Brokenstorm
21-10-2011, 11:56
From --the preview pages here (http://www.insighteditions.com/Diablo-III-Deckard-Cain/dp/1608870634)
placed in the correct order
page 9-15
The Dawn
Anu and the Dragon
As with all things, it is best to begin with the beginning. The Creation.
All things after it are a result of it, and the nature of it reverberates down
through the millennia.
A great many mystic and tribal storytellers impart some version of this story.
I am using ancient writings from the Black Book of Lam Esen. I chose this
source because Lam Esen was a skilled sage renowned for his knowledge of
Skatsimi mysticism and folklore. In his time, he collected vast stores of knowledge
form diverse places, and had a uniques genius for distilling the essence of things
from a vast array of different sources.
He describes the creation of our universe in the following terms:
Before the beginning there was void. Nothing. No flesh. No rock.
No air. No beat. No light. No dark.
Nothing, save a single, perfect pearl.
Within that pearl dreamed a mighty, unfathomable spirtit-the One–
Anu. Made of shining diamond. Anu was the sum of all things: good
and evil, light and dark, physical and mystical, joy and sadness-all
reflected across the crystalline facets of its form. And, within its
eternal dream-state, Anu considered itself-all of its myriad facets.
Seeking a state of total purity and perfection, Anu cast all evil from
itself. All dissonance was gone. But what of the cast-off aspect of
its being? The dark parts, the sharp, searing aspects of hate and
pridefulness? Those could not remain in a state of separation, for all
things are drawn to all things. All parts are drawn to the whole.
Those discordant parts assembled into the Beast-the Dragon. Tathamet
was his name-and he breathed unending death and darkness from his
seven devouring heads. The Dragon was solely composed of Anu's
cast-off aspects. The end sum of the whole became a singular Evil-
the Prime Evil, from which all the vileness would eventually spread
throughout existence.
Though separate beings, Anu and the Dragon were bound together
within the Pearl's shadowed womb. There they warred against each
other in an unending clash of light and shadow for ages uncounted.
The diamond warrior and the seven-headed dragon proved to be
the equal of the other, neither ever gaining the upper hand in their
fierce and unending combat-till at last, their energies nearly
spent after countless millennia of battle, the two combatants
delivered their final blows. The energies unleashed by their
impossible fury ignited an explosion of light and matter so vast
and terrible that it birthed the very universe all around us.
All of the stars above and the darkness that binds them.
All that we touch. All that we feel. All that we know.
All that is unknown.
All of it continues through the night and the day in the ebbing and
flowing of the ocean tides and in the destruction of fire and the
creation of the seed.
Everything of which we are aware, and that of which we are utterly
unaware, was created with the deaths of Anu and the Dragon,
Tathamet.
In the epicenter of reality lies Pandemonium, the scar of the
universe's violent birth. At its chaotic center lay the Heart of
Creation, a massive jewel unlike any other: the Eye of Anu-
the Worldstone. It is the foundation stone of all places and times,
a nexus of realities and vast, untold possibility.
Anu and Tathamet are no more, yet their distinct essences
permeated the nascent universe-and eventually became the bedrock
of what we know to be the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.
Anu's shining spine spun out into the primordial darkness, where
it slowed and cooled. Over countless ages it formed into the Crystal
Arch, around which the High Heavens took shape and form.
Though Anu was gone, some resonance of it remained in the holy Arch. Spirits bled
forth from it-shining angels of light and sound who embodied the virtuous aspects of
what the One had been.
Yet, despite the grace and beauty of this shining realm, it lacked the perfection of
Anu's spirit. Anu had passed into a benevolent place beyond this broken universe-
a paradise of which nothing is known and yet represents perhaps the greatest-kept
secret of Creation.
Longed for, but unimaginable.
Just as Heaven cooled in the spaces above, Tathamet's blackened, smoldering husk
spiraled into the lower darkness of reality. From his putrid flesh grew the realms
of the Burning Hells. The Dragon's seven severed heads arose as the seven Evils-
the three strongest of which would be known as the Prime Evils. They, along with
their four Lesser brethren, would rule over the ravening, demonic hordes that spawned
like maggots from the desiccated cavities of the Burning Hells.
Thus was how all of what we know began...
In time, the Lords of Hell and the angels of Heaven met
and clashed. The battle raged unceasing, and thus
would come to be known as the Eternal Conflict.
It is written in the Book of Long Shadows that
the Eternal Conflict shall continue on forever
across countless places of existence, until
further mysteries, unknown even to
the angels and demons, shall
reveal themselves.
Over the millennia, many scholars
have interpreted this in various
ways. Some, especially in the primitive
tribes who look to the sky for their
understanding of the universe, view all
this as literally true. They believe that
Anu's spine is a physical object in the
Universe. That demons are born from the
rotting flesh of Tathamet.
