According to some of the lore files in RoS, the Crusaders may not have known it was Mephisto responsible for the corruption, hence the reason the D2 heroes had to deal with him. The 'crusade to end the corruption' also apparently became a metaphorical thing.
The Crusaders were established and trained 200 years ago by a Zakarum cleric named Akkhan, who had sensed the corruption plaguing the Zakarum and prayed for guidance. The answer to his prayers was Crusader, and so he recruited the most zealous and martially adept Zakarum and trained to use the Light in ways that no Paladin could. Once they had learned all they could, Akkhan sent the Crusaders out into the world 'seeking a way to cleanse the corruption that coiled at the heart of the Zakarum faith.' There was no clear goal for them to pursue, and some clerics believed it to be a fool's errand that could not be achieved, but the Crusaders were not deterred.
The Crusaders swore an oath to dedicate their lives to the search. None believed that they would be the one to end the Crusade by finding and cleansing the corruption. They believed that the search ennobled them, that the discipline of their life and journey was the true goal. The Crusader was meant to find meaning in the quest itself.
Each Crusader took an apprentice. When a Crusader fell, his apprentice would take up his armor, his place in the order, and even his very name, When the first generation of Crusaders fell, their own apprentices took up their identities, and so it has continued for 200 years.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
The Crusaders were established and trained 200 years ago by a Zakarum cleric named Akkhan, who had sensed the corruption plaguing the Zakarum and prayed for guidance. The answer to his prayers was Crusader, and so he recruited the most zealous and martially adept Zakarum and trained to use the Light in ways that no Paladin could. Once they had learned all they could, Akkhan sent the Crusaders out into the world 'seeking a way to cleanse the corruption that coiled at the heart of the Zakarum faith.' There was no clear goal for them to pursue, and some clerics believed it to be a fool's errand that could not be achieved, but the Crusaders were not deterred.
The Crusaders swore an oath to dedicate their lives to the search. None believed that they would be the one to end the Crusade by finding and cleansing the corruption. They believed that the search ennobled them, that the discipline of their life and journey was the true goal. The Crusader was meant to find meaning in the quest itself.
Each Crusader took an apprentice. When a Crusader fell, his apprentice would take up his armor, his place in the order, and even his very name, When the first generation of Crusaders fell, their own apprentices took up their identities, and so it has continued for 200 years.