exclusive to the way to view the world of the Osterian and how they interpretated the things teached to them by the villagers.

History
The Osteri found their way through the wave into a villager town, where they were later accepted. As they lived with the villagers they adopted many of their costums and amoung them they lear about their religion. Although many things that the villagers told them sounded wrong to the osterian they started to appreciate many of the things that their host teach them. As much of the sailors had been kicked out of their original homes by war and fammine their belifes on their previous gods were weak and villagerism, at least what they could understand about it through the leanguage barrier,  gave more logic to their strugles.

Pre-Vanishment Era
As Lonely Light started to develop an the osterian population to settle they began to adopt villagers. This adoption was not well recorded but is understood that the villagers were doing the best they could to teach it and maintain it's values. During this era it saw little changes from it's original form and, despite being practicated by the osterian, largely dependant on the villagers to carry on any type of ceremony and to keep sacred books. As the language barrier could never be truly broken many of this books are lost to translation and are used today as relics.

Vanishment Era
As the villagers started to die on strange circusatnces the religious teachings stoped, starting a crisis on Villager Lore on the island. The osterian did their best to help the villagers, and to take religious responsabilities. Due to this the Vanishment is concider to be the moment of birth of Osterian Villagerism, and it's golden age. It is also remembered as one of it's most tragic moment.

On this time many of the caracteristics, traditions and rituals that separate Osterian Villagerism from Villager Lore developed. The main diference bieng the belife that souls stay on earth after dead, with very little exeptions.

Post-Vanishment/Osterianism
During this era many of the original traditons of Villager Lore, as well as some of the adopted during the previous era. This is also the time on wich the Osterian began to expand. It is consider to start since the moment of the founding of Harktlady (the osterian buildings on it), and to end somewhere after the colonisation of Hollenkreis.

Funerary Rituals
When an osterian dies their body is taken to Flower Island, where it is prepared and buried. To this event go all of the osteri that have the time to do so, many abandoning important tasks to be at the funeral.

Once the body arrives at the island  it is prepared by the island keeper, often with the help of friends and family of the decese. It is cleaned and perfumed, to conceal the odor, and balsams are applied to maintain the body. Once the body is clean, they are dressed with their best attire or are gifted one by a friend or relative. As soon as it is prepared it is put on a metal sarcophagus and stored in a special underground room to be preserved by cold.

On this time osterian sail to the Flower Island to be on the funeral. After is deemed by the Island Keeper as enough time he will give start to the celebrations from the morning, around 8 am, until the sunset. There are competitions, food and alcohol. On the banquet the sarcophagus is brought out of the underground and open. At the end of it, the banquet, everyone that so desires takes a moment to talk about the dead.

Burial
On the sunset the will is read by the Island Keeper, and is considered of bad luck to protest about it, a part of disrespectful to the dead, that is considered to be there in spirit. After this a spot is selected and a hole of 3 meters deep is dug, stakes are put on the four corners, with rings to pass ropes. At the same time lamps are scattered across the island and the ships on the shore lit all their lights.

At midnight the burial begans. The dead is taken out of the sarcophagus, usually by pulling from a leather stretcher underneath it. This is then tied by the ropes and slowly descended down the tomb. Once it reaches ground the rope is cut and dropped down and the stakes removed. Then everyone gets to say some last words to the dead, usually only the family and friends, before it is covered in dirt. No markings are put to signal the place.

Transport Difficulties
As the osterian land grew it became more complicated to transport the body to the island, as it was more likely that the body would decompose on the way. To solve this the people from Hollenkreis and GrayStar had to make use of different techniques to preserve the body until it reached the island, yet complete embalming was seen as an unnatural option, as the body is expected to fuse with the earth on the island and not to be preserved. When someone dies away from the island they must be covered on balsams and wrapped on linen to help the preservation. Immediately after it is taken aboard the fastest ship available to bring it to Flower Island. On some occasions this resulted in a funeral without anyone assisting or with a leather bag to avoid the sight of the decomposed body.