The loss of Vivienne unhinged Zak. Years of control were stripped away by grief and a rage so deep even his master’s best intentions could not solve. Though Zak did leave Europe for the Americas at Amadeus’s behest, he did not go immediately to anywhere with people. He did not trust himself -- and he was not wrong in that distrust.
Not simply fractured, but shattered by the loss of his wife at his own hands, Zak’s curse broke free of his control. He roamed through the vast wilderness of the new continent, surviving through periods of missing memory and blood soaked clothing. Wildlife and livestock were prey to his whims, until the night that Zak’s control slipped a little too far.
To this day, he isn’t sure what roused him from his madness as he fell upon the man who sought only to protect what was his. Perhaps it was the cries of the children in the farm house that he had wandered too near in his hunt for cattle. Perhaps it was the latent magic in the man’s veins. Whatever it was, something tore Zak free from the clutches of his beast -- and much to his horror, he saw what he had done.
No creature, human or otherwise, had ever survived his jaws before. Yet, Zak couldn’t allow the stranger to become another victim to him. He couldn’t save Vivienne -- but by the goddess, he would save him. It took all night, and all of the energy that Zak had, but by the time the sun rose, the man was alive.
That should have been the end of it. The nightmare, though, was far from over.
Zak lingered, to be certain that his mistake had been rectified. He seemed to be but a rescuer to the man he learned was named Jack Boone, and it was a role he did not deny. He stayed with Jack, his wife, and their two children as the rancher healed, tending to his property and livestock where Jack could not. For a month, it seemed that all was well -- but when the moon next rose full in the sky, it became clear that scars were not all he had left Jack with, that night.
Jack’s screams still echo in his ears, centuries later.
And so do the screams of his wife, and children.
He thought that he could make it right, by showing Jack how to control the curse he had bestowed upon him. It didn’t take long, though, for Jack to realize who was truly to blame for the fate of his family. Not himself, though he did deliver the finishing blows... no, it was Zak who caused it all.
And so. he is hunted.
And so are the people he loves.
By now, Jack is aware that his life is bound to Zak’s own - so long as the ancient mage yet lives, so too shall he. Jack Boone cannot die while Zak is still alive -- and Zak cannot allow himself to be killed, when he still has so much left to make right. They are at a stalemate, though this does not stop Jack from trying on occasion. As of late, however, he has turned his attention to hurting Zak in other ways.
Supporting the council in their vendetta against him didn’t make Jack pause for even a moment. He didn’t care what they did, or who was caught in the cross-fire. He is not involved with mage affairs, though magic does run now through his veins. His only concern now is the empire he has built in the years he has been alive, and ending the cursed life he lives. However... there is one other thing that gives Jack hope for the future.
Zak once robbed him of his family. All those who he held dear...
Jack thinks it only fitting that he return the favour.
Zak’s apprentice Natalie is at the top of Jack’s list - the others that Zak calls family and friend are as immortal as he is, and will take far more effort and power to destroy. Natalie, though, is naught but a human girl -- one who cannot, at this point, be redeemed. First, Jack will destroy her - and then, when Zak is broken, he will drag him down to hell where he belongs.
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