ANATHEMA: A being comprised of wronged Rune. Pendia's alien invader, here at the end of times. A slick of sickeningly cold Aether. An outsider. Always an outsider. Anathema is a quiet, reserved and measured individual. They appeared somewhat suddenly a year ago, when Selenium landed, and sought a faction to join. The Revenant were... too loud. Too violent. Too MUCH. The horde's nature was contrary to the moondweller, and so they left. When they came to the Sanctum, they were warded off swiftly by a particularly old guard. Their shape was known to the spire as the shade of an enemy long thought dead. And so they left. They joined the Crownbreakers, for a short while. They were always on the outside, and while they seemed to support the cause, the... OTHERNESS of them made people uncomfortable. Anathema left once more, though it was hardly a choice. They left in sickness. Sick to their core, because the air was poison, and the ground too. The machines choked out smog and screamed in ferrous torment. They fled the desert and wasteland, no more able to remain there than a candle may remain in a hurricane. So they wandered the woods and shores, dragging their alien shape over rock and reef... ...until they heard a song. And so they called back, for the melody resonated with them. In halls of quiet coral, in cold water and inky depths, in coils of algae and breathless abyss, the alien found something close to peace. Despite their strangeness, Anathema is known to be highly empathetic. Always willing to help anyone with almost any problem, regardless of faction. Unless, that is, they are engaged in combat. For whatever reason, they have exactly zero reservations about annulling an opponent. But there are rules, for some reason. Provided you agree to the terms they offer before every battle, you may walk away at any time, free to simply leave. In exchange, you must allow them to do the same if they choose not to fight anymore. If you break this contract, it is never extended again. They will simply attempt to gut you without a semblance of mercy. Anathema occasionally enters a fugue state if pushed over the edge. During these spasms they thrash and slice and rend, attempting to destroy the irritant, apathetic to whether or not said irritant is alive. Nobody quite knows what sets them off. They are always a little off. The air around them feels too cold, and people who need to breathe can struggle to do so when standing next to them. Their mannerisms sometimes come off as uncanny, showing alien bones under their normal-seeming skin. They twitch at loud noises, and utterly despise crowds. They don't understand much about Pendia, but so far they aren't liking much.
Music is Octarmaments (again) LORE OVERVIEW: Ok so I’m not going to spoil much but there are some Big Changes. Namely, Anathema isn’t a created entity anymore, they’re just a ‘normal’ Pendian mage, one summoned by Asterism, and raised by Asterism afterwards. They are not a program, nor do they have any questions as to whether or not they’re ‘real’. Or much trauma (shocking I know) at least from these early years. Asterism died and they left for space. They wandered about in the void for a time, before being picked up by Selenium. Now that Selenium has landed, they’ve wandered off again to join this war for some reason. Anathema’s design has been reworked! As has a lot of what and who they are. Their base Old Anathema personality remains somewhat unchanged but they actually have a few principles and wants of their own which might actually cause them mild conflict with other people. Other major changes include: no shell system that was garbage. Significantly less trauma! A lot more emphasis on the fact that Anathema is an alien, or as close to an alien as you can have in the Land of All Things. And a lot more besides. For anyone wondering, both Crel-Atrisse and Asphodel are STILL CANON but they’ve undergone significant changes so they actually fit in the lore. Asphodel’s personality has also been warped a bit, but Crel’s has not.
