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| “ | Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed, And eats you when you're sleeping. Zagreus at the end of days, Zagreus lies all other ways, Zagreus comes when time's a maze, And all of history is weeping. Zagreus taking time apart, Zagreus fears the hero heart, Zagreus seeks the final part, The reward that he is reaping. Zagreus sings when all is lost, Zagreus takes all those he's crossed, Zagreus wins and all it cost, The hero's hearts he's keeping. Zagreus seeks the hero's ship, Zagreus needs the web to rip, Zagreus sucks time at a drip, And life aside, he's sweeping. Zagreus waits at the end of the world, For Zagreus is the end of the world. His time is the end of time, And his moment time's undoing. Zagreus sets the skies ablaze. The stars his flame a gleaming... Zagreus is my secret name, Zagreus is the one to blame, Zagreus is the Time Lords' shame, The beast that I've been keeping. |
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| ~ A nursery rhyme on Zagreus. |
Zagreus was a Monster in a Gallifreyan nursery rhyme from Doctor Who, who serves as the overarching antagonist of the Eighth Doctor's Monthly Adventures audio dramas by Big Finish. While originally just a legend created by the Neverpeople, Zagreus was created when the Eighth Doctor absorbed a casket of Anti-Time.
Zagreus was voiced by Paul McGann in the self titled audio story, and Daphne Ashbrook in The Next Life.
Biography[]
The legend of Zagreus[]
Zagreus is a legendary figure in Time Lord mythology, being considered the arch-enemy of Rassilon, who travelled into the Antiverse to battle him. This legend was "whispered in the ear" of numerous cultures throughout the Universe. In reality, "Zagreus" was the name given to Anti-Time, created by the Neverpeople, led by Sentris, who created this legend as a lure for the Time Lords to seek out Rassilon and bring him home, as part of their plot to destroy the Web of Time. Rogue Time Lords led by Coordinator Vansell took a casket presumed to contain Rassilon from the Antiverse, which would release Anti-time into the universe, engulfing the universe into chaos, and creating the "Empire of Zagreus".
Zagreus[]
The Eighth Doctor managed to save the universe by materializing his TARDIS around the casket, but was infected by anti-time in the process. This ended up creating a new, aggressive entity that considered himself to be the personification of Zagreus. The TARDIS was also infected by anti-time and formed an alliance with Rassilon, who planned to use the anti-time to destroy the Divergence. He melted down the outer shell of the TARDIS in his Foundry and the Doctor under the influence of Zagreus used the anti-time metals to form a sword, with which the Divergence would be cut out of time. However he was stabbed by his companion Charley Pollard. He survived by giving into his Zagreus persona. Zagreus refused to be ordered by Rassilon and hurled him into the Divergent Universe. The TARDIS meanwhile was freed of the Anti-Time infection and used pure zero matter to restore the Doctor. However as there were still traces of Anti-Time on his person the Doctor exiled himself to the Divergent Universe.
The Next Life[]
As it later transpired, the Anti-Time energies that made up Zagreus were purged from the Doctor by Rassilon within the Divergent Universe, allowing Zagreus to act as an independent entity. It would re-encounter the Doctor in a vastly different guise, by possessing "Perfection", the abused wife of Daquar Keep, who had committed suicide to escape his brutality. Under this persona, Zagreus manipulated the Doctor by pretending to be an ally, surreptitiously shooting the mother of the native Jerembre-Bud. This allowed her and the Doctor forced to stay together and get to Rassilon's Foundry and return to the universe. "Perfection" shared a flirtatious relationship with the Doctor, even proposing that in the next cycle she and the Doctor repopulate the Divergent Universe as the Adam to her Eve. The Doctor grew increasingly suspicious of Perfection, as did Charley as she showed knowledge of the Foundry, and Zagreus eventually put her under it's control. After she managed to incapacitate Keep's shapeshifting powers with a regenerative inhibitor, the Doctor worked out she was Zagreus and refused to take her with him. When Zagreus made an attempt to escape in the TARDIS, it turned out this was a trap by Keep, whom had shifted into it while it was distracted, and managed to hold Zagreus back long enough for the universes to flow out of sync. Left trapped in the Divergent Universe with no hope of escape for another universal cycle, Zagreus agreed to "renew her vows" with Daguar Keep to take it over, which it considered "diverting".
Personality[]
Due to being born from Anti-Time, Zagreus' personality was formed from those it inhabited. It acted as an evil and wrathful version of the Doctor, who delighted in tormenting Charley, and wished to corrupt the universe with Anti-Time. While possessing Perfection, it was able to pose as her to well, no one realised she was no longer herself. It put on a elegant persona and shared a flirtatious relationship with the Doctor, but it's arrogance led to it leaving hints at it's true nature, and it would drop the act to show the familiar wrathful personality of Zagreus.
