Saint Beatrice

Beatrice of Chegallari, or Saint Beatrice (Acirian: Santa Beatrice), was a martyr who died in the early years of the introduction of Catholicism to modern day Aciria. The patron saint of Aciria, Saint Beatrice is particularly venerated in Aciria, among the Acirian diaspora and Metzettan Catholics. The lack of written records from the time have left the exact years of her life vague, but it's generally accepted that Beatrice lived in the early 13th century.

Works of historians that lived during her lifetime cite her to have been the daughter of a local chieftain who had converted to Catholicism, and was raised as a Catholic. Beatrice was exposed to Catholic texts from an early age, which allowed her to study them extensively to convert the tribesmen to the faith. Her eventual death in the hands of pagans to rescue Catholics cemented her as not only an important figure in Acirian Catholicism, but in Acirian history following the birth of Beatricism.

Life
Scholars typically associate Beatrice's birth around the year 1200, but the exact years are hotly debated. Beatrice was born to Tharia, the daughter of the chief of Arsos and Culi, the chieftain of the Norcii, one of the largest tribes in central modern day Aciria. The two were wed in order to bring together the long-warring tribes, with Beatrice's older brother Verza expected to unite the two tribes following the death of their father. Beatrice contracted an unknown illness shortly after her birth, and according to legend, his father in desperation turned to God, who he promised both his and his tribes conversion to Catholicism would he save his daughter. The next morning Beatrice had recovered from her illness, which resulted in Culi converting to Catholicism. Even after recovering, Beatrice suffered from episodes of unconsciousness, followed by her detailing meeting Christ on multiple occasions. Spending extensive periods of time among biblical writings, she learned Istroyan in order to spread the faith to the tribe. Her devotion to God reminded many of her tribesmen of the Three Sisters, which further encouraged conversion to Catholicism following her teachings.

Following his brothers ascension to the throne in around 1222, the two tribes were initially unified as intended. The Arsos tribe, which Beatrice's mother belonged to, still fervently followed the pagan faith, with their distrust of Catholicism resulting in the tribal kingdom to break apart into a bloody war. The Arsos managed to rally the support of other paganic tribes of the area, slowly swallowing more and more of the land and men of the Catholic Norcii. The war eventually culminated at River Ripulire, where the Norcii were evacuating towards the south. The evacuation took place at night, with Beatrice holding a torch to show the way to her tribesmen. The torch also caught the attention of the Arsos, who attacked the evacuating Norcii at the river. Instead of joining the other women in escaping, Beatrice remained by the Norcii warriors to light the way for the evacuees, eventually resulting in Beatrice's death.