Saint Lazarai
"Give me your pain, and walk free."Saint Lazarai the Wounded, born Lazarai von Otterberg, is a regionally revered figure in Chantry theology. Known for the miraculous ability to take on the suffering of others — literally drawing their wounds, diseases, and afflictions into his own body — Lazarai is venerated by healers, penitents, and the desperate poor of Nevarra.
Personal History
Early Life
Born in the alpine region of northern Nevarra, Lazarai was raised amongst a family of rural shepherds. Even though his parents and grandparents were illiterate, they shared their faith with him through its oral traditions. Drawn to these tales, Lazarai was able to get his family to take weekly journeys to the nearest Chantry for his sake. According to the diary of his childhood mentor, a Chantry Mother, Lazarai’s youth was marked by endless illness — diseases, ailments, and mental afflictions. Living isolated and impoverished as serfs, the family could do little to help him. Miraculously, he survived each though at great pain and distress. Amongst some of these "episodes", stories claim that he experienced holy visions. Inspired by a monastic group, Lazarai sought to join a them near Nessum, but was reluctantly turned away for his illiteracy. Lazarai became motivated to join a monastic order on the outskirts of Nessum, but was reluctantly turned away due to his illiteracy. His father moved to a distant larger city and began making marginally more money, sending back extra to pay for his son to get tutored. After some time, Lazarai was finally accepted at the age of 17.Development
During his studies, his ailments worsened: loss of appetite, insomnia, migraines. During prayers, his fellows would find him unshakeable from his meditation, as if "his soul had left his body". Others stated that he would go upwards of twenty days without sleep or food. The monastery served the sick and poor who traveled to it, and it was among them that Lazarai began to change. It was only after several years of studies that he was allowed to begin helping them. Quickly, the cornerstone of his modern mythos was revealed: he laid hands upon the sick, whispered a prayer, and their afflictions vanished... only to bloom on his own flesh. Tumors, stab wounds, festering sores, shattered bones — he bore it all alone, often dealing with the weight of a dozen other people's pain. Interestingly, he also displayed a “universal tongue,” being able to speak to anyone in any language despite having only ever learned Planasene At first these powers greatly disturbed him, but as crowds gathered — both to be healed by him or to simply witness this miracle of the Maker — he felt a righteous duty to serve them. Some legends suggest that he began appearing with permanent burn marks on his hands and around his head, "like a crown".Accusations of Heresy
His work drew the ire of many; critics accused him of hedge magic or self-mutilation. The Prorex of Nessum, a deeply pious man, summoned Lazarai to court over these matters. A skeptic, the Prorex demanded Lazarai heal his crippled daughter — publicly, and away from the monastery. Lazarai did as the Prorex asked, crippling himself in the process. The Prorex flew into a rage and imprisoned Lazarai. Still unwilling to believe, the Prorex ordered Lazarai to heal every prisoner in his dungeon — hoping to break the ruse. He did so by forcing Lazarai to cure the wounds of each person in his prison. Lazarai agreed and supposedly told him, "Let the weight of their sins fall upon my flesh, and between us we shall see whose hands are clean". The immense toll killed him. His body was barely recognizable beneath the wounds.Legacy
Lazarai's legacy endures in churches bearing his namesake and through the work of the Order of the Emerald Road — an order of knights and healers. They vow to ease suffering and take it on as their own, however possible. Additionally, they abstain from meat and do not cut their hair, following Lazarai’s belief in the body’s sacredness. The Order also protects relics of Lazarai, such as cloths stained with his blood, as they've been found to have supernatural healing properties. Upon retirement, many pilgrimage to Otterberg to live out their final years. Lazarai's body was burned and his bones were returned to the Chantry he went to as a kid, where they still remain under the altar to this very day. Thanks to Lazarai’s donations, Nessum built one of the most advanced hospitals in Thedas: Sanktlind. The generosity of man has kept it funded for hundreds of years. All who are sick — regardless of wealth or status — may be treated there for whatever they can offer, even if nothing at all.
Divine Classification
Saint
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
"the Wounded"
Children
Sex
Male
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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