What will happen now that the Worldstone is destroyed?
What would happen if one mortal had pieces of all three of the prime evils soulstones in his/her body? Would it be a split of the Three, or a new supreme overlord?
Why was Diablo able to just open some doors while the player actually has to use a staff that tears a hole in the wall to get to the tomb itself?
Who is Marius?
Who are the Dark Riders mentioned in Diablo I?
When speaking to Wirt he talks about Cain who said that Wirt’s story is foretold in legend. What legend does he refer too?
How do Barbarians or Druids bury their Dead? Tomb? Funeral ship? Funeral pyre? (The Druid is perplexed to discover that people of Westmarch bury their dead in graves)
Who is the head of the Necromancers? (We only know that there is a council of elders, and one of them is a shade)
With the Zakarum reestablishing themselves in Westmarch, who is the Que-Hegan there?
Who is the leader of the Barbarian clans? Is it still one person (used to be Bul-Kathos)?
Who are the leaders of the mage clans?
How old is Deckard Cain?
Question:Who is Inarius?Answer:Inarius was an Archangel of the High Heavens, once part of the Angiris Council. He, along with other Angels and Demons, were sick of fighting in the endless Great Conflict, so they banded together and left Heaven and Hell with Inarius as their leader. Together, the various Demons and Angels created a world of their own known as Sanctuary, and also created the first born humans known as the Nephalem. Along with the creation of Sanctuary came the creation of the Worldstone (and Trag'Oul - though they are unaware of Trag'Ouls existance).
Inarius and Lilith were lovers, but now they hate each other.
They seem to have 'created' humans by means of some kind of partnership, because different Nephalem have different parents. Rathma was born of Inarius and Lilith, while Bul-Kathos is said to be born of a different pair of Angel and Demon. It is said that they don't have sex like humans do though, so we aren't sure how they 'mated' exactly.
The Nephalem, being born of Angel and Demon, were found to be quite powerful. Lilith planned to use their power to build an army, but Inarius fought against her and used the Worldstone to nerf the human's powers, so that each successive generation became less and less powerful. He wanted control over them, not anyone else.
He created Sanctuary as an escape from the Great Conflict, where it would be a paradise for him and other Angels and Demons to rest in peace. So as not to draw attention to himself and Sanctuary from the High Heavens, Inarius disguises himself as a human Prophet, leader of the Cathedral of Light. When Inarius is connected to the Worldstone, is the most powerful being on Sanctuary.
However, Lilith awoken Uldyssian's powers, who turned against both Inarius and Lilith. Inarius fought Uldyssian, but Uldyssian ultimately won. Inarius was captured by the Angiris Council, who made a deal with Mephisto, where Mephisto agreed to leave Sanctuary alone if he could have Inarius.
Question:Where is Inarius now?Answer:We aren't completely sure, but it seems that Mephisto took Inarius back down to Hell to tortured him (Mephisto has a special Hatred for Inarius, you see).
This is what it says in the DI manual:
Quote from name="From Diablo 2 Manual" »
He bound Inarius with tremendous chains and slowly tore the wings from the back of the angel. Great barbed hooks were then used to stretch out the once glowing skin and his features were distorted by vile powers. Many of the followers of Inarius were given as gifts to Baal and Diablo, but the rest were molded to match the bloated image of the now crippled angel. To this day, Inarius said to be trapped in Hell within a chamber of mirrors, his eyelids torn from his face as he is forced to gaze upon his misshapen form for all eternity. His misguided followers now serve as Hell's taskmaster taking the anguish of their lost glory out upon the bodies of others
Mephisto apparently turned Inarius and his followers into Overlords (you know, the things that The Butcher is made of). But this doesn't quite make much sense, because according to The Sin War trilogy, Mephisto didn't take any of Inarius' followers, only Inarius.
The Sin War is officially regarded as the most canonical, so the true nature of the Overlords is yet to be sorted out. But we can definitely say that Mephisto tortured Inarius and holds him captive. Although, now that Mephisto has been sent to the Black Abyss, Inarius might be able to somehow get free.
1) For his transgressions, Izual's spirit was bound within the form of a terrible creature which was summoned from the Abyss. His maddened spirit has resided within that tortured husk for many ages now.
2) Diablo and Mephisto have been banished back into the Black Abyss that spawned them and the corrupted Soulstones are no more.
3) Yet, he had done even worse, in her opinion. Lilith vividly recalled the emptiness, the void in which she had been sentenced until her fortunate escape.
4) “She is cunning and her mind is like a labyrinth. I wasn’t too sad when I learned, centuries later, that the angel had cast her out into the endless void, never to return.”
Although the following quote is for the Reziarfg, which so far only seems to be a joke 'monster' on Blizzard's behalf (G. Fraizer's name backwards, its not actually an in-game monster), it's apparent 'lore' still coincides well with the Diablo universe.
Spawned from the very bowels of the skulking Stygian Beast who awakens only once every 1000 years to feed off the spawn of its own bile and pus, the Reziarfg is truly the most hideous and vile monster in all of the Three's bestiary. It was once said that the Three did not always rule the darkness that beasts beyond thought swelled and slithered across the void. It is believed that some of these nightmares may still exist hidden deep with in the pitch of the abyss where even the darkness of the upper realms of hell seems like day. This is where Reziarfg lives.
0:33-35 Marius admits there is one soulstone left (And he is holding it).
Diablo's soulstone is gone, that is fact. So that leaves two. The majority of Mephisto's was also smashed, their is no evidence to support the theory that the smaller shards of mephisto's soulstone, present in each of the 12 council members of the Zakarum hold enough of Mephisto's essence for him to manifest in any one of them, so that counts out his soulstone.
The fate of Baal's soulstone remains a focal point of discussion, There is no conclusive evidence to suggest his stone was destroyed. So it can be construed that his stone is still unaccounted for. Though many fans believe his stone was destroyed when the player steps through the portal named Destruction's End.
It has been proven on many occassions that Prime Evils can exist and function without a soulstone, it is not so much a power booster as it is a prison. All three Prime Evils walked the realm of Sanctuary for many years if not a century before being captured in the prison like Soulstone, from that point on, it became necessary for them to acquire a "host" body from which to escape the soulstone.
Upon being killed their essence returns to the soulstone (as seen in the epilogue movie of DII) at which point if the stone is placed into a new host the Prime Evil inside can escape his prison. Or Alternatively the stone can be destroyed (only at Hellforge of course (a little "One ring/fire of Mordor" complex going on here), which will send the essence of the Prime Evil trapped inside back to from whence it came, the Black Abyss, and there it will remain until either it is freed by an outside force, or it frees itself. Once back in the Abyss, it is theorised, (but never confirmed or denied by Blizzard) that the Prime Evil or Evils, as the case may be, are much like they were within a soulstone, a prisoner. A whole prisoner, one with a body, a mind and soul (err essence).
Layman's terms, it would be like if you fell into a big hole. Your still as you were outside the hole.
Question:Why don’t the NPCs seem to like Necromancers? Answer: The art of necromancy is shunned, and as the Cult of Rathma devotes itself totally to this discipline its followers are all frowned upon. Like you, few would like having the bodies of their former loved ones manipulated by other beings, be they mortal or immortal, human or demonic or angelic. Necromancers pull upon spiritual, Prime energies to effect change in their environs, and so many laymen believe this would disturb the dead and their rest. What they don't understand is that the energies used by Rathmans are either themselves unconscious and do not (or no longer) or those of pained spirits still bound to Sanctuary.Question: Is it spelt Trag'Oul or Trang'Oul? And what is he/she/it? Answer: Trag'Oul / Trang'Oul is the great Dragon on whose back the world of Sanctuary, and all others, rests. It acts as the balance point, and gives reason for the Priests of Rathma -- the Necromancers -- to despise celestial beings, be they demonic or angelic, for breaking the natural cycle of things by meddling in mortal affairs. This breaks the delicate symmetry of the Three Realms, something the Necromancer understands intimately and whose sole purpose in life is to maintain it.
It is my belief that Trag'Oul is the Necromancers' personification of the World Stone. (Jinshin)
the game manual and in the game itself, it is spelt Trang'Oul. I'm not sure why, but Knaak decided to change the spelling to Trag'Oul in The Sin War trilogy. Blizzard says that Knaak has the most canonical lore, so I'm gonna go with it. Its more of a personal choice really, as both spellings can be considered correct (at least until Blizzard officially uses one spelling or the other).
When DIII comes out we'll find out how Blizzard has decided to spell it, and then we'll know which one to deem as 'correct'.
Question:What's up with Adria the Witch?Answer: We don't know what happened to her. I would like to find out too, she was an interesting character. We don't know that she definitely escaped either, but it is likely because she is such a tricky character lol. Either it is assumed she is one of the bodies in Tristram, as is Pepin, Gillian, Ogden and Farnham. BUt since Tristram in Diablo II is limited to the main centre, you do not see her shack, or even the ruins of her shack. So it is possible she is alive. The Supposed 1.12 patch, aka the Adria Patch, added further speculation about the character, as it was said she was to appear as a Tortured Soul somewhere in the first 3 stages of Act IV.
Question: Is it possible the destruction of the Worldstone made humans stronger?Answer: Will humans become stronger or weaker? How does its destruction relate to keeping it hidden from the immortal sides? Will humans split into two factions, supporting both heaven and hell? Will heaven leave them be even if they get so powerful that they become a sincere threat to everything else? The destruction of Diablo's soulstone banished him into the immortal plane of existance, but with the Worldstone gone, could he go back? I can think up so many more questions which in high probabability I will get no answer from until Blizzard continues the series. “Inarius thought the nephalem a disease, a disgrace to what he was. To him, we should have never been. He only agreed to consider our fate as opposed to erasing us from existence because of the protests of the others. I feel that he would have yet chosen to follow through with his original intention if not for my mother murdering the other refugees. That act altered everything. Had Inarius exterminated us afterward, then he would have been all alone, something which even he could not stand. Yet, the notion of the nephalem disgusted him and that is why he took the Worldstone—which had been created in great part as a manner by which to hide Sanctuary from the eyes of the High Heavens and the Burning Hells—and altered its resonance.”
“What it means is thus; in addition to secreting this realm, the Worldstone also began a steady and subtle dampening process. Each succeeding generation of nephalem became far less powerful than the previous, until, in very short order, those next born were bereft of any ability. Soon, only a few from the first generation—myself and Bul-Kathos, to name the obvious—survived. The gifts—or curse—of our forebears was forgotten. Inarius began reshaping Sanctuary to his satisfaction…and to his iron rule.”
Uldyssian could feel the Worldstone’s radiance and did not doubt that it had the ability to utterly
smother his powers. Yet, why was it not doing so now?
“This is the work of Lilith,” Rathma quietly declared.
“Clearly, my mother altered the resonance of the Worldstone again, so that now its effect is minimal and limited more or less to Mount Arreat, if that. Even in its presence, you were able to overcome it. With the Worldstone no longer a hindrance, the natural process enabling the nephalem powers could now flourish. You are the result of that…the first, anyway.”
The more he stood near it, the more Uldyssian sensed the Worldstone’s emanations. He imagined them a thousand times greater…no, a thousand thousand times. What Rathma had said made more sense. With such mighty forces sweeping over Sanctuary, his kind would surely never have come into existence. Only Lilith’s interference had changed that.
Lazarus shattered the soulstone in order to free Diablo. I'm assuming Diablo was just in some smokey or invisible form when he was released, because he was weak and needed to find a body:
1) Not long after Leoric took possession of Khanduras, a power long asleep awakened within the dark recesses beneath the Monastery. Sensing that freedom was within his grasp, Diablo entered the nightmares of the Arch-Bishop and lured him into the dark, subterranean labyrinth. In his terror, Lazarus raced throughout the abandoned hallways until he at last came to the chamber of the burning Soulstone. No longer in command of his body or spirit, he raised the stone above his head and uttered words long forgotten in the realm of mortals. His will destroyed, Lazarus shattered the Soulstone upon the ground. Diablo once again came into the world of Man. Although he was released from his imprisonment within the Soulstone, the Lord of Terror was still greatly weakened from his long sleep and required an anchor to the world. Once he had found a mortal form to wear, he could begin to reclaim his vastly depleted power. The great demon weighed the souls residing in the town above, and chose to take the strongest of them - that of King Leoric.
