Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game

Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net

Sorry folks. No jokes, poems, or snazzy comments this week. This part of the story is far too important to me to play around.

So with no a due whatsoever, here it is.

Warning: Content WILL NOT be suitable for all readers. Self-discretion is advised.

The Rogue Burial Grounds:

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"My lady Blood Raven." A scout of the New Sisterhood approached the newest general of the armies of Hell deep in the catacombs of the Ancestral Cemetery.

But the general was in no mood for interruptions.

"Speak quietly, dear sister." The annoyed Blood Raven ordered in a hushed tone. "The forces gifted to me for this task are beyond your comprehension. A single distraction could tear the fabric of this reality and blend the physical realm with the spirit world. Surely, you do not wish to cause such a setback before our noble mission is complete."

"Forgive me, My lady Blood Raven. But I bring word from our mistress of the Monastery."

This caught Blood Raven's attention. Immediately, she hushed the power that she had been granted, the power to pull the most depraved of souls from the underworld into the service of her mistress, and turned with renewed interest to the scout. Andariel was not one to send messages in such a manner, not unless it was of great importance.

"What news?"

"The mistress bids that you enhance the defense of the graveyard. She believes that there is a threat to your mission to destroy the remaining followers of the Eye."

"PAH!" Blood Raven scoffed, wondering whether or not it would be a waste to dispose of this messenger. "I already know that the so-called 'Rogues' will attempt to lay siege to the graveyard. I let their scout escape for the singular purpose of informing them of our plan. They will come here to die with their honor intact. When they set to march, the squadrons in the Cold Plains shall dispatch as many of them as possible. If any do manage to survive the journey..." She turned away, facing the tomb of Kairais, a long dead champion of the Sightless Eye. "Then they shall have the honor of facing their own heroes in battle before they are delivered to Hell."

"The mistress was most concerned." The scout added, attempting to include a sense of urgency in her voice. "She has sent a reminder that you must not fail in your duty."

"I do NOT fail, underling!" Blood Raven turned in anger, arming her bow with a speed that she could have never obtained without the blessing of the Maiden of Anguish. In that single, fluid movement, the lazily raised her bow, notched an arrow, and let fly, easily impaling the impudent scout's head without so much as bothering to take aim.

"And I certainly do not suffer fools." She added, turning to finish the work she had begun on the noble Kairais.

Already, she had hundreds of mindless, flesh-hungry zombies roaming admist the tombstones of the surface level of the graveyard.

Unless the Seraphim themselves were to break the oaths of ages past and directly intervene, failure was simply not a possibility.

---------------------

The yellowed-skinned archer of the New Sisterhood marched along her patrol route outside the fenced off graveyard. Though she was as loyal as any of the sisters who had witnessed first hand the overwhelming power of the Burning Hells, she was hardly satisfied with her posting as a sentry to the Mistress' lackey, Blood Raven.

So many unworthy little girls, playing the parts of true warriors, had passed her by, securing places of honor as squad leaders and powerful lieutenants. As they gained ranks, they were granted gifts from she who had shown them the error of their ways. Many were granted enhanced strength and stamina, but those who had surpassed her, for no better reason than their groveling, submissive attitudes, were being gifted with powers beyond human grasp.

And what did they use this power for?

Sitting like fools and waiting forever to strike out and engage in battle.

It was likely, in her mind, that Blood Raven, Andariel's pet, was hugging her knees in the catacombs, too afraid to give the command to go out and attack the last of the Rogues and wipe them out for good.

But she, who had been turned down for command, would certainly not be afraid. She would have ordered an all out assault weeks ago. She would have personally lead the charge to tear down the hapless Rogue's stupid little fort and...

Upon hearing a sudden rustling, the sentry awoke from her day dream and halted her patrol. Turning about, she readied her crossbow and listened for the sound.

There it was again.

It was slight, little more than a brush of something against the leaves of a nearby bush.

Such shrubberies, however, were rare in this dead, lifeless place, so she had little trouble figuring that the sound was coming from the small, waist high hedge that marked the outermost boarder of the burial grounds.

Slowly, the former rogue took aim with the heavy crossbow, allowing her ears to guild her to the sound, and when the shot was certain, fired the bolt with a 'twang'.

A grin spread across her face as she heard a squeal from the hedge, accompanied by the sound of the bolt piercing flesh.

