Are the Void, the Abyss, and the Burning Hells all different?
The Void is most certainly different, most likely some kind of empty realms in between other worlds. The Abyss might be, as said, just a very "deep" place in Hell.
Quote from "Jinshin" »
What ever became of the Nephalem, anyway? And why has the power of humanity diluted with each passing generation? Or is this the effect of the World Stone's neutralizing powers?
Well most of the Nephalem became regular humans because of how the Worldstone affected them.
As for after the Sin War trilogy, we can only assume that something started happening to people all over the world after the death of Uldyssian.
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It seems you have not read The Sin War, they expand and explain a lot of how Sanctuary works and how it came to be.
In a way I can agree with Equinox, it does suck to have to read books in order to stay up to date with a game. But on the other hand I think it's great to get all of this extra material.
I can't really respond to your arguments without spoiling the plot for you, so if you want to read them, I'll just shut up
Quote from "Jinshin" »
Yeah, I thought of that. The only thing I could think of is to compare them to that story of the boat rower who is forever destines to row the boat unless someone else can take his place, whether they agree to it or are tricked into it. The Soul Stones, being spiritual vacuums, must always be filled. Of course, I'm sure the Three have also recognized the liability this poses, so they must have figured out a way around it.
I don't see what pivotal role the Soulstones fill. This is how I see it.
The Three sit in Hell and want to invade Sanctuary.
The Three realise this will be hard.
The Three fool everyone with the Soulstones, making everyone think they're these awesome prisons, when in fact they're not.
The Three each break free of their Soulstones to some degree.
Both Mephisto and Diablo have their stones shattered, sending them to the Abyss. Baal's fate uncertain I guess.
Diablo is at least surely freed of his stone by now, there's no need for him to have anything to do with any soulstones anymore. They were a ploy played by the Three to fool heaven, but now that the secret is no longer secret, Diablo no longer has any use for a stone. It's obvious it isn't needed in order to exist within Sanctuary, since the Three have already done that without any aid from a Soulstone.
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(Digression: I, for one, consider the scenario where Lillith reincarnates the Three as apocryphal.) However, in Mephisto's case I see an easy solution: it is known that he corrupted the High Council of Zakarum with shards of his Soul Stone, the largest of which was implanted in the hand of the Que-Hagan of that Order. What of the other shards? Certainly the Council Members were killed, but their shards were left unacconted for. Might it be possible that a risiduum of Mephisto's essence remains? Obviously. Moreover, were the shards re-united, he may manifest in an even greater, more powerful form, given that their collective mass/energy would probably surpass that of the Stone held by the Que-Hagan. This would then validate the Prophecy wherein it is stated that "The Lord of Hatred ascends his Throne". Mephisto has thrown the Zakarum into chaos and left them decimated. Too, the Eastern Jungles are a loci of great power, so it's reasonable that many of the local mage clans have also suffered heavily. Lastly, Mephisto hasn't received his due, in my opinion, though his influence is arguably the most far reaching in Sanctuary: he bent the Zakarum to his will, clamped down on the East, and sent forth lieutenants to Tristram resulting in Diablo's release.
Good point. We still don't know exacly how the Soulstones work however, and I suspect Blizzard doesn't either. Splitting the soulstone may work like that, but Mephisto himself still remained in one piece of it so to speak.
Quote from "Jinshin" »
(Note a curiosity here: a band of mortals succede at punching through the Hellish legions and ripping out its black heart, where demigods strove to do just this for aeons but failed...)
No kidding, though obviously it is a gameplay element. It might also be explained by the fact that humans possess quite great potential, the hero might be some form of amazing new nephalem in action or something like that.
Quote from "Jinshin" »
For his return I see little alternative than to again pull upon Mephisto, who may have provided his brother a shard as a backup to take to Hell.
The soustlones aren't necessary for existing though, and as far as we know have no use when calling someone or something from the Abyss.
Quote from "Jinshin" »
Finally, Baal. We know little of his fate, other than that he succeded in corrupting the World Stone, the bridge between the realms. Before its destruction at the hands of Tyrael, Baal's spiritual essence fled into the Stone. Where to from there? According to my hypothesis -- HEAVEN!
Interesting and original idea I must say.
Quote from "Jinshin" »
Tyrael is dead.