2) The Soulstones affect only beings that are non-corporeal and thus have no power over living, breathing creatures. When invoked, the Soulstones bring into being a strong "spiritual" vacuum. Any non-physical entities caught within this vacuum are drawn into the burning recesses of the Soulstone and are forever trapped within. These spirits are released only when the Soulstone is deactivated or destroyed.
Three Brothers found that they were immune to the effects of the Stones while occupying human souls.
When a Soulstone is shattered, it is not enough to contain a Prime Evil, and so needs a human body to help contain it (though we know that never works, as both the Warrior and Tal-Rasha lost the spiritual battle.
4) The capture of their brother Baal, however, became complicated when the Soulstone that was to be his eternal prison was shattered and fragmented. We found that while the shards still held the power to lure the demon to them, they could not properly contain it.
Apparently, shattering a soulstone can easily be done (as with Lazarus and in the battle with Baal and the Horadrim). But shattering it doesn't destroy it, it just splits it. To actually destroy a Soulstone, one needs to use the Hellforge.
5) Cain: The time has come for you to destroy Mephisto's Soulstone! Take the Stone to the Hellforge. Place it upon the forge and strike it soundly with the Hammer. Only by doing this can you prevent Mephisto from manifesting in this world ever again.
So, shattering makes it harder to contain the Prime Evils, but destroying it (once the Prime Evil's essence has been capture) sends them back to the Black Abyss that spawned them.
And yes, the Soulstones are useless. Tyrael was tricked into using them against the Three. They actually ended up making the Three stronger, lol. Well, right up until the Soulstones were actually destroyed and sent them back to the black abyss. In the end, we seem to have won, but we don't know that for sure.
6) Izual: Tyrael was a fool to have trusted me! You see, it was I who told Diablo and his Brothers about the Soulstones and how to corrupt them. It was I who helped the Prime Evils mastermind their own exile to your world. The plan we set in motion so long ago cannot be stopped by any mortal agency. Hell, itself, is poised to spill forth into your world like a tidal wave of blood and nightmares. You and all your kind... are doomed.
7) Tyrael: Thank you, hero, for putting Izual's tortured spirit to rest. May the Light protect you and the powers of Heaven shine upon your path. But, if what you tell me is true, then I fear that we have been played for fools all along. Izual helped Diablo and his Brothers trick me into using the Soulstones against them... Now the Stones' powers are corrupted. With the combined powers of the Soulstones under their control, the Prime Evils will be able to turn the mortal world into a permanent outpost of Hell!
To me, it seemed the original plan of corrupting the stone was to give Hell an advantage, only granting access to hell but limiting it still for Heaven. It also seems as if destroying it is a carefully considered action. Tyrael doesn't reveal any form of hints to suggest that he knows what will happen, and once again it seems unlikely that Baal would possess that knowledge.
Question: Who is next in line for the Throne of Hell?Answer: Well this depends on if you assume the Three will return and upon their return whether or not they will go to Hell or remain on the mortal plane. The Two Lesser Evils, Azmodan and Belial, were last left in Hell, fighting a civil war amongst themselves vying for ultimate power over the legions of Hell.
So, you seek knowledge concerning the wars of Hell, do you? Cryptic tomes speak of great battles that determine which of the demonic lords were to rule over Hell. They also mention a bitter rivalry between two of these lords: Azmodan, who led the Horned Death against the armies of light, and Belial, known as the Lord of Lies. Their hatred of each other is eternal. The reasons for their loathing, lost even to themselves. Tales abound that the mad wizard Horazon somehow trapped the lieutenants of these two lords of hell within his sanctum. There can be no more dangerous a path to tread than the one that runs alongside of demons. Should you also seek this path, watch your life and your soul very carefully, my friend.
This is taken from a quest about Horazon's sanctuary which did not make the final version of Diablo, and so, is most clearly not cannon lore. But, since the term in question was also written at about the same time, these lost quests can provide us with some enlightenment as to what the creators of the game meant, and in this case, what is the "Horned Death"
It is known from other sources, including the manual of the first Diablo, that the demons that each Prime Evil and also Andariel is master of, have a general characteristic trait that distinguish them. We can assume that the same applies for the other great evils of Hell, from the text above, it seems that the Horned Death is a general description of the demons that fall under the ranks of Azmodan.
Question: What is the Hierarchy of Demons, and where do creatures like Lilith fit in? Answer: The exact of the hierarchy of the demonic powers is probably unknown. All Prime Evils are the equivalent of lords of Hell, each reigning over a portion of that realm and commanding several legions of warriors. Below them, naturally, are their advisors and lieutenants. As far as I know, however, there is no set hierarchy. Lillith is the daughter of Mephisto and mother of Andariel, and is not officially a Prime Evil. How one becomes a Prime Evil, I don't know. However, with her daughter's passing she may well assume the mantle of Lady of Anguish.
Question: How did Wirt lose his leg? Answer: It was the Fallen Ones that tortured and wounded Wirt, so much so that his leg could not be repaired.
Quote from "Cain »
'>The story of Wirt is a frightening and tragic one. He was taken from the arms of his mother and dragged into the labyrinth by the small, foul demons that wield wicked spears. There were many other children taken that day, including the son of King Leoric. The Knights of the palace went below, but never returned. The Blacksmith found the boy, but only after the foul beasts had begun to torture him for their sadistic pleasures.
Astrogah is apparently still trapped inside the Moon of the Spider (artifact) along with Karybdus (the corrupted Necromancer). The Moon of the Spider was buried in the deep ocean somewhere. If you look at the concept art for DIII, a spider-woman can be seen. We have no idea if she is related to Astrogah or not though.
Darrick Lang himself serves as Kabraxis’ gateway back into the mortal world. We all know that when a man is cursed by evil he always loses out in the end and the evil always returns.
