With the introduction to the new expansion, we all know that Maltheal is alive. Now, I doubt he has retained his role of Wisdom but looks to have potentially gained some new powers. If they are new, we don't know. For his way of combat have not been recorded for us to confirm. However, it is rampant speculation that Maltheal has taken up the mantle of Death. I do not believe this is true.
Why don't I find this true? Well the first part is the name of the Expansion, Reaper of Souls. While Death does reap souls, he is not the only one. Death has given the power of reaping to his minions so that he doesn't always has to do the job. And I feel Maltheal is in that position. He is not Death, but in fact a lieutenant or general of the real Death. Absurd, I know. An Archangel becoming a minion of someone else? Wont happen! But I feel it did.
Even if you don't agree, hear me out. So why would Wisdom fall and instead becoming a minion? And who would be able to take up the role of Death if not Maltheal? Well, the later I will start first and it will lead to why I believe Wisdom fell. But who could be Death if not Maltheal? I'm glad you asked. I believe it is Tathamet.
WHAT? HOW? WHY? I know, I know. Also seems absurd. However, I will point back to the prophecy of the End of Days.
And, at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost
as Justice falls upon the world of men.
Valor shall turn to Wrath
and all Hope will be swallowed by Despair.
Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all
as Fate lies shattered forever.
I feel the prophecy has actually not been fulfilled yet. I will argue that Valor has not turned to Wrath, but instead was consumed by Pride when he ignored help and denounced Tyreal. And Fate, is currently not shattered. Sure he can't see the future of the Nephalem, and I doubt he could see Maltheal falling, but what is the one thing that could cause Fate to be shattered forever? The rise of Tathamet. Which is where my second point lies. In the Book of Cain, it is said,
the Dragon, Tathament was his name - and he breathed unending death and darkness from his seven devouring heads.
Sure, the term is ambiguous, but it fits. A dragon, based on most of our own lore, has wings. But it also explains why Maltheal took the Black Soulstone. Because Tathamet needs it. Because Tathamet is actually not dead.
Tathamet not dieing would mean that there is a being more powerful than any in the plane of Creation. But he was not, because the Lords of Hell were his power. So he was weakened, so even Wisdom should have been able to kill him. However, I feel Maltheal was also weakened. It was said that his mood was darkening before he left. I think he found something. Something that proved that Tathamet was alive. And Anu was in fact, dead. The savior of the Angels, Anu. Learning that his greatest feat had in fact never happened would seem to be a crushin blow to Wisdom. Someone who is supposed to know many things would start to question if one thing was false, how many other things are false as well. So we went to search for Tathamet after the destruction of the Worldstone and had in fact found him. Just the confirmation of him being alive shattered Maltheal, allowing Tathamet to corrupt him and use him.
Why would he need Maltheal? Well, Tathamet probably wants to still act in the shadows. Plus with using a corrupted Archangel, it would be hard press for another angel to even defeat him, as we saw in the cinematic. And Maltheal would be able to locate the location for the Black Soulstone and take it. As I have said, Tathamet it weaked. And while theory would say that Tathamet should of been born right when all Lords of Hell entered the stone, he was not. Tathamet wasn't just a name for all of the power combined, it was also a name for the controling personality. The one creature that was only given the name of Dragon. The one creature that no one knows nothing about and could easily be described as Death.
Edit
As someone pointed out, how could Maltheal find the Black Soulstone, especially so fast? I believe that Tathamet was the one that told him. Not that Tathamet knew the location before Tyreal and the Horadrim decided on it but that Tathamet can sense the power from it like someone knows where their arm is. That power, the Lords of Hell, are a part of Tathamet so the ability to find where it is does not seem unbelievable. And so I think Tathamet knew that it was going to be placed in Sactuary, probably general location due to the travel to the location was going to be long, so he had Maltheal follow the Stone to where we see in the Cinematic and then we get what we saw.
Thanks you for reading my speculation. If you have any opinions or maybe want to add further, please do so. I look forward to the Reaper of Souls and learning more about what is to come in the Future of Sanctuary.
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
I love it!! This is what I have been searching for. A speculation or theory because I couldn't fathom how the Archangel of Wisdom could turn into Death. Just doesn't register in me. I bought the Book of Cain and am buying the Book of Tyrael. Have always been fascinated by the Diablo universe lore.
Tathamet = The Prime Evil, which is currently stored in the black soulstone.
Or do you think it was some sort of fake prime evil we defeated in act 4?
