Norticus

General Norticus, also known as Norticus the Conqueror is a character featured in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies mode. He is a deity of the Dark Aether. He was first mentioned in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War by Sparagmos in intel for the map Forsaken.
==History==
Norticus the Conqeuror is one of the many Elder Gods residing in the Dark Aether. He was the highly competent and revered Supreme Commander of the Night Legions, so much so that enemies would throw down their weapons and beg for mercy upon the mention of his name. He ultimately answered to Lord Kortifex the Deathless, to whom he served as his second in command. 
===Netherwars===
When the entities within the Dark Aether learned of the existence of another realm through the appearance of the Mystery Box and Pack-A-Punch Machine, they took an interest in the beings that resided in the other realm: humans. Kortifex would personally assign Norticus with the task of studying humanity and their realm for future conquest. Thanks to the work of Saraxis the Shadow and Bellekar the Warlock, Dark Aether entities could now bond with humans and learn of their world through the use of Artifacts. Norticus himself would create a Horn, which he would send to Scandinavia, coming into contact with the Norsemen who would recognize him as , primordial father of the . 
Soon, Kortifex would begin the Netherwars - a brutal military campaign with the goal of conquering the Dark Aether and crushing Kortifex's enemies. Alongside the Sisters of Agony, Norticus would lead the Night Legions in a battle within the Wilds of the Dark Aether - diminishing the local hermit clan's Web of Life. When the hermits pled for Kortifex to spare their lands, he responded by cruelly ordering his armies to slaughter them and exterminate their clans. Norticus was present during the razing of the Wilds, which would eventually become the Corrupted Lands. This had an unknown side effect, as the clan's lone survivor, Vercanna the Last, would receive the accumulated power of her clan through the Web of Life, making her nigh immortal. 
The Netherwars would rage on, with Kortifex making progress in his conquest, until the formation of a Resistance. Quickly, the Resistance began to gain the upper hand. Soon, members of Kortifex's forces would defect, including Inviktor the Destroyer, who had fled the Battle of Obsidian Ridge. As the tide of war turned against his favor, Norticus would soon come to question his motives, wondering why he was fighting for a cause he no longer believed in - and whether he could live with the mark it had left on his soul. He eventually made the decision to defect against his former master and join the Resistance. This would cause the two to harbor an immense hatred for one another as Norticus would come to fully realize his master's cruelty, with Kortifex likewise desiring revenge against his former, traitorous second in command. After he defected, the chief entities of the Resistance would finally defeat Kortifex by trapping him in his Scepter (thanks to a plan devised by Saraxis and Bellekar). Unfortunately, this would also lead to them becoming trapped in their own artifacts. Norticus would be trapped within his Horn.
===Société Occulte===
Despite his imprisonment, Norticus would come to further contact humanity through the Société Occulte, a group of occultists who acted as the puppetmasters of Western civilization. Norticus was one of the many entities contacted by the group at Hotel Royal, their headquarters. None of these influential humans stood out to Norticus, save for the architect who designed the Hotel Royal - Lucien Poiret. Through their many seances with the entities of the Dark Aether, the Société Occulte wrote a powerful spell-book of Dark Aether Rune Magic: the Tome of Rituals. The Tome granted the Société Occulte great power, the magic within giving them the help they needed to increase their wealth and influence. However, a tragedy befell the Société Occulte in the 1920's, causing its members to split the Tome apart, scattering its pages across the globe.
===World War II===
The many Dark Aether artifacts would be discovered by Wolfram Von List and Die Wahrheit during World War II, remaining dormant in their possession. However, the breaching of the Dimensional Membrane at Poland by Projekt Endstation activated them. Kortifex, through his own artifact, would bond with Von List and allow him to command an army of the dead. The artifacts of the revolting gods would be given by Gabriel Krafft to various Allied Special Forces that arrived in Stalingrad to respond to Krafft's distress call. The Horn of Norticus in specific utilized the power of Frost Blast. Norticus spoke to the Special Forces, telling them of Kortifex's cruelty. He also made clear his view of humanity's insignificance, and although he viewed his new hosts as fledgling and meaningless, he was still willing to make do with what he had. 
Inviktor would be present as Vercanna made contact with Special Forces and transported them to the Eastern Desert of Egypt, as well as during their freeing of the Decimator and his shield. After the Special Forces battled Zaballa the Deceiver and retrieved a lost page of the Tome of Rituals, they would make their way to Shi No Numa to obtain the Relic Mirror, used against Saraxis centuries ago in feudal Japan. During this, he spoke to Inviktor about their collective time in the Netherwars. It was there they both agreed that they had underestimated humanity, and began to respect their new human hosts. 
===Rememberance by Sparagmos===
After the appearance of the Forsaken in the Dark Aether, he soon vied for power against the Old Ones, who ruled the Dark Aether at that point. While it is currently unknown whether or not Norticus held any role during this power struggle, he was remembered by the Zealot Sparagmos while crafting the Chrysalax, stating that the heart of a Tormented One burned with such vigor that it could power the Cannons of Norticus.
==Personality==
Norticus is a highly competent strategist and general, something in which he takes great pride in. He holds a great hatred towards his former master Kortifex, as he viewed him as overly cruel and without loyalty. He also despises being trapped in an artifact, as well as being forced to work with humanity, which he views as a "brief and meaningless" species. Regardless, he begrudgingly works with humanity to stop Kortifex with the hopes that they might be able to return him to the Dark Aether. His tune towards humanity seems to change around Shi No Numa, where he states that inside the Special Forces he fights alongside "dwells the courage of kings", indicating a more positive view. 
He is also seemingly remorseful of his actions during the initial stage of the Netherwars, as his self-doubt and questioning seems to be what pushed him over the edge to defect from Kortifex in the first place.
==Gallery==
HornOfNorticus Zombies VG.jpg|The Horn of Norticus.
FrostBlast FieldUpgrade Icon Zombies CODV.png|Norticus, as seen on the Frost Blast icon.
==References==
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies Characters
Category:Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Characters