Chapter 38

Lyndon most certainly did not remember fainting. But he apparently did because he woke up in that strange pebble-mosaic room with the relief of the Immortal Throne, next to a burning fireplace, and he was damn sure he had been standing in the middle of the main courtyard a minute ago.

The scoundrel was given maybe three seconds to push himself slightly up from his makeshift bed with his elbows, before a pale, shimmering hand grabbed his collar and dragged him upwards.

- You lied to me, spawn of Hell! – Malthael was leaning over him, his voice holding a dangerous edge.

- What the hell is your problem?! – choked Lyndon, still disoriented.

- You had the Worldstone all this time! You kept it from me!

- Let me go, you lunatic—!

- Back off, Angel of Death – said a distant bit firm voice, and a ghostly double-bladed battle axe was pressed against Malthael's neck from behind.

The angel slowly obliged, having no other choice, really. Kanai stood in his place, weapon held steadily.

- You may not harm the Guardian, Bringer of Decay. Or we shall make sure you can never be reborn – the Barbarian king said simply and evenly.

- You do not scare me, demonspawn. I will have the Worldstone! I am its rightful bearer, I have always been! – hissed Malthael, his bland voice now full of anger.

- I do wonder what the Eye has to say about that – Kanai lowered his weapon, once the angel retreated to a sufficient distance.

Lyndon adjusted his coat with a cough. He was lying on a low table covered in carpets and rags, his blanket was a thick coat of white yeti fur. He quickly sat up and donned it. Despite the fireplace burning, the room wasn't exactly warm. They seemed to be on the other end of the hall than they had been originally. The Immortal Throne's relief was barely visible in the semi-darkness. The pebble decorations on the floor formed a large arcane circle, while on the walls they spelled out runes of unknown origin.

- I… I did not imagine that "Worldstone" thing then? The… thing you said – Lyndon asked weakly, blinking up at Kanai.

- No, you did not. I apologize, Guardian. The day's events must have overwhelmed you, I should have considered that – Kanai strolled to the middle of the circle where a ghostly chair emerged for him to sit down.

- I—Wait, where are the others?! – Lyndon realized as he looked around frantically in the room. – You didn't—!

- Your scholar and goblin friends are safe, Guardian. My people are escorting them as far as they can from the fortress, to hunt for some game. They volunteered to do so. You all need food, but we cannot offer anything edible, unfortunately.

- Oh thank the gods – Lyndon let out a shaky breath.

- The gods, indeed – Kanai nodded, lost in thought. – I believe none on Sanctuary has ever witnessed such a gathering from them, nor such a brazen rebellion against their bonds. Their stubbornness is quite admirable. I can only thank them for helping you survive while I returned and called my people.

- There is only one god: Anu. All these… creatures are just weak and foolish imitations – Malthael barked from the background.

He retreated into darkness that was barely touched by the fire's light, melting into the shadows like a wraith. It was difficult to spot him, but it looked like his robes lost their blue hue and were once again turning to pitch black.

- On Sanctuary, things are vastly different, angel. You'd do well to remember that – Kanai seemed to frown in his direction, even though his strange helmet did not leave much room for expressions.

- Kanai… why are you here? Don't Barbarian's souls leave this world, like everyone else does? – Lyndon massaged his temples.

- We used to, once. Our resting places had been on the Sacred Mountain. Without it, many of us linger. I had been… lucky, so to speak, that I was able to leave this plane before that happened. Yet my spirit shares a bond with the Immortal Throne, so I used it to find my way back in here – Kanai waved tiredly. – As for why I am here, the answer is most obvious. I had come to stop our Forefather from committing the worst mistake of his long life.

- Your Forefather is an absolute asshole. No offense – Lyndon frowned.

- Hah, we had to receive our headstrong and fearless nature from somewhere, Guardian! – Kanai snorted with humor. –Bul-Kathos is everything we are, our good and bad side as well. He is ready to sacrifice anything for his comrades and people, but discretion is not really his strong suit.

- And he… wanted to kill me because the Worldstone ditched him? Do I understand this correctly? – Lyndon recalled the unintelligible shoutings of the giant.

- Quite spot on, for the short version anyway – Kanai nodded.

- The Worldstone had been destroyed by Tyrael's short-sightedness. How did it survive?! – Malthael demanded.

- For someone who claims he has a bond with the Worldstone, you most certainly know little about it – Kanai mumbled, clearly annoyed. – Allow me to start from the beginning, Guardian. I wish to tell you everything I know.