Other scholars and mystics take this less literally and
perceive the telling of Anu and Tathamet's battle as an
elaborate metaphor for good and evil and the constant,
warring dynamic seen among the force of nature.
The Eternal Conflict
I take the following knowledge from a surviving
fragment of one of the scrolls of the Church of the
Zakarum. In it, the unknown scribe tells of event which
took place millennia before the founding of the church.
Thus, the description are of questionable
validity. I personally believe that the tales came
from earlier and unknown source. I have my
suspicions, which, for the time, I will keep to
myself-although, I might expatiate on these
things in a latter writing. The scrolls describe a
war fought by agent of light and order against
creatures of chaos and shadow. That is to say,
forces both of the High Heavens and
the Burning Hells (see later sections).
This war was most commonly fought
within the realm of Pandemonium.
According to one of the earliest necromancers,
the angels and demons battled over control of
one essential object, the Heart of Creation-the Worldstone.
The Worldstone is not, as the name implies, a mere
stone. It is a colossal, mountain-sized object
which was believed by many (and is supported by multiple petroglyphs
and ancient sculptures) to be the actual Eye of Anu,
the One. According to legend, to which I subscribe, the Worldstone
is an artifact of unimaginable power.
Lacking the specificity and background a scholar such as I would like,
a belief exists that control of this stone changed hands many times
over the eons. Oral history tells us that the Worldstone "allowed the side
that possessed it to alter reality and create life and worlds almost without
restriction." The account continues that "angels used the stone to built worlds
of perfect order in line with their ideals of justice, hope, wisdom, fate, and
valor." whereas demons used the stone to "create unfathomable engines
of annihilation and worlds of destruction, terror, and hatred. However, these
worlds created by angels and demons never flourished. They were inherently
flawed, and doomed to wither and die."
I know not whether such world were even created or, if they
were, whether any of them still exist. To the best of my knowledge, no
man has ever beheld such a world. Therefore, I suspect that this account
is literary license. What we can agree upon, however, is that this object
was of great importance and that, whatever its use, it was greatly coveted
by angels and demons.
Further research suggests that in time, an archangel called Tyrael ordered
a bastion to be built around the Worldstone, a stronghold which would
come to be known as the Pandemonium Fortress. Throughout these
writings, I will explore much further the tales surrounding Tyrael, as I
have, indeed, actually met the angel.
Note: Read these sections carefully, my dear. Read all things about him
(Tyrael) carefully, for if my suspicions are correct, he still has some
role to play in this grand drama.
placed in the correct order
page 9-15
The Dawn
Anu and the Dragon
As with all things, it is best to begin with the beginning. The Creation.
All things after it are a result of it, and the nature of it reverberates down
through the millennia.
A great many mystic and tribal storytellers impart some version of this story.
I am using ancient writings from the Black Book of Lam Esen. I chose this
source because Lam Esen was a skilled sage renowned for his knowledge of
Skatsimi mysticism and folklore. In his time, he collected vast stores of knowledge
form diverse places, and had a uniques genius for distilling the essence of things
from a vast array of different sources.
He describes the creation of our universe in the following terms:
Before the beginning there was void. Nothing. No flesh. No rock.
No air. No beat. No light. No dark.
Nothing, save a single, perfect pearl.
Within that pearl dreamed a mighty, unfathomable spirtit-the One–
Anu. Made of shining diamond. Anu was the sum of all things: good
and evil, light and dark, physical and mystical, joy and sadness-all
reflected across the crystalline facets of its form. And, within its
eternal dream-state, Anu considered itself-all of its myriad facets.
Seeking a state of total purity and perfection, Anu cast all evil from
itself. All dissonance was gone. But what of the cast-off aspect of
its being? The dark parts, the sharp, searing aspects of hate and
pridefulness? Those could not remain in a state of separation, for all
things are drawn to all things. All parts are drawn to the whole.
Those discordant parts assembled into the Beast-the Dragon. Tathamet
was his name-and he breathed unending death and darkness from his
seven devouring heads. The Dragon was solely composed of Anu's
cast-off aspects. The end sum of the whole became a singular Evil-
the Prime Evil, from which all the vileness would eventually spread
throughout existence.
Though separate beings, Anu and the Dragon were bound together
within the Pearl's shadowed womb. There they warred against each
other in an unending clash of light and shadow for ages uncounted.
The diamond warrior and the seven-headed dragon proved to be
the equal of the other, neither ever gaining the upper hand in their
fierce and unending combat-till at last, their energies nearly
spent after countless millennia of battle, the two combatants
delivered their final blows. The energies unleashed by their
impossible fury ignited an explosion of light and matter so vast
and terrible that it birthed the very universe all around us.
All of the stars above and the darkness that binds them.
All that we touch. All that we feel. All that we know.
All that is unknown.
