Alright...really sorry if this is a repeat...I've been gone for a few weeks now..I've looked through all the threads and havent seen anything on this yet...so..
Has anyone noticed the change in text on the main D3 page?
It reads:
"Two decades have passed since the demonic lords, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, set out across the world of Sanctuary on a vicious rampage, twisting humanity to their unholy will. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils, the memory fades slowly.
When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram Cathedral seeking clues to defeat new stirrings of evil, a fiery harbinger of doom falls from the heavens, striking the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. This fire from the sky reawakens ancient evils and calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells once again."
So now we know that this couldn't possibly be Tyrael warning Deckard...which leaves the only two sound theories for now to be:
1.It is Imperius coming to Sanctuary
2.It is an entirely new evil we haven't heard or seen yet
Anyone else notice on the concept art on the official sight they removed the sketch of the two angels from the top and now it's just Imperius?
Blizzard is on to us!
Nope its there like it has always been. You just have to click on the "download high res" button when you click on it the first time and the preview pops up. ;-)
Inarius, He's the wild card.
He was one of the most powerful of the High Council and at the end of the Sin War he was "dealt with."
The exact means as to his imprisonment or what the Council did to him wasn't really specified.
In truth, the World Stone wasn't the barrier that kept the Angles and the Demons out of Sanctuary.
After the Council Voted against complete destruction of Inarius' creation (with Tyreal casting the deciding vote) at the end of the Sin War a Truce was called by the 3 Prime Evils with the High Council.
Both sides knew that if one side made a full on play to take over Sanctuary the other side would make immediate steps to stop them. The end result would be a continuous cycle of collateral damage that in the end distroy what both sides wanted to have.
It doesn't say in the book if anything was done to the world stone to help enforce this Truce so that could be a possibility. But we do know that from the original Diablo Lore, that the Prime Evils were cast out of Hell by the Lessor Evils.
The Council may have made certain allowances to this small breach in the Truce since the 3 Demons weren't seen as a concentrated effort by hell to invade Sanctuary. I imagine Tyreal may have thought differently on the matter and worked to help the mortals with combating them with as little direct action as possible.
The World Stone was probably the greatest weapon the mortals could have used against either side had they made a aggressive play againts Sanctuary. But with it gone the only thing staying both sides hands was the original reason both sides pulled back. Each side was interested in the mortals capacity to choice and/or power they could wield as foot soldiers.
Now we return to the beginning of this post...Inarius.
He was primary architect of Sanctuary. His power was the greatest of the Council and in a one on one fight I could easily see him beating the stuffing out of Tyreal.
Inarius may still be an Arch Angel, but he is no longer allied with Heaven. His primary goal (if he ever slipped the binds of this prison) would be to regain control of his creation by any means nessissary or distroy it and begin anew.
Inarius BUILT the World Stone, and in extention the Soul stones that housed the 3 prime Evils.
If anyone could resurrect the 3 Prime Evils to help him regain control of Sanctuary it would be him.
But then...I doubt either side would be pleased with letting him take control what both sides have been so painstakingly trying to influence onto their side...
Sounds all well and good...and you definitely know your lore...and I thought along the same lines as you once...but...
When the developer panel was asked if we would see Inarius in this game, they fumbled the question and didn't even know who he was...
Granted this may be a ploy to keep the secret..but still..unlikely I think.
And as far as the Worldstone not being what kept the Angels and demons out....I disagree.
True, there was a truce that was made. But we know that Sanctuary was hid from the Hells for a long time by the Worldstone...and even longer from the high Heavens...Once discovered angels and demons could get there but they couldn't stay because they didn't have an anchor to Sanctuary (i.e. when Tyrael tells you that he can't stay long because they powers that hold him to this realm are fading)
The only way to overcome this was to destroy the Worldstone. Tyrael tells us in the last act of LOD that it is what separates Sanctuary from the Burning Hells and the Hiigh Heavens. Because of the truce the Three needed it to look like they had no plot to enter Sanctuary so they staged their banishment but could not manifest on the mortal plane fully without the soulstones. This is where Izual came in. He helped stage the banishment and told them of the soulstones(which are shards of the Worldstone) and how to corrupt them. These shards of the Worldstone were the only reason the three could remain in Sanctuary and gain power. Then they moved on to the biggest part of their plan which would allow them to corrupt the worldstone enabling them easier access into Sanctuary.