What we defeated was Diablo. Just a more powerful Diablo then we have encountered previously. Despite having all the Lords of Hell residing in one stone, Diablo still was only able to use his abilities when we fought him. Being he was the dominate personality in the Black Soulstone, Diablo controlled their strength but I feel he did not control their power. That is why I believe that Tathamet may still be alive. Only he alone can control all of the Lords of Hell and their powers.
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
This is interesting. Curious to see where it's headed.
I do think it's a bit too complex and convoluted for what Blizzard has been aiming/doing with their storytelling lately (with WoW, SC and Diablo). But who knows. I'd love to see more convoluted stories.
Instead of Tathamet, I wonder if Death my refer instead to Trag'Oul, the symbol of the Necromancers? Like Tathamet, Trag'Oul is depicted as a large, dragon-like creature with sweeping wings. The Necromancers act to preserve balance in the world, but with the Burning Hells broken, anything resembling balance has been destroyed. Malthael may seek to unleash the Prime Evils to restore the Balance on Trag'Oul's behalf.
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Be it through hallowed grounds or lands of sorrow
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow
Is the residuum worth the cost of destruction and maiming;
Or is the shaping a culling and exercise in taming?
The road's goal is the dark Origin of Being
But be wary through what thickets it winds.
-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
Instead of Tathamet, I wonder if Death my refer instead to Trag'Oul, the symbol of the Necromancers? Like Tathamet, Trag'Oul is depicted as a large, dragon-like creature with sweeping wings. The Necromancers act to preserve balance in the world, but with the Burning Hells broken, anything resembling balance has been destroyed. Malthael may seek to unleash the Prime Evils to restore the Balance on Trag'Oul's behalf.
That seems like a good theory but I feel it is outside of Trag'Oul's self. Reasoning being is that he has defended Sanctuary against both Heaven and Hell. And the balancing out seems like the perfect solution, except that the only way he would release the Lords of Hell back into the world is if he can guarantee that the Black Soulstone incident can't happen again. Cause next time, one of them could become more powerful than a Nephalem and spell the end of Creation as we know it. But maybe Trag'Oul got corrupted? All we know of is the High Heavens, Burning Hells, and Sanctuary in this universe. Who's not to say that there might be some dark creature from another world that wants to use it for their own good?
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
Tathamet = The Prime Evil, which is currently stored in the black soulstone.
Or do you think it was some sort of fake prime evil we defeated in act 4?
What we defeated was Diablo. Just a more powerful Diablo then we have encountered previously. Despite having all the Lords of Hell residing in one stone, Diablo still was only able to use his abilities when we fought him. Being he was the dominate personality in the Black Soulstone, Diablo controlled their strength but I feel he did not control their power. That is why I believe that Tathamet may still be alive. Only he alone can control all of the Lords of Hell and their powers.
We agree that the Prime Evil in the end of act 4, wasn't really THE tathamet, but pretty damn close considering he contained the essences of all 7 lords of hell.
However, Tathamet is EVEYRTHING evil put together into one body, so he essentially can't exist with all the lords of hell inside the black soulstone. The lords of hell was spawned by the death of tathamet, and is essentially part of him. So if what you're saying is true we would actually have 2x diablo, 2x mephisto, 2x andariel etc. etc. if he died again. That really doesn't make sense to me.
Do you get it? Tathamet is pretty much half the universe. The half that is evil. So if anything evil besides tathamet exists, he himself can't fully exist.
Think about it this way. The Seven Lords of Hell are a part of Tathamet himself. However, all the other demons and such we are accustomed to now are the offspring of them. So the kids of Tathamet would not be required to complete him, but his main parts are. That is at least how I percieve it. Cause if all evil needed to be used for Tathamet to be awakened, then that would also include the Nephalem who embody both Good and Evil. But if we are thought of as offsprings of them, then the Nephalem would not be necassary to create him. But I understand where you are coming from. This whole, One guy spawns all bad, one guy spawns all good, is really confusing.
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
That seems like a good theory but I feel it is outside of Trag'Oul's self. Reasoning being is that he has defended Sanctuary against both Heaven and Hell.
No, you're totally right. I can still see some Priests of Rathma allying themselves with Malthael in the misguided belief that preserving the Balance means serving the role of evil. At the same time though, Necromancers are supposedly the least corruptible of all the Nephalem. So might that mean that Malthael may actually not be doing something fundamentally wrong? Might he, indeed, be striking a balance in some way we don't yet know about that we will prevent, spelling the end of Sanctuary? That might mean the Nephalem themselves are bringing about the end.
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Be it through hallowed grounds or lands of sorrow
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow
Is the residuum worth the cost of destruction and maiming;
Or is the shaping a culling and exercise in taming?
