A vubopa is an adherent of the Vopa faith who seeks new converts by performing Greatening rituals. They begin their career in the city of Yalisi after studying under a senior vubopa. After several months of intense instruction, the vubopa is given a small piece of wormstone and an imozi to contain it, and then they are sent off in boats to reach neighboring regions.
The Mope Vubopa, or First Priest, is the central living religious figure of the Vopa faith. The Yalisi Empire is theocratic in nature, so the Mope Vubopa is also a governmental figure.
While many Vopa priests are adept at magic, having acute talent helps climb the ranks. General magic practitioners can perform basic pyro- or telekinesis, but true magicians can summon conflagrations in an instant or move entire buildings to new locations. Magical talent expresses itself in a wide variety of ways.
Many who have been chosen as a potential First Priest were at least naturally clairvoyant or telepathic in some way before their appointment.
A vubopa must take up the calling on their own volition. Anyone can be a vubopa as long as they agree to study the profession and do at least one mission elsewhere.
After the death of the current Mope Vubopa, Pemija grants visions and prophetic dreams to certain magically powerful members of the Vopan priesthood to begin the selection of the next. It is an honor to be selected, but Pemija is not kind to those who do not end up becoming the First Priest.
Once the six chosen have been identified, they hold a ritual when Pemija the moon is full. A large piece of wormstone is placed in the center of the God Rock and all six have to touch the stone against their bare skin, activate the wormstone's potential with their own magic, and stay there until only one is left standing.
To the Vopa, wormstone serves as a portal between the real world and another world, whose qualities no one can agree upon. But on the other side were Pemija and her children, and they are desperate to escape into this reality. They use the bodies of the six chosen to try and manifest themselves physically. With the power of the magic from the six chosen, the mutational effects of wormstone are amplified drastically and changes occur on the matter of minutes and hours rather than days or weeks. Fur turns black, diseased. Limbs and eyes erupt out of smooth expanses of skin and muscle. Rattling tails dissolve into teeth.
When the others are no longer able to stay touching the wormstone, the last must speak a spell to Pemija, who recognizes their claim to the position.
Spreading the word of Pemija and the power of wormstone is the primary duty of a vubopa.
The Mope Vubopa arranges the distribution of missionary groups from Yalisi to the other continents and perform Greatening ceremonies for pilgrims who have come from there to worship at the temple Najibu.
The Mope Vubopa is also responsible for the upkeep of Najibu. It must be maintained at a specific height in order to ensure the continued protection against the raw wormstone contained underneath.