So I do not entirely agree with your statement about the Worldstone not being what kept everyone out...
Let's look at all of this from a another point of view!
Angels are symbols of good. Not just in the real world, but also in Diablo universe. That includes understanding, morale etc. I doubt that Imperius would act on his own, or rebel against the council. It would be more realistic if he accepts the final decision of the council. Now, I know that he is a big shot in the council, but he still has to respect their decisions, right. Why should he be ill tempered?
I understand but we have to get over this idea that angels=good and demons=bad in the world of Sanctuary. If you read the Sin War, this comes to the forefront. Angels=order and demons=chaos.
In Sanctuary it is all about the "Balance"...without equal evil to balance good...good would turn on itself and become evil. Kind of confusing but if you read the Sin War you can really get into the philosophy of it.
Basically what I am trying to say is this:
The universe of Sanctuary isn't our world...they don't equate angels with good and demons with bad. Trust me, both sides have done some very "bad" things. So I don't think it works to justify the fact that Imperius will not rebel against the council by saying that he is an angel and that angels=good. Angels have their own agenda and will do whatever they can to see their "order" established. Imperius could very well just justify rebelling the council and destroying Sanctuary by saying that it simply went against what he viewed as order.
with tyrael banished, the angiris council's vote would still go for keeping sanctuary. only imperius voted against it, the other three angels, two voting to keep sanctuary, and one abstaining from voting. so the vote is still 2-1 in favor of sanctuary.
Exactly...which could be Imperius breaking point. He rebels against the council and takes matters into his own hands. Its speculation, but its highly likely that the army of Heaven was under the control of Imperius (since he is thought the archangel of war)
And also it is not certain that the council would still be in favor of Sanctuary. Malthael abstained his vote, but that means he could possibly go either way in a second vote. In addition to that, you are forgetting that this vote was taken while the Worldstone was in existence stll. Now with the worldstone destroyed and the power of the edyrem at its highest, some of the council may feel differently about keeping Sanctuary around...
Very nice post Archanum. It looks like in the first two (not including the black and white sketch) that the fingers are more... i don't know... evil? than Tyrael's. Or more 'evil' than any other angels should be, haha. Do you think these colored pictures are two different angels, seeing as there are a few differences between 1-2 and then 3-5? (5 shouldnt really count since you cant see anything i guess)
Nope I think this is just a storyboard of a scene just showing the progression of whatever it is that is happening to this angel. I definitely think they are the same angel.
At second glance, it could be a shoulderguard, but i dont really think so.... its funny how he has wings of feather and magic, whereas all other angels that we've seen (Hadriel and Tyrael) have wings of pure magiclal essence.
Actually all the angels we have seen to this point have had their "light" feathers protruding from actual feathers...check out this concept art of Tyrael.
In the picture that we asssume is Imperius, you can also see that he definitely has the characteristic "light" wings as well, it just seems that his feather wings are more protruding than tyrael's.
And this could very well be some sort of armor because if you look in one of the other images shown in that concept art, you can see that this angel also has a winged helm that seems similar to the protruding wings we see.
And to jed...I would def love to see a Tyrael drawing...
EDIT****
Just for reference here is the picture I am speaking of. The very first two color pictures show, what seem to me, a winged helm.
Blazing Sword, Blazing Cross.. I agree. The differention between the two is really moot. Personally, though, I get the "Cross" vibe too. I'm not sure, it could be the way it's a bit blocky, or the "hilt" being short.. Maybe even an ankh.
Agreed. There is no way of proving either way that the image is or isn't a sword. But I think it is safe to say that whatever IT is...it is significant. I can see the significance of an upturned sword (would be a distinguisher of Imperius)...but why would a cross glow bright on any other angel's chest?
I believe the use of crosses in Diablo to just be asthetic. They use upside down crucifixes because the gaming audience can relate those with "scariness." They use normal crosses to convey "holiness" because that is what your mind thinks when you see a cross..."hey that character has a cross on his shield...he must be a "holy" knight!"
Therefore I have a hard time believing they would use one of these asthetic symbols in a part of the story that is significant.
But...thats just my two cents and as said before...either way is just speculation...but we can argue what makes more sense
All of you guys are geniuses! This thread is amazing.