- I would love some straightforward answers, finally. Go ahead – Lyndon sighed, pulling his coat tighter around himself.

Kanai leaned a bit forward in his chair and waved his hand. To this, every symbol and picture the dark pebbles formed began shimmering with an ethereal orange light like embers. Instead of lighting up the place, however, the darkness suddenly grew ominously deep, almost strangling the fireplace behind Lyndon. Only the symbols and Kanai provided any sort of light now.

- You may know of the beginnings, Guardian – began Kanai, gesturing at one of the walls. – Of how Sanctuary had been created by Inarius, brother of Archangel Tyrael, and the Worldstone in order to escape the accursed Eternal Conflict. His mate, Lilith, daughter of Mephisto, and their followers provided guidance and strength for the feat, and eventually our world formed into existence, filled with wonders no other corner of Creation could claim.

To his words, the shining pebbles suddenly moved. No longer stones but dots of light, they swarmed on the wall and the floor, rearranging into pictures: a tall figure with huge wings and flowing hair raising his hands towards a giant gemstone that looked like frozen flames. Around those two, the lights slowly formed water, mountains, trees, and animals.

- What you may not know is that Inarius had bound his soul to the Worldstone, merging with it for ages. Then… peace was shattered, Lilith betrayed him, killed all their followers. Inarius was forced to banish her as well, sentencing himself to a life of isolation. In order to keep Sanctuary safe, he could think of only one solution: he bid the Worldstone to slowly oppress the Nephalem's power, causing each generation to be weaker than the forefathers. This is how we humans came to be eventually. The Worldstone used this power to form an even stronger and thicker veil around Sanctuary. Inarius' son, Rathma however turned the Nephalem against his father in his rage at the decision. The rebellion was eventually put down, with Rathma gone, many dead, and dangerous beasts roaming the land which were created to protect Inarius. Some of those would give birth to generations of the horrible predators that now live on Sanctuary. Our Forefather too had to grapple with a monster called the Hydra for survival.

The dots rearranged themselves into a hideous demoness slaughtering fleeing couples, then the Worldstone with some sort of stream drifting into it, then to very human-looking creatures banding together against Inarius. Monsters rose, most Lyndon could recognize from old stories he heard as a kid. And the aftermath: corpses everywhere, with Inarius fleeing in the distance.

- The Worldstone had been kept inside Mount Arreat, as you know. Bul-Kathos and some of his generation still alive slowly realized that despite the curse it was placing upon their descendants, the Eye was also the only thing that kept them safe from the angels and demons. So Bul-Kathos and his brother, Fiacla-Géar vowed to take it upon themselves to guard it. They both created nations, the Barbarians and the Druids, the former to be the wall around the mountain, and the latter to be the eyes and ears of Sanctuary. Guarding the Worldstone had been our sacred duty for ages upon ages, Guardian.

- So… Bul-Kathos chose to be an earth giant to hang around? – Lyndon risked this question.

- Yes, indeed. He had chained his soul to Mount Arreat and to the Immortal Throne, to stay alive and keep his vigil. You may understand him a bit better now – Kanai smiled slightly.

- He's still an asshole.

- True. Our Forefather is not the most sophisticated of beings, I fully agree – the Barbarian chuckled.

Bul-Kathos formed in full glory from the lights, standing before Mount Arreat with the Barbarians much smaller around his feet. Then a completely new set of images took its place:

- Inarius remained among the mortals, taking up a disguise. But due to humanity's meddling, smaller holes in the protective veil were found and demons had been summoned into our worlds. Before long, the Evils received news of Sanctuary's existence, and so they wished to take it for themselves. They created a fake religion called the Triune in their twisted image, hiding behind lies and slowly corrupting the followers. Inarius retaliated with his own church, the Cathedral of Light and him as the ever-young Prophet at its helm. This decades-long race for humanity's soul became known as the Sin War. Eventually, a mere farmer called Uldyssian Ul-Diomed rose up against both of them and with his reawakened Nephalem powers he destroyed them. His actions gained the attention of the Heavens as well, and eventually Tyrael found his way inside. The Archangel sought to cause a civil war and ruin Sanctuary from within, to make the work of the Angelic Host easier. He didn't succeed, and eventually the Angiris Council simply ordered a full-scale invasion, just as the demons did the same. Uldyssian who was fighting Inarius in that moment, did the impossible: he severed the angel's connection to the Worldstone, and repelled both the Hells and the Heavens by sacrificing himself in a magnificent explosion of raw power.

