ST Immortals: In The Beginning
4,900 years ago Bronze Age Austria (close to what became today's Vienna). The settlement was both agricultural and industrial. Crops were grown, animals were raised for food and metals were mined and refined, each member of the community was skilled in most if not all areas of food and metal production. The tribal chief Orack worked as hard and long as the rest of the people, he led by example. To the Nuptay tribe he was the arbitrator in disputes, he organized the defence of the community if and when outsiders attacked, he was the man everyone could go to for help.
Orack had two sons, his eldest son Boars now 30 years old, had been abandoned outside the timber walls of the settlement enclosure, it had been Selva Orack's wife who had found the crying baby, and it was Selva who had named him Boars, his crying sounded like a wounded wild Boar she laughed as she told Orack.
The younger son Selack now 28 years old, was Selva and Orack's biological child, although this was never discussed, Selack from a very early age had been jealous to the point of obsession of his older brother.
Half a days walk from the Nuptay settlement was the settlement of the Putey tribe, who had shown themselves to be friendly and willing to trade fairly. On one trading visit the Putey had helped the Nuptay's to defend their settlement from a ferocious attack by a tribe of horsemen who had faces painted to look like demons. This help further strengthened the friendship and bond between the two neighbouring tribes. Boars had been betrothed to the daughter of the Putey tribes chief.
It was breaking daylight as Boars left his hut, in the distance he could see thick black smoke rising up, in the direction of the Putey tribes settlement. He called to his father to come and see, Orack knew something was terribly wrong, it couldn't be a natural fire the weather had been too wet for it to be a forest fire.
"Boars take twelve men and go and help the Putey's take your weapons with you I have a feeling you will need them".
Boars summoned his twelve men and set off running towards the Putey's. (The Nuptay's didn't have horses and so had to walk or run wherever they went). The journey would take them probably 9 hours if they pushed themselves.
8 hours and 45 minutes later Boars and his men arrived at the remnants of the Putey's settlement, not a soul had survived, who ever had started the fires had slaughtered every man woman and child, the cattle and other livestock had been taken. Boars and everyone of his men had tears rolling down their faces and inside a feeling of intense anger at what had been done.
Three hours later and every one of the slaughtered Putey's had been buried, it would take much longer to get home, everyone was exhausted and emotionally drained.
Almost 24 hours had passed as Boars and his men arrived home, outside the gates of the settlement bodies of horses and some of the tribe who had the demon painted faces lay strewn about. The gates opened and Boars and the men were hit again, with more death, half of the men had been killed in what had been an epic battle. Among the dead was Orack, the tribe was now leaderless, and Boars would naturally be the one to take on his father's role if the rest of the tribe agreed.
Two days later the funerals for the dead had been completed and the tribal council had convened to select the new chief. All agreed that Boars was to be chief until Selack spoke up and stated that Boars couldn't be chief because he wasn't Orack's natural son. Boars knew his brother was jealous of him but this must be the grief talking.
"Selack you want to be chief, that's fine, you be chief". Boars was in no mood to argue being chief had never been that important to him.
"I will be chief and my first decision is that you Boars must leave and never come back".
Boars looked at his brother and said, "I accept you as chief but I will not leave, I would rather die".
Selack took out his knife and lunged at Boars striking him in the heart. "Then die brother". turning to the assembled council Selack uttered, "anyone wish to challenge my authority". His remark was met with silence.
"Now take this impostor and throw him over the cliff, let the animals feed on him".
Boars body was thrown over the cliff to the East of the settlement, tyranny had arrived for the Nuptay people in the shape of Selack.
Several hours later Boars woke with a start and a sharp intake of breath, he struggled to snap his dislocated bones into position and looked around him, he asked himself how he had gotten to the bottom of the cliff, then he remembered Selack and the knife and darkness, what was happening, why was he still alive? He looked at his chest no knife wound he didn't understand. He made his way up the cliff side and went back to the settlement. As he entered the gate screams and shouts of people calling him demon, Selack saw his victim and fled in panic. Boars went to his hut and picked up the things he would need to survive, he was leaving, he had no choice now, everyone thought he was a demon, he couldn't stay.
500 years passed in that time Boars had moved from place to place across the continent of Europe until he had his first experience of feeling the presence of another immortal, he had no idea what this felling was and certainly had no concept of immortality. The dark skinned man who was speaking to him in a foreign tongue waving a sword was enough to make Boars prepare to fight, copper sword in hand Boars deflected blow after blow and finally struck the other immortal in the heart killing him. Or so Boars thought, when the man got to his feet again Boars again went on the attack, again he managed to land what he thought was the fatal blow, again the man got to his feet. Boars fled he had no way of knowing that to kill an immortal you have to take his head.
Boars moved further south eventually encountering more immortals he avoided fighting them and moved on every time he had that feeling. Finally he found himself on a fishing boat at least there were no immortals on the boat.
After several days at sea the crew came down with an illness what had caused it Boars didn't know he had had the same food and water they had and he was well. Several more days and the crew were all dead. Boars had no idea of navigation, he was at the mercy of the sea and currents. Time passed weeks probably and finally Boars could see land, the only problem was that the land was frozen. His clothing was warm but not warm enough for an ice covered land. He improvised and used layers of clothing from the warmest the dead crewmen would no longer need.
Antarctica was now home for Boars he made shelter and hunted seal and whatever creatures he could find. 6 months of the year was light and 6 was darkness, all sense of time in this world was lost. Centuries passed and then millennia.
1904 Captain Scott makes camp for his ill-fated try for the South-Pole.
Boars watches the invaders of his land, these are the first human beings he has seen in millennia, He decides not to approach them, better to keep hidden and safe.
1980's black helicopters over fly Boars shelter, the noise is deafening he comes out of the shelter and walking towards him are men in strange clothing with strange weapons in hand, Boars grabs his bow and fires an arrow at the men they point their weapons and Boars feels the pain in his heart as he passes out dead.
McMurdo base intelligence agency science laboratory.
Boars wakes up he is strapped to a table surrounded by strange equipment. Men in white coats with masks on their faces speak to him in words he doesn't understand, they try to use different languages, German has a couple of words that Boars recognises. This is the start of a period of education for the scientists researching immortality and for Boars learning to speak German and then English. The experiments that Boars endures in between his language lessons are less than pleasant and never involve the use of anaesthetics over the period of his imprisonment/education Boars endures much suffering in the name of so called science. After perhaps ten years of this torture Boars has his first opportunity to escape. One of the lead scientists has an adopted son who wants to see the immortal that his dad had been working with. Boars is taken to a room with a glass partition and on the other side is the scientist and his son. The scientist points to Boars and says, "This is Boars the immortal Noonien, one day we will be able to make even you immortal my son, if we continue our work".
An armed guard enters the room to take Boars back to his confinement room, for the first time since coming to the base Boars uses all the aggression and power he has and overpowers the single guard, it had been thought that Boars was docile and not a threat, that was a big mistake. Boars takes the guards weapon and begins killing everything in his path to freedom. The lead scientist takes a bullet to the brain and his son has his fathers brain matter smeared on his face, Boars doesn't harm the boy, who is screaming and crying hysterically "Father I will avenge you I swear on my life, however long it takes".
Noonien Sing now has a mission and a destiny to keep.