But I have a question... How would Imperius cast Tyrael just straight to hell to be whipped around by The Three? Tyrael has to be close to equal power, doesn't he? Fill my brain with more knowledge!
(and don't get me wrong, i've been a hardcore Diablo freak for years. I've read the 3 novels that aren't the Sin War ones and i'm orderein' those soon!)
Well I wasn't implying that Imperius would do it on his own...but I would definitely say that he would be behind it. As powerful as Tyrael is, he is no match for the whole Angiris council. Just as the council handed over Inarius (which we know was one of the most powerful angels) to Mephisto, they could easily handle Tyrael.
Like Daemoro said, we have no proof, but it is logical to think the council was close to equal in power (but we do know that some angels are greater than others, the Sin War talks of how Inarius was one of the greatest and most beautiful). Its really all speculation, but as far as we can tell the strength of enforcement of the Angiris council is found in its numbers.
If Tyrael wouldn't have destroyed the Worldstone, it could've served as a conduit for the forces of hell into Sanctuary, while still keeping the angels out.
So.. No, I think he'd actually be pretty pissed everything went south.
If hell wants Sanctuary now, they'll have to do open war against Heaven again, which is precisely what the three wanted to avoid; It's essentially futile. The Great Conflict have been ongoing for a presumably endless stretch of time, leading nowhere.
True...but it is speculation. Many would argue that Baal wanted the Worldstone destroyed and wanted to frame Tyrael into doing it so he would be cast out. Other argue that Baal wasn't powerful enough to destroy the Worldstone (being that it was created by angelic magic; Inarius)
So we aren't sure of Baal's motive. It could have been his plan all along. Now that the Worldstone is destroyed the nephalem will start to gain power. This is what the Evils were counting on. Using mankind as a jump on the heavens. With mankind opened to their full potential, this power could be harnessed into destroying Heaven once and for all.
Maybe Imperius won't have a big of a part as I thought, but I'm almost certain he will be casting Tyrael from Heaven for Tyrael destroying the Worldstone.
I think it'd be neat if the expansion for D3 was Imperius coming down and you having to destroy him possibly or something.
You know...what if Imperius gave Tyrael the same judgement he gave Inarius?
Instead of just being cast from heaven (which I think is unlikely)...Tyrael would be turned over to the Three to do whatever they pleased with him...
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If that isn't Imperius I don't know what it is...
Has anyone noticed the change in text on the main D3 page?
It reads:
"Two decades have passed since the demonic lords, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, set out across the world of Sanctuary on a vicious rampage, twisting humanity to their unholy will. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils, the memory fades slowly.
When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram Cathedral seeking clues to defeat new stirrings of evil, a fiery harbinger of doom falls from the heavens, striking the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. This fire from the sky reawakens ancient evils and calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells once again."
So now we know that this couldn't possibly be Tyrael warning Deckard...which leaves the only two sound theories for now to be:
1.It is Imperius coming to Sanctuary
2.It is an entirely new evil we haven't heard or seen yet
Bring on Imperius!!
Or no angel and a badass demon ;-)
Nope its there like it has always been. You just have to click on the "download high res" button when you click on it the first time and the preview pops up. ;-)
Sounds all well and good...and you definitely know your lore...and I thought along the same lines as you once...but...
When the developer panel was asked if we would see Inarius in this game, they fumbled the question and didn't even know who he was...
Granted this may be a ploy to keep the secret..but still..unlikely I think.
And as far as the Worldstone not being what kept the Angels and demons out....I disagree.
True, there was a truce that was made. But we know that Sanctuary was hid from the Hells for a long time by the Worldstone...and even longer from the high Heavens...Once discovered angels and demons could get there but they couldn't stay because they didn't have an anchor to Sanctuary (i.e. when Tyrael tells you that he can't stay long because they powers that hold him to this realm are fading)
The only way to overcome this was to destroy the Worldstone. Tyrael tells us in the last act of LOD that it is what separates Sanctuary from the Burning Hells and the Hiigh Heavens. Because of the truce the Three needed it to look like they had no plot to enter Sanctuary so they staged their banishment but could not manifest on the mortal plane fully without the soulstones. This is where Izual came in. He helped stage the banishment and told them of the soulstones(which are shards of the Worldstone) and how to corrupt them. These shards of the Worldstone were the only reason the three could remain in Sanctuary and gain power. Then they moved on to the biggest part of their plan which would allow them to corrupt the worldstone enabling them easier access into Sanctuary.
