Anastasia

Note: This entry refers to the mage and lich. For the armor merchant, see Anastasia (Silvar).

Anastasia was an appreciably talented human mage with ambitions and a thirst for power, who rose to a position of leadership in the Split-Tail clan.

Before Exile

On the surface Anastasia was a mage who chafed at the restrictions the Empire placed on her magical learning. This lead to her seeking out hidden Nephilim bands to learn spells from their shamans. During this time she learned the nephilim language. These activities lead to her being exiled to Avernum.

In Exile

Once arriving in Avernum she considered the Avernites to be weak and unambitious, she searched elsewhere for like-minded allies. She sought allies from places such as the Abyss and Freehold of Kyass, but didn't find what she was looking for. Hence she travelled towards Formello where she was attacked by a band of nephilim bandits. She slew most of them but spared the rest when they begged for mercy. In return, they brought her to the clan's leaders, where she offered her services and took on the alias Zemera.

Due to her cunning and magical ability, the-now Zemera rose through the ranks within the clan and eventually shared joint leadership and spoils. For several years she helped the clan raid the settlements of northeastern Avernum and the Eastern Gallery. During this time, having spent most of time surrounded by nephilim, Anastasia sometimes longed for human company. To this end, she convinced the tribe to keep a human prisoner named Kneedler alive so that she could have her way with him.

Around 816 IE, Zemera's warriors raided Formello and made away with the powerful gold necklace kept by its mayor. The shamans of the castle, led by High Shaman Mrrrrmm, seized the necklace, and Zemera began a bitter political struggle with them over its custody. This struggle ceased in 817 IE when Hawthorne's Assassins raided the castle, killing Zemera as well as most of the nephilim in their search for the necklace.

As a Lich

Several years later, an undead-worshipping cult took up residence in the castle. Although they mostly created zombies and skeletons and were dispatched by adventurers in 823 IE, they did manage to animate the mage as a lich. Anastasia reclaimed her original name and spent several decades in hiding, increasing her power and studying bizarre rituals. After the dragon Khoth left his lair to go to the surface, she took up residence there.

Around 853 IE, she was hired by Rentar-Ihrno to create the tentacled sea monsters that plagued Avernum. This was her final act of banditry, as she was slain by adventurers in 855 IE.