Darkness Descending - The secret origin of Zoser

"KASIM, if you don't pay attention, dear boy, I will have to remind you that I despise someone who doesn't fulfill his duties ..."

Although these words were uttered in a quiet voice without even a hint of sharpness, the young Egyptian lad immediately straightened himself up and hastily readjusted the cone of the massive headlight, which had diverted a bit from the tunnel his mentor, master and illegal guardian had opened in the wall of the old temple.

"Professor" Meredith Wilbur Smythe III generally was generally friendly and not prone to violence but he firmly believed in the ancient Egyption proverb that a pupil's ear is always on his back. And he also insisted that the the night was best time of the day for exploration - at least for the illegal variety.

The old man was probably one of the leading authorities with regards to the Old Kingdom, but since he never graduated from school let alone a university his chances of recognition were slim. And the fact that he never asked for permission before his next dig didn't help much either ...

He had been called a scoundrel, a graverobber, a criminal and worse - but he didn't care, his sole focus in life was to wrestle the knowledge of the past from the ground and to "strip away the veil of ignorance".

And now he had found the resting place of the BOOK OF RA, a treasure beyond compare - it held the secrets of Egypt and - if you believed the gossip - the key to Life Eternal. And now it was going to be brought to this nihilistic age by him, an outcast from scientific society ... there it was!!!

With shaking hands the old man removed the book from its secret resting place and held it into the light. It was more beautiful than he had imagined, cover and pages made of metal, shining in reddish gold and - at trick of the light of course - it seemed to be oozing with something like shadowy smoke.

The old man grinned at his young guide, servant and pupil: "We found it lad ... we really did. We found the book of ..."

"Dat is just peachy oldtimer. Wouldn't hav' wanted to hav' waited for nothin'!" A couple of men in suits had appeared between the pillars of the old temple - most of them pointed guns at the old man and the boy.

The man who had spoken was bald, ugly and dressed in a white suit, which was drenched in sweat. He looked gleeful and profoundly unpleasant.

 
"Give us da book, oldtimer!", he demanded in a low drawling voice.

"Over my dead body!", the old explorer responded and disappeared between two pillars - which such a speed that the hoodlum's guns only started spitting lead whe he was out of sight.

With a curse and a "Get da ole geezer!" the fat guy and his goons dashed after him, while the boy remained alone, frozen with terror. He saw the flashlights dancing and the flashes from the muzzlefire; he heard the shots thundering in the temple, which had been so peaceful just moments ago.

Suddenly Kasim froze in fear - a looming figure came towards him out of the dark, right toward him, looming over him. Then with a rush of relieve he recognized that it was his mentor coming towards him - the old daredevil had managed to ...

Then the figure collapsed an in the glare of the headlight the boy saw blood ... blood seemed to be everywhere, way to much to actually have come from the wiry small frame of the aged man. But there it was, oozing from him and taking his life with it.

It spread on the floor, also covering the book, the damned, beautiful book the old man gave is life for.

With the strange detachment which comes with shock the boy thought that the old man would be fuious to see the treasure that filthy - so he picked the precious item up, just as the cones of flashlights zoomed in on him and the brutish figures of the gangsters loomed over him. He should have died of fear just then and there

But strangely enough his fear had vanished just as the numb feeling of shock. He felt strangely clear and ... annoyed.
Annoyed at this gang of little men who dared interfering with him and his master's doings.

"Fly from this holy place, you fools!" he heard himself say and wondered silently, who wanted him to commit suicide and why.

Then - undoubtedly due to shock he engaged in a conversation with ... himself ?!
> They are no mach for us, child!
- Sure as hell they are, and don't call me child!
> Why not, the term describes you quite well; you cry like a baby, just because those big lugs shout at you.
- They have guns!
> Guns?
- Yes, guns! Big nasty things that just killed my master there!
> Ah, those petty devices - well, they are of no moment! Too clumsy and too slow! But our discussion has just become academic ...
- Why?
> Look around you ...

The youth gazed in wonder as he saw the formerly menacing bullies strewn over the floor, some of them groaning, others lying motionless in the sand.