The road's goal is the dark Origin of Being
But be wary through what thickets it winds.
-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
Cause if all evil needed to be used for Tathamet to be awakened, then that would also include the Nephalem who embody both Good and Evil. But if we are thought of as offsprings of them, then the Nephalem would not be necassary to create him. But I understand where you are coming from. This whole, One guy spawns all bad, one guy spawns all good, is really confusing.
Which is exactly why Tathamet won't ever exist again. Furthermore hell was created by his body, which also means that hell would have to cease to exist if he was to reappear. If that includes nephalem and/or all lesser demons doesn't matter that much. I really think Tathamet reappearing would just be waaay too complicated and far off to actually ever happen.
But what about his mind? What his Tathamet's mind wasn't destroyed and sent off with Anu? What if it is somehow still around, and only that could be used to pretty much recreate him, the missing link to the strength of evil? I don't think it would be too complicated. I feel it would really drive home the fact that the Nephalem are the strongest creatures in Creation. We can take on Angels, Demons, and even Gods themselves.
That seems like a good theory but I feel it is outside of Trag'Oul's self. Reasoning being is that he has defended Sanctuary against both Heaven and Hell.
No, you're totally right. I can still see some Priests of Rathma allying themselves with Malthael in the misguided belief that preserving the Balance means serving the role of evil. At the same time though, Necromancers are supposedly the least corruptible of all the Nephalem. So might that mean that Malthael may actually not be doing something fundamentally wrong? Might he, indeed, be striking a balance in some way we don't yet know about that we will prevent, spelling the end of Sanctuary? That might mean the Nephalem themselves are bringing about the end.
Us causing the End of Days? Brilliant! What we might think is just simple defense against Corrupted Angles and Demons is in fact the cause of the world to end. But I feel we are missing a huge piece to Malhael. What happened to him during those 20 years after the destruction of the Worldstone? If we can learn that before the expansion comes out, than maybe we can get a better grasp on his true intentions.
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
In the Book of Cain, and according to Chris Metzen, the Worldstone still exists in some manner. Perhaps the Worldstone we know was only one "appendage" or aspect of it, since it is a multidimensional artifact. I wonder if Malthael might try to bring together the Black Soulstone, which contains the essence of Tathamet, with the Worldstone? Perhaps he will seek to imprison all of the Angiris Council alongside the Prime Evils? If we look at the prophecy, you'll realize we're only halfway through it, and the remainder of the Archangels (Auriel and Ithareal) haven't fallen yet.
But to what end would this serve? To restore Tathamet and Anu, thereby allowing them to battle once more and beget a new cycle of Heaven and Hell?
"All of this has happened before -- and will happen again."
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Be it through hallowed grounds or lands of sorrow
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow
Is the residuum worth the cost of destruction and maiming;
Or is the shaping a culling and exercise in taming?
The road's goal is the dark Origin of Being
But be wary through what thickets it winds.
-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
There is so much we don't know. I still feel that the final boss for the Trilogy will be Tathamet. I mean, why would Blizzard go into the origins of EVERYTHING on Diablo Universe right before the final game? Maybe Maltheal doesn't just want to reborn Tathamet and Anu but reform them back into Anu's original form? But, maybe, there being some corruption still in the Crystal Arch, that would create a more powerful but also more evil Anu?
Well the theory is good but I do not think Tathamet could be involved in this way.
It wouldn't make sens that Tathamet would have survived and not anu.
The 7 prime heads were Tathamet as the crystal arch was the spin of Anu (if i'm right it's the spine...)
and the archangels and all other angels comes from this spine.
Everything is balanced and if it wouldn't have been so, we can bet that at some point during the eternal conflit that lasted for some millenar, the demons would have done something.
The prophecy (which I was sure would involve Malthael as the archangel of death) has two important parts.
To me, this ".. , at last, .." isn't nothing. We can trust blizzard to put comma at some very specific place.
It sounds as we were waiting for something. Which could mean (as you pointed out) that Malthael was indeed waiting for the fall of the prime evil that he probably had forsee. Also, the wings which were the main way to think of Malthael are not tied to Tathamet.
As you pointed, "in our own lore dragon have wings"
True, in OUR lore. Trag'Oul doesn't and from the ... small picture we have of tathamet he doesn't seem to have wings. So far, the only things with wings are "Angels" (and some crappy flying demons).
We had a small preview of Malthael skill capabilities in the Wrath animated video. So far, it didn't seem to be able to sucks people soul. So this is indeed a new power.
Some people wonder if Trag'Oul could be involved.
