I don't own Diablo or anything related to Diablo, in any format. The first two chapters are just introducing how they met; I'm not sure where I'm going from there. I plan to skip forward and freelance it a little bit more, but if anyone has a preference for me to continue telling the story as it happened in Diablo 3, I can probably work it out like that.
Chapter 1: The Fall of Jondar
Kormac had never seen Jondar so nervous as they stood in front of the great cathedral. There was an odd glow coming from the back of it, but that didn't deter Kormac in the slightest. They needed to find the tomes of their order and return them before they burned in what was left of the place. It hadn't been difficult to follow the falling star to this place. It radiated so much magic, and the further they had traveled toward it, the more danger they found themselves in. The fact that it landed here was a coincidence, really, or even ironic, given how close it was to New Tristam, a place with more trouble than should have been possible. But the cathedral had burned, and they needed to find their tomes.
"We've fought through worse by now, surely," Kormac said confidently, "Nothing could survive in there."
"Including us, if we're not careful," Jondar said.
"We have no choice. Our tomes are sacred and need to be protected."
"You're right." Jondar straightened up, and they both pointed their polearms at the door. "Together, my friend."
"For the Light!"
They charged into the cathedral, meeting rising skeletons right as they entered. It was no surprise. This was the sort of danger they had already met coming through New Tristam. They rushed the monstrosities, breaking their bones with sheer force. It was only after an hour of clearing the area that they began to look through the books. Jondar started stacking the burned, unusable or just irrelevant books on the floor. Kormac pulled each one out carefully, reading for a few pages before setting it back in its place. Surely someone else would come for these books, however irrelevant.
"Ah. Finally, I found one," Jondar said, flipping through it.
"Good. Set it aside. You know we're not supposed to read them."
"How often do we get to read the wisdom of our leaders ourselves?"
"We don't. We wouldn't be able to comprehend it if we tried."
"It all looks fairly standard to me."
"Put it down! By the Light, have you no respect for our order?"
Kormac watched as Jondar's eyes slowly glazed over, something of disbelief mixed with rage. Jondar held the page with such ferocity, that when the doors burst open, he ripped it straight out. The cultists before them had the same glaze in their eyes, as though they had seen something that should have never been seen, been given powers that shouldn't have been given. Kormac raised his weapon and yelled for Jondar to do the same, but there was no response. Jondar simply held the book and the page, looking carefully at the intruders. "Let us live," he said. "We'll come with you."
"What?" Kormac yelled, staring at his companion.
"Kormac, we've been lied to. I'll explain it to you if you'll just-"
"Traitor!" Kormac turned toward Jondar, but was quickly overwhelmed by the cultists.
"You've done the right thing," one cultist said, "You'll gain power beyond your dreams. You should join us too... Kormac."
"Never!" He struggled against the many hands grabbing at his weapons and armor, but was quickly disarmed. He was dragged through the cathedral, passed an eerie blue light that clearly came from the impact of whatever had hit the cathedral in the first place. He fought violently, and tried to reason with Jondar, but they were separated.
"If you won't join us, we'll transform you in a different way. How would you like to be a hulking mass of worms?" a cultist asked.
"The Light is my salvation, and it will protect me from anything you try to do!"
"That's your opinion. Magda's magic is more powerful than your 'light'." he said. His tone was mocking, bringing Kormac's rage to a boil. He flailed against them, but the one that had a vice grip on him held him until the others raised their hands and struck him with beams of pure unholy magic.
"He's changing!" one of them shouted. Kormac felt his skin crawl with the insistence of change, but he held himself together with every ounce of faith and meditation he had left. Jondar may have become a traitor, but Kormac would stand strong until the very end. The Light would save him.
And then he saw her.
