The Anax
Contents
The Anax
"Let us turn your fears into your fetishes! Mwa ha ha ha!"
Biography
The Anax: Call of the Cursed One
As seen in the novel, The Anax: Call of the Cursed One, when an angry mob of religious zealots hanged Anaximanes Ravenhurst from what would become known as the Twisted Tree on Halloween night of 1857, no mortal could have predicted the outcome. The crowd had ignorantly created the perfect storm for the rise of a boogeyman. First, his mind and emotions had been torn and broken on a grand scale, having just realized that he murdered his beloved Eliza Day and he clung to sanity by a thread. They murdered him in cold blood, which can result in the return of an angry spirit, and worse, denied him his final request- another decision that is said to lead to malfortune. They killed Anaximanes on Halloween itself, the night when the realms of the dead and living slightly overlap. Finally, these ignorant, cruel souls hanged him in a location that he had painted with emotions during his lifetime, a special place of meaning for himself, the spot where he had proposed to Eliza, and spirits are often drawn to such locations after death. With breaking so many rules of etiquette regarding the dead, the assembled mob could not avoid the curse they brought upon themselves!
Within moments of his demise, his turbulent spirit ripped and clawed its way back into the corporeal world. The once rowdy crowd blanched and fled fearfully into the nearby woods. Anaximanes took on a moniker given to him by the people of Wakefield - The Anax. Since that faithful night, every Halloween his spirit returns to haunt the island known as Ghost Nook, searching for prey. He steals souls, feeding on fear and bringing madness onto his prey until they finally relinquish their spirits into his charge and become soulless. These slaves of the Anax are known as the Shadowed. For over one-hundred and fifty years, this macabre yearly ritual continued, until Evelyn Addams and a group of her friends came to the island located on Big Moose Lake in upstate New York. Though her group fell to the Anax, Eve, alone, survived several confrontations with the dark entity, and managed to enslave him through his fetter, his very skull. Now, the boogeyman must follow her directives- or is it all a ruse? Can anyone truly control the Anax?
Desideratum: Blood Bonds
As seen in the novel, Desideratum: Blood Bonds, several months after Evelyn Addams manages to gain power over the Anax, they arrive in Portland, Oregon. As they traveled across the United States from New York, Eve gained insight regarding her necromantic abilities, and she occasionally pushed herself too far. The shadow magic would drive her mad, and on several occasions, the Anax stepped in to save her either from herself or from the spells she cast. For example, while passing through the state of Texas, she went to an old, abandoned graveyard and raised all the dead. However, the skeletal zombies were too great in number for the fledgling necromancer to control and she ordered the Anax to destroy the army and save her.
The pair were on a mission of revenge, as the witch, now vampire, Eleanora Blackwood, had directly led to the hanging of Anaximanes Ravenhurst, and Eve felt compelled to aid the Anax in destroying the vile woman. Once in Portland, the duo needed to obtain the Sceptre of Osiris. The artifact would allow necromancers amplified power, and Evelyn would be able to control the vampires of Portland- including Eleanora. Once the Nightbred were enslaved, the Anax would rip Eleanora to shreds and carry her spirit into the Outer Darkness, where he would enslave her as a Shadowed. She would then forever serve him as an eternal slap in the face for her cruelty.
However, the greenhorn monster hunter, Absinthe Van Gothen, also required the same relic for her own attack on the Nightbred. She arrived at the Portland Museum, only to find the Anax and Evelyn Addams. The Anax sent Shadowed to kill Abby, but they failed. Evelyn animated the skeletons in the museum and sent her risen minions against the hunter as well, only to have them fail. Then - SPOILER FOR NOW! Will edit after D:BB is finished!
Factions: Crystals of Control
In the non-canonical Unity match-three game, Factions: Crystals of Control, The Anax arrived at Ravenhurst Manor just as a battle breaks out over the Crystals of Control. He claims the green crystal of Psychic Power and returns to the Shadowlands. From there, he planned to set out and fight against the other factions of the Anaxverse to claim their crystals and gain their power until he can control the entire world.
Factions: Stealer of Souls
In the non-canonical Unity collector style game, Factions: Stealer of Souls, the Anax can be found in the Shadowlands of the Outer Darkness. If the players choose to play as the Shadowed faction, they can choose between playing as the Anax or Evelyn Addams. Regardless, the Shadowed find themselves recently attacked by rival Anaxverse Factions, and the Anax is attempting to regain the power that he lost, narrowly evading enslavement himself. Thus, the Anax starts in the Shadowlands and reabsorbs the souls of the Shadowed and other denizens of the Outer Darkness with the goal of recreating an army and then using his new minions to steal the souls of the other faction's minions until he manages to enslave all the other faction leaders, bringing the entire world under his domination.
Appearance
The Anax has the ability to change shape and size at will but generally appears as a shadow person. He stands around ten feet tall. He is stocky and wide-shouldered always wearing a black suit and tie. He also wears a black bowler hat on his head and has two glowing green eyes. Where one would normally see flesh, only an absolute, shadowy blackness remains, absorbing all light. His hands are generally far-oversized for his frame ending in sharp, wicked claws that glow green.
Abilities
The Anax exudes a natural dread to anyone that looks upon him. Even being near him will give someone a cold sensation causing their hair to stand on end and their spines to tingle. He can change shape in order to overcome obstacles or terrify his prey. For example, to an arachnophobe, he might appear half-spider. He can insert his claw into the minds of the living or the dead, and use their fear as a way to twist their thoughts. Once they give in, they become known as the Shadowed, slaves to the Anax's dark whims.
He is invulnerable except by sunlight. However, he generally lurks in the Outer Darkness, outside the dimension of the living, only coming to the realm of life on Halloween. Evelyn Addams obtained his skull, which acts as a fetter, and thus, she can summon the Anax at will. However, in either case, when the sun rises, he is banished and cannot be summoned until after sunset. It should be noted that the sunlight does not have to touch the Anax directly- he vanishes into the Shadowlands regardless. If the sun's light reaches his position on Earth, he loses corporality entirely.
Equipment
The Anax wears a black suit and tie and a bowler hat. The cloth articles appear to be phantasmic in nature because they disappear with the sunrise, just as he does.
Notes and Trivia
In the original version of The Anax: Call of the Cursed One, all pictures of the Anax were actual photo-manipulations of Brandon Somerville, the author, creator, and sole copyright holder of the Anaxverse and all its stories, games, and lore.
Anaximanes Ravenhurst and Brone Lorcan were both victims of Eleanora Blackwood, but how they reacted to their corruptive transformations were the opposite. The Anax relished his and used his new darkness without regard, but Brone refused to become a monster.
With all of Anax’s knowledge and being of Scottish descent, he knew of Unspoken Water, water believed to have healing properties when collected "from under a bridge, over which the living pass and the dead are carried, brought in the dawn or twilight to the house of a sick person, without the bearer's speaking, either in going or returning", yet did not use it that night with Eliza. In the emotional turmoil of the night, and not believing in magic, only science, the notion of collecting water from under the bridge between the church and Wakefield, never crossed his mind. In truth, it would have cured Eliza instantly.
Gallery
thumb
thumb