Satisfied with this amusement that had come during the height of her boring patrol, she smugly walked over to the hedge and roughly pushed it aside to discover what she had killed.

What she found was a small, fuzzy, juvenile rabbit, still twitching despite the bolt which had nailed it dead center, coming out the other side and spraying the ground with blood.

Strange, she thought. When she was young, growing up in the outer cloister of The Rogue's Monastery, she abhorred hunting and killing such innocent creatures. She had refused to eat coney's, believing that they were the essence of helplessness.

Now, she laughed at the creature. It's nose still twitching, showing a bit of life left in it. What a foolish child she had been, thinking that such fun was wrong.

On impulse, the archer reached down and picked up the dying rabbit, bringing it to her mouth and savagely tearing a bite out of it's twisting throat. It spasmed as she pulled her head away, it's legs kicking out wildly while the head snapped back and forth.

Then, the little animal went limp in her hand.

Sourly, she spit out the chunk of meat in her mouth, blood dribbling down her chin, and laughed out loud.

"How pathetic." She said in mock sadness, carelessly tossing the dead animal to the side. Thinking that she had deserved this little reprieve, the sentry stood back up, bringing the crossbow up with her, and turned around, ready to return to her patrol.

Without knowing what had happened, the sentry suddenly found herself being thrown off of her feet. So quickly did the attack come that she was silently bore to the ground with all the force of a charging bull. The crossbow which she had been itching to use in combat was knocked from her hands and fell with a crack to the side, out of her reach.

In the fraction of a second that she had to react, the corrupted sentry gazed with horror into two flaming crimson eyes surrounded by a midnight blackness.

Then, she could only feel the sudden pain and pressure in her throat as a powerful set of jaws closed around it.

With a single, powerful bite, the beast sitting atop her crushed every bone, severed every artery and nerve in the former sister's neck, killing her almost instantly.

Without missing a breath, Elric Tasslewind unhinged his jaws and released the dead warrioress under his feet, doing all that he could to assure his human mind that she had been beyond redemption. That only by ending her life would this sentry, like so many before her, find peace.

Still, as the half-demon lifted his head and stooped down, ready for his approach deeper into the heart of the graveyard, he could not shut out the thought of his demon mind:

'How pathetic.'

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Elric watched the grounds from a distance, debating what his next move would be.

On the one hand, he figured that he had dispensed with every one of the guards set to patrol the graveyard's gates. And unless Blood Raven had a small army of tainted rogues at her command in this place, he could bet that all he would have to deal with would be the lacking combative skills of the walking dead.

The problem was that he had simply never seen so many walking corpse in one place. Even the Cursed King Leoric, a Death Lord, did not have control over so vast an army of the walking nightmares that mortal scholars had named 'Cibus Animatus'.

Or in Layman's terms: Zombies. And lots of them.

Elric guesstimated the number at around three hundred.

Now, how to approach the matter?

'A frontal assault would be foolish.' His calculating human mind commented, taking stock of the situation.

'Well, NO FREAKING DUHHH!' The demon shot out, agitated in the sudden lull of action and blood.

"Quiet!" Elric whispered, "They're not disciplined enough to be susceptible to a frontal assault anyways. Their way too far spread out. Facing all directions. Best course of action would probably be to strike hard, fast, and from all sides."

'We can do that... we can take them.' The demon whispered, it's voice tempting. 'They are slow...weak. Too weak to be allowed to survive.'

'Too many! There are simply too many.' The human mind intervened. 'We knew that coming alone would be risky. It would simply not be wise to...'

Elric halted the conversation then and there. His mind made up, he pressed the soft spot on the top of his mouth and laid his tongue flat as the sharp, acidic green bile filled his mouth.

The graveyard was thick with the unholy dead.

But he was more than confident that he would be able to thin it out.

Without another thought or sound, Elric leaped out of his hiding place, spewing a thin stream of acid at the closest gathering of zombies and barreling into another group with claws ready.

----------------

"Rise up and serve your new masters!" Blood Raven threw her arms in the air, feeling the adrenaline, the rush, the pure thrill of breaking the laws of nature and death. The noble rogue's corpse twitched wildly as the unyielding and corrupted soul of a murderer was forced into it. It was difficult to summon a zombie from a noble body, but not impossible. In a moment, yet another soldier would be added to her army. "Rise up and live... RISE UP AND..."

