Just an Idea: Hexen's New Backstory

Hexen: Beyond Heretic's Cooperative Ending.

I've been in a Hexen mood recently. Not only I finally revisited my old saves for both games from 2021 and completed my playthrough, there's also been some small talks about the franchise thanks to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. All because Phil Spencer mentioned Hexen by name once and then showed up on Xbox Games Showcase with game's key art on a t-shirt. Even though the latter "was just about nostalgia". It's not much, but sometimes you need even less to spark a discussion. So yeah, I'm taking a bait.

Alright, so how Heretic & Hexen franchise could be brought back? I'm not going to try and guess what genre it could take on. For all I know, they could focus on cooperative for it and try to mix both Hexen 2 & Heretic 2 for something closer to that illusive Hecatomb idea. What I'll focus on is the narrative of the world as I think there's enough good pieces to put together a proper starting point for a new story with some minor tweaks here and there.

Chaos Spheres.

I couldn't find solid information as to how many Chaos Spheres actually existed in Hexen. There's no definitive answer to that and all we have are just guesses: some think there was only one while others are open to the idea of each Serpent Rider having a personal sphere. Each versions rises a number of questions that you would need to answer and, since Chaos Sphere is a central part of my concept, I really need to figure this mess out and present something more concrete, and it goes beyond the number of artifacts.

That's where I will begin: what is a Chaos Sphere? It won't be just a source of immense power, but a phylactery made out of demon's heart that binds them to the mortal realm. The idea for that comes from the secret item called "Heart of D'Sparil" that you can find and use in Bright Crucible (secret map of Seven Portals) and Constable's Gate (Second hub of Deathkings of the Dark Citadel) to progress through the map and hub respectively. You know, this would explain why the heart looks like a giant gem and why Korax even had it.

Well, he had it before D'Sparil was killed by Corvus in Heretic. Serpent Riders just didn't create a Chaos Sphere for their younger brother on time. That, in turns, explains the way how each demon died: Eidolon & D'Sparil exploded while Korax's body just fallen to the ground with a chest ripped out and ghosts coming out of it. D'Sparil didn't had a Chaos Sphere and Eidolon's was destroyed by Thyrion's "unlikely companions".

Speaking of which, I have to talk about Portal of Praevus. You can't ignore the expansion to Hexen 2 as Praevus actually managed to capture the souls of every Serpent Rider. Expansion's manual doesn't provide explanation as to how he did that, even though D'Sparil and Eidolon are self-explanatory. Younger demon was the weakest and his oldest brother was just defeated after his Chaos Sphere was shattered. As for the Korax... Well, let's just say that it was hidden well and far aware from Cronos, so Praevus had an opportunity to intercept his soul on its way to the artifact.

After the souls of Serpent Riders were released from Praevus, they seemingly disappeared into the void... However, Korax was prepared to this and his plan to revive himself and his brothers was set in motion long before Eidolon's defeat.

Bright Riders.

Parias, Baratus and Daedolon saved the world of Cronos and claimed Korax's Chaos Sphere as their own. Overcoming his curse by making their way through the Realm of the Dead and conquering its Dark Citadel was just another testimony to how powerful these heroes when they're working together. Now that the Chaos Sphere is fully in their possession, trio started out by restoring Cronos to its former glory and ending the tyranny of their fallen masters. It would've made sense for them to lead the Church, Legion and Arcanum in this new golden age, but heroes of Cronos had other tasks at hand.

Each hero had an idea for what should be done next. Daedolon started researching Korax's Chaos Sphere in order to figure out how Heart of D'Sparil could be transformed into the second powerful artifact. Meanwhile, Baratus and Parias were discussing whenever they should hunt down Eidolon or free all the worlds controlled by minions of fallen Serpent Riders. Why not both? They're stepping into the unknown anyway, so trio can focus on freeing occupied worlds while being ready to face Eidolon for when they get the chance.

Once Cronos' prosperity was secured, heroes of Cronos started their honorable crusade as the Bright Riders. Unlike Serpent Riders, they stayed united on their quest and ventured from one world to another together. Bright Riders were successful at it largely due to the power of Korax's Chaos Sphere. Eventually, they figured out how to use Heart of D'Sparil to create the second artifact. While the younger Serpent Riders isn't as powerful as Korax, his Chaos Sphere is just as useful.