Lucion was defeated by Uldyssian, but we don't know if he really did fade from existence at Uldyssian's hand or not. (Uldyssian wished Lucion to become 'nothing' and so he did).
Lilith’s whereabouts over the last 3000 years is unknown. Last we heard of her she was still trapped in the void.
Also, since Tal Rasha made up for the broken part of the soulstone, by seperating the stone from his chest it acted the same way as if a regular soulstone had been shattered. Thus allowing Baal to escape.
Inarius was an Archangel of the High Heavens, once part of the Angiris Council. He, along with other Angels and Demons, were sick of fighting in the endless Great Conflict, so they banded together and left Heaven and Hell with Inarius as their leader. Together, the various Demons and Angels created a world of their own known as Sanctuary, and also created the first born humans known as the Nephalem. Along with the creation of Sanctuary came the creation of the Worldstone (and Trag'Oul - though they are unaware of Trag'Ouls existance).
Inarius and Lilith were lovers, but now they hate each other.
They seem to have 'created' humans by means of some kind of partnership, because different Nephalem have different parents. Rathma was born of Inarius and Lilith, while Bul-Kathos is said to be born of a different pair of Angel and Demon. It is said that they don't have sex like humans do though, so we aren't sure how they 'mated' exactly.
The Nephalem, being born of Angel and Demon, were found to be quite powerful. Lilith planned to use their power to build an army, but Inarius fought against her and used the Worldstone to nerf the human's powers, so that each successive generation became less and less powerful. He wanted control over them, not anyone else.
He created Sanctuary as an escape from the Great Conflict, where it would be a paradise for him and other Angels and Demons to rest in peace. So as not to draw attention to himself and Sanctuary from the High Heavens, Inarius disguises himself as a human Prophet, leader of the Cathedral of Light. When Inarius is connected to the Worldstone, is the most powerful being on Sanctuary.
However, Lilith awoken Uldyssian's powers, who turned against both Inarius and Lilith. Inarius fought Uldyssian, but Uldyssian ultimately won. Inarius was captured by the Angiris Council, who made a deal with Mephisto, where Mephisto agreed to leave Sanctuary alone if he could have Inarius.
Where is Inarius now? We aren't completely sure, but it seems that Mephisto took Inarius back down to Hell to tortured him (Mephisto has a special Hatred for Inarius, you see).
This is what it says in the DI manual:
He bound Inarius with tremendous chains and slowly tore the wings from the back of the angel. Great barbed hooks were then used to stretch out the once glowing skin and his features were distorted by vile powers. Many of the followers of Inarius were given as gifts to Baal and Diablo, but the rest were molded to match the bloated image of the now crippled angel. To this day, Inarius said to be trapped in Hell within a chamber of mirrors, his eyelids torn from his face as he is forced to gaze upon his misshapen form for all eternity. His misguided followers now serve as Hell's taskmaster taking the anguish of their lost glory out upon the bodies of others.
Mephisto apparently turned Inarius and his followers into Overlords (you know, the things that The Butcher is made of). But this doesn't quite make much sense, because according to The Sin War trilogy, Mephisto didn't take any of Inarius' followers, only Inarius.
The Sin War is officially regarded as the most canonical, so the true nature of the Overlords is yet to be sorted out. But we can definitely say that Mephisto tortured Inarius and holds him captive. Although, now that Mephisto has been sent to the Black Abyss, Inarius might be able to somehow get free.
I think the Void is just a place where things can be put, but the Black Abyss (sometimes just referred to as 'Abyss') is the place where demons are actually spawned from.
For his transgressions, Izual's spirit was bound within the form of a terrible creature which was summoned from the Abyss. His maddened spirit has resided within that tortured husk for many ages now.
Diablo and Mephisto have been banished back into the Black Abyss that spawned them and the corrupted Soulstones are no more.
Yet, he had done even worse, in her opinion. Lilith vividly recalled the emptiness, the void in which she had been sentenced until her fortunate escape.
“She is cunning and her mind is like a labyrinth. I wasn’t too sad when I learned, centuries later, that the angel had cast her out into the endless void, never to return.”
Although the following quote is for the Reziarfg, which so far only seems to be a joke 'monster' on Blizzard's behalf (G. Fraizer's name backwards, its not actually an in-game monster), it's apparent 'lore' still coincides well with the Diablo universe.
Spawned from the very bowels of the skulking Stygian Beast who awakens only once every 1000 years to feed off the spawn of its own bile and pus, the Reziarfg is truly the most hideous and vile monster in all of the Three's bestiary. It was once said that the Three did not always rule the darkness that beasts beyond thought swelled and slithered across the void. It is believed that some of these nightmares may still exist hidden deep with in the pitch of the abyss where even the darkness of the upper realms of hell seems like day. This is where Reziarfg lives.
Except, I'm not sure why they use both 'void' and 'abyss'. I don't even understand the sentence that the 'void' is used in lol. Hmm.
0:33-35 Marius admits there is one soulstone left (And he is holding it).
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-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
After you kill Baal, is his soulstone assumed destroyed? I read somewhere that it was actually only a shard of a real soulstone- don't know if that would matter in this case.
And Atrumentis, why is it that you always say "Trag'Oul" and not "Trang'Oul"? I think you always do that. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else...
After you kill Baal, is his soulstone assumed destroyed? I read somewhere that it was actually only a shard of a real soulstone- don't know if that would matter in this case.
lol, this is something that does not have a definite answer and has taken up a huge amount of space in various threads of discussion.
But the most logical answer is to that is yes, we can assume that Baal's soulstone was destroyed. Baal's original soulstone did infact break, so yeah, its only a shard. Tal Rasha used his own body to make up for the broken part of the Soulstone. But that doesn't really matter because Baal's essence didn't go into the other part of the shard. And really, all Soulstones are just shards of the Worldstone.
