| “ | Do not touch it! This artifact was placed in the Ark to shield the world from its evil! | „ |
| ~ Father Mikhail warning Sam about the False Grial. |
The "False Grail", also mistakenly referred to as the Holy Grail, is a villainous techno-magical device in Serious Sam 4 and its standalone expansion Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.
An ancient artifact of unknown origin, the False Grail was initially believed to be the mythological Holy Grail and sought out by the Earth Defense Force to turn the tides of humanity's losing war with alien overlord Mental. Upon discovery, the scepter was stolen by EDF general Howard Brand, who was mutated by its power and intended to use it as a bargaining chip to join Mental's ranks.
History[]
Origins[]
The origin of the artifact is unknown, but it is possible that it was created by the now-extinct spacefaring alien species known as the Sirians, who visited Earth during the time of Ancient Egypt and became worshipped as gods. The Sirians had contact with many different human civilizations however and hid much of their technology on Earth, much of which was rediscovered and researched during the twenty-first century. The scepter however was sealed within the Ark of the Covenant and hidden away so none may harness its immense power.
Serious Sam 4[]
In the Future[]
At the dawn of the 22nd century humanity was flourishing in the stars. Utilizing the Sirian technology allowed them to breach into other solar systems, set up extraterrestrial colonies and explore the cosmos. But this development came at a price. An expedition to the planet Sirius spelled the rapid downfall of human civilization as the captain of the starship Surveyor, Sam Stone, accidentally awakened the dormant ancient entity Tah-Um, whose chaotic nature earned him the nickname "Mental". Mental and his numerous servants immediately set out to annihilate the human race. Despite their best efforts, humanity was eventually pushed back to Earth once again and Mental appointed the sadistic Lord Achriman to direct the final cleansing of Earth.
Search for the Grail[]
Humanity refused to give up however and the Alien Artifact Acquisition team, led and founded by General Brand, set out to find the legendary Holy Grail, which they believed to be an alien artifact capable of healing all wounds and thus a valuable asset in turning the war around. The location of the Grail was hidden however and all they had to go on was a proto-slavic text that they couldn't translate. The AAA team enlisted the help of Vatican priest Mikhail Obruchev to help them find the relic and rescued him from Rome, Italy while Mental's forces continued to ravage Earth. The texts showed that there was a book hidden within the Vatican library that would reveal the Holy Grail's location. They had some trouble getting into the library, but Sam Stone eventually got there and took the book. There was supposed to be a specific sequence of actions Sam had to perform to gain access, but he forgot what they were and simply blew up the statue under which it was hidden.
Thankfully the book did indeed show that the Grail was located in a church in Carcassonne, France. On their way there via plane, Father Mikhail began to doubt their mission. Countless men had died to hide it and shield the world from its influence, they must have had a good reason to do so. General Brand suggested that perhaps they simply wanted to keep it for themselves, but that it doesn't matter since they need that artifact and will win the war no matter the cost. Mikhail asked him what if the cost is their soul, which Brand waved off. An assault by Octanian Raiders separated the AAA team, but they eventually reunited in in Carcassonne. The local resistance helped them gain access to the castle with the church, but Lord Achriman himself tried to stop them in their tracks. Despite putting up a difficult fight, Achriman lost and Sam Stone killed him.
The False Grail within the Ark.
By now Father Mikhail was certain that whatever is locked away within the Ark of the Covenant, it is not the Holy Grail. Sam insisted that they still take a look since they came all this way to get to this spot and the team entered the church. Father Mikhail activated a mechanism that revealed the Ark and Sam opened it to find that Mikhail was right. There was no Holy Grail in the Ark, but a golden sceptre. Mikhail warned him not to touch it, which Brand agreed with as his soldiers aimed their guns at Sam and his friends. Brand revealed himself a traitor, convinced that humanity has no chance of winning against Mental and that he will present the artifact as an offering to their new master so he may join his ranks. He grabbed the False Grail and the cobra coiled around the staff came to life, biting him in his arm and mutating him into a monster. Mikhail spoke a prayer, to which Brand responded by impaling him on the sceptre and unleashing an energy shockwave that knocked the AAA team out.