"MY LADY!! MY LADY!" A nameless, frightened looking guard ran up, casually hopping over the corpse of the scout that had died earlier, to her commander, breaking Blood Raven's concentration and loosening her hold over both the corpse and the damned soul. Nearly swooning from the abrupt breaking of her power, Blood Raven lost her balance and had to grab hold of the raised coffin in order to keep her footing. A sense of powerlessness pervaded her mind as the General of Hell watched her work become undone. Without a strong will to direct it, the corrupted soul ravaged the dead rogue's body, tearing it apart and exploding the corpse, making it impossible to raise it from the dead. Over a quarter of an hour's work... Wasted!

"You have three seconds to explain yourself before I let you join that one!" Blood Raven shouted in anger, ripped between mourning her untimely failure and the urge to rip this guard's limps out and feed them to her.

"My Lady!" The sister was breathless, "We are under attack!"

"WHAT!?" This threw Blood Raven off.

The Rogue's couldn't have possibly organized the counter-attack so soon. And even so, the zombies outside should have overwhelmed their tiny fighting force.

"All of the other perimeter guards have been killed. And 'something' is decimating the zombie forces."

"'Something?'" Blood Raven's eyes were wide. The guards she had placed at the perimeter may not have been the best that their newly reformed Sisterhood had, but they couldn't have been this incompetent. They would have sounded alarms immediately if any of the patrols had found anything, even if they were under attack and outnumbered. Whoever had done this could have only slipped past them alone. But none of the remaining rogues, not even their newly elected Battle-Eagle, Kashya, were talented enough to make it past the guards alone.

"Who is left?" Blood Raven asked the guard, who she now recognized as the one who had been put outside the mausoleum she had been working in.

"Yourself, me, and the undead, My Lady." The guard answered, still obviously distressed. "I was atop the mausoleum when the attack on the zombie mass became apparent. That 'thing' outside is tearing them to pieces."

"Thing?" Blood Raven had regained her footing now and roughly pushed her way past the guard, running with all speed to see for herself what was going on. The loyal guard was right at her commander's heels until they came to the steps leading to the roof of the Burial Ground's Mausoleum. Quickly skipping up them, Blood Raven reached the top, threw open the trap door, and heaved herself up onto the slanted one story roof in record time.

What she saw came to her as an ultimate shock.

The zombies, moaning and groaning in their unique, unintelligible way, where all massing in the center of the graveyard, 'Urrr'-ing and 'Uhhh'-ing in their narrow minded attempts to get at the bit of living flesh that had become the epicenter of their focus.

What they were all too stupid to realize was that everything that reached the center of the mass was almost instantly cut down. Old, blackened blood soaked the ground and many zombies quite literally had tripped over the ragged, broken bodies of their brethren.

In the very center, causing all of the chaos, was a single, black, wolf-sized, lizard- like creature. It moved constantly and erratically to keep the undead at bay, slashing heads, limbs, and entire sections of the torsos cleanly off of the rest of the bodies. So fast and furious were the actions of this single being, that it was able to aptly compensate against the obvious advantages of overwhelming numbers.

"Well, well..." Blood Raven shook her head and chuckled, amused by this bizarre twist of fate. "So he comes to see me, just as promised."

"My Lady, What are your orders?" The guard asked, still slightly out of breath.

"First," Blood Raven turned, still throughly annoyed by the guard who had interrupted her. "I order you to lie very, very still on the ground."

"My lady???"

Quicker than the guard could react, the commander reached over, grabbed her wrist, and with all the strength that Andariel had bestowed upon her, Blood Raven heaved the guard over the side and bashed her body into the outer, spiked wall of the mausoleum. After repeating the action a few times and making herself satisfied that the impolite guard was completely dead, she dropped the body unceremoniously to the ground.

"Well, that was certainly satisfying." She said before looking back to the chaos of the battle.

From the looks of it, the rogue half-demon had killed at least a hundred of her standing zombie attack force. At this pace, he would likely decimate the entire army in less than an hour.

And she couldn't allow that.

Carefully, Blood Raven brought her bow to bear and pulled a very special arrow from the hidden quiver that she wore on her hip.

"And I thought that I would never have to use this." She said, notching the arrow and taking stock of the aim.

The half-demon was moving far to quickly and unpredictably for her to make a kill shot to the head, she knew that. Any shots at the body or limbs could be easily pulled out by the stout hearted beast or might be reflected by the ever moving, heavily armored and bladed tail.

But that didn't stop her from taking aim, for she knew exactly where to strike.

She knew that Elric, for all of his combat prowess, stamina, and strength, had a horrifically vital blind spot right between his shoulders. What was best was that he didn't defend it and couldn't cover it without sacrificing his much needed mobility.

So, she took her cleansing breath and made sure that she had the shot.

Then, Blood Raven let the alchemical silver arrow fly.

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'Told you we could handle it!' The demon spat at the other two areas of Elric's mind. 'They are weak and worthless. Not even good sport!'

The more practical portion of Elric's mind, realizing just how dangerous their situation was.

'KEEP MOVING, KEEP MOVING! DUCK IN LEFT SIDE! STRIKE OUT RIGHT!!! FLANK IS OPEN! FLANK IS OPEN!!!'

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Elric shouted out in anxiety, trying not to lose his concentration on the task at hand.

They came in at all sides and bore down on him constantly. If he missed so much as a single strike, Elric knew that he could safely count the battle as his last. His fore-legs and tail, already sore from the past few days of battle, now throbbed painfully. His joints, as tough and flexible as they were, ached in a way that he had not felt for months.

Since his time at Tristram, Elric had not been in 'constant' battle. He had fought against his fair share of monsters since then, but in all of that time he had always had time between them to rest and recuperate.

Those minor skirmishes had been fun for him.

Now, he was fighting for his life.

Twisting around wildly, Elric sliced though a full rank of the walking dead, piling their carcasses atop the other defeated monsters. Still they came on mindlessly. Fearless of their impending doom.

Elric snarled, cutting another zombies' legs out from under her.

He couldn't stand creatures that lived without fear. They simply weren't natural. Anything that was worth keeping alive should have a need to preserve that life, otherwise it was a waste.

Then, Elric's pointed, wolf-like ears perked up.

In the insane, constant groaning of the attacking zombies, he heard a familiar sound.

Realization dawned on him, forcing him to thrust his head up, trying to see where the arrow was coming from.

He twisted around, trying to find it.

PAIN!!!!

A burning, searing heat tore through the scales on his back. Too high to affect any of his vital organs. What then...

Everything started to sway in Elric's vision. All of the enclosing zombies were moving as if in slow motion. Panicking at the sudden change of pace, Elric tried to turn about. Bring his tail back in a vicious, cutting cycle of death.

But his movements were...sluggish. His muscles were spasming beyond his control, refusing his attempts to mobilize.

Everything was spinning. Elric couldn't focus.

And the Pain...

This was no normal wound.

Then he felt a great weight taking him from the side as a zombie barreled into him. He tried, in vain, to throw the undead monstrosity off, but was far too overcome by his injury.

A moment later, another of the walking dead rushed into him, bringing Elric to the ground and beginning a horrific version of the 'Dog-pile'.

Elric had difficulty seeing, hearing, or even feeling what was going on. One thing that he knew for certain was that whatever had hit him was no ordinary arrow.

The human that was in him tried not to panic and he demon howled and roared in anger. He tried to release that frustration, to roar... or call out, though he was not certain whether or not he actually did roar. or even if he could.

It was like everything was shifting around uncontrollably. Everything... the zombies on top of him, the ground underneath him... time itself.

Nothing was making sense anymore.

He could feel the weight lifting, but was paralyzed, unable to react. He could feel himself drifting in and out of consiousness... or maybe in and out of death.

Limply, unable to move, he laid there. Damning this course of action. If only he had come in another way. Or hadn't been so blinded by his need to see justice done.

The others would be waiting for him to find the Carin Stones, but he would not be able to send the portal.

Saddened and helpless, he simply waited for death to claim him.

"Well, the bold, tragic hero to the rescue. As always," A familiar voice rang out clearly over the silence of the half-demon's twisting perception. He barely noticed the sudden pain in his back again, but after a moment, realized that his senses were beginning to clear.

The spinning slowed to a light twist. And his eyes began to focus.

With great pain, Elric managed to force his eyes slightly upward to see the speaker. Standing over him was a red-headed young woman, fair and soft. Deceptively innocent with an air of grace surrounding her every move.

"Isn't that right, Dear Elric?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and appearing amused.

