There is a lot of lore in the D&D editions, but how informative it is will depend on how much you already know, most of it is simply a different take on already given information.
Though there are some "gems" of knowledge in it, like the name of the wounded townsman outside of the Tristram cathedral, or the reason why you can not interact with the archangel Hadriel.
Other than that, presuming that the To Hell and Back edition was released before Lord of Destruction (I never managed to find out the publish dates for all the editions, but then again, I haven't given it much effort), then it would have been very informative to find out before everyone else that you will have to hunt down Baal in order to save the Worldstone.
I made an attempt to sum all the available lore the D&D editions have to offer on my site, but work on it has come to a halt lately due to a change in priority.
You can find it here: http://worldofsanctuary.freehostia.com/index.php?address=0106
Most of it is incomplete yet one good thing to look at is the world map that can be found in the To Hell and Back edition.
On the other hand, you can always go to this site: http://www.scribd.com/doc/6043950/11760-Diablo-II-RPG-Diablerie
Can't remember who published it, or if it was here, but he said it had the complete Sin War trilogy, so I bookmarked it and only bother to verify it a few weeks later.
As it turns out, it also has almost all of the D&D editions on it as well, and a nifty optical character recognition function, so it knows what it's showing you is words.
Though its pretty much useless if you try to copy any of them, it still works way better Google's Tesseract.
On the artistic side, there's no doubt it looks amazing, an extraordinary talent put into a very good use.
On the pragmatic side, please tell me you have a blank version of it, must more information is soon to come, not to mention it needs a lot of fixing.
I meant that I can be a bit crude, most of the times, the lore of Diablo is my passion, that, and cooking with heavy working instruments.
The ever growing community of the game is certainly in need of more people who care about its lore and that are willing to put in hard work in order to make sure that those who have questions will know where to turn to, to get not just answers for their questions, but the right answers as well.
You have started something great in potential, but lacking in reality, the articles need improving, expanding, in my opinion, they need to go further back into and second and first games, and deeper still into the the Sin War trilogy and the rest of the novels.
I know you can argue that it might be too early to judge, but much more information exists there that is crucial for a better understanding of the workings of Sanctuary, and that information has to be in the Wiki first.
Documenting the writings of Abd al-Hazir is very important, but its also very easy and common, the Wiki needs to demonstrate a much wider array of information before it becomes worth while.
I find the lore on your Wiki lacking, and since its mostly yourself who has edited it, I find you lacking.
This is by no means an insult, just some constructive criticism from a man who fixes dinner with a wood saw and a mallet, but the Wiki still has a long way to go, and also, for the articles that are there, the information needs to be more accurate.
For example, I already left a note on the Sanctuary article as to where you can find the correct spelling of the months.
The quest for knowledge is honorable indeed, and we should all arm ourselves with it for the coming of the third game.
But one should take into consideration that a lot of what little we know to have been true yesterday might already be false today, and it will only be until tomorrow that we might sort everything out.
For the first question, I am assuming that you are referring to capturing of Baal that resulted in the shattering of his Soulstone.
It could be that the shattering of the Soulstone was an accident, but I would rather think that it was done by Baal on purpose.
When Baal finds Marius in order to retrieve his Soulstone, he tells him that he did exactly what he was meant to do, by that he might have meant that Marius did the right thing from his point of view, but it also could mean that Marius was destined for his role in the return of the Three long before he was even born.
All that Marius had done were two things, pulling the Soulstone from Tal Rasha's chest at a most critical moment and allowing for Baal's release, and not destroying Baal's Soulstone and thus allowing Baal to take control over it and use in to corrupt the Worldstone.
All of that was very dependent in the fact that Marius, for some reason, followed Diablo, still in the form of the Dark Wandered, and that Diablo for some reason, left him alive and allowed him to follow him.
In the end, Baal was able to corrupt the Worldstone with just his shard of his original Soulstone, and so it seems that if it was shattered on purpose, it did not come in contrast with his intentional use for it.
For the second question, I have posted a very long and detailed summery of the time line that was a given until a few weeks ago, and a few minutes later, Blizzard had released a new version of the time line, one you are probably aware of, probably on purpose. http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14611
For the third question, Inarius has two given background stories, not necessarily contradicting as I have suggested in the past, but most presumably are.
The old one, which ends with Inarius being deformed and imprisoned in a hall of mirrors, and the new one, given with the new Sin War trilogy which establishes the lore of the game, in which he was given to Mephisto and his fate is unknown.
As you can see, the composition of the old time line places the fall of Izual after the new story of Inarius and before the old story.
For the fourth question, in the Sin War trilogy it is revealed that when the world of Sanctuary was created buy the rouge Angels and Demons led Inarius, the Worldstone was created in order to conceal the existence of this new world from both Heaven and Hell.
At the beginning of the trilogy, the leaders of Hell is already aware of the existence of Sanctuary, and how they came to know about it is still unknown.
As the trilogy goes on, the leaders of Heaven also discover Sanctuary, this was probably the result of releasing an amount power too big that it could not have escaped the attention of Heaven even with the function of the Worldstone to conceal it.
I must wonder then, what does the mouse buttons do.
Presumably, clicking anywhere with the left button will get you there but what of the right one?, because its clearly won't change your camera angel.
The whole idea was to show how everything is integrated, I didn't say it all fits, the timeline of the game went through many changes, the most critical is probably a little after the release of the second book, which technically means that the only thing we have left is Cain's journal and the Sin War trilogy.