And Atrumentis, why is it that you always say "Trag'Oul" and not "Trang'Oul"? I think you always do that. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else...
lol, Thanks Necro, but there's still a bit more to say. In the game manual and in the game itself, it is spelt Trang'Oul. I'm not sure why, but Knaak decided to change the spelling to Trag'Oul in The Sin War trilogy. Blizzard says that Knaak has the most canonical lore, so I'm gonna go with it. Its more of a personal choice really, as both spellings can be considered correct (at least until Blizzard officially uses one spelling or the other).
When DIII comes out we'll find out how Blizzard has decided to spell it, and then we'll know which one to deem as 'correct'.
Trag'Oul / Trang'Oul is the great Dragon on whose back the world of Sanctuary, and all others, rests. It acts as the balance point, and gives reason for the Priests of Rathma -- the Necromancers -- to despise celestial beings, be they demonic or angelic, for breaking the natural cycle of things by meddling in mortal affairs. This breaks the delicate symmetry of the Three Realms, something the Necromancer understands intimately and whose sole purpose in life is to maintain it.
It is my belief that Trag'Oul is the Necromancers' personification of the World Stone.
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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
0:33-35 Marius admits there is one soulstone left (And he is holding it).
XD, eyes can be decieving...
If anyone remembers the lore of Mephisto, it is said that his soulstone was shattered into many pieces (12 I believe), the one in the cinametic is the largest of the pieces, not the entire soulstone.
the one in the cinametic is the largest of the pieces, not the entire soulstone.
Same thing with Diablo, actually. He was successful in shattering it, leaving the largest to use as his own. In truth, all three were shattered at some point.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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
If anyone remembers the lore of Mephisto, it is said that his soulstone was shattered into many pieces (12 I believe), the one in the cinametic is the largest of the pieces, not the entire soulstone.
I remember the lore, I cite it more than most. But as many have said on multiple occassions, there is no proof that the shards of Mephisto soulstone contain enough of his essence for him to manifest in any of them other than the one from which he did manifest, and that was the one destroyed in the cinematic. Also there is no evidence you can put a soulstone back together. If you could, why bother with the whole Tal Rasha thing? why not just "reuse" the part Baal broke?
But I am not here to have a lore debate, such is the nature of this thread, some questions may not come to complete, or full answers, bound to be some half answers, or vague answers.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
I'll answer questions soon, but I just wanted to mention this:
The Brothers fought with all the savagery of the Underworld, and to their credit, annihilated a third of Hell's treacherous legions. In the end, however, they were overcome by the Horned Death led by the traitors Azmodan and Belial.
Horned Death? Is this a new type of monster? There are 'Horned Demons', but this is the only mention of 'Horned Death'. Unless they are the same thing?
It's like the Night Elf Army is called the Sentinels.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
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We can get kind of a FAQ happening (not talking about game stats though, just storyline facts)
Note that this thread is not for theories, only solid facts.
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Solomir's Sanctuary
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Game Manual
Novels
(The DIII website is not entirely helpful as it is highly subject to change)
(Thanks to Zarx for helping me organise this thread)
Questions so far:
Unanswerable Questions:
Question: Who is Inarius?Answer:Inarius was an Archangel of the High Heavens, once part of the Angiris Council. He, along with other Angels and Demons, were sick of fighting in the endless Great Conflict, so they banded together and left Heaven and Hell with Inarius as their leader. Together, the various Demons and Angels created a world of their own known as Sanctuary, and also created the first born humans known as the Nephalem. Along with the creation of Sanctuary came the creation of the Worldstone (and Trag'Oul - though they are unaware of Trag'Ouls existance).
Inarius and Lilith were lovers, but now they hate each other.
They seem to have 'created' humans by means of some kind of partnership, because different Nephalem have different parents. Rathma was born of Inarius and Lilith, while Bul-Kathos is said to be born of a different pair of Angel and Demon. It is said that they don't have sex like humans do though, so we aren't sure how they 'mated' exactly.
The Nephalem, being born of Angel and Demon, were found to be quite powerful. Lilith planned to use their power to build an army, but Inarius fought against her and used the Worldstone to nerf the human's powers, so that each successive generation became less and less powerful. He wanted control over them, not anyone else.
He created Sanctuary as an escape from the Great Conflict, where it would be a paradise for him and other Angels and Demons to rest in peace. So as not to draw attention to himself and Sanctuary from the High Heavens, Inarius disguises himself as a human Prophet, leader of the Cathedral of Light. When Inarius is connected to the Worldstone, is the most powerful being on Sanctuary.
However, Lilith awoken Uldyssian's powers, who turned against both Inarius and Lilith. Inarius fought Uldyssian, but Uldyssian ultimately won. Inarius was captured by the Angiris Council, who made a deal with Mephisto, where Mephisto agreed to leave Sanctuary alone if he could have Inarius.
Question: Where is Inarius now?Answer:We aren't completely sure, but it seems that Mephisto took Inarius back down to Hell to tortured him (Mephisto has a special Hatred for Inarius, you see).
This is what it says in the DI manual: Mephisto apparently turned Inarius and his followers into Overlords (you know, the things that The Butcher is made of). But this doesn't quite make much sense, because according to The Sin War trilogy, Mephisto didn't take any of Inarius' followers, only Inarius.
The Sin War is officially regarded as the most canonical, so the true nature of the Overlords is yet to be sorted out. But we can definitely say that Mephisto tortured Inarius and holds him captive. Although, now that Mephisto has been sent to the Black Abyss, Inarius might be able to somehow get free.
Question: What is the difference between the 'Void' and the 'Black Abyss'?Answer:I think the Void is just a place where things can be put, but the Black Abyss (sometimes just referred to as 'Abyss') is the place where demons are actually spawned from.Although the following quote is for the Reziarfg, which so far only seems to be a joke 'monster' on Blizzard's behalf (G. Fraizer's name backwards, its not actually an in-game monster), it's apparent 'lore' still coincides well with the Diablo universe.
Question: What happened to the Soulstones of Diablo, Mephisto and Baal? Are all three destroyed? Answer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHDQ-vViCw8
0:27 Mephisto's soulstone destroyed
0:31 Diablo's soulstone destroyed
0:33-35 Marius admits there is one soulstone left (And he is holding it).
