"You could not trip in the Ninth House without falling over an Anastas, an Anastasia, or an Anastasius; or, in later years, bumping into their niche."[1]
Anastasia the First (An-ass-TAYS-iya) is the necromantic scion and founder of the Ninth House. Her attempt to ascend to the rank of Lyctor went wrong, and it is not clear how successful she was or how long she lived afterward.
Biography[]
History[]
According to the Emperor, Anastasia was the only one of the eight original necromancers to fail to ascend properly, as she had "researched it too much." He first claimed that when she spoke the Eightfold Word it went "fundamentally wrong,"[1] but later admitted that she had nearly achieved the perfect Lyctorhood that would allow her and her cavalier to both live. He claimed she panicked midway through, and that both her and Samael Novenary's lives were at risk, so he killed Samael to save her. Augustine recalled that she had worked closely with Cassiopeia on the process.
Anastasia never properly ascended to Lyctor and is not known as a Saint to any but the Ninth House.
According to the Emperor, after they had cleaned up, she asked him to kill her and he refused. An unknown amount of time later, he asked her to take charge of the Tomb.
She worked with the Emperor to design The Locked Tomb, a monument designed to contain the body of his greatest enemy. The true protection of the Locked Tomb was intended to be a ward that, according to the Emperor, opens only to his blood.
At some point, Anastasia gave birth to a child, starting an unbroken hereditary line of tomb keepers all the way down to Harrowhark Nonagesimus.
Anastasia's skeletal remains lie within the Locked Tomb, next to the door she was tasked to keep forever closed. It is unknown how or when she died.
Appearance and Personality[]
Mercymorn, upon studying Harrow's face, stated that she was "not as pretty as Anastasia."[2]
She was apparently studious, as the Emperor noted that over-researching was "typical Anastasia."[1]
Relationships[]
Alecto[]
Anastasia is one of the few of Gaius's desciples established to have had a personal relationship with Alecto. Anastasia was interred in The Locked Tomb along with Alecto, left behind to guard it as the first in the Ninth House line of tombkeepers. As Alecto, in Nona's body, approaches the coffin of The Locked Tomb, she spies Anastasia's skeletal remains against the wall and claims to remember her. Later, addressing Harrow, she "swears to [her] as [she] swore to Anastasia", implying some sort of vow of service pledged to Anastasia by Alecto.
Samael Novenary[]
While the precise details of Anastasia and Samael's bond are unknown, his willingness to follow her to First House and attempt untried, potentially fatal necromancy speaks to his dedication and loyalty. When their Lyctorhood failed and Samael was killed, Anastasia asked the Emperor to end her life. Though she eventually accepted his refusal and went on to found the Ninth House, she entombed his black chain upon the Anastasian monument—a tomb reserved for the most revered of Ninth House warriors.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 20
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 5