It would highly depend of what Malthael intend to do with the BS. (sounds funny)
If it implies balance that has been shattered by the end of the 7 primes: Yes, probably.
if it doesn't implie balance: Then probly not.
Trag'Oul only purpose is to keep balance, and death and destruction are part of that balance.
In the book of cain (if I'm right) Cain said that when Demons and angel tried to build their own personnal universe they simply collapsed. They couldn't exist. The only was that succesfully existed is "Sanctuary" because it is made of both angels and demons.
Right now, demons have been vanquished and I remember that somewhere Cain said that even if human were to face all demons, it would be just the beggining has he feared what angel would do once demons would be gone.
We are at this point, what angels will do as there's no more demons?
This is where, probably, Valor shall turn to Wrath and so on
And this is maybe, what Malthael is trying to do, restor balance, restore the demons. He was wisdom right? (plz don't say Tyrael is wisdom). If Malthael was wise enough he knew that without demons creation wouldn't make sens. The destruction of the worldstone meant Nephalem could get their power back. Which implied that at some point demons could have their but kicked, which could break the balance. Maybe this is what starting to make darken his mood.
He probly discovered Trag'Oul (or have been contacted by him) to set the plan in motion.
But Trag'Oul MUST have been the one acting because otherwise, we can bet that at least one Necromancer in sanctuary would have noticed that Trag'Oul was gone.
So, in short, Malthael is in fact Death, and he may be working with Trag'Oul to restore the balance whihc has been destroyed by the demon's fall.
As I've said before, I don't believe Trag'Oul is involved. He wants balance but not at the cost of history repeating itself. He wont release the Evils unless he can prevent their power from grouping up like it currently is. Plus Maltheal was becoming more dark even before the destruction of the Worldstone. Why was he turning like that? As he has given up his mantel of Wisdom, he has fallen but differently from Tyreal. And that absence of twenty years only leads to more speculation of him becoming corrupt. I can only seen him being corrupted by a being that is either stronger then him or even older than him. Which is why I still believe Tathamet is involved.
Because of how strong and dangerous the Black Soulstone is, it had to be locked away. But the uses I see for it are pretty limited. He could try to use that power for his own but he might lose himself further. He could release the Evils but then we would be right were we started. Kinda a slap in the face from Blizz. The only other use I can see is trying to resurrect something that has long thought been dead. Which Tathamet would be perfect. The big, bad evil. A great way to end this story in my opinion. But we will have to wait and see.
And Cain's comment on Angels was based on the information that Tyreal gave him. Many angel, including Imperius, despised the Nephalem because they were unnatural. The offspring of both Angels and Demons. Even that unnatural event has cause Fate to see less of the future, because the Nephalem are involved in the future. Cain feared that if Angels won, they would set their eyes on the Nephalem and get rid of the unnatural race. But with the Nephalem having saved the High Heavens, I no longer believe that to be the case.
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
Why would Death want to bring Tathamet? he doesn't want to destroy the heavens otherwise Tyrael would be in pieces right now.
I was thinking earlier about my hypothesis that Malthael wants to do to the Angiris Council what happened to the Prime Evils; have them all absorbed -- perhaps into the Black Soulstone, which can conveniently house Angels as well -- to restore balance. Perhaps that would mean Tyrael himself will be the cause of the End since, having given up his Angelic powers, his Aspect cannot be absorbed into the Black Soulstone to make it whole.
But what would happen if it were whole? Anu/Tathamet? Or would it completely cancel out the Prime Evils, stopping their cycle of carnage forever? If so, that could mean Tyrael is involved in the End of Days. Such a grim and ironic tragedy would be a fitting ending, I think, to the Diablo saga.
Quick Edit: Two things I noticed while rewatching the cinematic. One, it looks like Tyrael is hiding the Black Soulstone in a temple beneath a marshland. Sound familiar? Necromancers, anyone?
Also, when Malthael begins to reap Tyrael's soul, he watches it flow into his sickle, then abruptly looks at Tyrael (in surprise?) and casts him away, sparing him. Maybe he WAS trying to absorb his angelic essence and found it useless since Tyrael didn't have any?
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Be it through hallowed grounds or lands of sorrow
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow
Is the residuum worth the cost of destruction and maiming;
Or is the shaping a culling and exercise in taming?
The road's goal is the dark Origin of Being
But be wary through what thickets it winds.
-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
Why would Death want to bring Tathamet? he doesn't want to destroy the heavens otherwise Tyrael would be in pieces right now.
