A man wandered through a desert. A place where slopes of sand rolled on much farther than they should have and where the heat was so oppressive it stamped out any bit of physical energy that one could muster.

However, the man had an advantage; he knew the secret of this place.

He knew that this was no ordinary desert; it was a hell. A place created specifically for the purpose of keeping him trapped or driving him insane, whichever came first. However, the man would not let this place or its maker have the satisfaction of doing either.

As I said before, this man knew the secret of the particular hell he had been placed in. He recognized it in the burning sand beneath his feet; the hot, dry air around him; and the blistering sun above him. Magic was at work here, and magic was something he happened to know a fair bit about. For this man's name was Kent Nelson and at one point he was the Lord of Order known as Doctor Fate.

Was being the operative word. With time Kent's body grew old and not even magic could sustain it. He and his wife, Inza, grew old together and eventually left the plane of the living. With that thought his mind instantly snapped into the realm of logic. Had he been taken from the afterlife and placed in this place of magic? Had, perhaps, somehow he been intercepted and never made it to the afterlife? That would account for the reason he had no memory after death. Still, then what of his precious Inza?! Had she also been brought to this hell?! His heart ached as questions stacks upon questions, and not a single answer was remotely within sight.

"Whoever you are, hear me now: YOU WILL NOT HOLD ME!" Kent screamed at the top of lungs before collapsing in the sand. Maybe this place would hold him, maybe he would perish here. No, he pushed the thought out of his mind. The image of his lovely Inza appeared before his mind's eye.

I have to keep moving, he thought. If Inza was here he needed to be strong enough to get her out of this place. He could recognize the particular magic that was at work here. The environment was designed to bleed its victims of energy and, ultimately, disintegrate their soul. He had to keep moving, his will would hold his form together, it must.

His legs trembled terribly as he lifted himself up out of the scolding sand. The pain that this place, this hell, was inflicting struck at the core of Kent's being. Almost every bit of him wanted to give in and relinquish to the heat, but alas, his love for Inza and his will to bring about justice pushed him forward. Slowly putting one foot after the other he strode forth through the sand. His plan was simply survival. His means of escape were unknown, but Kent had faith that if he continued to hold on those means would present themselves. He was right.

How long had he walked? It could have been hours, days, weeks, or months. The endlessness of the sand and relentlessness of the sun made time an inconceivable thing. In the end, time was trivial anyway.

At the point when his will was about fail him a light rose from the sand in front of him and formed an image; a human image. It took several moments for the image to form details, but once it did Kent knew exactly what he, or rather, who he was looking at.

"Nabu! Why am I here?! What's happening?!" Kent shouted as he threw his arms out toward the illuminated figure.

"Kent Nelson…" Nabu began. The voice bellowing throughout the vast emptiness of the place, "the 9th age of magic has ended. The universe has changed, and so again shall Fate. Firstly, the place you are in, is, as you may have guessed, an artificial environment, magic in nature. Secondly, no, Inza is not here with you. I knew that her status would be a pressing matter for you, so I attempted to locate her presence, which I could not. Lastly, I have been wounded, defeated even. I have the power to take you from this place, but only on a condition."

Conditions, Kent thought, were the foundation of their entire relationship. It was always a losing battle with Nabu. A give, give, give and never get kind of relationship. In his years he had learned that there was never an alternative when Fate came knocking. Kent gave a nod of agreement, to which Nabu continued with his proposal.

"In my current state I will not be able to hold my form on your plane any longer, but a new age of magic must be reined in and order must be strong enough to take control. My proposition to you is a merger of souls. My knowledge, my power, my resources – the essence of a Lord of Order - would become one with your being. No longer would Nabu or Kent Nelson exist, but a combination in harmony that the world shall once again know as Fate."

Kent's head hung low as Nabu finished speaking. He didn't like the thought of losing a part of himself to Nabu. Hadn't that been his entire life? He had sacrificed everything for Order, even Inza. Was that not enough? Now, was he not even allowed to pass into infinity with this beloved wife? He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. There was simply no choice. If he refused the merger not only would this place press him out of existence, but Nabu would fade away, leaving the world unprotected from the elements that he, as Doctor Fate, had fought for so many years.

"As always, Nabu, I am forced to submit to your will," Kent calmly replied. He had accepted his fate the day he and his father had unearthed Nabu's tomb.

"It is not my will, Kent Nelson. It never has been. It is simply your fate," Nabu retorted.

And with that, the beam of light that had been projecting Nabu's figure increased infinitely in intensity; drowning the endless landscape of sand in a perpetual blanket of white light. Once the brilliance of the light began to fade away one could tell that the setting was suddenly much different. No longer did sand litter the landscape, but the immediate space consisted of a large, torch-lit room built of stone. The place was familiar. It was home.

The comfort of having left the endless hell was short lived. Nabu was gone, Kent Nelson was gone. Who remained? The man who stood in this room of stone looked down at himself. He was wearing a recognizable variation of the Doctor Fate garb. He paused for a moment before removing the large, golden helmet that had been seated over his head. Unintentionally, catching a glimpse of his reflecting in the helm's perfectly polished surface. He looked much like a young Kent Nelson. His hair was darker, and quite a bit longer than Nelson had ever worn it; his features slightly more chiseled; and his eyes a deep, unnatural kind of blue.

He mused for a moment on the memories of both Nelson and Nabu. He could recall very intimate events from both of their lives, but with a kind of detached indifference. The memories were there, but felt so foreign. So this was the price of the merger. A man who had lived two lives, yet neither were his own.

Fate could deal a cruel hand, he thought as he slid the golden helmet back on. He would make use of his unique position. Nabu's sacrifices, and more importantly, Kent Nelson's sacrifices would not go in vain. This new age of magic would be ruled by Order.

Doctor Fate would see to that.