Here's the Story behind "Halls of Stonehenge". It is subject to revisions/additions from time to time, but the basic premise won't change.
"THE HALLS OF STONEHENGE"...the Story...
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WWII is long over. Hitler and his third Reich have fallen, and the remnants of his forces have been mopped up, while his officers and henchmen have been made to stand trial for their deeds. Much of the success of the fall of the Nazi regime could be attributed to the efforts of one man: War hero and super spy, BJ Blazkowicz. After his repeated wartime infiltrations of various Nazi strongholds, and seemingly staring death in the face time and time again, It seemed as though if anyone had earned a rest from guns and glory, it was BJ.
Not surprisingly, those were the very thoughts in BJ's head as he tried to recover from the things he'd seen and the places he'd been. He was vacationing in England, or rather, trying to vacation, but the demons from his past wouldn't allow him to rest. It had been months since he'd last held a gun, but something in his gut told him it wasn't over yet, in spite of all of the signs that the conflict had come to an end. It was never really over, was it? Sitting in an English pub, these thoughts coursed through BJ's mind over and over again...that, and that he badly needed a shave. Would he be doomed to continue fighting for the rest of his natural days? BJ swallowed the last remnants of the mug of beer he was clutching, and beckoned for another one from the bartender.
Although BJ never quite believed that the fight was over for him, he probably would never have guessed just how near his next confrontation was. Nor would he have guessed just how near to him the threat was at this very moment.
BJ was contemplating a visit to the lavoratory, when a tap on his shoulder caused him to spin around violently. Expecting the worst, BJ's hand was on the knife he always carried with him since the war, but it took him only a moment to realize that he wasn't in danger. Not at the moment, anyway. An elderly, disheveled man with wild looking hair, a huge bushy mustache, and bent, round spectacles stood behind him, blinking rapidly. BJ let out a sigh and relaxed slightly, dropping his hand from his weapon. It wasn't the first time he'd been recognized, and it usually involved nothing more than confirming to the curious individual that, he was, in fact, THE war hero, BJ Blazkowicz.
"What can I do for you?" BJ muttered. The elderly man, some sort of a professor or researcher judging by his rumpled suit coat and bundle of books and manuscripts under his arm, adjusted his spectacles, and spoke. "Mr Blazkowicz, I presume?" "Yeah", replied BJ dryly, waiting for whatever may follow. The old man quickly switched his books to his left hand, and awkwardly extended his right to BJ. "I am Professor Von Reinstein. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah, a pleasure", thought BJ, "Now what do you want?" BJ shook the Professor's hand, then turned back toward the bar to attend to his waiting ale. The Professor tapped him on the shoulder again, and this time BJ turned only his head to glance back at the Professor. "Mr Blazkowicz, I know this is sudden, but I need your help." BJ raised an eyebrow. He'd been asked to do a lot of things for a lot of people before, mostly war related, but what this elderly professor could possibly want from him was beyond his understanding. "What kind of help, exactly?" The professor looked a little uncomfortable for a moment, and bit his lip, trying to think exactly how to present his case. Finally, he settled for simplicity. "The Nazi's are back, Mr Blazkowicz. And they're right here, in England."
BJ half choked on the swallow of beer he'd been taking. The Nazis?? In England? The thought was ridiculous. Still, this was a professor who was telling him this, not some wino from a back alley, so the possibility that there was some legitimacy to his statement still existed. "What are you talking about? Where?" The professor plopped down next to BJ, set down his manuscripts, and looked warily about before beginning his tale.
"As I mentioned, Mr Blazkowicz, I am Professor Von Reinstein, archeologist, and professor of ancient mysteries. I've been in England for some time now, doing a study on the Stonehenge structure. What I'm about to tell you will sound incredible, even ridiculous, but you must believe that every word I say is true. Because of what I've told others about this, I'm now regarded as a crackpot in my field, but this is a matter of the gravest importance."
BJ nodded slightly. "What's Stonehenge got to do with the Nazi's Professor?"
"Well, first of all, let me say that there's no point in my reminding you of Hitler's obsession with the occult and supernatural. You're well aware of the strange direction his studies took, and his efforts to incorporate ancient artificats and power into his effort to enslave humanity. Many of his followers served him without really believing any of it themselves. Others believed in the truth of what he was pursuing, but still had some sense of skepticism about the whole thing. And then there were others...complete and total fanatics. They were the ones who embraced his beliefs completely, and were obsessed with the notion that the war would be won by the use of ancient powers. Unfortunately, it is many of these latter that slipped away undetected at the war's end. The loss of their Fuhrer has done nothing but fuel the fire of their madness, and they work feverishly to continue the work he had begun." The professor paused, produced a handkercheif, and blotted at his forehead, before continuing.