- And the Angiris Council decided to spare us – Lyndon nodded, recalling some of the insane ramblings of Zoltun Kulle.

- A wrong choice. I see that now – snorted Malthael with venom.

- Go jump off a cliff then!

- Inarius had been given to Mephisto as a bargain chip, in return for the Hells to keep their hands off of Sanctuary. As you can see, they did not keep their word, even though the angels have done so for all these eons. Inarius had been in the Hells ever since – Kanai finished his story.

- Until I found him – Lyndon glanced at the ghost.

- Yes.

There was a heavy pause. The scoundrel's eyes lingered on the slowly fading pictures, as darkness melted away and the pebbles rearranged themselves into their original place.

- So Inarius was left all alone here on Sanctuary? No one was there for him? – he asked then, sinking into his coat.

He knew that feeling all too well: he had felt all alone in the world as well on the fateful day he had to flee from Kingsport while Edlin was dragged to prison. It had been the most horrible sense of isolation he had ever experienced, and not even Pandemonium's desolation could come close to it. If he had to be honest with himself, this was probably the main reason he became such a ladies' man: to escape it, even if for only a brief moment. To endure that for gods know how many centuries… Inarius could not have been sane by the end of it.

- No. He was the only one. No angels or even demons to keep him company – Kanai shook his head.

- Serves the traitor right – Malthael said, once again somewhat visible in the semi-darkness.

- And yet that isolation was not enough of a punishment?! You had to sell him to the demons as well?! – Lyndon snapped, his anger exploding.

- His sins were immeasurable by the laws of the High Heavens. I personally feel his punishment could never be enough.

- I really do hope the Crystal Arch has a similar opinion about you, you ass!

Malthael's invisible gaze became sharp and filled with rage at this, but Lyndon was already turning his attention back to Kanai.

- But why me? I am just a thief, one of millions of ordinary humans! – he asked, bewildered.

- Do you truly believe that the Worldstone was really destroyed? That a power like that, with roots more ancient than the Crystal Arch itself, can be snuffed out so easily? – Kanai frowned, snorting in distaste. – Bah! That would be a joke. The Eye merely changed shape. For a few years it settled into Sanctuary, fractions of it living inside every human being. It eventually required a center, however, so it began searching. And found you, headed straight for the one being it ever shared its power with before.

- Inarius. So… I was like a… channel for the Stone? – Lyndon slowly asked uncertainly, connecting the dots.

- Yes. You too had carried a miniscule fraction of the Eye, and it used that to flow into Inarius through your touch. In the meantime it awakened your lingering Nephalem abilities, and destroyed Inarius' wounded and ravaged being, but kept his very core intact.

- The light-dumpling thing?

- Beg your pardon? – Kanai seemed to freeze at the mental image.

- Nothing, please go on.

-… Now Inarius and the Worldstone are one and the same, the Allfather to all of Sanctuary. They are slowly maturing together, drawing power and knowledge from this new life. And they… or rather, he has chosen you as his Guardian and Teacher. It is a great honor no other living being in Creation can claim!

Lyndon fell awfully silent as he allowed the information to sink in.

He was looking after the Creator of the Sanctuary. He was babysitting an actual god.

- This cannot be! – Malthael breathed in sheer disbelief.

- I… need to lie down a bit – Lyndon stated weakly before falling back onto his bed with a thud.

oooOOOooo

- Guardian? Are you feeling better? – Kanai asked helpfully.

- I am the babysitter of a literal god, Kanai. I don't know what to feel anymore – Lyndon answered weakly, munching on a roasted piece of meat with little appetite.

He had once again fainted from the news, and only came to by the time Hazir and Luther had returned with a deer and they started roasting it. The scholar was quickly caught up with the absolutely necessary information (which was already too much in Lyndon's opinion). Now he was deadly silent, eating his dinner but clearly soaking up anything and everything that was happening around him.

The future book already forming in his head was almost physically visible.

Malthael remained where he had been, with a strange change. It honestly looked like he couldn't decide what to be: the right half of his clothing was the usual dark blue with the sleeve turning to white at the end, the left however was pitch black and ragged.

- Surely, you are joyous at the revelation! It is the greatest of honors, afterall – Kanai pressed on.

- Don't want to talk about it – Lyndon sighed.

- Guardian…

- I said I don't want to talk about it, Kanai! Please! – the scoundrel snapped loudly. – Something else, anything else! What is a "clear-looker", for example?

