Disclaimer! I do not own Diablo or any of its characters. However, I do own any characters I create.

The Pact of Blood - Prologue

Farrell grew up in a simple town, just north of Tristram. It was a small town, consisting of no more than twelve families, all living harmoniously, surviving on their yearly harvests of rice and barley. The town was spread out, fanning out several kilometres, each family separated by their boundaries of crop fields.

Farrell himself was the son of Mat'duk, once a great barbarian of the northern lands, fighting demons with his comrades as mercenaries for the nobles foolish enough to remain there. When the northern alps were overrun, he lost many of his comrades, and fled the place, watching helplessly from a distance as the nobles' fort was overrun by demonic imps, brandishing cleavers of demonic magic, which cut through armour as though it was paper. Mat'duk fell outside the Elshifs' house one day, hundreds of kilometres away from the northern lands, delirious from sickness and fatigue. Yet, through months of care, he got well, and swore never to pick up his axe as a mercenary anyway.

Since then, he become the foundation of the town, building it up, attracting other travellers, persuading some mercenary-wannabes not to venture up to the northern lands in search of fortune. Some listened and stayed, joining the community, whereas others refused to listen, and continued their way, never to be seen again by the townspeople again.

Farrell, now nine, was proud of his father, who was just made the new head of the town. How the townspeople cheered! They were in the community circle, a huge circular patch of unused soil that the town used for their gatherings. He ran towards his father, tears streaming down his face, and hugged him tightly.

"Father! Father! You were amazing!" He cried out, emotional after hearing his father tell his story as a mercenary, and his devotion to the town, for the first time ever. Nobody ever knew about his past, and now their respect for him grew.

"Ahaha! I was nothing, son!" He replied, smiling as tears streamed down his face. His love for the town was clear in his face.

"Let's have a great celebration for the new head of the town, Mat'duk!" Jeremiah Elshif cried out.

The town cheered, and everyone dispersed, thrilled, returning to their homes to bring their best foods to share with the town. They met at Mat'duk's house, and a great feast was spread out. They feasted like there was no tomorrow, laughing and joking around. The atmosphere was amazing, and Mat'duk himself was at the centre of the attention, cracking all the jokes he knew of from his travels, making the townspeople laugh so loudly.

Farrell was bored, stuffed full of all the pastries the Hackleys brought. Staring out at the dark, crop fields, he felt a certain desire to be all alone in there. I can easily find my way back anyway, the house is so brightly lit.

Making his mind, he ventured into the fields bravely, the barley brushing past his body lightly. The smell of spring was strong, and the air was sweet and fresh. He found a small patch, and laid there, staring at the stars.

Father once said something about the stars. Something about people able to make prophecies. I wonder what my future would be.

He laid there for minutes, then suddenly he heard soft rustling somewhere. Someone's here! He scrambled into a kneeling position, ready for anything that appeared. Even though he was living here for years, and never saw anything mysterious, the darkness made him nervous.

Suddenly, someone burst into the clearing. A small human figure loomed before him. Farrell didn't know whether to scream or to run. Is it a monster? Father said he fought monsters before! Before Farrell could do anything, the figure kneeled before him.

"Found you! I saw you walking in here all alone!" It was a girl's voice.

"Um. Who's this…" Farrell mumbled, confused and embarrassed of his previous suspicions.

"Silly! Silly, silly silly! I'm Maria! Maria Elshif! How could you forget me!" the girl said, laughing.

"Oh, now I remember. Sorry, I was thinking of something important." He felt his cheeks burn, and thanked goodness she couldn't see anything.

"Oh! What were you thinking about?" The figure shifted and laid on the ground. He followed suit and laid down too. The two children stared at the hypnotic stars, awed by the beauty.

After a while, he realised she asked a question. "Oh! I was thinking what my father said to me in the past. He said some magical people could foretell your future by looking at the stars."

"Oh? I can too! Haha! I say, you'll become a great person!" she laughed, probably trying to break the tension. Oh god? Really? I can't imagine that myself.

"Perhaps…"

They laid there for a while, then suddenly, she got up, brushing her skirt of any dirt.

"I got to go now. My parents are probably going to notice I'm missing. Bye!" she ran into the barley field, the rustling getting softer slowly.

After a while, he got up too, and returned back home. Most of the townspeople had already left, slightly drunk. His father had already downed over ten tankards of beer, but seemed to be unaffected by the booze. Must be his barbarian training. Farrell thought, amused.

"Farrell! Where have you been! Go on and sleep!" His mother scolded him, and led him to his bedroom. She changed his clothes and tucked him in.

Farrell stared at his mother as she left the room. He fell into deep slumber, dreaming of a mysterious blonde man with a scar on his neck all the way down till it was concealed by his shirt. The man stared at him with such hatred, and Farrell woke up in cold sweat.

He couldn't sleep, and the sun was already starting to rise. He went out, staring at the golden sun as it cast its first rays of golden light on the barley fields, illuminating each and every stalk. Beautiful…

Meanwhile, small, demonic spawns approached, lusting for blood…

A/N- Summary will be up when it will not spoil the story, meanwhile, R&R please. Thanks.