For the question, I don't know, we can only assume that they do, we know of at least 9 different months, in which the number of days are at least 28 in one case.
In other news, my headache just became a lot worse.
I would first like to thank those who worked to translate the months from Cain's journal, in the end I managed to find the exact font they were written in, here it is if anyone is interested: http://www.dafont.com/font.php?file=jane_austen&page=1&nb_ppp_old=50&text=Diablo+III&nb_ppp=50&psize=m&classt=alpha
I would also like to see the information gathered here presented to someone from Blizzard, presumably at Blizzcon, preferably followed with some answers, I know that some of our people will be there and it does seem like the best opportunity.
Introduction:
The data gathered here is almost entirely originating from official sources, although it is possible to dispute how official some of these sources are (The novels, the D&D editions), or how updated some of these sources are (The first Diablo game), it is indisputable that they all have their origins with the people behind the Diablo series and that their canonicity should be held accountable by Blizzard Entertainment.
Of all the things that are about to follow, the "main listing of dates", marked Orange, is the only unofficial piece of information presented here.
It is clear that this was never meant to be an official time line for the Diablo universe, but more of a general sequence of events and their general positioning on the time line, that is clearly indicated by the even jumps of 5 years from most of the events listed on it.
It is also clear that what is listed on the main list of dates is outdated, unofficial, and is no more relevant than, for example, the unused quest from the first Diablo concerning Andariel, because in both cases we can not assume to the intention of the developers based on something that was never intended to be the canonical version.
That being said, it is included here because it is the only list of dates that is available to us besides, and prior to, the journal of Cain, it also covers a much more wide strip of time, and is consistent with a lot of the other dates available to us.
Each line from the main listing of dates will be marked with a number (*) for reference or for further discussion.
Any other date or year difference will be marked with a number
for later reference, origin or discussion, and will also be referenced primerally to the main listing of dates in order to maintain uniformity.
It is not to be taken as the reason for why there are inconsistencies in the time line, most of these inconsistencies are not the result of firstly basing themselves on the main listing of dates, and some of them will be discusses further to show inconsistencies between themselves later on.
The Timeline:
(1) Aeons ago The Beginning: The Great Conflict also begins.
[1] -1765 A great plague spreads throughout the village Seram. - 10 years before the events of the Sin War Trilogy. [2]
[2] -1755 The events of the Sin War Trilogy. – 3000 years before the darkening of Tristram. (28) (2) -990 Izual attacks Hellforge and falls to the dark hordes of chaos. (3) -985 The dark demon blade Shadowfang is created.
[3] -735 The destined clans of the Khazra encounter the Vizjerei, this is the height of the Mage Clan Wars. - 2000 years before the writings of Abd la-Hazir. [20]
[4] -535 The destined clans of the Khazra are fully transformed. - 200 years after their encounter with the Vizjerei. [4] (4) -490 The rise of Man. (5) -480 The Sin War begins. (6) -40 Inarius descends to the mortal realm and begins to construct his cathedral.
(7) -30 Inarius lays siege to and destroys the infernal temple of Mephisto.
(8) -25 The forces of Mephisto defeat Inarius and his followers, laying waste to the cathedral and surrounding countryside.
(9) -10 The mage-clans of the East begin to form.
(10) 1 The Vizjerei become the largest and most powerful of the clans. Other major clans are the Ennead and the Ammit.
(11) 240 Horazón and Bartuc rise to the fore in the Vizjerei mage-clan.
(12) 250 Bartuc turns against the Vizjerei, becoming known as the Warlord of Blood.
[5] 265 The Sine War takes place. - 1000 years before the second act of Diablo II. [18]
[6] 300 Bartuc is defeated at Viz-Jun by Horazon leading the remaining Vizjerei and the lesser mage clans. Horazon sets off on a self imposed exile. - 2 years before the defeat of Assur. [7]
[7] 302 The demon lord Assur is defeated at Berennor.
[8] 307 The mage Sarnakyle returnes to Kehjistan and leads the Vizjerei back to the use of elemental magic. - 5 years after the defeat of Assur. [7]
[9] 327 Sarnykle leaves the Vizjerei and begins to wander again. - 20 years after the return of Sarnakyle. [8] (13) 510 The Dark Exile begins with the overthrow of the Three.
(14) 515 The Three cause strife and chaos in the Mortal Realm. Ravaging of the East for centuries.
(15) 520 Civil war in Hell.
[10] 902 The capture and binding of the Prime Evils. - 600 years after the defeat of Assur. [7]
[11] 912 The Horadric monastery at Tristram is built. (16) 1005 The three soul-stones meant to imprison the prime Evils are given to members of the eastern mage-clans.
(17) 1010 The Horadrim Order unites wizards from the many mage-clans.
(18) 1145 Mephisto and Baal captured in soul-stones and buried beneath the desert. - This date clearly does not belong here.
(19) 1025 he Horadrim pursue Diablo into the West.
(20) 1050 Baal is imprisoned with Tal Rasha.
(21) 1100 Jered Cain’s Horadrim troupe captures Diablo in Khanduras.
[12] 1103 Jered Cain's band of Horadrim captured Diablo. (22) 1120 The Horadrim dwindle in numbers.
(23) 1140 The Horadrim begin to fragment back into individual mage-clans. There is feuding and bitter rivalry among the clans.