All of it continues through the night and the day in the ebbing and
flowing of the ocean tides and in the destruction of fire and the
creation of the seed.
Everything of which we are aware, and that of which we are utterly
unaware, was created with the deaths of Anu and the Dragon,
Tathamet.
In the epicenter of reality lies Pandemonium, the scar of the
universe's violent birth. At its chaotic center lay the Heart of
Creation, a massive jewel unlike any other: the Eye of Anu-
the Worldstone. It is the foundation stone of all places and times,
a nexus of realities and vast, untold possibility.
Anu and Tathamet are no more, yet their distinct essences
permeated the nascent universe-and eventually became the bedrock
of what we know to be the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.
Anu's shining spine spun out into the primordial darkness, where
it slowed and cooled. Over countless ages it formed into the Crystal
Arch, around which the High Heavens took shape and form.
Though Anu was gone, some resonance of it remained in the holy Arch. Spirits bled
forth from it-shining angels of light and sound who embodied the virtuous aspects of
what the One had been.
Yet, despite the grace and beauty of this shining realm, it lacked the perfection of
Anu's spirit. Anu had passed into a benevolent place beyond this broken universe-
a paradise of which nothing is known and yet represents perhaps the greatest-kept
secret of Creation.
Longed for, but unimaginable.
Just as Heaven cooled in the spaces above, Tathamet's blackened, smoldering husk
spiraled into the lower darkness of reality. From his putrid flesh grew the realms
of the Burning Hells. The Dragon's seven severed heads arose as the seven Evils-
the three strongest of which would be known as the Prime Evils. They, along with
their four Lesser brethren, would rule over the ravening, demonic hordes that spawned
like maggots from the desiccated cavities of the Burning Hells.
Thus was how all of what we know began...
In time, the Lords of Hell and the angels of Heaven met
and clashed. The battle raged unceasing, and thus
would come to be known as the Eternal Conflict.
It is written in the Book of Long Shadows that
the Eternal Conflict shall continue on forever
across countless places of existence, until
further mysteries, unknown even to
the angels and demons, shall
reveal themselves.
Over the millennia, many scholars
have interpreted this in various
ways. Some, especially in the primitive
tribes who look to the sky for their
understanding of the universe, view all
this as literally true. They believe that
Anu's spine is a physical object in the
Universe. That demons are born from the
rotting flesh of Tathamet.
Other scholars and mystics take this less literally and
perceive the telling of Anu and Tathamet's battle as an
elaborate metaphor for good and evil and the constant,
warring dynamic seen among the force of nature.
The Eternal Conflict
I take the following knowledge from a surviving
fragment of one of the scrolls of the Church of the
Zakarum. In it, the unknown scribe tells of event which
took place millennia before the founding of the church.
Thus, the description are of questionable
validity. I personally believe that the tales came
from earlier and unknown source. I have my
suspicions, which, for the time, I will keep to
myself-although, I might expatiate on these
things in a latter writing. The scrolls describe a
war fought by agent of light and order against
creatures of chaos and shadow. That is to say,
forces both of the High Heavens and
the Burning Hells (see later sections).
This war was most commonly fought
within the realm of Pandemonium.
According to one of the earliest necromancers,
the angels and demons battled over control of
one essential object, the Heart of Creation-the Worldstone.
The Worldstone is not, as the name implies, a mere
stone. It is a colossal, mountain-sized object
which was believed by many (and is supported by multiple petroglyphs
and ancient sculptures) to be the actual Eye of Anu,
the One. According to legend, to which I subscribe, the Worldstone
is an artifact of unimaginable power.
Lacking the specificity and background a scholar such as I would like,
a belief exists that control of this stone changed hands many times
over the eons. Oral history tells us that the Worldstone "allowed the side
that possessed it to alter reality and create life and worlds almost without
restriction." The account continues that "angels used the stone to built worlds
of perfect order in line with their ideals of justice, hope, wisdom, fate, and
valor." whereas demons used the stone to "create unfathomable engines
of annihilation and worlds of destruction, terror, and hatred. However, these
worlds created by angels and demons never flourished. They were inherently
flawed, and doomed to wither and die."
I know not whether such world were even created or, if they
were, whether any of them still exist. To the best of my knowledge, no
man has ever beheld such a world. Therefore, I suspect that this account
is literary license. What we can agree upon, however, is that this object
was of great importance and that, whatever its use, it was greatly coveted
by angels and demons.
Further research suggests that in time, an archangel called Tyrael ordered
a bastion to be built around the Worldstone, a stronghold which would
come to be known as the Pandemonium Fortress. Throughout these
writings, I will explore much further the tales surrounding Tyrael, as I
have, indeed, actually met the angel.
Note: Read these sections carefully, my dear. Read all things about him
(Tyrael) carefully, for if my suspicions are correct, he still has some
role to play in this grand drama.