False Grail

   

This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

The title of this article is conjectural.

Although this article is based on official information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

'False Grail'
General information
Type	Rod/scepter
Affiliation	Unknown alien race
Usage
Made by	Unknown
Used by	Howard Brand (formerly) Sam Stone
Used for	Unknown
Game information
Entity name	HolyGrail

 

"Samuel, I am certain now, it is not Grail. Grail was intended to heal wounds of the world. This... is something else."

―Father Mikhail imparts a warning Sam about the artifact they are seeking

The "False Grail", mistakenly referred to as the Holy Grail prior to its discovery, is a technomagical device featured in both Serious Sam 4 and its standalone expansion pack Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.

An ancient and mysterious device of unknown origin and purpose, the False Grail was initially believed to be the Holy Grail from legend and sought out by the Earth Defense Force to turn the tides of humanity's struggle against Mental during the Tunguska Offensive. Upon its discovery, the scepter was stolen by EDF general Howard Brand, who was transformed into a mutant by its power and intended to use it as a bargaining chip to join Mental's ranks.

Overview

The False Grail was an artifact that resembled a scepter with a pecuilar design. It was made from a metallic material that was gold in appearance. The composition of this material is unknown, and the artifact was highly likely to have been designed by an advanced alien race. Perhaps the most ominious feature of the artifact was the sinister-looking cobra figure coiled around it.

Before its discovery by the Earth Defense Force, the Grail was initially believed to have the power to heal all wounds, though it's later revealed to have a far more sinister purpose. For this reason, the artifact was sealed away so nobody could ever find it. If someone were to hold the rod, the cobra figure would become animate and bite the wielder, causing undesirable and horrific effects upon the user.

It is highly likely that the False Grail was extraterrestrial in origin; this is supported by the fact that professor Gottlieb Kiesel informed Sam that the artifact was powered by a neutrino generator with an unparalleled neutron flux capacity, which would have required an extremely advanced race to construct such a device. In layman's terms, the device was way more sophisticated than any technology seen on Earth; the energy contained within the device would've potentially resulted in a catastrophic (perhaps even world-ending) event, lest the artifact were to fall into the wrong hands.

Powers and abilities

The effects of the False Grail on a human after being bitten by the cobra figure.

The False Grail's purpose and properties were poorly understood, though given its unpredictable and powerful effects on living things, it was most likely designed to function as a weapon. The cobra figure entwined around the scepter served as the conduit for its powers. When someone was bitten by the snake figure, a bolt of blue lightning would appear from the victim's wound and they would immediately transform and mutate into a hideous monster. The process appeared to be very painful, as shown when General Brand allowed himself to be bitten by the cobra.

The transformation was almost instantenous. After being bitten, the wielder would grow to immense proportions, gained inhuman strength, and was granted superhuman abilities. Their voice would also turn deeper and sounded more monstrous in tone. It is not known if this transformation was temporary or permanent. After a few hours or days after one was transformed, the individual would undergo several mutated phases, which resulted in them becoming larger, more muscular in tone, and even more powerful than they were initially.The size limit is not known, but Brand was shown to be at least twice the size of a Khnum (which stands at about 45 feet tall) at least a day had passed after his transformation.

Aside from being able to transform a living creature, the rod also had other strange properties; anyone who was within close proximity to the rod was able to pick it up by simply reaching their arm out to it. This was demonstrated by both Brand and Sam. The wielder did not have to be transformed to be able to pick the rod up. The rod also displayed powerful offensive capabilities; a basic attack with the Grail could be achieved by simply using it like a spear to impale the target. More complex attacks involved creating a shockwave that was able to incapacitate or kill anyone in a radius of several meters around the user, levitate objects and toss them at their enemies, produce blasts of flames, and even create massive cobra figures that could release poweful beams of fire out of their mouths. Brand demonstrated said attacks when he fought Sam in Ustinov.

The Grail also had an unusual effect when Sam threw it down Ugh-Zan VI's mouth; it caused his eyes and mouth to glow an eerie blue color shortly before exploding inside his body. This was the result of a chain reaction that had started upon the destruction of the cobra figure, hinting at the incredible and destructive power of the artifact.

The device would become unstable if the snake figure was destroyed before it could bite the wielder. A chain reaction would build up inside of the device, and after a while, the artifact would blow up in a powerful explosion. This explosion was powerful enough to decapitate Ugh-Zan VI after Sam tossed the Grail into his mouth.

History

At an unknown point in Earth's history, an advanced alien race (likely the Sirians) came to Earth and placed this artifact in an undetermined location. It was soon discovered by humanity, who begun to exploit the device and the mysterious properties surrounding it.

According to a note written by paranoid conspiracy theorist and hermit Fulbert le Fou, in the year 1432, the French patron saint, Joan of Arc, attempted to find a way to heal humanity using the powers of the False Grail (which she believed was the Holy Grail), that she had stolen from the Fourth Temple of Solomon in the Scottish highlands in a daring raid. She kept the Grail in Rennes-le-Château, where she lived out the remainder of her life.