I was thinking earlier about my hypothesis that Malthael wants to do to the Angiris Council what happened to the Prime Evils; have them all absorbed -- perhaps into the Black Soulstone, which can conveniently house Angels as well -- to restore balance. Perhaps that would mean Tyrael himself will be the cause of the End since, having given up his Angelic powers, his Aspect cannot be absorbed into the Black Soulstone to make it whole.
But what would happen if it were whole? Anu/Tathamet? Or would it completely cancel out the Prime Evils, stopping their cycle of carnage forever? If so, that could mean Tyrael is involved in the End of Days. Such a grim and ironic tragedy would be a fitting ending, I think, to the Diablo saga.
Quick Edit: Two things I noticed while rewatching the cinematic. One, it looks like Tyrael is hiding the Black Soulstone in a temple beneath a marshland. Sound familiar? Necromancers, anyone?
Also, when Malthael begins to reap Tyrael's soul, he watches it flow into his sickle, then abruptly looks at Tyrael (in surprise?) and casts him away, sparing him. Maybe he WAS trying to absorb his angelic essence and found it useless since Tyrael didn't have any?
Oh you and your Necromancers! When are y'all gonna learn to not play with Death? Serious time now. So I don't know what Malthael saw in Tyreal's soul, but I think it was something huge that even he could not deal with. Otherwise, why would he spare him? Past feelings, maybe. But he killed others without a doubt yet let Tyrael live.
Second, which lends credit to both my Tathamet theory and the Trag'Oul Theory is that on one of the Blizzard posts, there is a line that is interesting.
Shrouded in mystery and imbued with a power as ancient as the universe itself,
That there can support both. Tathamet is known to be as old as the universe but Trag'Oul can almost be described in the same way. For it is said that he is is a celestial dragon whose body resembles a constellation of stars. That can easily be interpreted at him being as old as the universe.
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
An interesting observation I've read is that Tyrael's sword, El'druin, passes straight through Malthael. It is said in the Book of Cain that El'druin cannot harm anyone or thing of righteous intent. Just something to think about.
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Be it through hallowed grounds or lands of sorrow
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow
Is the residuum worth the cost of destruction and maiming;
Or is the shaping a culling and exercise in taming?
The road's goal is the dark Origin of Being
But be wary through what thickets it winds.
-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
An interesting observation I've read is that Tyrael's sword, El'druin, passes straight through Malthael. It is said in the Book of Cain that El'druin cannot harm anyone or thing of righteous intent. Just something to think about.
I saw that too. But I also thought up a couple more theories on that but with the recent info of his actions being Justifiable, it means that they are both wrong. However, I have a new theory on how Malthael may have fallen. So bear with me on this.
So after the Sin War, we know that the Angels voted on whether to destroy the Nephalem or not. Tyreal voted no with a 3-1 vote. However, I think the reason why Malthael abstained from the vote was because he did not know them well enough. Later, during the Mage Clan Wars, I believe Malthael was watching the Nephalem to get a grasp on their motives, life style, and whether they were powerful. But what he saw instead was destruction. They slaughtered each other and even innocent people. Even when Horazon and Bartuc battled, they themselves destroyed a city and kill hundreds of thousands. Malthael saw all that he needed and regretted his decision to abstain. He then decided that he would try to learn their future.
However, Fate can't see the future of the Nephalem, so he went about finding out a different way. During that time he spent looking for another way to see the future, the Dark Exile happened and everything Tyreal did was still kept in shadows because Malthael stopped watching the Nephalem. At least until he heard tale about the Sightless Eye. The Sightless Eye is a mirror that can reportedly pecieve the future. It is probably the one item in existance that can tell the future of the Nephalem. According to the Book of Cain, the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye stole it from their homeland and fled to the Eastgate Keep. That is where they set up their new group. And its whereabouts are currently unknown to Cain, so I think it was take as well. I believe that in between The Sisterhood moving there and Andariel taking over the Sisterhood, is when the Sightless Eye was taken.
I think Malthael took it. He ended up seeing the future of the Nephalem. He saw the destruction of the Worldstone, and fate of the land that the Stone inhabited, and I believe he even saw the corruption of the High Heavens and the Nephalem there as well. But he also saw that Diablo had invaded. Now at the time, he did not believe what he saw was true. But when the Worldstone was destroyed, Malthael understood that what he saw was true. So he left the High Heavens, to search for a way to stop the next vision. What happened during those 20 years of absence, no one knows. But I believe his new power was a means to try to defend the High Heavens. However, he could not.