"Alisa?" Elric was shocked.

His friend from Tristram, who had fought with him against Diablo himself, had come to his rescue. She had...

No....

Something was wrong. Something...different.

She appeared the same as she always had, except now, instead of the traditional armor of the Rogue Sisterhood, she wore a blackened armor based on the same design. Cold and harsh, the armor that encased the talented bow-woman reeked of arcane magic... a demonic corruption.

"Alisa?" She laughed, again amused. "Oh, come now, Dear Elric. I haven't gone by that name for months. Not since we re-took what was rightfully ours." Her lips, normally so full and lush, twisted into a maniacal grin.

"I am called Blood Raven now by my superiors. And Master by my underlings."

Elric couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Alisa!" He tried his damnedest to force himself to his feet, pushing every muscle he had into the task with abandon.

Then the pain flared again, a new wound torn open in his shoulder, bringing him back to the ground. After a moment of intense, searing pain, it lifted once again, leaving the normal sting of a wound on his scales.

"Now, now. We can't have that, can we?"

"What...?" Elric tried to think and speak though the daze, which was now renewing itself. "How...?"

"A trick I learned from you, as it were." Blood Raven said, bringing into his sight range a long, iron shafted arrow with a bright silver tip.

Even in his condition, Elric recognized that cursed metal.

Alchemical Silver...Demon's Bane!

"The same way you beat The Butcher in Tristram. Very clever. Allowing him to think he had me, then impaling him with that horadric spear coated in silver." She patted Elric on the head, between his horns. "Thanks for the lesson."

"Why...?" Elric had never been 'heart-broken' in the human definition of the word. But what disappointment, even loathing that he was feeling must have been somewhat attributed to that.

If this was the price of trusting another, then it was little wonder that so many humans were so cold and unforgiving.

"How...could...you...?

Blood Raven's smile faded, replaced by a grimace. Then, bringing the arrow up like a knife in her hand, she placed the point (which smoked and burned Elric's scales on contact) between his eyes and drew a rough line down his snout, ending at his upper lip, which was curled back in pain. He knew, without even examining the wound, that he would carry the scar for the rest of his life... not that it would have time to turn into a scar of course.

"WHY!?" She said as she did it, "Because we were fools, Elric. We didn't accomplish ANYTHING! I lost far too many sisters who I counted as 'friends' because of my misguided sense of morality and honor!" She ended the line and lifted the arrow again, letting out a weak laugh. "Despite all the pain and suffering that we went though, everyone in Tristram still died. Nothing could prevent it, nothing could stand in the demon's way. Well, I was soooo tired of being on the wrong side of an ever losing battle. So when I offered myself to the Mistress, she accepted without hesitation."

"You know, for the longest time, I envied you, Elric." She said blankly, dropping the blood-stained silver arrow to the ground in front of the half-demon.

"Your strength, your conviction, how you refused to submit to what you must have wanted so badly. Despite all that the other adventurers put you though...Dispite all that WE put you though! I thought that all you wanted was peace, acceptance. That ALL you wanted was to help!" She kicked out, pushing Elric's head aside and drawing out a yelp. "Then I realized what you were really after. I didn't figure it out until later, but I figured it out!"

She paused for a moment and spat in Elric's face, barely pulling a twitch from the exhausted, paralyzed half-demon.

"Lazarus was right." She said simply. "That's what scared you so much."

But the ice cold meaning of those words tore into Elric worse than anything else that she could do with the Silver arrow. At that moment, his eyes flared red and, had it not been for the devastating effects of the silver, he would have leaped forward and ripped her throat out, after feasting on her entrails while she watched, of course.

"You're WRONG!" He hissed, his words barely making it into common due to his animalistic growling.

"Am I?" Blood Raven said, standing up and looking down on him. "Then, ask yourself this one question while my zombies tear you apart. 'Which would you rather have: My head on a golden plate, or your humanity?'"

Elric snarled, unable to talk.

Not that he really had an answer that she would find surprising.

"You try so hard, Elric. Too hard." She looked down on the half-demon. "And for that, I am willing to be merciful, my friend."

She turned about, facing the legions of undead that had been standing obediently to the side, allowing their master her moment.

"FEAST MY CHILDREN!"

With happy moaning (If a zombie 'can' be happy), the creature started slowly staggering forward. Blood Raven, turned back to Elric, ready to watch the swift death of this creature who had thought of her as a friend.