"Anyway, to make a long story short, it was while I was beginning my study of Stonehenge that I met a man named Draven who was also studying the structure. We decided to compare notes, and join together in our studies of the ancient site, hoping to cover twice as much ground. Draven was a very intelligent man, but I always felt there was something disturbing about him. It was like there was some subtly evil presence about him, but his contribution to our research was invaluable, so I never let it bother me. We made incredible progress in a very short time. We discovered that there was far more to Stonehenge than mankind had ever previously guessed!"
BJ raised an eyebrow. "Like what? Did you figure out what it's original use was?"
The professor nodded. "Nobody knows exactly, but our research was beginning to reveal some interesting information. We believe it was used for ancient druid rituals, but my careful investigation was beginning to indicate that there was more to Stonehenge than what we can see on the surface. We discovered near the site a "key" that appeared to be related somehow to the Stonehenge structure. Engravings on the key spoke of a portal, a sword of ancient evil, and a person or thing named 'Sarron'. We began to surmise that perhaps Stonehenge was some sort of ancient inter-dimension portal invented by the ancient druids."
"Anyway, it was Draven who first figured out how to use the key. To our astonishment, it turned out that there was a portal located at the centermost structure of the Stonehenge monument! We wasted no time unlocking the portal, and what we found was amazing! Beneath the seemingly inconspicuous structure of Stonehenge was an enormous underground labrynth! For the first time, I could sense the excitement and anticipation Draven was experiencing from our research. Most of the time he had seemed simply anxious and desperate for results. His character took on an entirely new essence the first time we set foot in the catacombs. I suggested we wait before entering to run tests on the breathability of the air and to make sure there were no ancient diseases or other nasty things waiting to be discovered, but he wouldn't hear of it. He insisted on being the first to explore the structure before anybody else had a chance to investigate it. Soon, the 'hooded men' began to arrive with him each day to assist in his research. These hooded men were actually Nazi fanatics, and Draven, apparantly, was some sort of project leader for them..."
BJ was pretty certain he already knew where this was leading. The question was, was there any real threat? "So this Draven took over the research site and is holed up in the catacombs with a bunch of Nazi fanatics now, am I right? I understand it's irritating to have your research interrupted like this, professor, but why not have the local authorities deal with this? Why would they call you a crackpot without investigating it first?"
The professor just shook his head. "It's because of the other things I've told them that they think I'm crazy, and because of these, they haven't bothered to investigate. You see, Mr Blazkowicz, the Nazis' intrusion into the bowels of Stonehenge has awakened some ancient evil that has long slept beneath the earth. Since the opening of the halls of Stonehenge, the undead have roamed the region, as well as other strange, hideous creatures, never before seen by the eyes of modern man. These creatures not only don't harm Draven or the Nazi fanatics that inhabit the catecombs, but rather they seem to do their bidding. In turn, I believe that the Nazis are serving some creature yet unseen in exchange for this evil power."
BJ shook his head. It was all too much, all at once. No wonder the others thought the professor was nuts. If BJ hadn't seen half the things he had, he'd be suggesting a nice long vacation and a straight jacket to the professor himself. Unfortunately, he determined to hear the story through to the end. "What kind of creature, professor? What makes you think that?"
"I went to confront Draven about what had happened, hoping that I could talk some sense into him. I realized it was a gamble, but the dangers being posed were too great not to risk it. When I spoke to him of sealing the catacombs and quitting his madness, he laughed at me in the most evil way, and told me that if I was ever to return, he would kill me himself. I was terrified, and ran out of there as quickly as I could, but not before I stole several pages of his notes lying carelessly on a table. They spoke of a powerful, ancient being named 'Sarron', who was linked to our world through the portal of Stonehenge. They also mentioned an Ancient Sword of Evil, which is apparantly the key to Sarron and his minion's occupation of our realm. I believe the ancient druids served Sarron as well, until they were driven out, and Stonehenge was toppled, and the portal was lost, eliminating access to the catacombs, and denying Sarron access to our world."
