Saint Anais

**Saint Anais** (1 Mikaeon 1 YM – 14 Wintertide 47 YM), also known as **Anais O'Neill**, was a Mikaean preacher and religious leader who founded of the Cult of the Father, the direct predecessor of the Black Cross Church. Though she died long before the founding of the modern Church, Anais is widely accepted to have been one of the early leaders of the early church as it was her doctrines and teachings that formed the basis of Mikaeanism, to which she is acknowledged as having been the primary founder of. Along with her sister, Saint Genevieve, Anais expanded the teachings of Mikaeanism throughout the Mikaean population during the lifetime of Mikael O'Neill, performing the majority of her her underground until the death of Mikael in 40 YM. A contemporary of Mikael and the First Sons, Anais' actions played a major role in the growth and development of Mikaean civilization, as the Black Cross Church, a direct successor to her Cult of the Father, would intervene in conflicts, politics, and financial events over the next four thousand years with the goal of preserving the society that Mikael had established.

Anais was born in the city of Blackstone as one of the first eight thousand Mikaeans born to the First Sons, making her one of the very first members of the entire Mikaean species, or am Aleph-generation Mikaean. Trained to serve as a rice farmer in the hill regions approaching the Blackstone Mountains, Anais took the teachings of the *Mikaean Codex* – the edicts passed by Mikael to guide his children – strictly and very seriously, and become a moral authority within both her coterie and the wider clique as a whole. Leveraging her position as a leader within her circles, Anais began preaching a more spiritualistic version of the *Codex* and its teachings, speaking of Mikael as a god who had come to Xyon to create a race of faithful followers, a claim which had much appeal with her sisters given their knowledge of his actions. Within the obscured and forested regions of Bastion where she had been stationed, Anais proclaimed the formation of the Cult of the Father, so as to give worship to the creator worthy of their devotion. Because of the nature of her work, Anais kept her preaching secret, and swore all new adherents to an oath of secrecy, to prevent Mikaeal from stopping their work.

Along with Genevieve and several other early leaders within the Cult, Anais would pen the first few chapters of the *Verunomicon*, the holy text of the cult and the Black Cross Church later on in the future. Within the texts of the *Verunomicon*, Anais proclaimed the immortality of the soul, the unity with Mikael, the purpose of life for a Mikaean, and the promises and potential punishments for adherents who worshiped Mikael. She also interpreted what she thought were the true meaning of Mikael's statements within the *Codex*, ultimately leading to the creation of early Mikaeanism. However, both Anais and Genevieve would become bogged down in debate over the godhood of Mikael, resulting in the formation of the Zealots and Materialists. The debate would be somewhat resolved during the Great Convocation in 24 YM, where the Divine Praxis would be adopted, and the nature of Mikael within the teachings of the Cult. Following the Convocation, the Cult ballooned in growth, expanding to Blackstone within years of the event, and becoming the largest organized religion on the planet.

Following the death of Mikael in 40 YM, Anais would commit to a seven-year period of mourning, living in the wild in solitude, and avoiding contact with other Mikaeans and members of her religion. After her self-imposed exile had ended, she gave her final sermon in the city of Bastion where the movement began, and later drowned herself in Lake Bastion in the middle of the night. Her life and works would go on to influence Mikaean civilization, as her religion grew to become the first and largest organized religion on Xyon, and a major power in culture and society across the planet. Anais was canonized by the Black Cross Church in 63 YM by Reverend Mistress Ophelia I, for her role in founding and expanding the church as a contemporary of Mikael O'Neill. Every year since 63 YM on 12 Wintertide, Mikaeans prepare and serve sweet winter rice, and attend special services at their churches, where they ritualistically cleanse themselves of their sins and impurities in honor of Anais. According to the doctrine of the Black Cross Church, the direct successor to Saint Anais is the incumbent Reverend Mistress, TBD.