Pro-Rata was descended from Egyptian sorcerers, Slavic witches, and Druids. He believed that all of these groups failed because the failed to see world domination in terms of accounting. He feels that the universe is the ultimate flow chart, and whoever can juggle the books can rule infinity.Pro-Rata sought to obtain the Cosmic Key, aka the Jeweled Key to Pro-Rata's Cosmic Calculator to access its full power. To this end, he traveled to the extra-dimensional realm of Maltesia, where they Key was held by their chief accountant, Prei-Ying Mantis. Pro-Rata slew Prei-Ying by breaking his neck with a slide rule, and prepared to abscond with the Key. However, he was then confronted by Hemlock Shoals, a mystic and detective of Maltesia, who had been summoned by Prei-Ying, who suspected he might b