| Over 21 millennia ago, the demon Zarathos preyed on mankind, a legend even amongst his own kind. Coveting the mystical Medallion of Power, he was opposed by the Blood, humanoid beings with innate magical abilities, and the Spirits of Vengeance, the only beings capable of facing Zarathos head on. They united against him, but a Blood faction dubbed the Fallen came to worship Zarathos, strengthening the demon by channelling mankind's negative energy into him, and he briefly obtained the Medallion. The Spirits of Vengeance sacrificed themselves to seal Zarathos essence alongside theirs within the Medallion, which the Blood then shattered. To prevent the pieces ever being united, they were given to two separate human families, who were watched over by the Blood Caretaker |
| 2000 years ago, hearing the legends, the mage K'nutu led his starving tribe to find Zarathos' early remains, and against the chief's protest, summoned Zarathos' essences back to Earth. Though diminished because part of him remained trapped in the Medallion, Zarathos led the tribe to conquer their neighbors in return for worship and souls to consume, beginning with the protesting chief. The Cult of Zarathos built a city of Ten Thousand Souls, but the Hell-Lord Mephisto - angered that Zarathos was destroying souls that might otherwise be his and regarding Zarathos as a potential rival - sent a man, later known as Centurious, to confront Zarathos. When Zarathos tried to consume his soul. Centurious proved to be immune, his soul already claimed by Mephisto; momentary doubt amongst Zarathos' followers grew when Zarathos proved unable to defeat a manifestation of Mephisto, allowing Mephisto to claim Zarathos' soul. Over subsequent centuries Mephisto bound Zarathos to human servants, wielding his flames in Mephisto's cause, his memories wiped to make him compliant. |
