The Humble Endarch Alyssa

The Humble Endarch Alyssa (3025-3112), also known as Alyssa the Humble, led the Church of Humanity, Repentant from the year 3095 up to 3110, when she abdicated to spend the remainder of her life in holy contemplation. During her years as Endarch, she did much to promote repentance through poverty. The Vow of the Humble Soul, still taken by many of the Church's followers today, is named after her.

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### Early life

Alyssa the Humble was born on Haqani, the Vela homeword. She was brought up in a prosperous city as daughter to a family of merchants, and from her earliest youth she was taught the ways of the Imperial Church. The alien ruins on the planet, she confessed many years later, had always drawn her, even though she was never allowed near them.

As she grew older, the injustices of the world around her began to wear on her. She had always been taught to be generous to the less fortunate, but saw little of that in her family's circles. After years of personal conflict, Alyssa left her home, her church, and her name at age 24, to join the Church of Humanity, Repentant, where she felt she could truly make a change.

### Life as Alyssa the Humble

Alyssa stayed on Haqani for a while, living in the poorer areas, far away from her familial territory. Amidst the alien ruins that criss-crossed the district, she led a frugal life in a shelter run by the church, where she volunteered to help the disposed in return for bed and board. She went above and beyond to help those in needed, sharing even the meagre meals for herself with those who sought shelter, quickly earning her the name "Alyssa the Humble". For many years she toiled in the shelter. During her final four years on Haqani, she was directly involved in the management of the shelter.

In 3059, Alyssa relocated to Cabina, homeworld of the Church, because she could do more closer to the source. There, she quickly rose in esteem, and became a teacher, all the while still actively doing what she could for those who needed help. Her name became known in the upper echelons of the Church, but still she lived humbly, passing on gifts and salary to those she felt needed it more. Her following grew over the years, and many a preacher left Cabina to spread what Alyssa had taught them.

### Election to Endarch and legacy

In 3095, Alyssa was elected Endarch, at the age of seventy. At this age, her body demanded that she slowed her many activities, but even with the duties of Endarch on her shoulders, Alyssa never completely stopped her efforts to personally help the less fortunate. In 3097, she visited the shelter on Haqani again, and worked for two full days along with the other volunteers before returning home.

During her time as Endarch, Alyssa frequently voiced her concern about the High Church of Messiah-as-Emperor. The most often cited example of this her unofficial title, "the Humble Endarch", which mirrored the title of the Imperial Church's "High Exarch".

In 3110, Alyssa the Humble stepped down, rather unexpectedly, to follow a new spiritual calling. She spent the last two years of her life in holy seclusion, on the border of alien territory on Cabina, where she spent her days meditating and writing her *Edict on Poverty*, a text still disseminated today, in which she discusses the virtues of poverty as a path of repentance for humanities sins. After her passing, in 3112, the Church of Humanity, Repentant, declared a week-long period of mourning, scheduled for three months-standard hence. Soon after, the Church officially sanctioned the Vow of the Humble Soul, which is still taken today by siblings who wish to emulate Alyssa's lifestyle.