Diablo's soulstone is gone, that is fact. So that leaves two. The majority of Mephisto's was also smashed, their is no evidence to support the theory that the smaller shards of mephisto's soulstone, present in each of the 12 council members of the Zakarum hold enough of Mephisto's essence for him to manifest in any one of them, so that counts out his soulstone.
The fate of Baal's soulstone remains a focal point of discussion, There is no conclusive evidence to suggest his stone was destroyed. So it can be construed that his stone is still unaccounted for. Though many fans believe his stone was destroyed when the player steps through the portal named Destruction's End.
It has been proven on many occassions that Prime Evils can exist and function without a soulstone, it is not so much a power booster as it is a prison. All three Prime Evils walked the realm of Sanctuary for many years if not a century before being captured in the prison like Soulstone, from that point on, it became necessary for them to acquire a "host" body from which to escape the soulstone.
Upon being killed their essence returns to the soulstone (as seen in the epilogue movie of DII) at which point if the stone is placed into a new host the Prime Evil inside can escape his prison. Or Alternatively the stone can be destroyed (only at Hellforge of course (a little "One ring/fire of Mordor" complex going on here), which will send the essence of the Prime Evil trapped inside back to from whence it came, the Black Abyss, and there it will remain until either it is freed by an outside force, or it frees itself. Once back in the Abyss, it is theorised, (but never confirmed or denied by Blizzard) that the Prime Evil or Evils, as the case may be, are much like they were within a soulstone, a prisoner. A whole prisoner, one with a body, a mind and soul (err essence).
Layman's terms, it would be like if you fell into a big hole. Your still as you were outside the hole.
Question:Why don’t the NPCs seem to like Necromancers?
Answer: The art of necromancy is shunned, and as the Cult of Rathma devotes itself totally to this discipline its followers are all frowned upon. Like you, few would like having the bodies of their former loved ones manipulated by other beings, be they mortal or immortal, human or demonic or angelic. Necromancers pull upon spiritual, Prime energies to effect change in their environs, and so many laymen believe this would disturb the dead and their rest. What they don't understand is that the energies used by Rathmans are either themselves unconscious and do not (or no longer) or those of pained spirits still bound to Sanctuary.Question: Is it spelt Trag'Oul or Trang'Oul? And what is he/she/it?
Answer: Trag'Oul / Trang'Oul is the great Dragon on whose back the world of Sanctuary, and all others, rests. It acts as the balance point, and gives reason for the Priests of Rathma -- the Necromancers -- to despise celestial beings, be they demonic or angelic, for breaking the natural cycle of things by meddling in mortal affairs. This breaks the delicate symmetry of the Three Realms, something the Necromancer understands intimately and whose sole purpose in life is to maintain it.
It is my belief that Trag'Oul is the Necromancers' personification of the World Stone. (Jinshin)
the game manual and in the game itself, it is spelt Trang'Oul. I'm not sure why, but Knaak decided to change the spelling to Trag'Oul in The Sin War trilogy. Blizzard says that Knaak has the most canonical lore, so I'm gonna go with it. Its more of a personal choice really, as both spellings can be considered correct (at least until Blizzard officially uses one spelling or the other).
When DIII comes out we'll find out how Blizzard has decided to spell it, and then we'll know which one to deem as 'correct'.
Question:What's up with Adria the Witch?Answer: We don't know what happened to her. I would like to find out too, she was an interesting character. We don't know that she definitely escaped either, but it is likely because she is such a tricky character lol. Either it is assumed she is one of the bodies in Tristram, as is Pepin, Gillian, Ogden and Farnham. BUt since Tristram in Diablo II is limited to the main centre, you do not see her shack, or even the ruins of her shack. So it is possible she is alive. The Supposed 1.12 patch, aka the Adria Patch, added further speculation about the character, as it was said she was to appear as a Tortured Soul somewhere in the first 3 stages of Act IV.
Question: Is it possible the destruction of the Worldstone made humans stronger?Answer: Will humans become stronger or weaker? How does its destruction relate to keeping it hidden from the immortal sides? Will humans split into two factions, supporting both heaven and hell? Will heaven leave them be even if they get so powerful that they become a sincere threat to everything else? The destruction of Diablo's soulstone banished him into the immortal plane of existance, but with the Worldstone gone, could he go back? I can think up so many more questions which in high probabability I will get no answer from until Blizzard continues the series. “Inarius thought the nephalem a disease, a disgrace to what he was. To him, we should have never been. He only agreed to consider our fate as opposed to erasing us from existence because of the protests of the others. I feel that he would have yet chosen to follow through with his original intention if not for my mother murdering the other refugees. That act altered everything. Had Inarius exterminated us afterward, then he would have been all alone, something which even he could not stand. Yet, the notion of the nephalem disgusted him and that is why he took the Worldstone—which had been created in great part as a manner by which to hide Sanctuary from the eyes of the High Heavens and the Burning Hells—and altered its resonance.”
“What it means is thus; in addition to secreting this realm, the Worldstone also began a steady and subtle dampening process. Each succeeding generation of nephalem became far less powerful than the previous, until, in very short order, those next born were bereft of any ability. Soon, only a few from the first generation—myself and Bul-Kathos, to name the obvious—survived. The gifts—or curse—of our forebears was forgotten. Inarius began reshaping Sanctuary to his satisfaction…and to his iron rule.”
Uldyssian could feel the Worldstone’s radiance and did not doubt that it had the ability to utterly
smother his powers. Yet, why was it not doing so now?
“This is the work of Lilith,” Rathma quietly declared.
“Clearly, my mother altered the resonance of the Worldstone again, so that now its effect is minimal and limited more or less to Mount Arreat, if that. Even in its presence, you were able to overcome it. With the Worldstone no longer a hindrance, the natural process enabling the nephalem powers could now flourish. You are the result of that…the first, anyway.”
The more he stood near it, the more Uldyssian sensed the Worldstone’s emanations. He imagined them a thousand times greater…no, a thousand thousand times. What Rathma had said made more sense. With such mighty forces sweeping over Sanctuary, his kind would surely never have come into existence. Only Lilith’s interference had changed that.