Despite their efforts, Bright Riders didn't face Eidolon during their endless crusade. Heroes of Cronos learned about what happened in Thyrion shortly after the events of Hexen 2 and Portal of Praevus. Despite learning a lot about Chaos Spheres, they were clueless about their role as a phylactery. As far as they know, the souls of Serpent Riders are somewhere out there and the only logical step would be to venture to Thyrion and recover the remains of Eidolon's Chaos Sphere in order to restore it. Once they collect all three artifacts, Bright Riders would be able to bring peace to the universe once and for all.

Unbeknownst to them, all of this was part of Korax's current plan. He underestimated his opponents, but Parias and his friend exceeded any possible expectations. While Praevus did interfere into demon's schemes, at the end everything played out in his favor. Heroes of Cronos reminded Serpent Riders about the benefits of working together. Now, they intend to reward so-called "Bright Riders" by taking control of their bodies and souls with the help of Chaos Spheres.

Daedolon, Parias and Baratus will be the perfect vessels for D'Sparil, Korax and Eidolon.

The Fall of Thyrion.

When it comes to player characters, I think Hexen 2 is very interesting. I don't think the games themselves did it justice and it's easy to see why, but the thing is that not all of them are actually good guys. Previously quoted "unlikely companisons" from the Portal of Praevus' introduction doesn't just refer to a somewhat peculiar party of classes. If you look into Hexen 2's (and its expansion's) manual, you'll find out that:

• Crusader of Blackmarch might as well be the main protagonist of game. A healer who realized that Eidolon can be defeated only by force.

• Paladin of Septimus is very devoted servant of his god. He was upset at "his brothers' lack of preparation" to a betrayal that destroyed them. He went against Eidolon with no plan.

• Assassin of Mazaera became one because she viewed her parents as weak fools. Ambition for greater challenge and riches is what led her to go after Eidolon.

• Necromancer of Thysis is a nerd whose hatred for his village was fulled by his own insecurities. The reason he went after Eidolon is that he ended Necromancer's "reign of terror".

• Demoness was created by Eidolon so that she "would give birth" to a new race. She planned to avenge her master and then bring him back to Thyrion, but Praevus ruined it all.

...only Crusader is your full-on good guy. Paladin is a hero too, but also kind of a prick. You can argue that Assassin is a "Robin Hood-like figure", but her description doesn't make her sound like one. Necromancer and Demoness are just straight up antagonists. While Portal of Praevus' manual provides a neutral updates on what characters of the original game were up to after Eidolon's fall, there's enough material to paint a grim picture.

Necromancer wanted to take over all Thysis over subversion, and you can be sure that his "power and ambition" won't make him stop there. Fragments of an evil artifact is exactly the type of thing he should desire, so Necromancer going after the remains of Eidolon's Chaos Sphere is just a matter of time. Paladin & Crusader would clearly oppose him, but they'll be likely interested in taking down the Demoness as well. I'm sure Assassin is bored enough to take the job in hopes that she would be as challenging as Eidolon was.

Naturally, things will go south. Let's say that Assassin gets defeated by the Demoness. Meanwhile, Necromancer became so powerful that both heroes hardly stand a chance against him and Paladin sacrifices himself in order to give Crusader an opportunity to escape and regroup. As these events unfold and Tremedes is forced to helplessly watch them, he's starting to see visions of "white pawns" and how their imminent arrival to Thyrion would mark the return of the Serpent Riders.

I think that's where I'll leave this concept. There're many directions I could take for what happened next in Thyrion, but the end of it is obvious: Bright Riders defeated anyone who tries to oppose them, retrieve the remains of Eidolon's Chaos Sphere and finish their collection of demonic artifacts. That, in turn, escalates their inevitable downfall. Maybe they defeated three different sides of this conflict. Perhaps Crusader shared Paladin's fate and both were turned into the undead by Necromancer. I'm not sure if Demoness would end up getting caught in the crossfire as it makes more sense for her to connect the dots and serve her master. Overall, I'm sure you get the whole picture and where I was going with it.