-tek-tek-tek-tek-

A small, black disc suddenly fell out of the air, bouncing along the ground like a coin before wobbling and lying still on the ground between Elric and Blood Raven.

"What the...?" Blood Raven looked down, curiously kneeling to see what this black, fist sized discus was.

-SNAP-

She jumped back in surprise when a small pole, about a foot long, elongated from the center of the disc. On the top grew three long prongs, pointing outward from the center of the pole.

-wirr-wirrr-wirrrrr-

Just as suddenly, the center pole started to spin around, picking up speed with each turn until it spun too fast to distinguish any single prong.

Then all hell broke loose.

Small bolts of lightning flashed out from the device, spinning around and around. Blood Raven, along with any of the closest zombies, were thrown back by the shock, away from the low laying and, therefore, unaffected half-demon.

From behind the huddled mass of undead, enormous waves of fire jumped up from out of nowhere from all sides, instantly incinerating most and charring many others to the point of death.

In only a few minutes of the lightning and fire hell-storm, Blood Raven's entire army was toasted.

Distraught, she looked down to the drugged half-demon.

"WHAT MAGIC IS THIS!?" She shouted in anger, "HOW!!!!!!!"

"HHIIIAAA!!!" A shout came from beyond the waves of fire as a woman dressed in a skin tight black outfit flipped over the the waves of fire, landing just as there was a calm moment, and then running just ahead of the next wave, kicking a couple of confused, brainless zombies into the flame as she went. With an almost supernatural speed, she raced past the boundaries of the fire waves, high kicked an attacking zombies' head clean off, and leaped between the General of Hell and the half-demon. As soon as she landed, the black disc which had kept Blood Raven and the zombies at bay crumbled into dust, allowing the mysterious woman to take up a martial fighting stance.

Eric, still having trouble processing any information, took several moments of looking up at the assassin's back and her clawed fists before making the connection and realizing who his mysterious savior was.

Seething in anger over the staggering blow that had just been dealt to her army, Blood Raven reached over, pulling her bow from her shoulder, and prepared to fire.

Matching and overwhelming the archer-woman's lazy, but still exceptional speed, the Viz-Jaq'taar assassin spun around and kicked out at her.

"DRAGON TAIL!" She shouted as the kick impacted against the bow. Without warning, a small explosion of energy rocked through Blood Raven's hand, jarring her and sending the powerful monster-horn bow flying though the air in pieces.

"AGHH!" Blood Raven rocked back from the kick, turning slightly and allowing the momentum of the shock add to the force she put behind an arrow that she threw at the assassin.

Bringing her claws together in a defensive cross, she easily deflected the crude throwing weapon.

"DAMN YOU, MORTAL!" Blood Raven howled at the new-comer. The bow that she used had been a gift from Andariel herself, composed of various ivory and bones of many of the mightiest monsters of hell. To think that this puny, ignorant human girl had destroyed it was beyond insulting.

"You will join my army of the dead!" Blood Raven, throwing aside her skill with the bow, lunged at the human with all of the unholy strength and speed granted to her by her new master. This having been the last thing the assassin expected, the Viz-Jaq'taar was hard pressed to avoid the powerful blows of her opponent and match her speed.

Frantically, pulling every move that she knew, every technique of attack and defense, the assassin pulled blows with the corrupted commander of the New Sisterhood. Turning back and forth, trading a kick for a punch; a slash for a bite.

Pulling back and cycling around the former Rogue, the assassin realized that the foe she fought was both far stronger and far faster than she could ever hope to be. Roused as she was to combat by the combined destruction of both her army and her prized bow, Blood Raven proved to be more than formidable in close-quarters, a title that few archers could claim.

Of course, it didn't help matters that she had the strength of two gargantuan and the agility of a saber cat, both talents obviously unnatural and of infernal origin.

Hoping to take the rogue off guard, the assassin tapped into her honed psychokinetic energies to pull of an astonishing burst of speed, rushing in past Blood Raven's defense and attempting multiple stabs to her body.

Unfortunatly for her, the enchantment on Blood Raven's armor suddenly became apparent, as the metallic blades of her claws decayed and wasted away into nothingness.

Blood Raven grinned, glad that she had this oppertunity to test her powerful, corrosive armor before being struck by a Rogue's arrow. Then, taking advantage of the close proximity and the open defense of the assassin, back handed her across the face and sent her spiraling back to land with a smack on the ground.

"A worthy opponent..." Blood Raven was breathing hard, this unexpected need for power after spending a majority of the day and night raising the dead drawing on her nearly depleted daily resources. "A pity really. I would have liked to have had you as my right hand. Ruthless, cunning, and talented. Such a pity you're almost as big a fool as I was."

The assassin only half listened, looking up and holding Blood Raven's gaze in order to keep her from noticing that she had managed to slip out another of her traps.

"Burn in hell, witch!" The assassin spat, quickly flinging out the blade sentinel, a razor-sharp throwing shuriken designed for penetrating even the toughest of monster hides and magical force-fields.

Unfortunately, the magic of Blood Raven's armor proved too powerful and the blade sentinel crumble to dust on contact, leaving little more than a bit of dirt on the Blood Raven's otherwise clean and polished armor.

Blood Raven looked to the spot on her armor before turning back to the assassin with a eerily calm smile.

"Actually, you would be surprised at just how cool the upper levels of hell are, temperature wise. I've been there before, and I must say, once you get used to the death and the violence, it is quite lovely." She spoke as if advising a friend, then, from the hidden pouch at her hip, drew out an ominous black-bladed short sword.

"I'm sure that you'll enjoy it between the torture sessions and the ravaging a pretty girl like you is sure to get down there. Any last words?"

The assassin gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep eye contact with Blood Raven.

"After you." She said simply.

This answer puzzled Blood Raven for a moment.

"What?"

"RAAAOOOHHHHHH!!" A reverberating growl ripped though the air, bringing Blood Raven to a horrifying realization.

In all of the confusion with the warrior woman, she had turned her back on Elric.

Before she could react, Blood Raven cried out and nearly doubled over in pain as her mystical armor, padding, and flesh of her lower back were pierced by four long, cruelly sharp, claws. Still in shock, with her vision painted blood red, the commander of Hell's army felt them close like fingers around her spinal cord...and was pulled, dragging her backward in excruciating pain. Then she found herself falling as the claws removed themselves from her body.

In a moment of pain beyond any she had ever knew and horror she had not felt since Tristram, Blood Raven found herself in the muscular, inhuman arms of Elric Tasslewind's natural body.

She had been in this position before.

Dying, being cradled in his arms until help arrived. But last time, it had been the Arch-Bishop Lazarus that had wounded her so. It had been her that had laid back, nearly bleeding to death before Elric finally defeated and subdued the evil, corrupted priest.

Then, he had looked down on her, and assured her that she would be alright. That Vajiha would come with the healing magics that could restore her.

He had helped her hold onto life...

But now... it was not hope, shining in his brilliantly beautiful green eyes that she saw. It was pure... unadulterated hatred. Glowing bright red...burning with the same intensity that she had seen in the eyes of the Cursed King Leoric and the foul Demon Lord, Diablo himself.

She had seen those eyes as well on Elric.

Every time he had killed.

Though the pain had faded into shock, the woman who had been Alisa Malthion, Snow-Falcon of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye, could feel her blood draining, creating a pool on the ground underneath her.

She knew that there might still be hope for her... a salvation.

Her heart raced as she felt something cold and snake-like touch her throat, twisting around it until her entire neck was snuggly wrapped and covered.

Her face contorted in horror.

Elric's tail!

"Elric..." She coughed weakly, hardly able to get the words past the painful lump in her throat. "Nooo...please..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "...don't do this..."

The tail tightened slightly around her throat, forcing her to turn her head slightly.

She heard a familiar hiss in her ear.

"Diieeee, Blood Raven."

"ELRIC! NO!!" Alisa screamed in terror, feeling the bone-made blades lining his tail begin to push outward.

Fueled by only pure outrage, Elric closed his eyes as he willed the long blades of his tail to contract, pushing them outward, and quickly pulled his tightly wrapped tail over Blood Raven's neck, squeezing with all of the strength that his tail had.

Blood spayed everywhere.

And the head of Blood Raven, along with the frayed and mutilated remains of her neck, fell to the ground of the Monastery graveyard.

Breathing heavily in the scent of death, Elric dropped the rest of Blood Raven's body to the ground, using what little force he had left after his encounter with the Silver to remain on his feet.