And when the High Heavens were attacked, he also saw what happened, hiding in the shadows. And the death of Diablo was probably the biggest thing that he saw. He didn't see it happen in the Eye but with his own. He then realized how powerful the Black Soulstone was, and the Nephalem themselves. Believing that they were too dangerous to be kept alive, he decided to destroy Sanctuary. And quite possibly with the Black Soulstone. Why not take care of two birds with one Soulstone? So I think he will try to destroy the Soulstone along with Sanctuary. And that is why it is believed that his actions are Justifiable. And also why he didn't kill Tyreal, because he sensed that he was still part angel.
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
At the end of the cinematic, Tyrael says to Malthael: "The Nephalem...will...stop YOU!" and Malthael responds: "No one...can stop...DEATH!" which implies that Malthael is indeed the personified Death, if you will.
My theory is that Malthael is not the Death that is referenced in the Prophecy. He most likely is, cause Blizzard has used Death so much to describe him. But I am firmly keeping my Tin Foil Hat on till RoS is out!
But Diablo said "Not even death can save you from me!" So we all know Malthael's schemes will go awry.
Diablo is just being his cocky self. Not really wanting to admit defeat. But we already know Malthael's plan will go somewhat awry. Just like how Diablo's plan went somewhat awry.
But I can't wait till it is out to learn more of what happened and etc. I know some people disliked the story of vanilla, but I loved it. That is the main reason why I am back here with my crazy theories!
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I don't always burn. But when I do, I use hellfire.
Very interesting theory OP but I don't think it's likely.
Tathamet is dead, his carcass is what formed the burning hells and the black abyss after his battle with Anu. His seven heads are the lords of hell that are now trapped inside the Black Soulstone. For Tathamet to be resurrected it would require the combination of all the aforementioned.
I firmly believe that Malthael is just on a crusade to destroy all demon life, the nephalem are born of demon/angel copulation so that includes them. The reason Eldruin can't harm Malthael is because his intentions, from an angelic standpoint, actually are pure.
It's also mentioned that Malthael has been following us since the events at the end of Diablo 3;
That said I do believe the Black Soulstone will corrupt him and we will see the re-emergence of the primes in some form (possibly the end cinematic of RoS).
I know you already know of all the lore I just mentioned, I'm just stating how I see it. But I do really like your theory and if that happened it would be a pretty huge surprise to me! (And not a bad one) :Thumbs Up:
I was thinking that Malthael is actually just a minion of the Blood God whom is mentioned in the books and was rumored to be the big bad of Diablo 3 like 11 years ago.
Edit
As someone pointed out, how could Maltheal find the Black Soulstone, especially so fast? I believe that Tathamet was the one that told him. Not that Tathamet knew the location before Tyreal and the Horadrim decided on it but that Tathamet can sense the power from it like someone knows where their arm is. That power, the Lords of Hell, are a part of Tathamet so the ability to find where it is does not seem unbelievable. And so I think Tathamet knew that it was going to be placed in Sactuary, probably general location due to the travel to the location was going to be long, so he had Maltheal follow the Stone to where we see in the Cinematic and then we get what we saw.
Thanks you for reading my speculation. If you have any opinions or maybe want to add further, please do so. I look forward to the Reaper of Souls and learning more about what is to come in the Future of Sanctuary.
One other thing I would like to point out, he is still Wisdom, so I would still say he is smarter than every other angel, he knew where they would hide it, and followed Tyrael.
Why don't I find this true? Well the first part is the name of the Expansion, Reaper of Souls. While Death does reap souls, he is not the only one. Death has given the power of reaping to his minions so that he doesn't always has to do the job. And I feel Maltheal is in that position. He is not Death, but in fact a lieutenant or general of the real Death. Absurd, I know. An Archangel becoming a minion of someone else? Wont happen! But I feel it did.
Even if you don't agree, hear me out. So why would Wisdom fall and instead becoming a minion? And who would be able to take up the role of Death if not Maltheal? Well, the later I will start first and it will lead to why I believe Wisdom fell. But who could be Death if not Maltheal? I'm glad you asked. I believe it is Tathamet.
WHAT? HOW? WHY? I know, I know. Also seems absurd. However, I will point back to the prophecy of the End of Days.
I feel the prophecy has actually not been fulfilled yet. I will argue that Valor has not turned to Wrath, but instead was consumed by Pride when he ignored help and denounced Tyreal. And Fate, is currently not shattered. Sure he can't see the future of the Nephalem, and I doubt he could see Maltheal falling, but what is the one thing that could cause Fate to be shattered forever? The rise of Tathamet. Which is where my second point lies. In the Book of Cain, it is said,
Sure, the term is ambiguous, but it fits. A dragon, based on most of our own lore, has wings. But it also explains why Maltheal took the Black Soulstone. Because Tathamet needs it. Because Tathamet is actually not dead.
