Fiction Timeline

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The Fiction Timeline chronicles the complete tale of the Blood series, from the earliest history of Tchernobog and the Cabal, through to the disavowal of the Chosen and Caleb's fight for revenge, their resurrection and the duel with Gideon, right up final battle with The Nightmare.

All of the numbered years (eg: 1928 or 2028) are set in the Common Era (CE).

 

In The Beginning[edit]

All things come into being including all the realities, to hold everything in place the power of The One that Binds appears and becomes wielded by the first incarnation of Tchernobog.

Eons Ago[edit]

Tchernobog's original body is somehow destroyed and the essence of Tchernobog passes onto another: the second incarnation. Due to need of this constant and permanent incarnation-body provision, the Cabal initiative is founded, and Tchernobog becomes more of a god-like figure even though the Cabal is not yet a religion.

Antiquity[edit]

The fifth incarnation of Tchernobog takes on the form of a Buddhist high priest, resulting in the Cabal's reformation into a religious cult. Members perform docile acts and rituals of self control and penance; this trend continues during the further incarnations of the god.

 

Modernity[edit]

The sixteenth incarnation of Tchernobog is a cruel hate-filled man who forces the Cabal to become a force of rage and destruction as Tchernobog's army on Earth. Creatures like the Spiders, Hell Hounds, and Gargoyles join Tchernobog's side and thousands of Cultists are trained. The Cabal also begins to raise the undead to compliment their forces, as well as machinations such as the Gill Beast.

1847[edit]

Caleb is born somewhere in western Texas, which only recently became a part of the United States of America, during an age "renowned for cruelty and violence".

1864[edit]

Caleb turns seventeen, being already legendary for his skill and brutality as a gun fighter.

1871[edit]

Caleb finds a woman named Ophelia Price cowering in the remains of her family's burnt homestead. Although she was left stark mad by the experience, Caleb did understand some of her ramblings which revealed to him that she and her husband were members of a dark cult called the Cabal serving and worshipping a dark god called Tchernobog. Out of the relation of Ophelia and her husband a son was conceived and born, with Ophelia's husband somehow having decided it would be best for him to rescind his membership from the Cabal. The Cabal responded by killing Ophelia's husband and burning down his homestead with the baby inside.

1871-1928[edit]

Caleb nursed Ophelia back to sanity and eventually fell in love with her. Through Ophelia, Caleb enters the Cabal and rises to the rank of Tchernobog's elite Chosen alongside Ophelia and two others: Gabriel and Ishmael.

Cabal Service[edit]

The Chosen serve Tchernobog loyally, performing many missions and sacrifices in the service of the dark god. Caleb is now the leader of the Cabal and heads its ventures for further conquest.

The Disavowing[edit]

Tchernobog calls the Chosen to him at the god's Hall of the Epiphany temple, and once there he accuses them of failing him. The Chosen cry out in shock as Gabriel is suddenly captured by Shial, Queen of the Spiders, who was lurking in the shadows. Cerberus accompanied by two of his Hell Hound underlings also arrive and melt Ishmael in a flourish of flames, while to Caleb's terror and rage Cheogh, Stone King of the Gargoyles, grabs Ophelia and flies away with her. Finally, after delivering a final statement of disgust and rejection towards him, Tchernobog dispatches Caleb himself.

 

1928[edit]

Note: Caleb's flashback in C5L1: Cold, Cold Grave of The Nightmare Levels is set during this era, although the actual events take place around 2028.

Caleb is resurrected by unknown means and proceeds to go on a rampage of revenge, killing hundreds of Cabal followers. He takes out Cheogh, Shial, and Cerberus one by one to avenge the other Chosen while gaining their powers (a quest that takes him across the land and through countless tricks and traps). Once his rampage is finally complete, he reaches the Hall of the Epiphany and faces his old master, Tchernobog. There, Caleb is told that the Chosen were cast down in the knowledge that he alone would return, with every life he had taken making him all the more stronger. Tchernobog now wishes for him to make the ultimate sacrifice, which would grant the god nearly endless power. In Tchernobog's own words: "With the power you bring, I shall open the doors to the worlds, and inherit the Earth!". Unfortunately for Tchernobog, Caleb refuses and wins a battle of wit and skill against him. Caleb then unknowingly becomes "The One that Binds", and, after slaying one more Cabal prisoner, leaves the temple. (Depicted in Blood)

1928-2028[edit]

Caleb wanders the Earth trying to resurrects his fellow Chosen. He spends his time "hanging out in dive bars, swilling cheap beer, smoking bad cigars, and starting brawls over women of dubious moral character". The Cabal regroups and reinvents itself under their new leader Gideon, a ruthless and intelligent man who was raised to lead them, who transforms the cult into a monopolistic megacorporation called CabalCo. Rather than using traditional magical means, the Cabal takes charge through economic might, controlling billions of people with the power of market and technological manipulation, all without overt bloodshed or wide-spread public knowledge. The Cabal's change is evident in other areas as well as the gargoyles, spiders, and hell hounds disappearance, possibly driven extinct or forced into hiding, with the Cabal also seeming to stop their practice of raising the undead. Caleb is now considered by the Cabal to be the "Great Betrayer" due to all the harm he has caused them. Meanwhile, the fabric of reality decays around them, as Tchernobog's former duties go unfulfilled.

Since Episode 3 of Blood takes place in France while it is being bombed, the implication has been taken that this episode actually takes place in the early 1940s, during the Second World War, rather than 1928. This could be explained by Caleb spending a few years between episodes, possibly planning and trying to find out where Tchernobog and his lieutenants are located.

Note: The following take place closer to 1928 and Blood, then to 2028 and Blood II: The Chosen.

The Scroll[edit]

Note: although no year is listed, many of the expansion's themes hint that it is set during the 1930s.

A scroll of great power is stolen by a dark god, which Caleb learns should rightfully be in his possession, causing him to embark after his prize through territory infested with the Cabal. After slaughtering through mines, libraries, and even a steam boat, Caleb reaches a Castle where he knows he can find the scroll. Once Caleb locates the sacred spot in the "otherworld" where his sought after artefact is hidden, he is met with the "Lord of All Nightmares" which proves to be nothing less than two guardian Cerberi. After winning this battle of wits. Caleb retrieves the scroll and sets off to use it for his own dark needs. (Depicted in Cryptic Passage)

Chosen In-Training[edit]

The Cabal meanwhile are not out for extinction yet and devise a plan for their return to glory: out of the most elite of their number, a new batch of Chosen will be selected by the same criterion used by Tchernobog himself. Once Caleb learns of the Cabal's attempts, he sets off after these new Chosen, deeply infuriated that the Cabal are out to dishonour the name of both himself and his fallen comrades with the training of these imposters. Caleb's journey now takes him through department stores, warehouses, and even a sacred Cabal temple where a dark ritual is taking place. Caleb then reaches the elite training ground of these Chosen, whom he meets with fury. The Chosen fight viciously against their predecessor, but soon fall to Caleb's superior skill. Caleb's luck turns however as they transform into powerful stone beasts. After a terrifying battle, Caleb sets off having avenged his Chosen and hurt the Cabal deeply yet again. (Depicted in the Plasma Pak)

 

2028[edit]

To the Cabal's horror, the other three Chosen are accidentally resurrected via the Singularity Generator and eventually reunite with Caleb. The Cabal attempt to capture Caleb in order to return the essence of Tchernobog to the cult and grant it to Gideon, who seeks to become the seventeenth incarnation of the god. The Ancient One, a powerful being from another realm, invades this reality with an army of beasts and body-snatching parasites, taking advantage of the tears in the worlds caused by general decay as well as the deliberate manipulation done by CabalCo and others. After eventually slaying Gideon after a long man hunt and reuniting with all the other Chosen, Caleb and his comrades track down and kill the Ancient One, a quest that takes them into its own realm. Under Ishmael's guidance, Caleb rebinds the realities, finally taking over the duties he unknowingly gained from Tchernobog and saving all of existence. (Depicted in Blood II: The Chosen)

The Nightmare[edit]

During their journey back to their own native world, the Chosen come across a demon called The Nightmare. This demon forces on them terrible psychic manipulations based on the Chosen's past experiences, including Caleb's northern exposure during the time he went after Shial, Ophelia's sorority days, Ishmael's demoralizing stint as JoJo the Idiot Circus Boy, Gabriella's stay in a haunted mansion, and finally Caleb's old western roots, with him making his way through an abandoned church and ghost-town probably inspired by his gunslinging past. Caleb eventually manages to track down and kill the fiend after he finds his way back to the other realm's wastes. (Depicted in The Nightmare Levels)

The Future[edit]

There is no information about the fate of Caleb, the Chosen, the Cabal, or of the other realm after this point. It is possible that the Chosen conquered the Cabal somehow and that Caleb officially ascended as the seventeenth incarnation of Tchernobog (as was implied by the ill-fated expansion project Blood II: Revelations). Thereafter, it would also be possible for them to conquer the rest of humanity (as hinted as a motivation in the background of Blood II: The Chosen). It is assumed that Caleb maintained his inherited role as maintainer of the realities.

External Links[edit]