“ There is a great battle raging beneath the thinly veiled front of the Ascendancy. A battle between the Luminous and the Aphotic. A battle of figment…and pressure. ”
– Azaniah Strayer, TUT: Neoteric, Verse I
Twenty-two years old, Azaniah is a ranking Persecutor within the Vestiary of Pursuers, and a veritable prodigy among Pressicants. Although he is young, the stress of the Conjoining has caused him to superficially age pre-maturely, giving him the look of a man in his thirties. As is also sometimes the case when undergoing the Conjoining, Azaniah was rendered hairless during the event.
Like all Persecutors, Azaniah has the benefit of receiving the gift of Pressure. This grants him increased strength, speed, and stamina in comparison to those unable to receive. Beside those natural benefits, Persecutors also have the ability to do things most would think impossible.
Appearance
A gaunt and stern looking man, Azaniah, besides carrying the intimidation factor that goes with being a Persecutor, has a rather striking visage. Hairless, with sunken black eyes and visible cheek and jaw bones, he stairs down a long, thin nose. In his posture, he carries himself with an assured air of superiority, and his face is generally struck with an expression of disdain. Despite his tall stature, he is thin, almost frail looking, yet manages to be somehow overbearing when staring directly at you.
Biography
Born into the Pursuers as a child of the Pogrom, and given the surname “Strayer,” he is one of the many potential children of prophecy to be born at that time. Like all Strayers, he was made an orphan and raised by the Elders at the Pursuer Temple on Saturn. However, unlike other Strayers, Azaniah received special tutelage from Pontifex Allom Barnabus.
As a youth, Azaniah was one of the most promising Proselytes in recent Vestiary history. He is naturally gifted in the Reception and understanding of Pressure, and infamous for quickly ascending the ranks of the Vestiary. It was by age twelve that he had already surpassed the Conjoining, and acheived the Title of Persecutor – among the youngest, if not the youngest ever. Although his youth makes him prone to making mistakes, his Magnitude is of such an extent that he is considered a prodigy among Pressicants — showing Potential, even, for becoming greater than the Pontifex, and Pursuant General Reelius Asphorsus.
Beyond this, his records have been sealed in the Library of Abrogation, and only the Elders on Saturn, Pontifex Allom Barnabus, and Prelate Uriah Rabsaris know anything more of the Strayers.
Chief Seeker’s Note:
Strange mentions of “Pressure,” “Magnitude,” and “Pressicants” continue to confound me. It pains me to inform the High Seat that I am, once again, forced to admit the superiority of both the Vestiary and Sodality on these subject matters.
– Chief Seeker Aldrani Bin-Shathi