# Saint Erasmus the Mad

<figure><img src="https://content.gitbook.com/content/l8PoDauAl8rpfrqzxzXf/blobs/dM4kv7R5girRAPoFyGpj/st%20erasmus.png" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Saint Erasmus the Mad** (\~250 AC-332 AC) was a legendary [Domenican](https://project-pathfinders.gitbook.io/project-pathfinders/pathlore/factions/domenican-empire) sailor who lived during the Age of Storms. Caught in[ Titan’s Wall ](https://project-pathfinders.gitbook.io/project-pathfinders/pathlore/titans-wall)when it struck the eastern ocean, Captain Erasmus is said to have been shipwrecked in the[ New World](https://project-pathfinders.gitbook.io/project-pathfinders/pathlore/the-new-world), becoming one of the first people from the Thirteen Lands to set foot there.

#### Life

The details of Erasmus’s early life are not known. In 331 AC he appears in the historical record as a merchant captain plying the Domenica-Crutiera route. According to contemporaries, he experienced a vision of an undiscovered Isle to the east of the Thirteen Lands. This inspired him to assemble his crew and sail eastward, whereupon Titan’s Wall appeared in his path. Erasmus’s ship suffered severe damage in the storm and was lost; the captain himself disappeared.

In 332 AC, Erasmus appeared once more in the Domenican Empire, claiming to have returned from the far side of Titan’s Wall. He became a folk hero in Crutiera and many miracles were attributed to him. Not long after, however, he perished of an unknown illness that same year. With no surviving relatives, he was buried by his close friends at the Sybil Cathedral in Port Aventura.

#### Legacy

For many years Erasmus was regarded as a madman. His unfinished writings, describing giant bees and supernatural occurrences, were considered fanciful curiosities. However, he remained a popular folk saint in coastal communities, and the parting of Titan’s Wall in 520 AC led the Reliquary Church to re-examine his writings. Erasmus was ultimately canonized in 522 AC, dubbed Saint Erasmus “the Mad” to differentiate him from the earlier, more famous saint of the same name.

Today, Erasmus the Mad is venerated in the Domenican Empire as the patron saint of all Pathfinders to the New World. He is remembered in the poem [*Glory the Trailblazers*](https://project-pathfinders.gitbook.io/project-pathfinders/pathlore/..#who-are-the-pathfinders) as one of the first and greatest Imperial explorers.

#### Saint Elmo’s Fire

In Crutiera, Erasmus is popularly associated with the aetheric phenomenon of “Saint Elmo’s fire,” a radiant light which appears on the masts of ships in thunderstorms. It is believed that this light is a blessing from Saint Erasmus which protects the ship from misfortune.

Erasmus is often depicted in artwork with his staff aloft and ablaze, with his flame acting as a beacon for lost seamen. In more fanciful tellings, such as in the poem [*Glory the Trailblazers*](https://project-pathfinders.gitbook.io/project-pathfinders/pathlore/..#who-are-the-pathfinders)*,* Erasmus wields fire and lightning as weapons in his battles against evil.


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