Tathamet not dieing would mean that there is a being more powerful than any in the plane of Creation. But he was not, because the Lords of Hell were his power. So he was weakened, so even Wisdom should have been able to kill him. However, I feel Maltheal was also weakened. It was said that his mood was darkening before he left. I think he found something. Something that proved that Tathamet was alive. And Anu was in fact, dead. The savior of the Angels, Anu. Learning that his greatest feat had in fact never happened would seem to be a crushin blow to Wisdom. Someone who is supposed to know many things would start to question if one thing was false, how many other things are false as well. So we went to search for Tathamet after the destruction of the Worldstone and had in fact found him. Just the confirmation of him being alive shattered Maltheal, allowing Tathamet to corrupt him and use him.
Why would he need Maltheal? Well, Tathamet probably wants to still act in the shadows. Plus with using a corrupted Archangel, it would be hard press for another angel to even defeat him, as we saw in the cinematic. And Maltheal would be able to locate the location for the Black Soulstone and take it. As I have said, Tathamet it weaked. And while theory would say that Tathamet should of been born right when all Lords of Hell entered the stone, he was not. Tathamet wasn't just a name for all of the power combined, it was also a name for the controling personality. The one creature that was only given the name of Dragon. The one creature that no one knows nothing about and could easily be described as Death.
Edit
As someone pointed out, how could Maltheal find the Black Soulstone, especially so fast? I believe that Tathamet was the one that told him. Not that Tathamet knew the location before Tyreal and the Horadrim decided on it but that Tathamet can sense the power from it like someone knows where their arm is. That power, the Lords of Hell, are a part of Tathamet so the ability to find where it is does not seem unbelievable. And so I think Tathamet knew that it was going to be placed in Sactuary, probably general location due to the travel to the location was going to be long, so he had Maltheal follow the Stone to where we see in the Cinematic and then we get what we saw.
Thanks you for reading my speculation. If you have any opinions or maybe want to add further, please do so. I look forward to the Reaper of Souls and learning more about what is to come in the Future of Sanctuary.
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Wise ElderI do think it's a bit too complex and convoluted for what Blizzard has been aiming/doing with their storytelling lately (with WoW, SC and Diablo). But who knows. I'd love to see more convoluted stories.
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
Us causing the End of Days? Brilliant! What we might think is just simple defense against Corrupted Angles and Demons is in fact the cause of the world to end. But I feel we are missing a huge piece to Malhael. What happened to him during those 20 years after the destruction of the Worldstone? If we can learn that before the expansion comes out, than maybe we can get a better grasp on his true intentions.
But to what end would this serve? To restore Tathamet and Anu, thereby allowing them to battle once more and beget a new cycle of Heaven and Hell?
"All of this has happened before -- and will happen again."
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
As I've said before, I don't believe Trag'Oul is involved. He wants balance but not at the cost of history repeating itself. He wont release the Evils unless he can prevent their power from grouping up like it currently is. Plus Maltheal was becoming more dark even before the destruction of the Worldstone. Why was he turning like that? As he has given up his mantel of Wisdom, he has fallen but differently from Tyreal. And that absence of twenty years only leads to more speculation of him becoming corrupt. I can only seen him being corrupted by a being that is either stronger then him or even older than him. Which is why I still believe Tathamet is involved.
Because of how strong and dangerous the Black Soulstone is, it had to be locked away. But the uses I see for it are pretty limited. He could try to use that power for his own but he might lose himself further. He could release the Evils but then we would be right were we started. Kinda a slap in the face from Blizz. The only other use I can see is trying to resurrect something that has long thought been dead. Which Tathamet would be perfect. The big, bad evil. A great way to end this story in my opinion. But we will have to wait and see.
And Cain's comment on Angels was based on the information that Tyreal gave him. Many angel, including Imperius, despised the Nephalem because they were unnatural. The offspring of both Angels and Demons. Even that unnatural event has cause Fate to see less of the future, because the Nephalem are involved in the future. Cain feared that if Angels won, they would set their eyes on the Nephalem and get rid of the unnatural race. But with the Nephalem having saved the High Heavens, I no longer believe that to be the case.
But what would happen if it were whole? Anu/Tathamet? Or would it completely cancel out the Prime Evils, stopping their cycle of carnage forever? If so, that could mean Tyrael is involved in the End of Days. Such a grim and ironic tragedy would be a fitting ending, I think, to the Diablo saga.
Quick Edit: Two things I noticed while rewatching the cinematic. One, it looks like Tyrael is hiding the Black Soulstone in a temple beneath a marshland. Sound familiar? Necromancers, anyone?