The Tunguska Offensive[]
Sam managed to escape Brand's clutches while the False Grail continued to mutate him further. Brand continued towards the Tunguska Offensive, where the EDF was launching an all-out assault on a colossal superportal build be the Horde, to wait for Sam's arrival, intent on delivering both him and the artifact to Mental and gain his place in the universal hierarchy. Professor Kiesel from the EDF urged Sam to hurry, as the energy generator contained within the False Grail could do unimaginable damage if it fell into Mental's hands. Once he did arrive at the battle Brand quickly spotted him and once again knocked him out with an energy shockwave, taking him hostage and summoning the mighty Ugh-Zan VI, guardian of the portal, to strike his bargain. Thoroughly unimpressed, Ugh-Zan refused Brand by flicking him and Sam off of his hand, accidentally freeing the latter.
Sam and Carter with the broken, unstable False Grail.
Sam, the remaining AAA team and the EDF managed to strike down the warlock giant, but unless they found some way to finish him off, he is simply going to heal his wounds and rise again. Sam remembered what Professor Kiesel said about the False Grail and picked it up, its cobra immediately reanimating and attempting to bite him like it did Brand, but Sam punched it off. This caused the sceptre to become unstable and overload, something Sam was counting on. With the help of his girlfriend's helicopter Sam threw the False Grail into Ugh-Zan's throat, its explosion tearing his head apart and finally killing the portal guardian.
The artifact was no more, but its destruction had the added benefit of reverting Brand to his powerless human self. He was promptly subdued, strapped to a nuke and launched into the superportal, blowing it to kingdom come and sending Mental the message that humanity won't go down that easily.
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
Set in an alternate timeline shortly after Sam escaped Brand's plane towards Tunguska, Sam had to travel through Siberia to find some way to catch up to Brand. Brand's plane was shot down by Russian EDF members, causing them to believe he had died in the crash. With the help of Russian resistance fighter Ledov and his team, Sam reached the city of Ustinov. After fighting through an army of Mental's goons, Sam and Ledov's team were ambushed by Brand, who took one of their teammates hostage and demanded that Sam surrender himself. Said teammate yelled at Sam to ignore him and insulted Brand, who responded by using his immense strength to tear the man in half with his bare hands and jumping away.
Brand's flaming twin cobras attack in Siberian Mayhem.
The ambush separated Sam and what remained of Ledov's team, wanting to reunite on a nearby dam. But it was a trap, as Ledov and his team found themselves overrun by the Horde and Brand used the distraction to ambush Sam again, this time directly, knocking him into the water below. Sam swam to a nearby platform where he and Brand engaged in a duel to the death, Brand utilizing a vast array of flame-based powers and his increased agility granted to him by the False Grail to outmanouver and defeat Sam. When Brand found himself on the losing end he absorbed the full power of the scepter into himself, turning his body ablaze and becoming even capable of creating gigantic flaming versions of the scepter's cobra that spew laser beams.
Despite putting up a considerable fight Brand ultimately lost and received a shotgun to the face, killing him and dissipating the False Grail's power in this timeline as well.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Physical enhancement: Upon taking the False Grail, the golden cobra coiled around it will awaken and attempt to bite the holder in their arm. If it succeeds, the holder will be granted immense physical strength and agility at the cost of their humanity. Muscles swell, new bones grow as spikes out of the body and the skin becomes sickly. Over time the body continues to mutate, an adult human male growing to about twice their original size. Despite the drastic and gruesome changes the False Grail causes, these are reversible. The destruction of the artifact resulted in Brand returning to his normal human form.
- Pyrokinesis: On top of the physical enhancements the holder also gains nearly complete control over flames, able to generate and manipulate them at will. This includes throwing fireballs at enemies, erupting flame pillars from the ground, encasing one's own body in fire to make physical attacks more lethal and even creating giant flaming cobras that shoot lasers from their mouths. It also appears to grant a certain degree of heat resistance, as Howard Brand's body only sustained somewhat mild burns after coating himself in flames for several minutes.
- Telekinesis: The scepter can be picked up normally, but by opening one's hand and reaching for it from a distance the False Grail will fly into their hand as long as nobody else is currently in its possession. It also allows its holder to telekinetically lift and throw objects such as cars and large pieces of debris around.
- Neutrino generator: Brief analysis by EDF scientist Professor Kiesel suggests that the sceptre is powered by a neutrino generator with unparalleled neutron flux capacity. This means the energy stored within it is far greater than anything else on Earth and would be disastrous if it fell into Mental's hands.
Gallery[]