BJ scratched his head. Nazi fanatics. Undead zombies. Creatures from another dimension. It was all way to much to handle. Worst of all, BJ halfway believed it all. He might not have if he hadn't had his encounter with the Angel of Death in his mission to acquire the Spear of Destiny, but now, he was ready to believe anything. He didn't bother to wait for the professor to make his request..."So let me get this straight. You want me to go in there with a gun and somehow try to stop all of these fanatics and their evil minions? Is that the idea?"
The professor nodded. "It's the only hope, BJ. The sightings of these evil creatures have increased as of late, and innocent people are dissapearing from the countryside, presumably taken as victims for Sarron. The authorities will do nothing about it. The Nazis may not have the Fuhrer to guide them any longer, but they posess the same insanity that drove him in his quest, and with these evil creatures at their disposal, their goal is nothing less than the domination of mankind. I attempted some research on Draven after all of this had taken place, and it appears that he was among the ranks of Hitler's supernatural advisors, and had been a part of the Fuhrer's failed attempt to acquire the ark of the covenant. He's determined now not to let the Stonehenge operation fail, no matter what the cost. He wants to enslave all mankind, and it's within his grasp...unless someone can find this so-called Ancient Sword of Evil and destroy it, closing off Sarron's gateway to our world. I know it's madness to expect anyone to undertake a mission of such danger, but if nobody will do it, we are all doomed." The professor grew silent. "Time is running short, BJ. Innocent people are disappearing from the area at an alarming rate. Draven is using them in some way...I believe in some twisted effort to bring Sarron into our world. He must be stopped!"
BJ looked slowly down at his long empty beer mug he was cluthing with white knuckles. He believed...but he didn't want to...and he didn't want any part of the madness that was surely to come. Slowly, he looked back to the professor. "Let me call you in the morning. I'll give you an answer then."
That night, while in a deep, booze induced slumber, BJ had a dream. In his dream, he was flying above the countryside of England, above grassy plains and rolling rivers, and ancient structures...and Stonehenge. When he was hovering above Stonehenge, he suddenly took a nosedive toward the ground below. When it looked like he was about to plummet nose-first into the earth, a portal opened beneath him and swallowed him up. He was in darkness, and yet he was falling. Falling into a seemingly endless abyss. As he fell, gruesome, animated corpses swung ugly, rusted weapons at him, and hideous winged creatures swiped at him with razor sharp claws. Pathetic looking, half-starved men in tattered clothes stared hopelessly at him as he plummeted through blackness. When BJ was sure he'd reached the end of madness, he found himself in an immense, dark room. There, he saw an evil looking man in black, with glowing red eyes and an evil grin...Draven...the evil man deftly whipped out a pair of chainguns and began spewing lead slugs at BJ, laughing maniacally...
BJ woke up, soaked with sweat, breathing heavily. He didn't think twice before grabbing the phone. Clumsily, he punched in the number the professor had given him for his office in England. After several rings, the tired voice of the professor answered him.
"Professor Von Reinstein? This is BJ. I'll do it!"
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As he stood among the towering pillars of Stonehenge, now arranged in their original configuration, BJ looked at the copy of the key the professor had made for him this morning, half hoping that the copy wouldn't work. Then he'd have no choice but to turn around and go home. "Yeah", he thought, "and then Draven and his bunch of ghoulish buddies can take over the world. No thanks." BJ made his way toward the stone pillars and noticed something lying in the grass in front of him. Reaching down, he found it was nothing but a rusty pitchfork. Had someone dropped it while being kidnapped by the minions of the Halls of Stonehenge? It didn't matter. Looking at his knife, then the pitchfork, then his knife again, BJ decided he'd hang on to it. It's weight was comforting, and it couldn't hurt to have it in a pinch. Since he hadn't brought any other weapons with him to England, his only other armanent was a shotgun the professor had been able to acquire from a local pawn shop, and BJ had a feeling he'd need the extra help.
BJ made his way to the strange, lid-like portal at the center of the Stonehenge structure. There was an obvious key slot of some sort on the top of it. Placing his copy of the key in the slot, BJ was alarmed when the lid began to slide slowly away on it's own. BJ wasted no time descending into the gaping opening beneath him. His feet landed on solid ground. So far so good...he wasn't falling at least. The stench of ancient death and decay hit his nostrils almost immediately. The entrance to the portal closed above him with a slow, grating racket. Moments later, BJ was entombed in the catacombs of Stonehenge, alone with the dangerous, fanatical Nazis, and whatever other evils may lurk in the darkness.
BJ cocked his shotgun, took a deep breath, and made his way toward the nearest door...
"Get ready, Draven...I'm coming for you!..."