Also, when Malthael begins to reap Tyrael's soul, he watches it flow into his sickle, then abruptly looks at Tyrael (in surprise?) and casts him away, sparing him. Maybe he WAS trying to absorb his angelic essence and found it useless since Tyrael didn't have any?
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
Second, which lends credit to both my Tathamet theory and the Trag'Oul Theory is that on one of the Blizzard posts, there is a line that is interesting. That there can support both. Tathamet is known to be as old as the universe but Trag'Oul can almost be described in the same way. For it is said that he is is a celestial dragon whose body resembles a constellation of stars. That can easily be interpreted at him being as old as the universe.
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
So after the Sin War, we know that the Angels voted on whether to destroy the Nephalem or not. Tyreal voted no with a 3-1 vote. However, I think the reason why Malthael abstained from the vote was because he did not know them well enough. Later, during the Mage Clan Wars, I believe Malthael was watching the Nephalem to get a grasp on their motives, life style, and whether they were powerful. But what he saw instead was destruction. They slaughtered each other and even innocent people. Even when Horazon and Bartuc battled, they themselves destroyed a city and kill hundreds of thousands. Malthael saw all that he needed and regretted his decision to abstain. He then decided that he would try to learn their future.
However, Fate can't see the future of the Nephalem, so he went about finding out a different way. During that time he spent looking for another way to see the future, the Dark Exile happened and everything Tyreal did was still kept in shadows because Malthael stopped watching the Nephalem. At least until he heard tale about the Sightless Eye. The Sightless Eye is a mirror that can reportedly pecieve the future. It is probably the one item in existance that can tell the future of the Nephalem. According to the Book of Cain, the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye stole it from their homeland and fled to the Eastgate Keep. That is where they set up their new group. And its whereabouts are currently unknown to Cain, so I think it was take as well. I believe that in between The Sisterhood moving there and Andariel taking over the Sisterhood, is when the Sightless Eye was taken.
I think Malthael took it. He ended up seeing the future of the Nephalem. He saw the destruction of the Worldstone, and fate of the land that the Stone inhabited, and I believe he even saw the corruption of the High Heavens and the Nephalem there as well. But he also saw that Diablo had invaded. Now at the time, he did not believe what he saw was true. But when the Worldstone was destroyed, Malthael understood that what he saw was true. So he left the High Heavens, to search for a way to stop the next vision. What happened during those 20 years of absence, no one knows. But I believe his new power was a means to try to defend the High Heavens. However, he could not.
And when the High Heavens were attacked, he also saw what happened, hiding in the shadows. And the death of Diablo was probably the biggest thing that he saw. He didn't see it happen in the Eye but with his own. He then realized how powerful the Black Soulstone was, and the Nephalem themselves. Believing that they were too dangerous to be kept alive, he decided to destroy Sanctuary. And quite possibly with the Black Soulstone. Why not take care of two birds with one Soulstone? So I think he will try to destroy the Soulstone along with Sanctuary. And that is why it is believed that his actions are Justifiable. And also why he didn't kill Tyreal, because he sensed that he was still part angel.
Diablo is just being his cocky self. Not really wanting to admit defeat. But we already know Malthael's plan will go somewhat awry. Just like how Diablo's plan went somewhat awry.
But I can't wait till it is out to learn more of what happened and etc. I know some people disliked the story of vanilla, but I loved it. That is the main reason why I am back here with my crazy theories!
Tathamet is dead, his carcass is what formed the burning hells and the black abyss after his battle with Anu. His seven heads are the lords of hell that are now trapped inside the Black Soulstone. For Tathamet to be resurrected it would require the combination of all the aforementioned.
I firmly believe that Malthael is just on a crusade to destroy all demon life, the nephalem are born of demon/angel copulation so that includes them. The reason Eldruin can't harm Malthael is because his intentions, from an angelic standpoint, actually are pure.
It's also mentioned that Malthael has been following us since the events at the end of Diablo 3;
http://us.battle.net...-21-2013#latest
That said I do believe the Black Soulstone will corrupt him and we will see the re-emergence of the primes in some form (possibly the end cinematic of RoS).
I know you already know of all the lore I just mentioned, I'm just stating how I see it. But I do really like your theory and if that happened it would be a pretty huge surprise to me! (And not a bad one) :Thumbs Up:
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ModeratorOne other thing I would like to point out, he is still Wisdom, so I would still say he is smarter than every other angel, he knew where they would hide it, and followed Tyrael.
https://www.deviantart.com/aerisot