Saraxis

"You were part of his clan - a member of the royal bloodline. You were his bride, Saraxis. His consort. No one mattered more to him."

— Echo

Saraxis, later known as Saraxis the Shadow, is a character featured in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies mode. She is a deity of the Dark Aether, and a former member of the Sisters of Agony.

History[]

Royal Lineage[]

Saraxis is one of the many Elder Gods who reside in the Dark Aether. She was born of the Royal Bloodline, as was Kortifex the Deathless, and became his bride. For a time, Kortifex seemed to genuinely love his bride. However, he would forbid Saraxis from ever bearing him an heir - with the fear that it might one day kill him as Kortifex had done to his parents long ago. Saraxis bore a child anyway, and Kortifex responded with the utmost cruelty. As well as bringing an unknown fate upon his child, Saraxis was forced by Kortifex to don the mask of the Sisters of Agony, erasing any memory of her past. He would also give her the name of "The Shadow", in reference to the fact that she was a mere "shadow" of her former self. Following this, Saraxis would be a loyal assassin to her former husband.

Contact with Humanity[]

Following the arrival of the Mystery Box and Pack-a-Punch Machine to their world, the entities of the Dark Aether realized the existence of another world, as well as the beings within - humanity. While they could see visions of this other world vaguely through "crystal balls" and fire, they were limited in their ability to interact. That would remain the case until Saraxis - along with Bellekar the Warlock - would design the Artifacts that allow Dark Aether entities to bond with human hosts.

Saraxis would first cross over to the human world on a swampy Okinawan island through use of the "Dragon of Saraxis' (her own personal Artifact), where the locals would eventually construct a shrine and worship her. She exerted large influence throughout the history of Japan, until the Edo Period. At this point in time, Kortifex - growing increasingly annoyed by Saraxis - began communing with the local priests of the island. At the time, Saraxis' host was the Island's feudal lord. Kortifex told the priests that their master was possessed by a demon, but using a Mirror that he gifted to them, they could free him. Using the relic on their feudal lord, Saraxis was forced back into her artifact.

She would eventually flee the Sisters sometime before the destruction of Vercanna the Last's clan during the Netherwars. A resistance against Kortifex soon formed, with Saraxis joining early on. The Resistance would soon turn the tide of the war in their favor, with Inviktor the Destroyer and even General Norticus the Conqueror defecting. Eventually, Saraxis and Bellekar would once again collaborate in a plot to trap Kortifex in his Artifact permanently. Unfortunately, this also led to herself along with many of the other revolting entities becoming trapped in their artifact.

World War II[]

Alongside Saraxis' dragon, the artifacts of Kortifex, Inviktor, Norticus and Bellekar would be discovered by Die Wahrheit and kept in the possession of Wolfram Von List. However, the breaching of the Dimensional Membrane at Poland by Projekt Endstation activated the artifacts. Kortifex, through his own artifact, would bond with Von List and allow him to command an army of the dead. The artifacts of the revolting gods would be given by Gabriel Krafft to various Allied Special Forces that arrived in Stalingrad to respond to Krafft's distress call. The Dragon of Saraxis specifically utilized the power of Energy Mine. Saraxis was seemingly glad to have herself new "playthings" in the form of these Special Forces.

Saraxis would be present as Vercanna made contact with Special Forces and transported them to the Eastern Desert of Egypt, as well as assisting them during their freeing of the Decimator and his shield. During this time, Saraxis would re-unite with Vercanna, who she confronted to explain that she was no longer involved with the Sisters of Agony by the time of her clan's extinction. Before she could, however, Vercanna let her know there was no need, and that she already knew Saraxis had left the Sisters at that point. As Vercanna discussed how she had always been observing in the distance, Saraxis inquired Vercanna about her past before she became a Sister of Agony. Vercanna dismissed her question as a "story for another time", but warned Saraxis that there was a reason that Kortifex had named her "The Shadow".

Restoration of Memories[]

"Oh... oh, it's all coming back to me now. Everything!! His bottomless cruelty... what he did to our child... my mind fading as he shoved that cursed mask on my face... And even worse -- how could I forget the Construct?! That's his real endgame -- he always coveted its power. If Kortifex and Von List gain control of that monstrosity, everything and everyone, living or dead, will end up as their playthings."

— Saraxis, after her memories were restored.

After Special Forces retrieved a lost page of the Tome of Rituals, Bellekar and Krafft decoded its contents - revealing it contained information that could be used to separate Von List from Kortifex. Specifically, it detailed the events of Saraxis' separation from her human host in feudal Japan centuries ago. Travelling to the recently abandoned Shi No Numa, the site of Saraxis' separation, Krafft and Vercanna tasked the Special Forces with finding the Relic Mirror that was used against Saraxis, as part of their plan to defeat Kortifex. Special Forces would construct a cipher wheel on a monolith in the swamp, allowing them access to an Echo of Saraxis' memory. Saraxis would ask the Echo about the Mirror, as well as her past before becoming a Sister of Agony. The Echo responded angrily, as Saraxis had "abandoned" it and didn't deserve to remember her past, saying she was a shadow of her former self before vanishing.

Special Forces would go on to restore the broken Relic Mirror and re-summon the Echo, who then revealed the truth of Saraxis' past: she was once the bride of Kortifex, and a member of the royal bloodline. Shocked, Saraxis refused to accept the truth, leading the Echo to say if she was unable to accept the truth, then she must die. Special Forces then did battle with the Echo and eventually prevailed, allowing Saraxis' memories to be completely restored. She would comment on her traumatic experience with her former husband, but would also come to remember the Construct - a monstrosity of absolute power that Kortifex coveted above all else. Warning her allies, she stated that if Kortifex and Von List gained control of the Construct, everything and everyone, living or dead, would end up as their playthings. Afterwards, Special Forces collected the Relic Mirror, preparing themselves for their final battle against Kortifex back at the Eastern Desert.

Personality[]

"Listen closely, plaything. I know your kind better than the others. Better, even, than Bellekar. I've played with you clever monkeys since you raised your first cities. And you never cease to surprise me."

— Saraxis

Saraxis is jovial and carefree, albeit with a dash of narcissism. Saraxis views humans as toys, constantly calling them "playthings", although she is willing to admit that humans are special in their own way. She also appears to be apathetic towards the idea of morality, viewing notions of good and evil as "made-up nonsense that just gets in the way".