Sister Anachorita was a mortal Dark Age nun who joined the Sisters of St. John.
Biography[]
Anachorita was born Ameline in a small village some miles from Orléans, in AD 1195. She was always an intense and serious child and by the time she entered her early teens, her future was clear: She would enter a religious order and devote her life to serving God. Ameline approached the local convent and endured through an unusually trying series of tests. Finally, she met an older woman with a lined and weary face but kindly eyes. The young girl, who was wondering if she had made the right choice, warmed to this nun instantly. The two talked for a while of God, faith and life.
Finally, the old nun asked Ameline if she had ever had God talk to her. "No," the novice replied.
"Let us see if he will, then," said the old nun. She taught Ameline how to clear her mind and search outward for the love of the Lord. The girl seized hold of this idea and pleaded to the Lord to open her mind. He did not reply. Disappointed, Ameline retreated to the dorm she shared with the other prospective recruits to the order.
That night, God opened her mind. Her visions, of pale creatures stalking humans in the streets of the city and diabolic sorcerers calling forth demons from Hell, terrified her beyond reason. The following morning she joined the Sisters of St. John and studied under the old nun, Petrona. Her mentor was not a great seer herself, but she excelled in bringing on the talents of others. Ameline quickly became a gifted seer and an excellent inquisitor. She worked with an all-female, cross-order cell based in the Languedoc, rooting out the forces of the Devil.
She was an obvious choice to lead the Inquisition in Ireland. Her combination of powerful insight and strong leadership skill would be invaluable in a land still smarting from the imposition of Rome's rule over the native Church. She accepted the job with misgivings she still had, fueled by her growing visions of a terrible confrontation between the Inquisition and the creatures of evil the Irish describe as the "Fair Folk." Still, she had done her job well. She changed her name to Sister Anachortia, a Celtic name that sits better with local people, and set about her business with determination and faith. Dublin's troubled streets are a little freer now of the creatures of Satan and new cells of inquisitors are taking root all over the country. The joint Red Sisters and Sisters of St. John chapter-house she runs in Dublin has proved a success as well, without the terrible problems faced by the London cells. The members of the British Council of Faith tend to defer to her without thinking on occasion, a reaction that she and her closest ally, Simpkin Cotter, find endlessly amusing.
Image[]
Anachortia is a striking woman with a long face, large eyes and a full mouth. She looks too earthy for a woman of the cloth, yet she is as pious and chase a woman as you can find in Ireland. Her robes are always immaculate and her hair kept closely cropped.
Stats[]
Nature: Pedagogue
Demeanor: Autocrat
Order: Sisters of Saint John
References[]
- DA: Dark Ages: British Isles, p. 131-132