- Clear-seer – Kanai gently corrected him, backing off for the moment. – A kind of Nephalem, actually. They were known for their lesser physical strength -by Nephalem standards, anyway-, but they had the clearest senses out of all. Some were even known to have foresight, short-term or long-term.

- Shit, I have both – Lyndon exhaled through his nose in defeat.

He remembered his strange dreams, the barely understandable one that told him about Corvus, Malthael and Bul-Kathos, and the other one when he could have sworn he saw Quiet crawling through somewhere, even though he had never seen other people's future before.

Maybe the Worldstone wanted him to see it? Or he had a bond with it?

Lyndon quickly perished the thought. He was just not strong enough to face the fact that his beloved little firefly was a mountain-sized, world-creating ruby stone stuffed into an angelic body.

He just couldn't do it.

- That is a most fortunate heritage then – Kanai smiled slightly. – Clear-seers also had the ability to bring out an object's greatest potential. Be it magical, or physical, they can make even a blunt rusty sword work like it had been kept well. Your kind quite literally sees the potential in everything, and they are very resourceful. That is why you are such a great thief and improviser.

- And… the teleporting and color-changing?

- Those seem to be offshoots from different Nephalem blood, Guardian. There had been a huge number of families with varied lineage. Eventually they began to mix, especially when their powers were fading and receding. Nowadays most humans would have very opposing abilities that would actively work against each other, should they be reawakened. You are most fortunate indeed to have such a heritage that fits well together. Perhaps this also was a reason for the Worldstone to—

- Stop! – Lyndon barked angrily, taking a bite out of his meat.

- How do you know all this, King Kanai? – Abd al-Hazir suddenly spoke up from his chair. – You have died only twenty years ago, surely you weren't around during the age of the Ancients!

- No, I wasn't, that is true – the ghost nodded patiently. –What I have told you came from two major sources: from my mentor in the Council of Elders, and from my time in the Afterlife. Bul-Kathos believed that for us to effectively do our sacred duty, we must know its origins. Hence he told us the story, and since then our Elders made certain we do not forget. The rest is… well, when you are in the Afterlife, you see the world and its events in a completely different way.

- What is the Afterlife like? – Hazir's eyes gleamed with even more intense light.

- Well, it is really not—

The strangest thing happened: Kanai's words became unintelligible. He was still clearly talking undisturbed, but his speech melted together into an incoherent mess.

- Do you understand me? – he suddenly asked with perfect clarity when he saw the blank stare everyone was giving him.

- Uhm… no? – Lyndon blinked.

- Not a single word – Hazir stated, crestfallen.

- Hm… it appears the living are not meant to know what awaits beyond – Kanai mused loudly. – My apologies, but I cannot answer your question, it seems.

- That would have been a breakthrough in chronicling, truly – Hazir sighed, making peace with the lost opportunity.

- Even the greatest of scholars must know their limit, wise one. There are things in Creation no one meant to know – Kanai smiled apologetically at him.

- Where is the Worldstone now, apparition? – Malthael spoke up impatiently.

- You stay the hell away from him, you freak! You called him an abomination and wrote him off as nothing! – Lyndon glared daggers at the angel.

- If I knew what you were hiding among your memories, I would have strangled the answer out of you long by now, hellspawn.

- Just try, I fucking dare you! I am so sick of your shit, Malthael! – Lyndon shouted, springing to his feet. –You have been nothing but a baggage of useless waste this whole time!

- I saved your life, ungrateful gnat!

- Like that's gonna make everything right! You—

- Fffriends! – Luther cried out, throwing himself between the angel and the scoundrel.

- Friends, stop, please! – Hazir too stood up, uncertain of what to do exactly.

- This bastard had tried to kill you, Abd! How can you be okay with that?! – Lyndon glared at the scholar with green eyes, making him shrink away.

- B—but he helped a—against the Unclean and— – the Archivist stammered meekly.

- The fucker killed thousands of people almost a year ago!

- Ffriends!

- ENOUGH, ALL OF YOU! – bellowed Kanai, standing up from his chair.

He slammed the butt of his battle axe into the floor so hard the whole room shook violently. The bickering stopped and Lyndon fell back onto his bed with a loud huff.

- Are you even listening to yourselves, heroes?! – the ghost thundered, voice suddenly harsh and demanding. – You have survived countless dangers in this death trap our beloved fort had turned into, because you were working together! Because you were supporting each other, and did not leave anyone behind when danger closed in on you!