Then, though he had only done it once before, Elric started speaking softly in the language of the Seraphim, the tongue of the Crystal Arch.

"Tyrael...Wherever you are. Hear me now." He was beginning to lose the strength afforded to him by his adrenaline rush and was becoming woozy again. "She could not have chosen this path in clear conscious. Whatever force, whatever unnatural corruption was at work, is now undone." He paused, trying with great difficulty to remember the words of the Heavens. "Release her from the bonds of Hell, Tyrael. She has suffered enough."

Elric opened his eyes, once again bright green, and realizing that the effects of the alchemical silver were threatening to overwhelm him again. The twisting of the ground and the many tombstones around him upset his stomach.

Then he felt a tingle in the air.

A sudden discharge of heavenly magic.

Looking down and focusing on the body of his one-time friend, Alisa, Elric saw it begin to glow with a sterling white light. Then, brilliant discharges of raw, pure good, energy flew off in all directions, filling the air with a deafening sound akin to angelic tones.

The assassin looked on as well in wonder. Though she had to cover her ears from the noises that she could not understand, she could see that the magical white light was filtering though the fallen ranks of the undead zombies and obliterating the blackened, corrupted souls that Blood Raven had summoned to inhabit them.

When the light had swept though the entire cemetery, it vanished, along with Blood Raven's body, into nothingness.

Leaving and assassin and a monstrous half-demon alone in a graveyard filled with rotting, dug-up corpses.

"Rest in peace...Alisa." Elric said softly before breaking out into a mournful howl.

But despite it all, he still could not cry.

With his task done, Elric slumped to the ground, surrendering himself to the paralysis that had been forced onto him. When his head hit the ground, his still opened eyes saw two calf-high, black boots walking toward him. Fighting against pure exhaustion and the effects of the demon's bane, Elric lifted his head enough to look up at the Viz-Jaq'taar who looked down at him in equal wonder.

"Thank you... Viz-Jaq'taar." He hissed, barely able to speak in common. Then laid his head back to the ground, not really expecting that she would ever let him get up again.

Much to Elric's surprise, the assassin knelt down and, carefully, lifted his head into her lap.

"At first I came to repay a debt, Elric Tasslewind." She said, gently stroking down his scales and causing him, in his exhausted state, to purr like a kitten. she realized that this comforted him.

"But, instead, I owe you my life again, Elric." She smiled, though he could not see it.

"My name is Kassyera. So, don't worry... I'm watching over you."

Elric couldn't make out much of what she said. In all fairness, he couldn't even tell that he was purring, a habit that he had tried to break for years. But, surrendering completely to sleep, he managed to hear and remember one word.

'Kassyera...' He thought, 'Sooo....bea...uti...ful.'

And then there was darkness.

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Post.

In my opinion this is probably my best, and darkest, chapter to date. Unfortunately for my cast, it all goes pretty much to hell for them from here (And those of you familiar with the game know how literally I mean it.)

Due to the fact that this chapter ended up running longer than I expected, the next post involving the story will go up on Friday of next week. However, I promised a double post and I will deliver a double post this week.

The next chapter, which should be up about thirty minutes or so after this one is posted, will be a high-hearted change compared to the darkness of this chapter

Next Time: Fifty Reviews celebration chapter: The Robin Shirewood Interviews.

Announcement: Now accepting fan-mail and questions for all members of the the 'Diablo 2: Epic Behind the Game' Cast. Send your emails to L0rdSilverbane1(at)yahoo.com under the subject: (Name of Character you are writting). Every now and again, there will be a bonus 'Fan-Letter Opening' chapter following a regular Friday Update. At these times, Letters will be read, answered, and request shall be taken by various cast members. And remember... Its all in fun, so don't be afraid to be wild. Remember also that only characters that have been introduced in the story (both living and dead) will be open for answering E-mails, so for those of you wanting to write to Mephisto or Bhaal, you have to wait. Diablo, however has been seen (Elric's dream: Prologue) and is therefore open for questions.

R&R constantly people, and don't forget to read the reviews because I have a habit of commenting on them and answering author/error related questions in the review column. Take for instance my ongoing stories with Ramaon (Elric's biggest fan, expert marks-woman, and NRA enthusiast) and Solarious (Whose clownz are still chasing me)

I LOVE YOU ALL!

This is Robin Shirewood, signing off.