Then the images hit him like a stormwave - he saw himself firmly exploding with rage and moving in on the surprised mobsters like a whirlwind.

He saw them moving like they were caught in jelly.
He laughed when they fired their bullets missing him again and again.
He watched in amazement as his own hands - somehow cast in an aura of shadows - hit them with unbelievable speed.
He enjoyed them slumping to the floor one by one - each with a satisfying THUD.
"As I said - they were of no moment.", commented the dry voice in his head - which was the last he heard before he passed out.

The next couple of months were like a dream for him, the police asking him about the night at the temple, the funeral, him finding out, that his old mentor had left a comfortable sum of money to him, the endless question what to do now.

Real was only Zoser, the spirit of an ancient warrior, maybe a king and now bound to the body of the boy. Zoser had fought the armies of evil until he was betrayed and murdered by someone he thought a friend.

But a true friend had bound his soul - his Ka - to the book to guard it, to rest until he was called for once more.
The smell and taste of blood had awakened him from his slumber and when he felt once more an innocent soul in peril, he merged with the youth and formed a formidable alliance.

The very dissimilar pair started getting familiar with each other and quickly became a nearly unstoppable force when they hit Cairos underworld in pursuit of those who stood behind the murderers of the old man.

Finally they found a trace, the desperate wispers of a thug scared out of his wits. "PARAGON CITY! Da boss is in Paragon City ..."

Nothing more was needed to persuade our heroe(s) to move base of operation to this strange new place, this broken city, and to pursue the relentless hunt there.

Sometimes he fought alongside others, but mostly he was by himself - since bonds never seemed to last. Many brave heroes he never saw again - probably they had fallen in the endless battle against evil.

One day though this was going to change. He had joined an illustrous band of heroes, led by a mere slip of a girl called Deciever, on a noble quest against the Outcasts, a band of mutated hoodlums living in the caves of the Hollows.

When first resistance was weak, they became cocky and pressed on more valiantly - just to be shamefully defeated by an outcast called Magma. Zosers valiant chops and punches could not stop that, nor Decievers mastery of ice and snow, nor Greencobras magnificent healing powers.

In the end nearly all of them lay bleeding on the ground.

Deciever had managed to escape the slaughter and after some vile curses, pondered for a moment, before an evil smile crossed her lips.

"I'm called in the MESS, mateys!", she announced in a merry voice. "He is on his way right now ..."

Zoser - his body aching and head ringing from the blows he had received - only thought dully "oh, yes - I call this a mess too ..."

Suddenly the ground started shaking and in thundered a giant of a m ... thing! Towering like higher than a troll and more massive this strange figure stood for a moment, before hurling itself at the host of enemies, obviousely not remotely impressed with their fierce resistance.

Now Deciever could bring the full force of her powers to bear and the two of them disposed of the enemies in the room with surprising ease.

Once they were gone, the huge stone-metal-mutation-thing came back to the fallen heroes and brought them back to their feet using a strange vial with a strange white-green glare.

Some quick greetings were exchanged and after everyone - the now reinforced heroes fought their way through the remainder of the cave like a stormwave.

And soon the leader of the Outcasts had to admit defeat and was transported off to jail.

Our heroes stood on the hill above the cave looking at each other, grinning at their victory. Only Zoser was in a dark mood - he hovered a bit to the side darkly gazing down into the valley.

A tremble of the ground annonced the presence of the giant - and when ZOser turned around to face him, he saw that the girl was with him - and she was the one who finally spoke.

"Why the long face, matey?", asked Deciever in her usual cheerful voice.

"I have never been defeated until today. I was helpless until you bailed me out.", he admitted darkly. "I guess, I am a very poor loser."

"Well, there were quite a number of them, all right.", came the dismissive reply. "But if you stay solo all the time, you will taste more of this, I'm afraid. But there is an alternative ..." She looked over to Mess and he continued.

"We have been thinkin and we think that we could use more people in our group. There is a fair number already, but we think, you would make a nice addition to our team. Join The Intrepid's!"

Zoser looked at both of them and all he could do was nod his agreement ... and the rest, as they say, is history.