(24) 1145 Mephisto relocates to the Eastern Capitol.
[13] 1145 Mephisto and Baal captured in soul-stones and buried beneath the desert. - The same event from the main listing of dates. (18)
[14] 1150 The Church of Zakarum starts to spread beyond the east. (25) 1180 The rise of the Western Empire of Westmarch
(26) 1230 Zakarum, the Religion of the Light takes hold in the West
(27) 1240 Leoric becomes King of Khanduras.
[15] 1241 Archbisop Lazarus finds Diablo's Soulstone. (28) 1245 Leoric and Lazarus use decrepit Horadrim monastery at Tristram as HQ. Lazarus’ will is dominated by Diablo: Lazarus releases Diablo from the Soulstone
(29) 1246 Albrecht becomes the physical focus and incarnation of Diablo’s power. War between Westmarch and Khanduras breaks Leoric’s army. Lachdanan revolts against Leoric.
[16] 1249 The events of the first Diablo game. - 4 years after the darkening of Tristram. (28) (30) 1250 Diablo is ‘defeated’ by a great hero beneath Tristram, and the hero sets off for the East.
[17] 1255 Lut Gholein is besieged by general Augustus Malevolyn. Diablo passes near the city. - 9 years after the war between Westmarch and Khanduras. (29)
[18] 1265 The second act of Diablo II - 260 years after the Soulstones are given to the Horadrim by the Archangel Tyrael. (16)
[19] 1265 Baal is marching towards Mt. Arreat.
[20] 1265 The writings of Abd al-Hazir. - 20 years after the darkening of Tristram. (28)
[21] 1285 The events of Diablo III - 20 years after the destruction of the World Stone. (28)
[22] 1300 Diablo is released - 200 years after Diablo was imprisoned. (21)
Origins:
[1] "The souls of most of my family are beyond the Prophet's gatherings, brother! They died nearly ten years ago, all to plague!"
- The Sin War: Birthright, page 4.
[2] "Three thousand years before the darkening of Tristram, Uldyssian, son of Diomedes, was a simple farmer from the village of Seram"
- The Sin War: Birthright, back cover.
[3] "This state of affairs changed dramatically when they encountered the Vizjerei about two thousand years ago (if my translations prove to be correct). This was the height of the Mage Clan Wars, and even the mighty Vizjerei mage clan was showing signs of stress brought about by the prolonged struggle."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: The World: Khazra.
[4] "Exact details on what transpired next are scarce, but I have ascertained that at some point during the next two hundred years they decided to use the Vizjerei's strength against them."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: The World: Khazra.
[5] "The shrines in the desert are leftover artifacts from the great Sin War that ravaged these lands almost a thousand years ago. They still function, but most travelers believe them only to be remnants of the distant past. "
- Diablo II: act II: Gossip: Fara.
[6] "The Warlord died two years ago at Viz-jun. I helped kill him, and I saw the body."
- Demonsbane, page 82.
[7] "The destruction of the archdemon Assur at Brennor in the year 302 would prove to be one of the most significant early victories of the Sin War, and the lands of Entsteig remained untroubled by the forces of Hell for at least two centuries afterwards."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[8] "Sarnakyle traveled in the western lands for another five years, finally returning to Kehjistan and leading the Vizjerei back into the practice of elemental magic."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[9] "His death is not recorded, as twenty years after returning to his homeland, he again began to wander, and never returned."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[10] "In the following years, after weathering a devastating famine that cost many lives, he founded the dynasty that ruled Entsteig until the capture and binding of the Prime Evils themselves, some six hundred years later."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[11] "Originally built as a Horadric monastery sometime around 912 (see my entries pertaining to ancient mystical traditions for more information on the secretive Horadric order), the building was later converted to a Zakarum cathedral."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: The World: Tristram Cathedral.
[12] "In 1103, Jered Cain's Band of Horadrim captured Diablo in the country of Khanduras in a conflict so terrible that all but Cain died in the effort. Cain buried the stone near the river Talsande, and he had a Horadric Monastery built over the site."
- Diablo II: The Awakening, page 82.
[14] "During the mid-twelfth century, after the Church of Zakarum had gained prominence in the East, the Church decreed that the visions of Akarat would be spread throughout the known world in order to redeem the masses."
- Diablo II: Manual: Character Classes: The Paladin.
[15] "What isn't known is that in 1241, Archbishop Lazarus, an advisor of King Leoric, found his way into the deepest catacomb where the Soulstone was secreted."
- Diablo II: The Awakening, page 82.
[16] "Ogden has owned and run the Rising Sun Inn and Tavern for almost four years now. He purchased it just a few short months before everything here went to hell."
- Diablo: Gossip: cain.
[17] "The war mentioned by Tryst had apparently taken place in the Western Kingdoms some nine years before."
- Legacy of Blood, page 198.
[18] "The Archangel Tyrael was the one who gave the Soulstones to the Horadrim two hundred and sixty years ago."
- Diablo II: Quests: The Seven Tombs: Quest successful: Cain.
[19] "As I write this, I can hear the screams of the dying in the distance...calling to us...mocking us. But before I cast what may be my final spell...I must see our beloved Anya one last time.
Aust, Elder of Harrogath
7th day of Montaht
1265 Anno Kehjistani"
- Diablo II Lord of Destruction: Manual, page 27.
[20] "The khazra continued to wage war on humanity, but without a source of demonic power to draw from, they became weak. Despite a slight unexplained resurgence twenty or so years ago, their fury steadily drained from them until they became the sluggish and muddled beings we know today."
- Blizzard: The World: Khazra.
[21] "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."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: Home.
[22] "Diablo spent two centuries slowly working to corrupt the Soulstone that imprisoned him."
- The Arreat Summit: Super Unique Monsters: Diablo.
Cain's Journal:
15th day of Jerharan, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Our king Leoric has gone mad, lashing out in crazed frenzy at the abduction of his son, Albrecht, and our steady losses in the ill-advised war against Westmarch, leading to an open revolt among his guards."
1st day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Could there be some basis in truth to all these tales? The signs all point to this, but how is someone with my education, my knowledge, to take these tales seriously?"
12th day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Lazarus, supposed Archbishop of Light, has lured the group of villagers to their horrific end under the guise of searching for the King's missing son."
20th day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "There are only few of us left now: Griswold, Pepin, Ogden, Farnham, the unfortunate Wirt, and, of course, the fair Gillian."
27th day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Finally one of these adventurers seems to stand out from the rest. ... I have revealed my history and shared my knowledge with him."
21st day of Ratham, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "But the time for denial is past: it is the Dark Lord of Terror, Diablo himself, who plagues us. The vile staff of Lazarus war brought to me today, further confirming my suspicions."
6th day of Esunar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "As I started awake, it became apparent that it was actually the shriek of Diablo's tortured end."
18th day of Esunar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "I have never seen Tristram bursting with such joy an is the weeks since Diablo's defeat."
20th day of Esunar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Shortly after he left us, legions of foul demons attacked and burned our town to its foundations. ... I sit now, caged, amongst the screams and the hellfire, as I await my own end."
2nd day of Kathon, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Although I had long given up hope and surrendered to my inevitable fate, the impossible happened today. I was rescued."
28th day of Kathon, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Our sense of relief is overwhelming now that our passage through the desert is finally over and we have arrived in Lut Gholein."
11th day of Solmoneth, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "We are too late. My companions followed the trail of the Dark Wanderer to the tomb of Tal Rasha, only to be confronted by the demon Duriel."
1st day of Montaht, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Today I have seen what has become of the man who once risked everything to save us from the Lord of Terror. ... Fortunately they have succeeded in driving him back to his fiery home, and they tell me they mean to assault the Burning Hells in order to put an end to his existence once and for all."
4th day of Ostara, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Diablo is dead. I have long desired to hear these words, but now that they come, I feel little joy. News also reached us of a demonic army marching upon Arreat. This is Baal's going, no doubt."
2nd day of Vasan, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "The honor, strength, and dedication of my companions never ceases to amaze me. They are even now braving the demons and snow to reach Baal himself."
10th day of Vasan, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Although the heroes have destroyed Baal, the angel Tyrael had delivered grave news."
Analysis:
As shown at [19], Baal is on the march towards Mt. Arreat on the month of Montaht, 1265.
Cain's journal places Baal's march towards Mt. Arreat at around the month of Ostara, 1266.
Since we can see that the Montaht comes before Ostara, then the marching of Baal towards Mt. Arreat is dated twice at a one year's difference at least.
There is a need to determine if the events of Diablo III [21] happen 20 years after the darkening of Tristram or 20 years after the destruction of the World Stone, if the dates in Cain's journal are to guide us, then there is little difference between the two options, 2 years at most, 9 months at the last, if we are based of the old timeline, then the two events are set apart by 20 years.
There is also the fact that Abd al-Hazir makes clear reservations to all of the dated he names, and that means that that night not only a bit off, but completely inaccurate.
The resurgence of the Khazra in [20], 20 years ago, corresponds with the events of the first Diablo and the appearance of Goatmen beneath Tristram, the darkening of Tristram.
I am assuming that the writing of Abd al-Hazir were made prior the the events of Diablo III, and so, according to [21], they must be dated more than 20 years after the darkening of Tristram, 20 years plus the time difference from the writings of Abd al-Hazir, and until the events of Diablo III.
[21] lists a series of events that span several years on the old timeline, but no more than 2 years based on Cain's journal, in any case, the date itself fits to the closure event of all of these, the destruction of the World Stone.
The time span listed on [22] does not seem to fit logic, according to [12] and [15], Diablo was imprisoned for 138 years.
The date for the capturing of The Three given in [10] seems to ,match construction time of the Horadric monastery according to [11], but this does not settle things, now the time span is way more than 200 years.
(18) and its relocation at [13] seem to be out of place even there, even if you only take into consideration the main listing of dates.
Conclusion:
I wouldn't like to go over every little detail about the rest of the inconsistencies (or consistencies) above, as I am already exceeding the dead line I set to myself and going over everything will cost me the rest of th day.
Besides, its all pretty simple to figure out and I don't want to take away all the fun from it.
If anyone has anything to add to it, more analyzing, perhaps something I've missed, or some questions, then feel free to do so.
It's bordering on impossible to try and understand it by ourselves but you do have a point, its about time we had it figured out.
I could come up with all the information we do have and the inconsistencies it has in about a day or two.
What I need is E-mail of someone important, preferably Metzen, so that we could ask him to settle this.
Cain: "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.
"'We like you, made false assumptions about this place, false assumptions about the creatures spawned by both our kind.'
A blazing red eye materialized, then winked in the direction of Auriel, who utterly ignored it."
It doesn't say it had a different name (At least I'm pretty sure it doesn't), it says its name "Kiss of Mephisto" was meant for someone of whom Lucion would not speak.
0
Any way, you read the last bit here:
http://worldofsanctuary.freehostia.com/index.php?address=01020105
And you watch the cinematic here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC9ajvJ8jM4
And your'e set.
0
Though there are some "gems" of knowledge in it, like the name of the wounded townsman outside of the Tristram cathedral, or the reason why you can not interact with the archangel Hadriel.
Other than that, presuming that the To Hell and Back edition was released before Lord of Destruction (I never managed to find out the publish dates for all the editions, but then again, I haven't given it much effort), then it would have been very informative to find out before everyone else that you will have to hunt down Baal in order to save the Worldstone.
I made an attempt to sum all the available lore the D&D editions have to offer on my site, but work on it has come to a halt lately due to a change in priority.
You can find it here:
http://worldofsanctuary.freehostia.com/index.php?address=0106
Most of it is incomplete yet one good thing to look at is the world map that can be found in the To Hell and Back edition.
On the other hand, you can always go to this site:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6043950/11760-Diablo-II-RPG-Diablerie
Can't remember who published it, or if it was here, but he said it had the complete Sin War trilogy, so I bookmarked it and only bother to verify it a few weeks later.
As it turns out, it also has almost all of the D&D editions on it as well, and a nifty optical character recognition function, so it knows what it's showing you is words.
Though its pretty much useless if you try to copy any of them, it still works way better Google's Tesseract.
0
On the pragmatic side, please tell me you have a blank version of it, must more information is soon to come, not to mention it needs a lot of fixing.
0
The ever growing community of the game is certainly in need of more people who care about its lore and that are willing to put in hard work in order to make sure that those who have questions will know where to turn to, to get not just answers for their questions, but the right answers as well.
You have started something great in potential, but lacking in reality, the articles need improving, expanding, in my opinion, they need to go further back into and second and first games, and deeper still into the the Sin War trilogy and the rest of the novels.
I know you can argue that it might be too early to judge, but much more information exists there that is crucial for a better understanding of the workings of Sanctuary, and that information has to be in the Wiki first.
Documenting the writings of Abd al-Hazir is very important, but its also very easy and common, the Wiki needs to demonstrate a much wider array of information before it becomes worth while.
0
This is by no means an insult, just some constructive criticism from a man who fixes dinner with a wood saw and a mallet, but the Wiki still has a long way to go, and also, for the articles that are there, the information needs to be more accurate.
For example, I already left a note on the Sanctuary article as to where you can find the correct spelling of the months.
0
But one should take into consideration that a lot of what little we know to have been true yesterday might already be false today, and it will only be until tomorrow that we might sort everything out.
For the first question, I am assuming that you are referring to capturing of Baal that resulted in the shattering of his Soulstone.
It could be that the shattering of the Soulstone was an accident, but I would rather think that it was done by Baal on purpose.
When Baal finds Marius in order to retrieve his Soulstone, he tells him that he did exactly what he was meant to do, by that he might have meant that Marius did the right thing from his point of view, but it also could mean that Marius was destined for his role in the return of the Three long before he was even born.
All that Marius had done were two things, pulling the Soulstone from Tal Rasha's chest at a most critical moment and allowing for Baal's release, and not destroying Baal's Soulstone and thus allowing Baal to take control over it and use in to corrupt the Worldstone.
All of that was very dependent in the fact that Marius, for some reason, followed Diablo, still in the form of the Dark Wandered, and that Diablo for some reason, left him alive and allowed him to follow him.
In the end, Baal was able to corrupt the Worldstone with just his shard of his original Soulstone, and so it seems that if it was shattered on purpose, it did not come in contrast with his intentional use for it.
For the second question, I have posted a very long and detailed summery of the time line that was a given until a few weeks ago, and a few minutes later, Blizzard had released a new version of the time line, one you are probably aware of, probably on purpose.
http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14611
For the third question, Inarius has two given background stories, not necessarily contradicting as I have suggested in the past, but most presumably are.
The old one, which ends with Inarius being deformed and imprisoned in a hall of mirrors, and the new one, given with the new Sin War trilogy which establishes the lore of the game, in which he was given to Mephisto and his fate is unknown.
As you can see, the composition of the old time line places the fall of Izual after the new story of Inarius and before the old story.
For the fourth question, in the Sin War trilogy it is revealed that when the world of Sanctuary was created buy the rouge Angels and Demons led Inarius, the Worldstone was created in order to conceal the existence of this new world from both Heaven and Hell.
At the beginning of the trilogy, the leaders of Hell is already aware of the existence of Sanctuary, and how they came to know about it is still unknown.
As the trilogy goes on, the leaders of Heaven also discover Sanctuary, this was probably the result of releasing an amount power too big that it could not have escaped the attention of Heaven even with the function of the Worldstone to conceal it.
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Presumably, clicking anywhere with the left button will get you there but what of the right one?, because its clearly won't change your camera angel.
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Isn't there any one at the convention with a camera?
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For the question, I don't know, we can only assume that they do, we know of at least 9 different months, in which the number of days are at least 28 in one case.
In other news, my headache just became a lot worse.
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I would first like to thank those who worked to translate the months from Cain's journal, in the end I managed to find the exact font they were written in, here it is if anyone is interested:
http://www.dafont.com/font.php?file=jane_austen&page=1&nb_ppp_old=50&text=Diablo+III&nb_ppp=50&psize=m&classt=alpha
I would also like to see the information gathered here presented to someone from Blizzard, presumably at Blizzcon, preferably followed with some answers, I know that some of our people will be there and it does seem like the best opportunity.
Introduction:
The data gathered here is almost entirely originating from official sources, although it is possible to dispute how official some of these sources are (The novels, the D&D editions), or how updated some of these sources are (The first Diablo game), it is indisputable that they all have their origins with the people behind the Diablo series and that their canonicity should be held accountable by Blizzard Entertainment.
Of all the things that are about to follow, the "main listing of dates", marked Orange, is the only unofficial piece of information presented here.
It is clear that this was never meant to be an official time line for the Diablo universe, but more of a general sequence of events and their general positioning on the time line, that is clearly indicated by the even jumps of 5 years from most of the events listed on it.
It is also clear that what is listed on the main list of dates is outdated, unofficial, and is no more relevant than, for example, the unused quest from the first Diablo concerning Andariel, because in both cases we can not assume to the intention of the developers based on something that was never intended to be the canonical version.
That being said, it is included here because it is the only list of dates that is available to us besides, and prior to, the journal of Cain, it also covers a much more wide strip of time, and is consistent with a lot of the other dates available to us.
Each line from the main listing of dates will be marked with a number (*) for reference or for further discussion.
Any other date or year difference will be marked with a number
for later reference, origin or discussion, and will also be referenced primerally to the main listing of dates in order to maintain uniformity.
It is not to be taken as the reason for why there are inconsistencies in the time line, most of these inconsistencies are not the result of firstly basing themselves on the main listing of dates, and some of them will be discusses further to show inconsistencies between themselves later on.
The Timeline:
(1) Aeons ago The Beginning: The Great Conflict also begins.
[1] -1765 A great plague spreads throughout the village Seram. - 10 years before the events of the Sin War Trilogy. [2]
[2] -1755 The events of the Sin War Trilogy. – 3000 years before the darkening of Tristram. (28)
(2) -990 Izual attacks Hellforge and falls to the dark hordes of chaos.
(3) -985 The dark demon blade Shadowfang is created.
[3] -735 The destined clans of the Khazra encounter the Vizjerei, this is the height of the Mage Clan Wars. - 2000 years before the writings of Abd la-Hazir. [20]
[4] -535 The destined clans of the Khazra are fully transformed. - 200 years after their encounter with the Vizjerei. [4]
(4) -490 The rise of Man.
(5) -480 The Sin War begins.
(6) -40 Inarius descends to the mortal realm and begins to construct his cathedral.
(7) -30 Inarius lays siege to and destroys the infernal temple of Mephisto.
(8) -25 The forces of Mephisto defeat Inarius and his followers, laying waste to the cathedral and surrounding countryside.
(9) -10 The mage-clans of the East begin to form.
(10) 1 The Vizjerei become the largest and most powerful of the clans. Other major clans are the Ennead and the Ammit.
(11) 240 Horazón and Bartuc rise to the fore in the Vizjerei mage-clan.
(12) 250 Bartuc turns against the Vizjerei, becoming known as the Warlord of Blood.
[5] 265 The Sine War takes place. - 1000 years before the second act of Diablo II. [18]
[6] 300 Bartuc is defeated at Viz-Jun by Horazon leading the remaining Vizjerei and the lesser mage clans. Horazon sets off on a self imposed exile. - 2 years before the defeat of Assur. [7]
[7] 302 The demon lord Assur is defeated at Berennor.
[8] 307 The mage Sarnakyle returnes to Kehjistan and leads the Vizjerei back to the use of elemental magic. - 5 years after the defeat of Assur. [7]
[9] 327 Sarnykle leaves the Vizjerei and begins to wander again. - 20 years after the return of Sarnakyle. [8]
(13) 510 The Dark Exile begins with the overthrow of the Three.
(14) 515 The Three cause strife and chaos in the Mortal Realm. Ravaging of the East for centuries.
(15) 520 Civil war in Hell.
[10] 902 The capture and binding of the Prime Evils. - 600 years after the defeat of Assur. [7]
[11] 912 The Horadric monastery at Tristram is built.
(16) 1005 The three soul-stones meant to imprison the prime Evils are given to members of the eastern mage-clans.
(17) 1010 The Horadrim Order unites wizards from the many mage-clans.
(18) 1145 Mephisto and Baal captured in soul-stones and buried beneath the desert. - This date clearly does not belong here.
(19) 1025 he Horadrim pursue Diablo into the West.
(20) 1050 Baal is imprisoned with Tal Rasha.
(21) 1100 Jered Cain’s Horadrim troupe captures Diablo in Khanduras.
[12] 1103 Jered Cain's band of Horadrim captured Diablo.
(22) 1120 The Horadrim dwindle in numbers.
(23) 1140 The Horadrim begin to fragment back into individual mage-clans. There is feuding and bitter rivalry among the clans.
(24) 1145 Mephisto relocates to the Eastern Capitol.
[13] 1145 Mephisto and Baal captured in soul-stones and buried beneath the desert. - The same event from the main listing of dates. (18)
[14] 1150 The Church of Zakarum starts to spread beyond the east.
(25) 1180 The rise of the Western Empire of Westmarch
(26) 1230 Zakarum, the Religion of the Light takes hold in the West
(27) 1240 Leoric becomes King of Khanduras.
[15] 1241 Archbisop Lazarus finds Diablo's Soulstone.
(28) 1245 Leoric and Lazarus use decrepit Horadrim monastery at Tristram as HQ. Lazarus’ will is dominated by Diablo: Lazarus releases Diablo from the Soulstone
(29) 1246 Albrecht becomes the physical focus and incarnation of Diablo’s power. War between Westmarch and Khanduras breaks Leoric’s army. Lachdanan revolts against Leoric.
[16] 1249 The events of the first Diablo game. - 4 years after the darkening of Tristram. (28)
(30) 1250 Diablo is ‘defeated’ by a great hero beneath Tristram, and the hero sets off for the East.
[17] 1255 Lut Gholein is besieged by general Augustus Malevolyn. Diablo passes near the city. - 9 years after the war between Westmarch and Khanduras. (29)
[18] 1265 The second act of Diablo II - 260 years after the Soulstones are given to the Horadrim by the Archangel Tyrael. (16)
[19] 1265 Baal is marching towards Mt. Arreat.
[20] 1265 The writings of Abd al-Hazir. - 20 years after the darkening of Tristram. (28)
[21] 1285 The events of Diablo III - 20 years after the destruction of the World Stone. (28)
[22] 1300 Diablo is released - 200 years after Diablo was imprisoned. (21)
Origins:
[1] "The souls of most of my family are beyond the Prophet's gatherings, brother! They died nearly ten years ago, all to plague!"
- The Sin War: Birthright, page 4.
[2] "Three thousand years before the darkening of Tristram, Uldyssian, son of Diomedes, was a simple farmer from the village of Seram"
- The Sin War: Birthright, back cover.
[3] "This state of affairs changed dramatically when they encountered the Vizjerei about two thousand years ago (if my translations prove to be correct). This was the height of the Mage Clan Wars, and even the mighty Vizjerei mage clan was showing signs of stress brought about by the prolonged struggle."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: The World: Khazra.
[4] "Exact details on what transpired next are scarce, but I have ascertained that at some point during the next two hundred years they decided to use the Vizjerei's strength against them."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: The World: Khazra.
[5] "The shrines in the desert are leftover artifacts from the great Sin War that ravaged these lands almost a thousand years ago. They still function, but most travelers believe them only to be remnants of the distant past. "
- Diablo II: act II: Gossip: Fara.
[6] "The Warlord died two years ago at Viz-jun. I helped kill him, and I saw the body."
- Demonsbane, page 82.
[7] "The destruction of the archdemon Assur at Brennor in the year 302 would prove to be one of the most significant early victories of the Sin War, and the lands of Entsteig remained untroubled by the forces of Hell for at least two centuries afterwards."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[8] "Sarnakyle traveled in the western lands for another five years, finally returning to Kehjistan and leading the Vizjerei back into the practice of elemental magic."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[9] "His death is not recorded, as twenty years after returning to his homeland, he again began to wander, and never returned."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[10] "In the following years, after weathering a devastating famine that cost many lives, he founded the dynasty that ruled Entsteig until the capture and binding of the Prime Evils themselves, some six hundred years later."
- Demonsbane, page 120.
[11] "Originally built as a Horadric monastery sometime around 912 (see my entries pertaining to ancient mystical traditions for more information on the secretive Horadric order), the building was later converted to a Zakarum cathedral."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: The World: Tristram Cathedral.
[12] "In 1103, Jered Cain's Band of Horadrim captured Diablo in the country of Khanduras in a conflict so terrible that all but Cain died in the effort. Cain buried the stone near the river Talsande, and he had a Horadric Monastery built over the site."
- Diablo II: The Awakening, page 82.
[14] "During the mid-twelfth century, after the Church of Zakarum had gained prominence in the East, the Church decreed that the visions of Akarat would be spread throughout the known world in order to redeem the masses."
- Diablo II: Manual: Character Classes: The Paladin.
[15] "What isn't known is that in 1241, Archbishop Lazarus, an advisor of King Leoric, found his way into the deepest catacomb where the Soulstone was secreted."
- Diablo II: The Awakening, page 82.
[16] "Ogden has owned and run the Rising Sun Inn and Tavern for almost four years now. He purchased it just a few short months before everything here went to hell."
- Diablo: Gossip: cain.
[17] "The war mentioned by Tryst had apparently taken place in the Western Kingdoms some nine years before."
- Legacy of Blood, page 198.
[18] "The Archangel Tyrael was the one who gave the Soulstones to the Horadrim two hundred and sixty years ago."
- Diablo II: Quests: The Seven Tombs: Quest successful: Cain.
[19] "As I write this, I can hear the screams of the dying in the distance...calling to us...mocking us. But before I cast what may be my final spell...I must see our beloved Anya one last time.
Aust, Elder of Harrogath
7th day of Montaht
1265 Anno Kehjistani"
- Diablo II Lord of Destruction: Manual, page 27.
[20] "The khazra continued to wage war on humanity, but without a source of demonic power to draw from, they became weak. Despite a slight unexplained resurgence twenty or so years ago, their fury steadily drained from them until they became the sluggish and muddled beings we know today."
- Blizzard: The World: Khazra.
[21] "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."