To his words, the pebbles actually shifted around once more, playing out the scenes: the fight against the Unclean, the Khazra, Maluus, and finally Bul-Kathos. It was almost surreal, watching something they lived through be presented this way.

- You have risked your lives to stop a demon from getting out into the world and bring death upon the innocent! You even faced our Forefather bravely, refusing to take his abuse and to leave one of yours behind. Why are you bickering now?! You are a great team!

Lyndon glanced at Malthael, eyes still shining with anger.

- Sorry for shouting – he then mumbled to Hazir.

- It's okay – the scholar waved the apology away weakly, still recovering.

- Ffriends? – Luther retreated from the center as well.

- Everything's fine, Luther – Lyndon sighed.

- You even managed to work together with a treasure goblin. I am certain that is a first in the history of Creation itself – Kanai seemed to frown at all of them. – Do not lose sight of your team work now!

- Please don't tell me we still have to fight something! It's a miracle we caught this deer! – Hazir cried out, gesturing at the half eaten roasted game.

- Be still, there is no threat now, at least not that I am aware of, wise one. I cannot see the future, unfortunately, but I know there will be more hardships in the days to come, as it always is. And you are not warriors like us.

- You do not say, apparition – Malthael commented sourly.

- I meant to say, angel, is that you are not like the Barbarians. We are a great threat in large groups, but each of us learnt to fight alone as well. Some might say our greatest flaw is that perhaps we are too independent of each other at times – Kanai grimaced slightly, easing back into his chair. – But you are a different type of warriors. The kind who may be weak alone, but in a group you are a true threat and can easily prove to be indomitable. That is your strength, unlike in our case.

- Maluus almost killed us all – Lyndon pointed out.

- I have no doubt that should you all had sufficient strength and preparation, you would have easily dealt with the demon and the accursed Khazra. Even beaten as you had been, you managed to bring down the entire Ice Clan and lure the demon into a trap.

- You give too much credit to these mortals.

- And to you as well, disgraced one. Do not forget that.

- What did you call me?!

- Is it not the truth? – Kanai shrugged, already dropping the subject.

Lyndon slowly finished his meal. He felt no appetite, despite his stomach rumbling loudly for more. The pressure in him returned, an opposite feeling of wanting to deal with this sudden responsibility that was thrust upon him, and trying to ignore it longer. So it happened. It really happened. He was given a terrible burden, just because he was different than the rest. His biggest fear became a reality afterall.

Lyndon quickly swallowed a bite, to stop himself from screaming in frustration and fear.

- We should go – he spoke up, voice hoarser than he would have liked.

- Y-yeah, we really overstayed our welcome – Hazir agreed.

- Hae!

Kanai stood up from his chair with a deep sigh.

- I cannot hold you back, heroes. You have proven your worth more times than anyone could ask for. I apologize in the name of our Forefather – he bowed his head slightly.

- It's alright… I mean, we survived, yes? – Hazir smiled half-heartedly, clearly eager to finally set out.

Lyndon remained mostly silent throughout the packing and until they reached the main bridge leading outside into the wilderness. He didn't even try to hide his distress from his face as he kept his eyes on the ground, hauling his backpack, crossbow and new furcoat along at the end of the group. He could feel Kanai's stare on his back, and it annoyed him to no end. The scoundrel was secretly hoping the ghost would not show them out, but no such luck.

At the main gate, Kanai finally broke the silence:

- Guardian—

- Don't want to hear it, Kanai – Lyndon quickly interrupted.

- I understand you are distressed now…

- That is why I don't want to hear it.

- But you must listen, Clear-seer! – the ghost suddenly barred his way, glaring at him sternly despite his eyes not being visible at all.

- What? – Lyndon barked, staring up at the Barbarian.

- It can be an arduous trial to face who and what we truly are. I know that well. But keep in mind that nothing has truly changed with this revelation.

- Everything has changed, Kanai. That's the whole fucking point! – Lyndon hissed at the ghost venomously.

- Why did you seek answers then, if you are so afraid of them? – Kanai tilted his head to the side. – You could have escaped from our Forefather. Bul-Kathos is bound to Sescheron, he cannot leave, just like us.

- An idiot friend told me to! I wish I didn't listen to him, though!

- And yet everything remains the same, Guardian. The Eye… Quiet still waits for you out there. He misses you.

- Just shut the hell up, will ya! – Lyndon pushed past the ghost and stomped over to his group who were waiting at the end of the bridge.

Hazir was already preparing to read his Portalfolio, to lead them back to his book. He shot a quizzical look at Lyndon.

