The Tale of Voro

Tend your fire, maintain your chastity, honor the Excellent God, Voro! For today is His holy day!





Voro was the youngest of five children born to Korutuzho, God of Agriculture, and Rana, Goddess of Clouds. At that time, Korutuzho was the King of the Gods and Ruler of the Universe. When His children were still infants, He went crazy and thought They would overthrow Him and take over control of the world. And so He swallowed Them whole.

Being the youngest, baby Voro was the last to go down Korutuzho’s throat. His mother Rana worried about Voro and His siblings. She devised a plan to rescue Them. The plan worked. Being the last in, Voro was the first out. Therefore, He is both the youngest and oldest of the family: the last born from Rana, but the first born from Korutuzho.

Growing up, Voro was always calmer and more even-tempered than His brothers: Sozho, High God of Air; Pétíso, God of Death; and Vasataté, God of Oceans; or even His sister Nuvíní, High Goddess of Earth. They were always off running around fighting, killing demons, and rutting with anything that moved. Voro, though, longed for a stable relationship with one woman He could love forever.

At one extravagant party hosted by His brother, Vasataté, Voro became overly inebriated, thanks to Vasataté mixing strong beer into Voro’s orange juice without Voro’s consent or knowledge. As Voro’s brothers enjoyed His unintentional drunken antics, Voro spied a lovely goddess Who moved through the crowd like a soft breeze and immediately decided that He loved Her. She was Hérazha, Goddess of the Wind, and She was indeed lovely, wise, and strong.

The next morning, however, Voro realized His folly. He did not love Hérazha. He had been blinded by Vasataté’s beer. And while Hérazha found Voro to be kind, helpful, and honorable, She too had been overcome by the alcohol. She did not love Him.

Dejected but wiser, Voro and Hérazha went Their separate ways. Later that year, Hérazha gave birth to Nokí, Goddess of Food. Voro loved His daughter deeply, but She was a reminder of His grievous error. From that point on, Voro swore to a life of celibacy. Love was not meant for Him.

Voro has remained chaste for the rest of history.

When Voro’s siblings conquered Their father and took over control of the universe, much as Korutuzho had feared, the five of Them sat down to divide the spoils. Sozho took the air, Vasataté took the water, Nuvíní took the earth, Pétíso took the souls, and Voro took fire. Everything relating to fire was under His control, from a sputtering candle to the sun in the sky.

But it was too much for Him. Voro did not want to control so much. It left Him stretched so thin that He was not able to give people the care and help they deserved. And so, much to His siblings’ surprise, Voro handed over control of all fire to the young but strong Zhíanoso, High God of Fire, in exchange for being able to attend to the hearths and cooking fires of the world.

Voro thusly sits beside the hearth fire in Sozho’s great hall, stoking the coals and adding fuel as needed, content as can be. When people pray at their fires, He hears them and assists them.

One year, when His siblings were having one of Their typical fights, Sozho ended up killing Pétíso. Their sister Nuvíní begged Voro to help Her bring Him back to life. Voro reluctantly agreed, for even though it was not in His nature to interfere in His siblings’ squabbles, He still cared deeply for Them.

Focusing on His fire, Voro was able to track down Pétíso in the spirit plane. Pétíso was unsure if He wanted to return to the world of the living, having already been killed and resurrected once before. Through Voro, Nuvíní pleaded with Pétíso, telling Him that He was loved dearly and would be sorely missed if He remained away.

At this point, Voro intervened. His earlier reluctance had finally boiled over. He declared that it was not right and natural for Pétíso to return to the living. According to Voro, Pétíso was correct in desiring to advance to the land of the dead. When people die, that is where they must go.

Nuvíní was distraught, but She accepted Voro’s pronouncement. Pétíso gladly headed to the underworld, where He now lives as the ruler and judge of departed souls.

That was just the beginning for Voro, as He has ever since made a point to assist the souls of the recently deceased. If needed, He will give souls the courage required to leave their family behind and the strength required to travel to Pétíso’s great hall and receive their judgment for the afterlife.

This is why everyone must pay his respects to the Excellent God, the Most Chaste One, Voro. Before sacrificing to any other god, you must grant a small portion to the Eldest and Youngest, for He is first before all the others. When your loved ones pass away, you must honor the Most Useful God, to give their souls strength. As you tend your hearth fire, say a prayer to the Keeper of the Flame, that He will maintain your fire.

Above all, do not give into temptation. Do not drink in excess. Maintain control of your body, your mind, and your soul. This is the best way to honor the Chaste One. Surely if Voro can remain celibate for all His life, we mortal creatures can remain so for at least twenty-five years. Without control of our selves, we are but animals. Trust in Voro, be like Voro, and you shall be great.