Alyosha

Alyosha
Basic Information
Pronouns	He/him
Titles	Exarch Alyosha
People	Human
Connections
Af­fil­i­a­tion(s)	Creed of Samothes
Re­la­tion­ships	Arrell (mentor, ex-partner)
Meta Info
Season	Winter in Hieron Spring in Hieron
Debut	Winter in Hieron 01: An Arrow Let Loose

Exarch Alyosha is a member of the Creed of Samothes. As an exarch, Alyosha is a high-ranking official in the church, equivalent to a prelate, but has no permanent parish of his own. He was previously assigned as a missionary in Rosemerrow, but was called to Velas to act as standing leader of Velas' church following Prelate Lucius's death.

His correspondence with his mentor Arrell form the episode descriptions for episodes 1 through 10 of Winter in Hieron.

Appearance

During Winter in Hieron, Alyosha is a very slight individual in his late thirties, weak-looking with features that are thin but youthful and bright. He has light hair and light eyes.

This section contains spoilers for Spring in Hieron 18: A Simple Answer.
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When Ephrim meets with Alyosha during the first downtime, his hair is greying, and is long enough to be tied into a ponytail. His body is also noticeably more muscular from constantly working on the Spring, and scars are visible on his back.

History and Involvement

Background

Alyosha grew up an orphan from the northeast of Hieron, in the shadow of the Grand Tour. He was raised by a prelate of the Creed of Samothes. Later in life, he was given his own title by "another one of the Northern exarchs", making him one of the three Northern exarchs. Although he and Arrell already have a history together by the events of Winter in Hieron, it is unclear when and how they met.

Winter in Hieron

Shortly before the events of Winter in Hieron begin, Alyosha worked as a missionary and exarch in Rosemerrow, where he was "a very meek and considerate and thoughtful leader in the church", interested in working directly with the community.

Alyosha is called to Velas from Rosemerrow after the death of Prelate Lucius to serve as interim prelate, and is reported to have come from somewhere to the south or the east. Hadrian gets an impression of him as well-meaning and naive.

Despite the contentious tone of their exchanges, Alyosha frequently sends and receives letters from his former teacher, Arrell, discussing theology and current events. Their letters imply that they broke off a romantic relationship in the past. When Ordenna threatens to invade Velas, Arrell asks Alyosha to come away with him, but Alyosha refuses.

Alyosha and Rosana take charge of gathering up Velasian residents to evacuate the city. They and a group of about 100 refugees meet Hadrian outside of Rosemerrow, where Hadrian asks Alyosha to help him meet with Arrell. Alyosha does so, although he and Arrell do not speak to each other during the resulting meeting. Afterwards, Alyosha joins Hadrian, Hella, Throndir, and Adaire on their journey, believing that Hadrian's mission to investigate the tower in the southwest is important, as well as to investigate the Cult of the Dark Sun.

Alyosha can use senses that pierce lies and can also sense Samothes' presence in the same way that Hadrian is.

Once they reach The Buoy, Alyosha goes to the cathedral at Memoriam College to investigate its connection to the Dark Sun. He, Hadrian, and the rest of Forest Party meet Prelate Springe and Exarch Braeven. They have a somewhat stilted conversation where Hadrian notices that both Alyosha and Braeven are being indicated as evil by his powers, implying that Dark Son Samothes has designated Alyosha as evil, possibly for his loyalty to the original Creed. Alyosha and Braeven wind up having a theocratic debate about hookups after Hella mentions flirting with the bartender from the Topgallant (with Alyosha being pro-hookup). They discover that Prelate Springe has no concept of the Creed of Samothes and the Church of the Dark Son being separate.

The next day, Hadrian and Alyosha go to the House of First Light, a lighthouse said to be built by Samothes. They enter and climb to the top, where they see a volcano and a castle surrounded by purple magma. Alyosha begins to float away and Hadrian calls out for help. Samothes, hearing the call from the castle, lifts Alyosha away to his workshop.

Samothes creates a bridge for Hadrian to cross to the forge, where they have a menacing interaction. Hadrian asks about Alyosha and Samothes replies, "I am sorry about Alyosha. He was not confident."

Later, in Winter in Hieron 29: Slow Justice, Ephrim meets Samothes with the crescent blade in hand. He sees Alyosha in the forge, with "his eyes dead and empty" under the influence of Samothes' hypnosis.

Alyosha's eyes are still lifeless in the final scene, after Ephrim has killed Samothes. He kneels and picks up Samothes' hammer, then strikes it to the bloody anvil, causing The Spring to grow from Samothes' pooled blood.

Trivia

Alyosha's name may be an allusion to a character from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. In the novel, Alexei (nicknamed Alyosha) is the youngest of the titular brothers, a novice at an Orthodox monastery, whose faith contrasts with his older brother Ivan's atheism.

See also

• List of characters in the first Forest Party arc
• List of characters in the first Mountain Party arc
• List of characters in the second Forest Party arc
• The Brothers Karamazov on Wikipedia