Stephanos of Koromina
Saint Stephanos Korominatis
Stephanos of Koromina is an Ouranic saint venerated as one of the 53 Anchorites of Eknopolis after he willingly allowed himself to be immured in the city walls as part of a ritual to protect the city from the advancing undead army of the dread Lich-Emperor Nefastius after the fall of the Rexan Empire.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born in the seaside village of Koromina, Stephanos grew up amongst the men and women who braved the dangers of the Central Sea as fishermen or merchant mariners. This environment instilled in him a healthy appreciation of the sea and its mistress, Naeia. Having heard the vocation as a young man, he rejected his family's attempts to arrange a marriage to the daughter of a prosperous Rexan merchant. Thus, at the age of 16, he left his family to join the Order of the Sea-Mother as a novice so that he might devote his life to prayer for the safety of those who tread upon the surface of the waters. After proving himself during his novitiate, he was fully inducted into the order as a cleric in 14 AR. During his tenure as a cleric in the Ouranic Church, he became known both for his devotion to Naeia and for his ability to calm the tempestuous sea. This led to his posting to the Patriarchate of Eknopolis, where he served as naval sacerdote for some of the most important sea voyages of the Rexan Empire and her great merchant houses.
After the events of the Dies Infelicissimus, the city of Eknopolis found itself under siege by the undead forces of Emperor Nefastius. Knowing that it was merely a matter of time before the city walls would be breached, the Patriarchate convinced the Council of Elders to allow 53 Ouranic clergy to immure themselves within the city walls as a sacrifice to fuel a ritual to establish a mystical ring of protection around Eknopolis that the undead could not breach. When the Patriarchate called for volunteers, Stephanos was one of the first to respond - ensuring his sainthood through his martyrdom. His place of immurement was slightly to the north of Chryson Gate in the Pallioniki district. Today, Eknopolite merchants continue to travel to where Stephanos was sealed into the city walls to venerate his sacrifice and to ask for his protection before they undertake their journeys across the Central Sea.
