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Miroslav (c. 205 - 247) was a hunter turned preacher and religious leader. He is widely considered to be the catalyst for Lunarism's creation and expansion, preaching the word of Yelena across central Volkia. In 239, Miroslav was said to have been attacked by a large bull elk while in the woods near his village as the moon rose, and was saved by a "bright, golden She-wolf" who then spoke to him. Miroslav preached that she was the Mother, the moon-god of the Volkian pagans, and that she was called Yelena. Miroslav would go on to describe how Yelena said she would protect the lupines in their greatest hour of need and those lupines that worshipped her would be rewarded with spending the afterlife in paradise. Yelena then disappeared into the forest. Miroslav returned to his village, injured but alive, and pledged to become the speaker for Yelena.
Miroslav began proselytizing the next year in 240, traveling first through the lands of his people, the [[Volkiplemeni]], before moving on to the lands of the [[Yekarians]]. Both the Volkiplemeni and Yekarians seemed to welcome the change in Yelena's role in Volkian paganism from a minor star-god to the primary god. Miroslav continued his work, preaching the word of Yelena and helped lay the foundation of the basic Lunarist beliefs still in place today. Sometime in late 247, Miroslav was preaching in an [[Orlikians|Orlikian]] village when he was attacked by a group of men who took offense to Miroslav's teachings. He was beaten and taken into the forest outside the village, where he was hanged from a tree. Some writings described the appearance of two bright lights that took the shape of two wolves after Miroslav was killed, and exacted vengeance on Miroslav's attackers.
Miroslav claimed to have been visited by Yelena several more times throughout his life in order to receive her words which would go on to make up a large part of the Knigi Luny.
=== Foundation ===
Miroslav had several close followers that would continue his work after his murder in 247. Aleksandr, Aloysha, Dima, Gregori, and Yeva followed Miroslav from 245 until his death, later becoming known as the Five Followers (Volkian: ''Pyat' posledovateley''). Aleksandr, Dima, and Yeva were Volkiplemeni while Aloysha and Gregori were Yekarians who spread the word of Yelena in their respective lands, meeting every few months in a central location to discuss what they were teaching. Word of Miroslav's death reached the Five Followers in early 248, and they swore to continue spreading the word of Yelena in his honor. They adopted the name Lunarists, showing their devotion to the moon-god Yelena. A Volkiplemeni ruler, Zhenya the Great, commissioned the first Lunarist church in 250 in a village in the area of what is now [[Volkgoroda]]. Zhenya would later lead an army to the village where Miroslav was killed and razed it, killing the male inhabitants and recovering Miroslav's body.
The church would prove fruitful to the Five Followers and the number of Lunarists continued to grow. Lunarism's foothold in central Volkia helped it spread throughout western [[Itur]] due to migrations to the coast, leading to an explosion in the number of followers. As they aged and Lunarism's numbers grew, the Five Followers became a dominant force in the fledgling religion. In 277, they came together and officially formed the Council of Elders (Volkian: ''Sovet stareyshin'') and created the position of High Elder (Volkian: ''Vysokiy Starshiy''), which they then selected Yeva to be the first High Elder.
=== Reformation ===
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