Comics/Z

Zarathos
Zarathos was a powerful demon with great lust and a desire to enslave humankind. His actions worked in contrast to those of the arch-demon Mephisto, and Zarathos openly opposed him. More than twenty-thousand years ago, an immortal race known as The Blood allied themselves with the Spirits of Vengeance and waged war against Zarathos. They created the mystical Medallion of Power, which they used to house the combined power of the spirits. They succeeded in trapping a portion of Zarathos' own essence inside the medallion. The Blood decreed that the medallion was too powerful to remain intact, so it was broken up into many shards and placed into the spiritual bloodlines of two families, both of which would be overseen and protected by a Blood known only as the Caretaker.

Mephisto claimed the soul of a man named Centurious and used him as the vessel by which Mephisto could capture the remainder of Zarathos' living essence, enabling him to banish him to an eternity of servitude in Hades. Even as a slave however, the power of Zarathos was too great for Mephisto to leave unchecked. He removed Zarathos' memories and later entrapped him on Earth, bound to the mortal form of a man named Johnny Blaze.

Zed Martin
Zed met the British mage John Constantine in a London alleyway, and was instantly attracted to him. She brought John back to her apartment to show him her artwork. One of the sketches adorning Zed's wall was that of Constantine himself, even though she had only just met him. Moments after familiarizing herself with John, she assisted him in rescuing his ten-year-old niece Gemma Masters from a psychotic member of the Damnation Army.

Shortly thereafter, the demon Nergal sent his grotesque agent Ironfist the Avenger to Zed's apartment on a mission to kill Constantine. Fortunately, John's quick wit convinced the creature to destroy itself while Zed and he fled to safety. He brought her to the home of his friend Ray Monde where Zed spent the night. The following morning, Zed's father Elder Martin, the apparent leader of the Resurrection Crusade barged into Monde's home and abducted her. Bringing her back to the Crusaders headquarters, they prepared her for a spiritual ritual. The ritual required a virgin, but unfortunately for the Crusaders, Zed's evening with John Constantine robbed her of her "purity".