- Heroes! – Kanai called out after them one last time. – Remember well: together you are strong!

With that, the Barbarian king slowly faded to nothing. Even Lyndon bid him farewell with a half-hearted wave of his hand. The scoundrel felt terrible about his behavior towards their savior, but try as he might, he could not drag himself out of the emotional quagmire he had found himself in.

- Do you think he…? – Hazir asked uncertainly.

- Returned to the Afterlife? Probably. Guess he deserves the rest – Lyndon sighed.

- Anu willing, I will never return to this miserable place – Malthael grumbled, already trudging towards the forest.

- Hey wait! – Hazir rushed after him, along with the others.

They quickly found themselves among the tall pinetrees. The snow was lazily falling in large flakes around them, the air was standing still. Nothing moved, no animal could be heard. With any luck, they would make it to the Portalfolio with no problem. Lyndon could only hope after this mad adventure.

- I still need to start reading my Portalfolio! – Hazir finally caught up with Malthael.

- Then start reading, scholar.

- Yes, well, I need to focus for that! And I can't do that if I am worried about y—

- Need a ride, lads?

To this new voice, everyone turned around as one.

Behind them, out of nowhere stood a cart full of hay, pulled by a peaceful packbeast that blinked lazily at the dumbfounded group. On the cart sat an old man with an impressive grey beard, more wrinkles than on a canyon's wall, a wide boater that was pulled over his eyes, and clothes that were far, far too light for this weather.

That would have been fine and well, except that the cart had no tracks in the snow behind it, nor was it at all covered in snow, as if it had just appeared out of thin air.

Malthael immediately yanked the ice wand out of his belt:

- Back off, fiend!

- HEEEEEE! – Luther joined in the threat by pulling out his favorite broadsword from his sack.

- Wait, it's you?! – Lyndon cried out after a second of stunned silence.

- Who? – Hazir glanced at him, slowly retreating behind everyone else.

- Glad we could meet again, scoundrel – the old man grinned from ear to ear, showing off far too perfect teeth for a simple peasant.

- You know him? Is he a spirit? – whispered Hazir.

- You were the one who had taken me to Gea Kul months ago! – Lyndon glared at the old man. – Who the hell are you?!

- You seem pretty worse for the wear, lads. How about old Zei here giving you a ride to Westmarch, hm?

Silence settled onto the group.

- Oh, son of a bitch – Lyndon finally said.


Wheeeeee, looooooooooooooooooore! My favorite part of any story-writing ever! No wonder I have put this chapter together so fast. ;)

And finally some answers! Lyndon really is a Nephalem, and now he has to deal with just the worst thing ever: Malthael's obsession with the Worldstone. Let us say a prayer for him, cupcakes! So basically, Bul-Kathos was going through a really rough breakup. You'll have to forgive him.

Now that things have died down a bit, I may be able to upload more frequently. The ending of Act II is approaching, stay tuned, cupcakes!

Lore & Trivia Corner

- The Hydra and other monsters of Sanctuary: personal headcanon. Sanctuary had been created to be a safe haven from conflict and dangers, so why does it have so many monsters and bloodthirsty predators roaming its lands? Enter the Nephalem rebellion against Inarius. Before that, Sanctuary had truly been a land of safety and prosperity. During the uprising, however, Inarius was forced to create mighty beasts as body guards and set them loose upon the world. One such monster, the Hydra was later killed by Bul-Kathos, if the item description of the Serpent's Sparker is anything to go by.

- Lyndon's Nephalem powers: it is time I finally talk about this. Two things have given me the idea to make our beloved scoundrel into an actual Nephalem. One was the fact with the right build, his damage can be the highest out of all the followers, nearing the player's damage even. Second, I have thought about how his in-game abilities (e.g. the cloaking-teleporting ability when his HP is low) can translate into an actual story setting, and it all led to these assortment of powers.
I wanted to create a Nephalem who, while can be a great threat, is not nearly as powerful as the player character (or Uldyssian, for that matter), which is just ridiculous, if you think about it.

- Mixed heritage Nephalem: personal headcanon. I have always found it strange how everyone who discovered his Nephalem powers had a completely well-working set of skills at his disposal. To me, it sounds very logical that most people would have incompatible powers due to the mixed heritage. The complete chaos from the blending of bloodlines would probably cause some headaches. It might even result in a specific elemental mage or warrior having an opposing element as his Nephalem heritage. Wouldn't that be frustrating?