Codex/Artifacts

Berserk
UAC REPORT FILE D4NUVHAO

Test subjects exposed to this sphere exhibit extreme rage and increased strength. It has been noted that subjects given the Berserk sphere will vent their rage on any living creature they can find, and will even self-harm if they have no outlet for their fury. In the extremely rare case that a subject survives exposure, they will be left in a perpetual state of delirium and should be exterminated.

Haste
UAC REPORT FILE BSKQL4E9

This sphere invigorates the imbiber with lightning speed. Once broken, this sphere releases a charged cloud of Soul-Breaker energy which forms a powerful (albeit brief) exoskeleton that charges and accelerates all natural movement. While the effects are brief, the speed that a "hastened" subject can reach is breathtaking. The heart rate also increased dramatically, ultimately resulting in myocardial rupture. The heart, quite literally, explodes.

Invulnerability
UAC REPORT FILE 98THE72Z

When it is absorbed, this stimulant diffuses Argent plasma to the basal layer below the dermis creating a tough film of bioplasma beneath the skin that protects the user from external attacks. This can make the demon almost entirely invulnerable until the plasma has been dissipated through repeated punishment. The bioplasma comes into direct contact with the nerve cells beneath the skin which causes excruciating pain throughout the process. This increases the likelihood that, in the throes of agonizing torment, the mindless demon will try to attack targets that are clearly beyond their ability.

Quad Damage
UAC REPORT FILE S4381XYR

Once ingested, the subject effectively becomes a host for what was presumed to be the most powerful of Ul-Thranx demons. Any weapon held by the subject is enchanced, giving it up to four times as much projectile force and ballistic power. Though the effects are short lived, they can be devastating. During the initial testing phase, patient C-132 (a volunteer Tier 2 advocate) managed to decapitate three security personnel using nothing more than a pocket knife.

The Praetor Suit
UAC REPORT FILE HGFLTGTV

Additional relics were found in the tomb alongside the Doom Marine. Some incantation tablets, and an ancient combat suit which was given a name: the 'Praetor Suit'. When found, it was encased in an inscribed stone tomb. The suit was extracted from the rock, cleaned, and subjected to numerous tolerance tests, and found to be almost impervious to any damage. It appeared to have some mechanical function as well - small receptors on the gloves and chest plate that attracted Argent plasma and dissipated it through capillary tubes in the substructure. Markings on the armor were also consistent with images of a man (or humanoid) seen in several tablets and stones found on other expeditions. The same markings were also noted on the Helix Stone.

Despite it being clear that the suit can be activated in some way, no method has been found to do it. It appears to be missing a component, likely the Doom Marine himself.

Doom Marine
UAC REPORT FILE 7VPMJ2IQ

Without doubt, UAC's most remarkable recent discovery was uncovered in its expedition to Hell's Kadingir Sanctum. After several kilometers through nearly impassable terrain, the team discovered a sealed tomb - its entrance and walls covered in protective runes and imprisonment incantations. Once opened, the tomb revealed many artifacts including the Praetor suit. Most notable, however, was an enormous sarcophagus bound to the center bedrock of the tomb with thick iron bands - seemingly anchored to prevent anything from getting in or out.

It was initially believed this sarcophagus must hold a rare or powerful demon, but when later opened, it revealed the body of a man. The body was not petrified or decomposed - in fact, he appeared to be only sleeping despite the fact that the bed he lay in seemed millennia old. Attempts to wake the man were fruitless - and to harm him even more so - as a protective Argent barrier around the body kept him safe from harm in permanent stasis.

UAC archivists cataloged the discovery DM1-5, but project personnel had soon dubbed him the "DOOM Marine". While the history of this man remains conjecture, the Helix Stone, as well as other artifacts found at the Argent Fracture and during the Hell Expedition of ECm13, have shed some light on his identity. An etching in the book Daeva (another discovery of the Kadingir expedition), depicts the DOOM Marine wearing the Praetor suit, engaging demons in battle as a hooded figure looks on. This image had been previously observed numerous times in other artifacts, but only with the actual discovery of the DOOM Marine and Praetor suit in the sealed Kadingir tomb have researchers begun to put other pieces together. It is now believed the DOOM Marine might have been part of an ancient group or tribe, maybe even their leader. Whether he is god, demon or human will remain undetermined until the Argent barrier protecting his body can be deactivated. Further deepening the mystery of his origin, UAC remote monitoring drones in service during the Kadingir Expedition recorded a protracted and deadly battle during the sarcophagus extraction -- the demons attempting to defend the tomb with an instinctual ferocity previously unobserved.

Once tethered and returned to the UAC, the sarcophagus was studied and first opened at the Lazarus Labs, but went missing a few weeks later. It was believed that Samuel Hayden had the body and Praetor suit moved and hidden to keep it secure, although why he considered it to be under threat is unknown.

Of final note; to date, the DOOM Marine and Samuel Hayden are the only known non-demon entities to successfully cross over from the Hell dimension to our own, despite several attempts by other UAC human personnel to do the same.

Slayer's Testament I
UAC REPORT FILE H8UM66S

In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened, one stood. Burned by the embers of Armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of Hell and tainted beyond ascension, he chose the path of perpetual torment. In his ravenous hatred he found no peace; and with boiling blood he scoured the Umbral Plains seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him. He wore the crown of the Night Sentinels, and those that tasted the bite of his sword named him... the Doom Slayer.

