Diablo Lore: The High Heavens and the Angiris Council
As we have covered, Angels are birthed from the Crystal Arch and are actually being born from Anu's power, which is finite therefore only a finite amount of angels can exist at any one time. If the High Heavens are at maximum angel capacity, only the death of an angel will return their energy to the Crystal Arch and be used to birth another Angel. There need to be specific conditions for this to happen, and the death of Angel does not mean they themselves will return. The process works more like reincarnation. A new angel will be born that may have some of the aspects of its former self but generally be a new being altogether.
Not all Angels are created equal, some are Archangels with greater power and status in the High Heavens. The five highest of which rule over the domain, The Angiris Council. Each archangel represents a different virtue of Anu.
- Imperius - Archangel of Valor and current leader of the council.
- Malthael - Archangel of Wisdom and first and oldest of the Angels.
- Tyrael - Archangel of Justice
- Auriel - Archangel of Hope
- Itherael - Archangel of Fate
Malthael, an integral character for Diablo 3, was the original leader of the council and the oldest known being in existence. Malthael was also the first of the Angels to discover and understand the World Stone and it's importance, and the first to notice it had gone missing later in the timeline.
Diablo Lore: Inarius and Lilith and the Creation of Sanctuary
Inarius and Lilith are two very important characters in Diablo lore and the two that newcomers to Diablo 4 will be the most familiar with as they are the focus of the latest game. We know that they are responsible for creating Sanctuary but how did this come to be?
Inarius was a powerful angel who served as an advisor to the Angiris Council, in fact under direct command of Tyrael. After tiring of the Eternal Conflict, he pondered the utter pointlessness of battling with demons for the World Stone and the passing back and forth of power and became disillusioned with the goals of the High Heavens. Being a well behaved angel he fought tirelessly on anyway, until one day he found himself incapacitated in battle and imprisoned by demons.
Inarius used his time in captivity to air his thoughts on the futile nature of the Eternal Conflict to his captors, and fortunately for him he found agreement in a particular demon, Lilith. Lilith was the daughter of Mephisto, also known as Daughter of Hatred and Queen of the Succubi. For a demon, Lilith was pretty hot and Inarius soon found himself utterly infatuated with her. The two fell in love and hatched a plan to rebel against both Angels and Demons and steal the World Stone for themselves thus ending the Eternal Conflict.
After recruiting some other willing volunteers to their cause from both sides of the war, they managed to steal the World Stone and harness its power to conceal themselves and it in a pocket dimension. Within that pocket dimension, Inarius, Lilith, and their followers created the world of Sanctuary. Turns out that combining the elements of order and chaos can create quite a stable world in comparison to each side's previous attempts with the World Stone.
Mount Arreat which you explore in Diablo 2, was the first area to be created and would come to house the World Stone.