The entity leading the Heroes is an imposter; none other than Belial, Lord of Lies. Having witnessed that the Prime Evils' efforts in the mortal plane, Belial slays Tyrael and takes his place (or, perhaps, "Tyrael" was created by Belial to begin with) and attempts to stop the Brothers in Sanctuary. This would explain Belial's absence. In the end, pulling upon the powers granted him by both Heaven and Hell, "Tyrael" destroys the World Stone and severs all three realms.
Whoah, whoah, slow down. This I have a hard time grasping. First of all, I cannot see how Tyral could reasonably have been created from Belial. He is, from what I deduct, as old as the Three himself, one of the five highest powers in Heaven according to the Sin War trilogy. As such, he cannot be a creation of the Three.
Second, he displays some of the same rogue-like characteristics we know him for during earlier parts of the Sin War, so it isn't necessarily a trait craeted by Belial.
Third, I cannot see how Tyrael could be immitated without noticing. That's like someone pretending to be Baal and hope to fool Mephisto and Diablo with that charade. It just doesn't work. Of course lesser minions would be fooled, but not the high-ups.
But to what end? To fulfill the prophecies, of course -- to ensure that SANCTUARY comes to dominance. With the World Stone destroyed, the remainder of the demonic legions on earth are left stranded, as are those Angels who followed "Tyrael". And as we know, Outer Beings are left weak without a connection to their home realms, and can maintain their existence only through using humans and their souls. Maybe it is Tyrael's/Belial's plan to wait out the aeons, rally those Outer Being survivors and lead them in this new world, where they shall corrupt and possess all of mankind, the most plentiful source of energy through out the realms. Years into the future, when the link between the three realms is re-established, Belial will have succeded where Diablo, Mephisto and Baal "failed" -- procuring an endless source of spiritual, HUMAN energy, and directing it via an Angelic and Demonic alliance against both Heaven and Hell. In this way, Sanctuary is no longer at the whim of outside forces.
Our guess is though at this time that destroying the Worldstone connected the realms. Though of course that comes from Tyrael, so if you're correct, he would obviously have been lying.
Still, an interesting plot and a good read :thumbsup:
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Well most of the Nephalem became regular humans because of how the Worldstone affected them.
As for after the Sin War trilogy, we can only assume that something started happening to people all over the world after the death of Uldyssian.
In a way I can agree with Equinox, it does suck to have to read books in order to stay up to date with a game. But on the other hand I think it's great to get all of this extra material.
I can't really respond to your arguments without spoiling the plot for you, so if you want to read them, I'll just shut up
I don't see what pivotal role the Soulstones fill. This is how I see it.
The Three sit in Hell and want to invade Sanctuary.
The Three realise this will be hard.
The Three fool everyone with the Soulstones, making everyone think they're these awesome prisons, when in fact they're not.
The Three each break free of their Soulstones to some degree.
Both Mephisto and Diablo have their stones shattered, sending them to the Abyss. Baal's fate uncertain I guess.
Diablo is at least surely freed of his stone by now, there's no need for him to have anything to do with any soulstones anymore. They were a ploy played by the Three to fool heaven, but now that the secret is no longer secret, Diablo no longer has any use for a stone. It's obvious it isn't needed in order to exist within Sanctuary, since the Three have already done that without any aid from a Soulstone.
No kidding, though obviously it is a gameplay element. It might also be explained by the fact that humans possess quite great potential, the hero might be some form of amazing new nephalem in action or something like that.
The soustlones aren't necessary for existing though, and as far as we know have no use when calling someone or something from the Abyss.
Interesting and original idea I must say.
Whoah, whoah, slow down. This I have a hard time grasping. First of all, I cannot see how Tyral could reasonably have been created from Belial. He is, from what I deduct, as old as the Three himself, one of the five highest powers in Heaven according to the Sin War trilogy. As such, he cannot be a creation of the Three.
Second, he displays some of the same rogue-like characteristics we know him for during earlier parts of the Sin War, so it isn't necessarily a trait craeted by Belial.
Third, I cannot see how Tyrael could be immitated without noticing. That's like someone pretending to be Baal and hope to fool Mephisto and Diablo with that charade. It just doesn't work. Of course lesser minions would be fooled, but not the high-ups.
Our guess is though at this time that destroying the Worldstone connected the realms. Though of course that comes from Tyrael, so if you're correct, he would obviously have been lying.
Still, an interesting plot and a good read :thumbsup: