After two weekends of Diablo 4 beta, it's fair to say fans old and new have been left hungry for more, and thankfully due to the Server Slam we got a third taste. As a Diablo fan this has been an incredible year so far, and I'm comforted by the sheer volume of buzz on social media for the Diablo universe. Players I'd never have expected to try a Diablo game have been playing and loving Diablo 4, and it's been a joy to behold. Helped greatly I'm sure by the insane marketing campaign Blizzard has put behind this new addition to the series.
I can say with certainty that Diablo 4 does a better job than any of the games that have come before it, at telling a compelling story. Many of the naysayers, "What, Diablo has a story?" voices have been silenced by what was an enthralling Act 1.
You do not need to have played the previous games to enjoy Diablo 4, but the more you know about the world, the richer the experience you will have. Diablo has always had a story, and I'm going to tell it. From the beginning.
Diablo Lore: The Beginning
The very first being in existence in the world of Diablo, was Anu. Anu was all, Anu was only. Following what must have been a millennia of self-reflection, Anu decided to cast out all of the evil forces within him, effectively becoming a being of pure good and light. Pretty cool right? Well, not quite...
The evil forces had to go somewhere, and those components of Anu formed another being by the name of Tathamet, the seven-headed dragon. Anu and Tathamet fought each other for eons, light against dark, day against night until they exasperated their energy into one final killing blow. The deities were destroyed simultaneously creating the Diablo lore universe equivalent of the Big Bang.
From this destruction of the two beings came the creation of other beings and other worlds. What we now know as the Worldstone, is actually the Eye of Anu, the Heart of Creation itself, and the area formed around it Pandemonium. From Anu's spine came the 'Crystal Arch' also known as the foundation of the High Heavens. From the Crystal Arch beings of light and sound are created, Angels to you and I.
Lower Pandemonium became home to a much darker force. Tathamet's severed parts formed what we now know as Hell, and the seven heads of the dragon were split to form the Three Prime Evils, and four Lesser Evils. The Black Abyss in Hell is where all demons are created.