Question: Are the soulstones nothing more than a prison and are actually useless because the prime evils could do as they please anyway?
Answer: Basically yes, the Soulstones aren’t as useful as they seem.
Lazarus shattered the soulstone in order to free Diablo. I'm assuming Diablo was just in some smokey or invisible form when he was released, because he was weak and needed to find a body:When a Soulstone is shattered, it is not enough to contain a Prime Evil, and so needs a human body to help contain it (though we know that never works, as both the Warrior and Tal-Rasha lost the spiritual battle. Apparently, shattering a soulstone can easily be done (as with Lazarus and in the battle with Baal and the Horadrim). But shattering it doesn't destroy it, it just splits it. To actually destroy a Soulstone, one needs to use the Hellforge.
So, shattering makes it harder to contain the Prime Evils, but destroying it (once the Prime Evil's essence has been capture) sends them back to the Black Abyss that spawned them.
And yes, the Soulstones are useless. Tyrael was tricked into using them against the Three. They actually ended up making the Three stronger, lol. Well, right up until the Soulstones were actually destroyed and sent them back to the black abyss. In the end, we seem to have won, but we don't know that for sure.
Question: The destruction of the Worldstone was win-win for the Prime Evils right? If it was simply corrupted, they could manipulate it and with it destroyed, it no longer protects Sanctuary, right?
Answer: I'd guess it was more of a backup-plan. If their goal was to destroy it, couldn't Baal have done it himself? I can't see how Tyraels powers would in any way be any more suited to destroy the Worldstone compared to Baal.
To me, it seemed the original plan of corrupting the stone was to give Hell an advantage, only granting access to hell but limiting it still for Heaven. It also seems as if destroying it is a carefully considered action. Tyrael doesn't reveal any form of hints to suggest that he knows what will happen, and once again it seems unlikely that Baal would possess that knowledge.
Question: Who is next in line for the Throne of Hell?Answer: Well this depends on if you assume the Three will return and upon their return whether or not they will go to Hell or remain on the mortal plane. The Two Lesser Evils, Azmodan and Belial, were last left in Hell, fighting a civil war amongst themselves vying for ultimate power over the legions of Hell.
Question: The manual says that the Three were overcome by Horned Death led by Azmodan and Belial. What are ‘Horned Death’?Answer:
This is taken from a quest about Horazon's sanctuary which did not make the final version of Diablo, and so, is most clearly not cannon lore.
But, since the term in question was also written at about the same time, these lost quests can provide us with some enlightenment as to what the creators of the game meant, and in this case, what is the "Horned Death"
It is known from other sources, including the manual of the first Diablo, that the demons that each Prime Evil and also Andariel is master of, have a general characteristic trait that distinguish them. We can assume that the same applies for the other great evils of Hell, from the text above, it seems that the Horned Death is a general description of the demons that fall under the ranks of Azmodan.
Question: Did the Wanderer and Marius travel through the Arcane Sanctuary or did they just trek through the desert?
Answer: The Cinematics and NPC dialogs would suggest they only ventured into Lut Gohlein and the desert. There is no mention of them going anywhere near the Sanctuary. It is possible that Diablo could sense his brother to the point of not needing to know the actual tomb symbol.
Question: What is the Hierarchy of Demons, and where do creatures like Lilith fit in?
Answer: The exact of the hierarchy of the demonic powers is probably unknown. All Prime Evils are the equivalent of lords of Hell, each reigning over a portion of that realm and commanding several legions of warriors. Below them, naturally, are their advisors and lieutenants. As far as I know, however, there is no set hierarchy. Lillith is the daughter of Mephisto and mother of Andariel, and is not officially a Prime Evil. How one becomes a Prime Evil, I don't know. However, with her daughter's passing she may well assume the mantle of Lady of Anguish.
Question: How did Wirt lose his leg?
Answer: It was the Fallen Ones that tortured and wounded Wirt, so much so that his leg could not be repaired.
Question: Have Blizzard made any follow-up on the characters in any of the novels?
Answer: It is possible that we may be visiting Ureh from The Kingdom of Shadow. Other than that, however, we do not yet know.
Question: Is the Countess based on a true story?
Answer: Yes. She is based on Elizabeth Bathory
Question: How is the current situation in Hell, who has triumphed between the battle of Azmodan and Belial?
Answer: As far as we know, Hell is still at war with itself. But, Hell is naturally chaotic, so they would pretty much be at war constantly anyway. They aren't ever going to just sit around and be peaceful.
Question: " that hasn't appeared yet?">Apart from the 3 Prime Evils, Belial and Azmodan, is there any "Major Evil" that hasn't appeared yet?
Answer: Astrogah, Kabraxis, Lucion and Lilith are demons that have yet to make a proper appearance, assuming they are capable of coming back to Sanctuary.
Astrogah is apparently still trapped inside the Moon of the Spider (artifact) along with Karybdus (the corrupted Necromancer). The Moon of the Spider was buried in the deep ocean somewhere. If you look at the concept art for DIII, a spider-woman can be seen. We have no idea if she is related to Astrogah or not though.
Darrick Lang himself serves as Kabraxis’ gateway back into the mortal world. We all know that when a man is cursed by evil he always loses out in the end and the evil always returns.
Lucion was defeated by Uldyssian, but we don't know if he really did fade from existence at Uldyssian's hand or not. (Uldyssian wished Lucion to become 'nothing' and so he did).
Lilith’s whereabouts over the last 3000 years is unknown. Last we heard of her she was still trapped in the void.
Question: The Warrior, Rogue, and Sorcerer from D1 were corupted and became The Wanderer, Blood Raven, and The Summoner in D2, correct?
Answer: Correct. And yes, it is highly likely that something similar will happen to the heroes of DII, but that has not been revealed yet.
Question: Is the lore in the Hellfire expansion for D1 considered canon?
Answer: No, it was made by Sierra, not Blizzard.
Question: Is Uber Tristram (aka The Pandemonium Event) considered canon?
Answer: No, that is only available on battle.net and was only made to give high level characters something to do.
