Second Beginnings
A Diablo II Fanfic
By Taerir
IMPORTANT: This fanfic was inspired by the end of Diablo II, although it takes some creative license. It may contain spoilers. If you have not finished Expansion Act 5 and do not want to risk reading a spoiler, do not continue reading.
Diablo II is not my property. It belongs to Blizzard and any other respective owners. This is solely a fan work. I do not make claim to the character classes, plot, or concepts of Diablo II. I do, however, claim my own prose. Please do not duplicate this without asking my written permission first.
All the prophecies ever made could not have prepared the world for the day the magic had died. Despite the knowledge that the Emergence of Evil would overhaul the very aspects of everyday life, this was something the Zann Esu had never expected, even in the most horrible of their nightmares.
It had been a month since the fateful event. For so long before, the great female mage clan had still been strongly pursuing the greatest elemental magics, determined to maintain the purity of the form. A member of the Zann Esu took pride in her magic; it was her life. To be sure, there were men deemed pure enough to coexist with the sorceresses' number. A woman of Zann Esu was married to her magic, however, and took men only as lovers, although many a woman chose only one man in her lifetime.
At least, it had been that way until the Great Transformation.
On that day, there had been earthquakes that had reached every end of the world of Sanctuary, as far as the Zann Esu had scried. Blinding lights of blue, red, amber, and silver had swept over the land in wave after dizzying wave. Trees had been torn from the ground and mountaintops had been flattened to plateaus and even plains.
And on top of all that, three-quarters of the numbers of Zann Esu had died that day, and with them had burned most of the revered texts. Not that those texts had any use now, since the magic was gone.
Kylara, by some odd twist of fate, had been one of the Zann Esu to survive the cataclysm. Even now, she had no idea why she, and not others, had survived. All of the most powerful sorceresses had died, either during the wind and fire or by their own hand, at the loss of their own magic. Kylara could understand that. She had the potential to be strong, but had been young as the sorceresses went, and had not reached high status yet. Still, she had found it in her to drop to her knees and cry when the smoke had cleared. There had been a newly-empty spot in her soul. Where her magic potential had once rested and given her indescribable joy, there had suddenly been nothing.
There were several worse off than her, of course. In the cave to which the now-small group had retreated, several women sat in corners, staring vacantly ahead now that their tears had drained. These few sufferers refused to even eat their meager portions. They had nothing left and nothing to give, and Kylara had a strong feeling that they would waste away soon.
It was this loss that had devastated the remaining sorceresses so completely. Where there had been assurance and joy before, now there was only a bleak sense of loss, even among those who were bearing their lack of magic in stride. For a clan that had always identified themselves by their magic, the loss thereof had the potential to destroy them. Existence, now, was an empty thing, barely worth clinging to. The Zann Esu would remain the pale remnant it had become, without even bringing in any more young apprentices. With no magic, there was no purpose.
The men who coexisted with the mage clan had done their best to help, comforting with words where they could and helping to collect food. The men had lost a great deal themselves, and yet Kylara was often still impressed with their strength of character. The Zann Esu had chosen well by allowing these men to stay.
Vaguely, Kylara wondered what had become of the sorceresses that had been sent to scout the land, and possibly save it, when the Emergence of Evil had begun. In a month, none had come forward, even the most powerful. But the Zann Esu lived in a secluded place, and it would take more than a month to return. Somehow, though, Kylara knew that all were dead… all except one, anyway.
That one had been the strongest of all the sorceresses. Kylara had never met her, personally, but the woman had been respected by peers and practically worshipped by the apprentices. Where she was now, Kylara did not know, but it was certain that the sorceress had a hand in the cataclysm that had now passed. But then, it did not matter.
It was that night that Kylara dreamed. White mist swirled around her and veiled all surroundings, but Kylara imagined that she could pick out wings of angels inside the white. Before her stood a woman of whom Kylara had only fleeting memories.
The woman's long, brown hair was unbound, the tips floating only slightly. A half-mischievous, half-serious smile colored her features.
"Do you know me?" she asked, the smile turning conspiratorial.
"You're the one..." Kylara whispered in wonder. "The destined one, the one the Zann Esu leaders sent..."
The woman's smile became wider. "Yes. I'm glad you understand." She turned away. "We were too late to save the world as we knew it. The corruption had been too well-seated. What happened had to happen."
Kylara felt her frustration grow. She glared slightly, uncaring of what kind of status this former sorceress may have had. "So what do we do now? We are no more. There are few of us left to begin with, and those who are have been emotionally broken in half! Are we to die out, then?"
"No, you and your mentally-stable companions will live," the woman responded, turning back. "But the Zann Esu will never be what it once was. That magic will not return as it was. Are you willing to follow my instructions?"
"If they are sound," Kylara replied, her voice tense. She had not the slightest idea what would come of this meeting, but she was willing to listen to what the destined one had to say.
"Our people must leave the Eastern jungles in order for humankind to survive. Magicless you may be, but you will find purpose in this task," the destined one said, and searched Kylara's face for a response.
"But where are we to go? And who will lead us?" Kylara questioned, skeptical.
"You will lead the former Zann Esu," the destined one told her, with a toss of her brown hair. "You have the most strength, and the most sound mind, with which to accomplish this task. If you are willing, you and our people will travel to the Center of the World, as will the other remaining peoples of Sanctuary. In banding together and rebuilding, humankind will be changed but not destroyed."
"You're asking us to leave the only home we've known for so long," Kylara observed carefully. "You're asking us to leave the rest of what we are, now that we've lost half of it in our magic."
The destined one laughed. Oddly, it was not a bitter sound, but one filled with genuine humor. Kylara furrowed an eyebrow in confusion, but the destined one was already speaking.
"You've said it yourself," she was saying. "The Zann Esu have already lost the very essence of what they are. You now have a choice. Your home has already been destroyed. Now, you can stay there and die with it, or you can journey across the land and save what's left of the world. The forces of Hell will no longer plague the mortal world as directly as they have. You have a choice. Will you take it, or will you condemn yourself despite the best efforts of Heaven?"
Kylara tried to glare in rebellion, but instantly calmed. The destined one's expression had turned stern and hard. The decision had already been made.
"We'll take it," Kylara said quietly.
The destined one smiled. "Good for you. Go in peace, Kylara of Zann Esu. May your journeys bring you what joy they can."
With those words, the dream dissolved, and Kylara found herself back in the cavern where the Zann Esu cowered. Knowing what she had to do, Kylara went to wake the others and begin them on the path toward rebirth. Long as the journey would be, the prize would be the remaking of the world.