- Blizzard: Diablo III: Home.
[22] "Diablo spent two centuries slowly working to corrupt the Soulstone that imprisoned him."
- The Arreat Summit: Super Unique Monsters: Diablo.
Cain's Journal:
15th day of Jerharan, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Our king Leoric has gone mad, lashing out in crazed frenzy at the abduction of his son, Albrecht, and our steady losses in the ill-advised war against Westmarch, leading to an open revolt among his guards."
1st day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Could there be some basis in truth to all these tales? The signs all point to this, but how is someone with my education, my knowledge, to take these tales seriously?"
12th day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Lazarus, supposed Archbishop of Light, has lured the group of villagers to their horrific end under the guise of searching for the King's missing son."
20th day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "There are only few of us left now: Griswold, Pepin, Ogden, Farnham, the unfortunate Wirt, and, of course, the fair Gillian."
27th day of Damhar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Finally one of these adventurers seems to stand out from the rest. ... I have revealed my history and shared my knowledge with him."
21st day of Ratham, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "But the time for denial is past: it is the Dark Lord of Terror, Diablo himself, who plagues us. The vile staff of Lazarus war brought to me today, further confirming my suspicions."
6th day of Esunar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "As I started awake, it became apparent that it was actually the shriek of Diablo's tortured end."
18th day of Esunar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "I have never seen Tristram bursting with such joy an is the weeks since Diablo's defeat."
20th day of Esunar, 1265 Anno Kehjistani "Shortly after he left us, legions of foul demons attacked and burned our town to its foundations. ... I sit now, caged, amongst the screams and the hellfire, as I await my own end."
2nd day of Kathon, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Although I had long given up hope and surrendered to my inevitable fate, the impossible happened today. I was rescued."
28th day of Kathon, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Our sense of relief is overwhelming now that our passage through the desert is finally over and we have arrived in Lut Gholein."
11th day of Solmoneth, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "We are too late. My companions followed the trail of the Dark Wanderer to the tomb of Tal Rasha, only to be confronted by the demon Duriel."
1st day of Montaht, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Today I have seen what has become of the man who once risked everything to save us from the Lord of Terror. ... Fortunately they have succeeded in driving him back to his fiery home, and they tell me they mean to assault the Burning Hells in order to put an end to his existence once and for all."
4th day of Ostara, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Diablo is dead. I have long desired to hear these words, but now that they come, I feel little joy. News also reached us of a demonic army marching upon Arreat. This is Baal's going, no doubt."
2nd day of Vasan, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "The honor, strength, and dedication of my companions never ceases to amaze me. They are even now braving the demons and snow to reach Baal himself."
10th day of Vasan, 1266 Anno Kehjistani "Although the heroes have destroyed Baal, the angel Tyrael had delivered grave news."
Analysis:
As shown at [19], Baal is on the march towards Mt. Arreat on the month of Montaht, 1265.
Cain's journal places Baal's march towards Mt. Arreat at around the month of Ostara, 1266.
Since we can see that the Montaht comes before Ostara, then the marching of Baal towards Mt. Arreat is dated twice at a one year's difference at least.
There is a need to determine if the events of Diablo III [21] happen 20 years after the darkening of Tristram or 20 years after the destruction of the World Stone, if the dates in Cain's journal are to guide us, then there is little difference between the two options, 2 years at most, 9 months at the last, if we are based of the old timeline, then the two events are set apart by 20 years.
There is also the fact that Abd al-Hazir makes clear reservations to all of the dated he names, and that means that that night not only a bit off, but completely inaccurate.
The resurgence of the Khazra in [20], 20 years ago, corresponds with the events of the first Diablo and the appearance of Goatmen beneath Tristram, the darkening of Tristram.
I am assuming that the writing of Abd al-Hazir were made prior the the events of Diablo III, and so, according to [21], they must be dated more than 20 years after the darkening of Tristram, 20 years plus the time difference from the writings of Abd al-Hazir, and until the events of Diablo III.
[21] lists a series of events that span several years on the old timeline, but no more than 2 years based on Cain's journal, in any case, the date itself fits to the closure event of all of these, the destruction of the World Stone.
The time span listed on [22] does not seem to fit logic, according to [12] and [15], Diablo was imprisoned for 138 years.
The date for the capturing of The Three given in [10] seems to ,match construction time of the Horadric monastery according to [11], but this does not settle things, now the time span is way more than 200 years.
(18) and its relocation at [13] seem to be out of place even there, even if you only take into consideration the main listing of dates.
Conclusion:
I wouldn't like to go over every little detail about the rest of the inconsistencies (or consistencies) above, as I am already exceeding the dead line I set to myself and going over everything will cost me the rest of th day.
Besides, its all pretty simple to figure out and I don't want to take away all the fun from it.
If anyone has anything to add to it, more analyzing, perhaps something I've missed, or some questions, then feel free to do so.
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I could come up with all the information we do have and the inconsistencies it has in about a day or two.
What I need is E-mail of someone important, preferably Metzen, so that we could ask him to settle this.
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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.
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"'We like you, made false assumptions about this place, false assumptions about the creatures spawned by both our kind.'
A blazing red eye materialized, then winked in the direction of Auriel, who utterly ignored it."
It doesn't say it had a different name (At least I'm pretty sure it doesn't), it says its name "Kiss of Mephisto" was meant for someone of whom Lucion would not speak.