Slayer's Testament II
UAC REPORT FILE 9REIZDUR

Tempered by the fires of Hell, his iron will remained steadfast through the passage that preys upon the weak. For he alone was the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, who sought retribution in all quarters, dark and light, fire and ice, in the beginning and the end, and he hunted the slaves of Doom with barbarous cruelty; for he passed through the divide as none but demon had before.

Slayer's Testament III
UAC REPORT FILE HR93TE1F

And in his conquest against the blackened souls of the doomed, his prowess was shown. In his crusade, the seraphim bestowed upon him terrible power and speed, and with his might he crushed the obsidian pillars of the Blood Temples. He set forth without pity upon the beasts of the nine circles. Unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding, the Doom Slayer sought to end the dominion of the dark realm.

Slayer's Testament IV
UAC REPORT FILE I3S5A9XB

The age of his reckoning was uncounted. The scribes carved his name deep in the tablets of Hell across eons, and each battle etched terror in the hearts of the demons. They knew he would come, as he always had, as he always will, to feast on the blood of the wicked. For he alone could draw strength from his fallen foes, and ever his power grew, swift and unrelenting.

Slayer's Testament V
UAC REPORT FILE ZPHVM41A

None could stand before the horde but the Doom Slayer. Despair spread before him like a plague, striking fear into the shadow-dwellers, driving them to deeper and darker pits. But from the depths of the abyss rose The Great One, a champion mightier than all who had come before. The Titan, of immeasurable power and ferocity. He strode upon the plain and faced the Doom Slayer, and a mighty battle was fought on the desolate plains. The Titan fought with the fury of the countless that had fallen at the Doom Slayer's hand, but there fell the Titan, and in his defeat the shadow horde were routed.

Slayer's Testament VI
UAC REPORT FILE WMHVVFJ

And in his terrible rancor between worlds and through time, the Hell Walker found the wretch who shall not be named, but in his heresy was loyal to his evil cause. The wretch adorned the Doom Slayer in a mighty armor, wrought in the forges of Hell, impenetrable and unyielding. With sword and shield of adamantine strength, the Doom Slayer set to banishing all that were left unbroken by his savagery to the void.

Slayer's Testament VII
UAC REPORT FILE JSLR7ESL

Yet as the mighty Titan fell and dread engulfed the armies of Doom, the demon priests of the Blood Temples laid a trap to capture this scourge of Hell. Insatiable, even by the vanquishing of the Great One, the Hell Walker sought prey in the tombs of the Blood Keep. And blinded by his fervor, the lure drew him in. The priests brought down the temple upon the Doom Slayer, and in his defeat entombed him in the cursed sarcophagus. The mark of the Doom Slayer was burned upon his crypt, a warning to all of Hell that the terror within must never be freed. There he lies still, and ever more, in silent suffering.

The Wraiths
While there have been no confirmed sightings of these creatures, much is known about them as they are revered by the demons and referenced multiple times in all explored areas of Hell. According to scriptures found in the Kadingir Sanctum, the Wraiths are elemental beings that inhabit the realm of Argent D'Nur, a world that was colonized in the First Age of Ascension. The Wraiths were deified by the people of Argent D'Nur and protected by their fiercest warriors, the Night Sentinels. They are believed to have been imbued with a powerful energy.

The Wraiths II
The Elemental Wraiths, if they do still exist in Argent D'Nur, have no doubt been corrupted by the power of Hell. However, descriptions of the beasts suggest they were terrifying in their own form before any demonization occurred. The protection of these beasts was both a measure to harness the power they generated, and also a defense against them - hence the need for a warrior order to serve as protectors rather than a simple priest caste.

Several tablets describe the worship of the Wraiths as a necessity to avoid their wrath, and the Ungmar Codex specifically states that "Wraith-Call" (the sign of an approaching Wraith) caused panic and terror among the people of Argent D'Nur. It is also possible that some sacrificial ceremonies were attached to the worship of the Wraiths.

The Wraiths III
Further readings from the Ungmar Codex:

"The Night Sentinels stood strong against our legions. Conquest of Argent D'Nur, empowered by the Wraith-energy, was foiled at every turn. Yet in our darkest hour came a lowly Hell priest, Deag Grav, and in his guidance a weakness in a heathen of the Night Sentinels was found.

The bargain was struck thus: for the return of the Betrayer's only son, lost on the battlefield, Deag Grav must be taken to the source of their power, the Elemental Wraiths. Lead [sic] there by the wretched Betrayer, Deag Grav and his cabal set a curse upon the Wraiths as they slept, and used their essence for our own devices. With the power of the Wraiths they formed The Well, that which brings us upon our enemies. Thus, the city of Argent and their false gods fell under the unholy might of the Hell priests.

For his payment, the Betrayer's son was returned to him in our form, and the Icon of Sin was brought upon the heathens. His vengeance was swift and merciless, for the wages of treachery are suffering.

With the fall of Argent D'Nur, their realm was taken into ours, their temples and runes, their carved rock and edifice, all was absorbed into our realm and taken as trophies of our triumph."