Zork Nemesis

Zork Nemesis: What Happened

Through piecing together video clips, fragments of letters, books and other clues, the full story behind the fateful events of Zork Nemesis can be deciphered.

CAUTION: the following narrative reveals things crucial to the plot of Zork Nemesis. Do not read unless you have finished the game, or do not mind having these secrets revealed to you.

Back to the main Zork Nemesis page...

Dr Erasmus Sartorius, disgraced scientist and enchanter, was carrying on his father's life's work by investigating the secrets of alchemy. Discovering that the four elements were crucial to alchemy's greatest prize - eternal life - Sartorius also discovered that a fifth element was required. That element was blood. Gripped by a desire both for eternal life and knowledge, the doctor used his remote asylum as an experimentation laboratory for his studies. Learning that no one person could unlock the secret, Sartorious set about contacting other friends and acquaintances to help him.

First of these was Bishop Francois Malveaux, head of the Steppinthrax Zorkastrian Monastery. Cursed by an incurable and fatal disease, the bishop contacted Sartorius hoping for relief: instead he found the promise of immortality. Together, the two men discovered that only the blood of one pure in spirit would suffice. Neither being suitable for the purpose, the doctor used his knowledge of genetics and artificial insemination to their advantage, picking a suitable patient - Zoe Wolfe - as the surrogate mother. Malveaux was the genetic father of the resultant child: Alexandria. As Zoe Wolfe died in childbirth, the bishop took the child to his monastery, where her charm and precocious musical talent both charmed and shamed him.

Meanwhile, a war was being waged in the Desert River Province between Ellron and General Thaddeus Kaine. Separated from his wife due to his unfaithfulness, Kaine lived in his fortress Irondune with his son, Lucien. The boy disappointed Kaine greatly, as he seemed more interested in painting than in the hunting and warlike pursuits he wished for his son. Turning his attentions to more pressing matters, Kaine had contacted his friend and confidante Sartorius for scientific help in developing new weapons to help him win the long and bloody war he was engaged in. The doctor thus had his third alchemist.

One of Kaine's several mistresses was Lady Sophia Hamilton, headmistress at the Frigid River Branch Conservatory. She became the fourth accomplice, drawn into the web through greed and lust and the promise of immortality. When the child Alexandria became old enough, Lady Sophia took her to the Conservatory, encouraging her musical talents, but also to keep an eye on her and to make sure she remained "pure" for their purposes.

At the Conservatory, Alexandria grew and matured into a charming and attractive young woman, capturing the heart of Lucien, Kaine's son. Meeting in secret, the pair fell deeply in love, planning to run away from their parents and protectors. One of their trysts in the Conservatory was interrupted by Lady Sophia, who scornfully let the pendant Alexandria had offered Lucien - the pendant containing her only picture of Zoe, her mother - slip through the boards of the stage. Undeterred, Alexandria and Lucien planned to marry and contacted Malveaux to conduct the ceremony. No doubt ashamed of his previous acts, the bishop consented to marry his "daughter" to Lucien. Just as the ceremony was about to complete, however, Kaine burst in with two of his men and arrested Lucien, taking him back to Irondune and incarcerating him in the castle dungeons.

With Lucien out of the way and Alexandria having reached the required age, the four alchemists took her unwillingly to the Temple of Agrippa, laying her unconscious body on the altar, then plunging a dagger deep into her heart, sacrificing her in the hope of gaining immortality. Before the magic could take effect however, Lucien, who must have escaped from his father's dungeons, interrupted the scene. Distraught at seeing his love killed in such a manner by people he thought he knew, Lucien killed each of them in turn, saving his father until last. Whilst averting the ambitions of the alchemists by this act, Kaine's son damned himself by doing so, becoming the entity mistakenly referred to as the Nemesis. Burying his beloved Alexandria in the crypt, Lucien also buried the alchemists in the temple, hoping that their terrible secret had died with them.

Their magic was strong, however, and even beyond the grave they were capable of sending messages to susceptible minds. They found one such individual in Agent Karlok Bivotar, but Lucien managed to stop him from reuniting the alchemists' elements and metals. Unfortunately, it was not long before another puppet was found, this one being more successful, despite Lucien's efforts.

Eventually, this tool of the alchemists succeeded in resurrecting them. Planning to continue their work, the alchemists raced for Alexandria's body: her spirit would suffice. Lucien quickly explained to the alchemist's unwitting accomplice the situation, and they too searched for the body. To no avail: when the crypt was discovered, the body had already gone. In the sarcophagus however, lay a silver ring, similar to a gold one that Lucien had given them. Taking both these rings, the desperate fool forged them together, thus forming a bond between Gold and Silver; Sun and Moon; Lucien and Alexandria - Pure Love. The Quintessence. Casting the resultant metal at the four alchemists as they were poised to complete their act, the hapless person unwittingly brought about the pure power of the Quintessence, destroying once and for all the alchemists and setting about the destruction of the temple itself.

Picking themselves up outside the scene of chaos, the unwitting saviour of the day was congratulated by Lucien and Alexandria, restored and resurrected by the Quintessence's power. Following the two lovers away from the Forbidden Lands, the redeemed pawn of the alchemists turned back once to look at the smoking remains of the temple, then left it behind, hopefully forever.

Back to the main Zork Nemesis page...