More than 400 years later, in the 19th century, the Grail was rediscovered by French Catholic priest Bérenger Saunière, who had moved both the Ark of the Covenant and the Grail to Carcassonne, where they were kept hidden inside a church within the Cité de Carcassonne.

Appearances

Serious Sam 4

General Brand prepares to use the False Grail for his own selfish purposes.

The False Grail is seen as an item of grave importance (until its actual purpose is revealed, that is), and finding it serves as the player's main objective. In the very beginning of the game, the Alien Artifact Acquisition team are sent into Rome as part of a convoy heading to renzevous with Father Mikhail, a Russian priest who believes he knows the location of the Holy Grail. According to him, the information they are looking for is inside the Vatican Library.

When the Triple-A team get to the Vatican, it turns out the Grail was not located in there, but an old Slavic text reveals its actual location is in Carcassonne, France. With this crucial information on hand, the team board a plane to France. On the way there, Mikhail warns the team that the Grail is a dangerous object, calling it an "anathema unto God". He explains in further detail that men had died trying to shield it and hide its powers from the world, as they believed it was best that the Grail remained hidden. When the team arrive in Carcassonne, they get to the church. There, Mikhail performs a ritual that activates a mechanism, revealing the Ark of the Covenant. Sam opens the Ark and is baffled to find that the Grail is just a 'stick'. Sam tries to grab the rod, despite being warned not to. Suddenly, General Brand appears with a few of his men. Sam realizes that he has been betrayed by his own superior officer. Brand orders his team to stand down, and deems that humanity should have joined up with Mental when they had the chance instead of fighting him. Brand says that he will use the power of the Grail to turn himself into "the last human" and present the artifact as an offering to Mental.

Brand grabs the Grail, allowing the snake figure on the rod to bite him, turning him into a monster and immediately becomes mad with power. Father Mikhail and Sam try to stop the twisted general, but Brand ends up killing Mikhail with the Grail and knocks Sam and the rest of his team unconscious. Brand is later seen using the Grail during the Battle of Tunguska, leading Mental's forces through the portal. Sam encounters Brand again, who captures and delivers him to Ugh-Zan VI, the guardian of the portal. Brand offers both Sam and the Grail to him, but the creature rejects his offer and Brand reverts back to his human form. Sam and his team fight Ugh-Zan VI, before Sam realizes that he can use the Grail to finish Ugh-Zan off. He grabs the rod, and as the snake is about to bite him, he destroys its head, which causes an unstable reaction to build up within the rod. He finally uses the grail to destroy Ugh-Zan for good.

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem

As the game is set just after Sam escapes from the Thunderbird Oil Refinery, the False Grail is still in Brand's possession. As Sam is on his way to Tunguska, Brand's plane is shot down, but he manages to make it to the town Ustinov thanks to the Grail augmenting his physical abilities. Brand slaughters some Russian partisans and lies in wait for Sam, who eventually arrives in Ustinov alongside Igor Ledov and his squad. After the team is injured and disoriented by an Octanian Raider bombing raid, Brand uses this opportunity to ambush Sam and the squad, taking Ivan hostage. Brand demands for Sam to surrender and to give up fighting in a "pointless" war, but Ivan yells at Sam not to listen to him and insults Brand, who responds by tearing him in half and jumping away after Ledov opens fire at him.

Brand appears again, ambushing Sam as he attempts to rescue Ledov from Mental's forces. With Brand's power, he breaks the ground underneath Sam's feet, sending him plummeting into the water below. Sam swims to a nearby platform and Brand follows him, and the two engage in a fight. Utilizing the incredible powers bestowed upon him by the Grail, Brand gives Sam a tough fight, but still finds himself on the losing end. In a last-ditch effort to overpower Sam, Brand fully fuses with the artifact and absorbs its energy, which engulfs his entire body in flames and drastically increases his power, now even able to conjure massive flaming cobras that shoot lasers out of their mouths. Sam defeats him and ultimately shoots him in the face with his Double Barrel Coach Gun, killing him.

What happens to the Grail at the end of the game is not known.

Trivia

• When Brand in his mutated form is seen wielding the Grail, it is rendered much larger that its usual size. This is either a developer oversight, or one of the strange properties surrounding the artifact.
• The False Grail resembles the Rod of Asclepius, a serpent-entwined rod wielded by Asclepius, the Greek god of healing and medicine. This is ironic, considering that the Grail was designed with the intention of being used for evil despite the initial belief that it could heal all wounds.
  • It also resembleds Aaron's rod, a walking stick wielded by Aaron, a figure in the Torah and the elder brother of Moses. According to Hebrews 9:4 (the ninth chapter of Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament), the rod was kept in the Ark of the Covenant, the same artifact that the False Grail was kept in.

Gallery

Model.

Close-up view of the snake figure.

The artifact inside the Ark of the Covenant.

List of appearances

• Serious Sam 4 (First appearance)
• Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem