![[vrmrk_sldr.bmp | 300]] *a typical Voromiraka apostle in 658 AL.* ## Overview ---- Voromiraka (*lit. Voromir River-based*) was a nickname for the [[Hagioism|Hagioist]] party led by [[Yemisi Fayowa]]. It referred first to the [[Transelman Church of Saints]] as a whole until 655 AL, after which point it referred to the *faction* of the Church led by [[Yemisi Fayowa]] in the buildup to the [[Transelman Civil War]]. Because it was never officially adopted by Fayowa, the name fell out of common parlance after the war, replaced by 'Transelman Church' or 'TCS'; but it is still occasionally used today. ## Background --- The Treaty of Haal was signed on 4 Tarusi 658 AL. As of that moment, Fayowa, [[Gordon Alastair]] and [[Rebel Bishops|their colleagues]] ceased to be '*Rebel Bishops*' and became full-fledged Bishops of the new Transelman Church of Saints, the sole organ of state power in what would be known as Transelmany on paper. In practice, the [[History of Transelmany — Foundation & Protracted Rebellion (648-658 AL)|past seven years of dual power]] in the vast South Elman countryside had warranted a divided effort, where each of the most senior Bishops took responsibility for a particular region and delegated authority from there in the name of the Transelman Church. What began as an earnest effort to more efficiently carry out their ideological project had eventually led to the emergence of factions within the Rebel front, as the daily contradictions of administering the regions with sensitivity to the demands of the local populations led to divergent methods of governance. While reuniting these factions was important to Fayowa, more pressing were the administrative and logistical tasks of maintaining the supply lines of food and raw materials in her territory that had weakened as the Crown’s authority was eroded. Hence, what began as a primarily agitative and propagandistic movement slowly become more militaristic, taking on a denominational character that grew increasingly comfortable with the use of force to maintain the Hagioist status quo that was replacing the Crown’s influence. What started as just three Rebel Bishops— Fayowa, Alastair & Zainab Garba— in 651 AL, had grown into a network of over 200 thousand apostles by 657 AL, split roughly evenly between the three major factions of the Church. By the outbreak of war in 659 AL, Fayowa’s Voromiraka had about 65000 apostles, Victoria Windsor’s Sofiaraka numbered up to 80000, and Leona Lumenosa’s loosely-defined Free Elmany movement had over 65000 members. This rebel coalition had initially worked together to maintain a Hagioist status quo in South Elmany, and the effort to build legitimate dual power as the Crown’s administrative and logistical capacities were eroded was mostly successful. ## Membership and Uniforms --- As [[Transelmany|Transelmany]] abolished conscription, new church membership was fully voluntary. New recruits would eagerly adopt uniforms modeled after their leaders: black/red for Fayowa, white/gold for Victoria, and dark gold for Leona. Yemisi Fayowa had been the dominant political force in South Elmany until the second half of the 650s when the factions that effectively controlled South Elmany’s territories first started to be visually identifiable for this reason. By 658 AL, it had become increasingly clear that the differences between these factions could not be resolved peacefully. The Voromiraka mostly consisted of former workers and peasants in the mountainous regions who were most loyal to Fayowa. Unlike the Crown, Transelmany did not require strong flux for Church membership. But it was still a capable fighting force thanks to the discipline of the volunteers, who wanted to preserve the new society that they had eagerly participated in building. This was most notable in the Voromiraka, who had a significant number of dark flux users, as well as numerous apostles with weak flux (such as the XXXIV denomination) who specialized in armed combat, known for their high tactical acumen. ![[TCW_vormr.jpeg| 300]] *Voromiraka uniform.* ![[vrmrk_gold_badge.bmp | 150]] *Voromiraka badge.* The typical Voromiraka apostle was easily identifiable by their black uniforms with dark red trim. Standard-issue to new members were a light maroon bag containing fieldwork essentials and a copy of Deadline by Yemisi Fayowa. They also wore gold badges depicting the Voromiraka emblem and their denomination. These are the same gold badges worn by Transelmans today, now displaying the symbol of light in lieu of a military denomination. ## CXV Denomination --- ![[vrmrk_sheet.jpg|350]] *CXV Denomination members.* Active during the majority of the war, the CXV denomination was the primary assault company of the Voromiraka at the beginning of combat operations in the prairie. Led by [[Flux|Fulgurators]], they achieved much success against the forces of the Sofiaraka they faced. Eventually their progress was slowed once they left the settlements in the border zone between the mountain and prairie regions. At their height, they had 200 Apostles. ### Leadership - Archdeacon Hakim Sola - Bishop Hassan Akanmi - Vicar Adam Cefin - Vicar Alia Haller - Vicar Tolu Wazir ## Maroon Volunteers --- *see also: [[Maroon Volunteers]]* When war began, the Voromiraka initially made little progress. Later, however, setbacks in the prairie inspired the formation of the Maroon Volunteers: denominations of urban workers and peasants unaffiliated with the Church but loyal to Fayowa and capable of fighting under her command. ## Legacy --- By the end of the war, the Voromiraka would number close to 200,000; but it would also functionally cease to exist, when the Transelman Church of Saints was finally created in practice, three years after the Treaty of Haal created it in theory. Today the Voromiraka’s legacy persists in the form of its striking iconography, which would persist as the primary visual identifiers of the new Transelman country: the reversed crown, the voromiraka emblem, and the dark maroon colors are all infamous worldwide as the symbols of resistance to monarchy. ![[rvr_crown.bmp | 200]] *Voromiraka crown.* ![[transelman_flag.bmp | 350]] *Voromiraka battle flag.* ![[TPR_flag.png | 400]] *Current Transelman flag, simplified variation of battle flag.*