In the absence of passion and purpose, Erica was consumed by insatiable hunger. She devolved into isolated musings, poring over art, workouts and dreams in a desperate fight to process her loss. It seemed she was undead, but no longer human. By ripping herself down to the animal within, she embodied her most primal energy, and became Anäeia.

Anäeia – evoking the word ‘Annihilate’ – represented the destruction of a soul. After battling death, she grasped desperately at life, consuming passion wherever she could find it. As she expressed her insatiable desire, she was known as a conquerer and heartbreaker. In photos, her eyes reflect the suffering and hunger of the world. Alone, we are all Øne. Her wildness makes it clear that we are only free when we have nothing to lose.

Anäeia hunted to fulfill the desires of the flesh; a pale imitation of the purpose and catharsis she’d once found in music. Desperate to lure her demons from the unconscious, she ripped herself apart until she experienced a silence of the soul. Anäeia had been killed, and Erica’s body was left empty.

Then, suddenly, a vision came to her from the aether. Immediately, she understood that her life’s purpose was to channel it into a series of books. Although music was her first language and she lacked skill with words, she sensed the Gods had kept her alive just to grant her this vision. She studied religion, history, psychology, and archetypes in order to build a vocabulary to express it – which would later become the fantasy series, Night Gem. 

Yet she could not embrace a project of such great scope while her past haunted her so acutely. Between her renewed sense of purpose, her whispery singing voice, and her broken dreams, she was burning alive. There were still songs to write, and she needed to capture them. While keeping the series on the back-burner, she embraced the last dying embers of her singing voice. Thus, she rose from the ashes.