Question: Has Abd Al-Hazir been mentioned before?
Answer: No, he is a newly introduced character.
Question: How is it that the act of removing Baal's soulstone from Tal'Rusha's chest was what seemingly allowed Baal to fully possess him and escape? This seems especially odd since the pre-expansion epilogue cinematic suggests that Baal needed to get the exact same soulstone back to obtain his full powers (well he wanted it back anyway whatever the reason).
Answer: There's not specific lore about this, but I think that's because of the spell that Tyrael cast on the stone that held Tal Rasha prisoner. It safe to simply say that by removing the Soulstone out of Tal Rasha's chest, Marius must have distrupted the spell allowing Baal/Tal Rasha to escape. You could say that the essence of Baal was spread in two halves, one half in Tal Rasha and the rest inside the Soulstone, that's why he needed it back.
Also, since Tal Rasha made up for the broken part of the soulstone, by seperating the stone from his chest it acted the same way as if a regular soulstone had been shattered. Thus allowing Baal to escape.
Inarius and Lilith were lovers, but now they hate each other.
They seem to have 'created' humans by means of some kind of partnership, because different Nephalem have different parents. Rathma was born of Inarius and Lilith, while Bul-Kathos is said to be born of a different pair of Angel and Demon. It is said that they don't have sex like humans do though, so we aren't sure how they 'mated' exactly.
The Nephalem, being born of Angel and Demon, were found to be quite powerful. Lilith planned to use their power to build an army, but Inarius fought against her and used the Worldstone to nerf the human's powers, so that each successive generation became less and less powerful. He wanted control over them, not anyone else.
He created Sanctuary as an escape from the Great Conflict, where it would be a paradise for him and other Angels and Demons to rest in peace. So as not to draw attention to himself and Sanctuary from the High Heavens, Inarius disguises himself as a human Prophet, leader of the Cathedral of Light. When Inarius is connected to the Worldstone, is the most powerful being on Sanctuary.
However, Lilith awoken Uldyssian's powers, who turned against both Inarius and Lilith. Inarius fought Uldyssian, but Uldyssian ultimately won. Inarius was captured by the Angiris Council, who made a deal with Mephisto, where Mephisto agreed to leave Sanctuary alone if he could have Inarius.
Where is Inarius now? We aren't completely sure, but it seems that Mephisto took Inarius back down to Hell to tortured him (Mephisto has a special Hatred for Inarius, you see).
This is what it says in the DI manual:
Mephisto apparently turned Inarius and his followers into Overlords (you know, the things that The Butcher is made of). But this doesn't quite make much sense, because according to The Sin War trilogy, Mephisto didn't take any of Inarius' followers, only Inarius.
The Sin War is officially regarded as the most canonical, so the true nature of the Overlords is yet to be sorted out. But we can definitely say that Mephisto tortured Inarius and holds him captive. Although, now that Mephisto has been sent to the Black Abyss, Inarius might be able to somehow get free.
Although the following quote is for the Reziarfg, which so far only seems to be a joke 'monster' on Blizzard's behalf (G. Fraizer's name backwards, its not actually an in-game monster), it's apparent 'lore' still coincides well with the Diablo universe.Except, I'm not sure why they use both 'void' and 'abyss'. I don't even understand the sentence that the 'void' is used in lol. Hmm.
Anyone else is free to answer these quetions too.
Was Mephisto's soulstone 'truly' destroyed?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHDQ-vViCw8
0:27 Mephisto's soulstone destroyed
0:31 Diablo's soulstone destroyed
0:33-35 Marius admits there is one soulstone left (And he is holding it).
And Atrumentis, why is it that you always say "Trag'Oul" and not "Trang'Oul"? I think you always do that. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else...
ill save you the trip atrumentis.
trag oul is the correct spelling. it is different in game. i do believe they are different from book to game.
lol, this is something that does not have a definite answer and has taken up a huge amount of space in various threads of discussion.
But the most logical answer is to that is yes, we can assume that Baal's soulstone was destroyed. Baal's original soulstone did infact break, so yeah, its only a shard. Tal Rasha used his own body to make up for the broken part of the Soulstone. But that doesn't really matter because Baal's essence didn't go into the other part of the shard. And really, all Soulstones are just shards of the Worldstone.
lol, Thanks Necro, but there's still a bit more to say. In the game manual and in the game itself, it is spelt Trang'Oul. I'm not sure why, but Knaak decided to change the spelling to Trag'Oul in The Sin War trilogy. Blizzard says that Knaak has the most canonical lore, so I'm gonna go with it. Its more of a personal choice really, as both spellings can be considered correct (at least until Blizzard officially uses one spelling or the other).
When DIII comes out we'll find out how Blizzard has decided to spell it, and then we'll know which one to deem as 'correct'.
I'll get to the other questions when I can.
Who is Trag'Oul?
It is my belief that Trag'Oul is the Necromancers' personification of the World Stone.
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
XD, eyes can be decieving...
If anyone remembers the lore of Mephisto, it is said that his soulstone was shattered into many pieces (12 I believe), the one in the cinametic is the largest of the pieces, not the entire soulstone.
Same thing with Diablo, actually. He was successful in shattering it, leaving the largest to use as his own. In truth, all three were shattered at some point.
All in the Forger's wake is left bereft and fallow-Excerpt from the Litany of Residuum;
As Translated by He Who Brings Order
I remember the lore, I cite it more than most. But as many have said on multiple occassions, there is no proof that the shards of Mephisto soulstone contain enough of his essence for him to manifest in any of them other than the one from which he did manifest, and that was the one destroyed in the cinematic. Also there is no evidence you can put a soulstone back together. If you could, why bother with the whole Tal Rasha thing? why not just "reuse" the part Baal broke?
But I am not here to have a lore debate, such is the nature of this thread, some questions may not come to complete, or full answers, bound to be some half answers, or vague answers.
Horned Death? Is this a new type of monster? There are 'Horned Demons', but this is the only mention of 'Horned Death'. Unless they are the same thing?
It's like the Night Elf Army is called the Sentinels.