So I do not entirely agree with your statement about the Worldstone not being what kept everyone out...
I understand but we have to get over this idea that angels=good and demons=bad in the world of Sanctuary. If you read the Sin War, this comes to the forefront. Angels=order and demons=chaos.
In Sanctuary it is all about the "Balance"...without equal evil to balance good...good would turn on itself and become evil. Kind of confusing but if you read the Sin War you can really get into the philosophy of it.
Basically what I am trying to say is this:
The universe of Sanctuary isn't our world...they don't equate angels with good and demons with bad. Trust me, both sides have done some very "bad" things. So I don't think it works to justify the fact that Imperius will not rebel against the council by saying that he is an angel and that angels=good. Angels have their own agenda and will do whatever they can to see their "order" established. Imperius could very well just justify rebelling the council and destroying Sanctuary by saying that it simply went against what he viewed as order.
Exactly...which could be Imperius breaking point. He rebels against the council and takes matters into his own hands. Its speculation, but its highly likely that the army of Heaven was under the control of Imperius (since he is thought the archangel of war)
And also it is not certain that the council would still be in favor of Sanctuary. Malthael abstained his vote, but that means he could possibly go either way in a second vote. In addition to that, you are forgetting that this vote was taken while the Worldstone was in existence stll. Now with the worldstone destroyed and the power of the edyrem at its highest, some of the council may feel differently about keeping Sanctuary around...
Nope I think this is just a storyboard of a scene just showing the progression of whatever it is that is happening to this angel. I definitely think they are the same angel.
Actually all the angels we have seen to this point have had their "light" feathers protruding from actual feathers...check out this concept art of Tyrael.
In the picture that we asssume is Imperius, you can also see that he definitely has the characteristic "light" wings as well, it just seems that his feather wings are more protruding than tyrael's.
And this could very well be some sort of armor because if you look in one of the other images shown in that concept art, you can see that this angel also has a winged helm that seems similar to the protruding wings we see.
And to jed...I would def love to see a Tyrael drawing...
EDIT****
Just for reference here is the picture I am speaking of. The very first two color pictures show, what seem to me, a winged helm.
Agreed. There is no way of proving either way that the image is or isn't a sword. But I think it is safe to say that whatever IT is...it is significant. I can see the significance of an upturned sword (would be a distinguisher of Imperius)...but why would a cross glow bright on any other angel's chest?
I believe the use of crosses in Diablo to just be asthetic. They use upside down crucifixes because the gaming audience can relate those with "scariness." They use normal crosses to convey "holiness" because that is what your mind thinks when you see a cross..."hey that character has a cross on his shield...he must be a "holy" knight!"
Therefore I have a hard time believing they would use one of these asthetic symbols in a part of the story that is significant.
But...thats just my two cents and as said before...either way is just speculation...but we can argue what makes more sense
Well I wasn't implying that Imperius would do it on his own...but I would definitely say that he would be behind it. As powerful as Tyrael is, he is no match for the whole Angiris council. Just as the council handed over Inarius (which we know was one of the most powerful angels) to Mephisto, they could easily handle Tyrael.
Like Daemoro said, we have no proof, but it is logical to think the council was close to equal in power (but we do know that some angels are greater than others, the Sin War talks of how Inarius was one of the greatest and most beautiful). Its really all speculation, but as far as we can tell the strength of enforcement of the Angiris council is found in its numbers.
True...but it is speculation. Many would argue that Baal wanted the Worldstone destroyed and wanted to frame Tyrael into doing it so he would be cast out. Other argue that Baal wasn't powerful enough to destroy the Worldstone (being that it was created by angelic magic; Inarius)
So we aren't sure of Baal's motive. It could have been his plan all along. Now that the Worldstone is destroyed the nephalem will start to gain power. This is what the Evils were counting on. Using mankind as a jump on the heavens. With mankind opened to their full potential, this power could be harnessed into destroying Heaven once and for all.
If you are talking about the destruction of the Worldstone, I would say that Baal is actually most pleased at Tyrael's action... ;-)
You know...what if Imperius gave Tyrael the same judgement he gave Inarius?
Instead of just being cast from heaven (which I think is unlikely)...Tyrael would be turned over to the Three to do whatever they pleased with him...