The Coming of Vaona

The Coming of Vaona /'vjuːnə/ was a cult that started in Mantar at the end of the 16th CSR. It was centered around the belief that a giant goddess Vaona was about to descend from the skies.

Beliefs

The belief in giant gods and goddesses originated in the mythology of the Oaleed. According to the myths, the giants live on the hill of Mantar. Mantar was considered sacred land and the Oaleed did not allow anyone to climb the hill. Eventually the myths changed and while Mantar is still considered sacred, the idea was transformed into it being the only true home for the Oaleed, a notion that was probably driven by Oaleed losing territory throughout the 1-2 CSR. The stories then placed the gods in the sky above the hill.

The Coming of Vaona was a return to the original myths and the belief that the gods are about to punish humans for building a city on the sacred hill. According to the cult, Vaona, the Giant Goddess of Divine Anger, was about to come and destroy the city. True believers should inform mantarians about the coming doom and prepare them for the coming of Vaona, which meant making everyone leave Mantar, using any means possible. Eventually, this belief evolved into a stronger conviction that Vaona will punish humanity if Mantar is not cleansed in time by her arrival, which added to the sense of urgency.

Rise to prominence

The cult began gaining ground after Nilma Oordar came to power. As he began instituting stricter religious laws, Mantar's nobility began subscribing to the cult, viewing it as a way to oppose Xaewoon Blue by arguing that Mantar's traditions stem from Oaleed beliefs and should be rooted in the old myths. Bomoor, Tata and Sovtōndoh, important figures in Gorona's government, became regents - personal advisors to the founder of the cult. Mon Lon Dōrs' father, a wealthy merchant, became involved very early on and later became one of the counselors of Regent Bomoor.

Organization

The cult was started by a prominent religious figure known in Mantar as the Oaleed King. He had three regents who were his advisors and main executioners of his will. Each regent commanded a group of counselors. Each counselor ran a counsil of messengers, who were the lowest ranking members of the cult.

Initially, the Coming of Vaona was a strictly spiritual affair, with the messengers of the cult engaging in recruiting through speeches and inviting people to dine with their community. Later, however, the cult began to adopt more violent measures, such as forced relocation of families, kidnappings, murder and coordinated attacks on the royal guards. It is generally believed that this was largely due to the heightened tension between Nilma's government and his attack on non-Xaewoon religions, but there is reason to believe that the cultists were likely to resort to violence regardless, simply due to the violent nature of their belief system.

Downfall

The cult was a constant nuisance for Nilma throughout the first decade of his reign, with the Oaleed King seriously increasing the level of violence in the city after Nilma's return from the second Qep campaign. This forced Nilma to essentially start a war with the cultists. Tata, who was one of Nilma's negotiators, was able to aide the Oaleed King, delivering disappointment after disappointment to Nilma's royal guard. In 1604, Nilma executed the royal guard's commander, Mors Lornea, punishing him for the lack of progress and acting on suspicions of leaks, and installed Davoy Gol Mōllork in his place. Mōllork set up a secret operation, reporting directly to Nilma and leaving everyone else out. This also kept Tata out of the loop and in 1605 a number of successful raids began to bleed the cultists, including the one that killed Regent Bomoor.

In 1606 the Oaleed King fled Mantar, accompanied by several hundred of other believers, and ending the cult. The cultists traveled north and crossed Kōnzoh with heavy losses, after which they attacked several villages at Koalderood and set up camp. They were then mauled by the army of Jegin in the beginning of 1607.