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Whatever Happened to the Diablo 2 Paladin?: The Zakarum and Paladin Marshal Carthas
Diablo IV
Опубликовано
09.09.2023 в 16:00
Arktane
What happens to the player Paladin of Diablo 2 after slaying the Prime Evils with the band of heroes? Here we take a deep dive into the lore of Carthas, the Paladin of Diablo 2 and the religion of Zakarum.
In an ever darkening world, it is all the more important to remember the events which transpired that lead to the bleak present we face today. Just as it is important to remember those who exemplified true heroism in the face of evil.
A Hero of the Light
"The darkness will never extinguish the Light. It is our duty to ensure that. The day we discovered the corruption within our faith was the day we began anew." - Paladin Marshal Carthas
A man of unwavering determination and unshakeable faith, Paladin Marshal Carthas lived and died as a shining example of what it means to be a defender of the Light and protector of the people. He belonged to an order that splintered off from the Church of the Zakarum known as the Knights of Westmarch.
The Zakarum Faith
Two hundred years after the Mage Clan Wars ended in what would become year zero of the new calendar, the Zakarum Faith is born when Akarat receives a vision from what he believed to be an angel named Yaerius, which Deckard Cain much later theorized that the angel was likely an echo of Uldyssian Ul-Diomede when he sacrificed himself to end the Sin War. Akarat then went on to become a prophet, teaching the fundamental belief that human kind is a vessel for the light, and by living a good, righteous life that they may find peace. Akarat journeyed to Kehjistan from Xiansai and traveled from settlement to settlement, preaching his tenets of virtue and seeking ones' inner light, before disappearing into the jungle never to be seen again. Over time, the teachings of Akarat took hold of the people of Kehjistan.
Long after in the year 1042 Tassara, the Emperor of Kehjistan, converted to the Zakarum faith in a bid to maintain stability in the empire and quell unrest in the people. They then formally established the faith as the Church of the Zakarum at the new capital city Kurast. Little did they know that this would be the catalyst of a series of monumental and bloody events. The nobles of the empire lashed out against the emperor, discontent in sharing power with not only the emperor, but the Church of the Zakarum as well which had only been swelling in influence over time. Emperor Tassara appointed his childhood friend Rakkis to lead a contingent to quell the rebellion.
The Schism of the Church
Three years later in 1045, Rakkis succeeded in ending the rebellion without losing a single battle and was hailed as a hero. He then used his influence to install members of the Zakarum clergy into positions of government to replace the deposed traitors. Tassara became increasingly worried about their hold over the empire due to the extreme popularity of Rakkis. so in another bid to maintain their power, Emperor Tassara tasked Rakkis to begin a crusade far away in the western lands across the Twin Seas and bring the Zakarum faith to the disparate clans. Rakkis himself was already of the mind to head West, as he believed the Zakarum was waning in the East and he sought to reignite the faith before it would be snuffed out entirely. So he took a third of the Emperor's army and sailed to the West.
At this same point in time a priest of the Zakarum named Akkhan had also come to a similar realization as Rakkis. He discovered the Church of the Zakarum had become corrupted over time by Mephisto's influence but was unaware that Mephisto's Soulstone was hidden away beneath the temple in the city of Travincal in the year 1009 and that it had been affecting the entire region for 36 years already. So Akkhan in secret founded the order of Crusaders with the most devout, battle hardened, and uncorrupted followers of Zakarum that he could find and had them flee to the East to search for a way to end the corruption while he stayed behind.
Rakkis would go on to begin a bloody campaign against the Monks of Ivgorod and the Barbarians of Arreat to no avail. Then through diplomacy, marriage, and spreading the Zakarum faith to the people, he rallied many of the warring clans of the south with his Kehjistani army under one banner to wage battle against the remaining clans. upon his victory 15 years later in 1060, he began construction of a great city and crowned himself the first King of Westmarch. Using his authority as king, he founded a righteous order of Paladins called the Knights of Westmarch, to protect the realm based on the teachings of the Zakarum.
The Darkening of Zakarum
165 years later, the now fully corrupted High Council of the Zakarum began a crusade to purge the land of demonic influence with harsh punishments of violence and torture against anyone who would not convert to the faith, for if one was not a believer, then surely they must be tainted by evil. The council brought forth a new order of Paladins called the Hand of Zakarum to enforce their will with blind fury during what is known as the "Time of Troubles". After 22 years of zealous brutality and fanatical murder, in 1247 a splinter faction within the Hand of Zakarum called the Order of Paladins openly rebelled against the High Council's ruthless inquisition out of a virtuous desire to protect the innocent and uphold the true teachings of Zakarum. They vowed to seek out the Prime Evils and destroy them in order to save their faith from the terribly destructive force of hatred. To this end, the Order of Paladins journeyed across the sea to seek out the sources of evil and ended up joining the Knights of Westmarch.
Seventeen years after the Order of Paladins joined forces with the Knights of Westmarch, in the year 1264 a Paladin named Carthas arrived in a fortified encampment of refugees and rogues of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye from Eastgate Keep. There he met several others who had all come to this light forsaken place by choice and chance. Carthas banded together with this unlikely group of adventurers and set forth on his quest to bring peace to his fallen brethren and smite those responsible.
Ultimately, Carthas was successful in claiming vengeance by slaying Mephisto as well as Diablo and Baal. Some time after the defeat of the Prime Evils, Paladin Marshal Carthas carried the body of former leader of the Zakarum, Que-Hegan Sankekur to Hawezar to be entombed. Sankekur was the host of Mephisto's possession, his body seething with corruption from the lingering taint of the Prime Evil.
State of the Zakarum during Diablo IV
The Crusaders over the decades carried out their holy mission to find the Tomb of Akarat, hoping that there would lie their salvation. They erected temples and keeps, bastions of faith and stone in the swamp of Hawezar to further their search. Hundreds died in the name of Zakarum, and the survivors took up the armor and names of their fallen predecessors.
By the year 1336, their numbers dwindled drastically, armor became rusted, swords pitted and cracked. The swamp began to creep over the stone walls of the Crusaders to reclaim the land as the faithful become fearful they would never find the tomb. Many Crusaders began to doubt the teachings of Akarat and their quest given to them by Akkhan, believing it to be folly. A number of their forces entirely abandoned the order, resorting to banditry, theft, and murder. While the remaining few in Zarbinzet wander hopelessly, openly criticize their purpose, and drown in despair and hate in the bottom of a bottle.
The Fate of Carthas
During their travels, The Wanderer encountered a Crusader by the name of Ksenia outside the ruins of Rakhat Keep in Hawezar, who was in prayer to Akarat. Ksenia tells The Wanderer that their meeting was not by chance, but of divine intervention by The Light. She believes that the pair were tasked with cleansing whatever darkness lingered within the keep where Sankekur was entombed, as none of her Crusader brethren had the strength of will to tread such desecrated ground. Inside the keep's entry hall, they found a sword buried into the once ornately carved stone floor with a letter written by Carthas himself. The letter told of how Carthas and his trusted retainers sealed themselves inside the tomb of Sankekur in order to keep the corruption from escaping, and that they would continue their solemn watch even in death.
It is discovered that Carthas and his retainers were corrupted by their prolonged proximity to the former host of Mephisto, and in their hateful stupor, they slayed one another cursing their spirits. Ksenia performed a ritual with the still blood soaked blades of the fallen Paladins and The Wanderer engaged in combat with the twisted spirits of the retainers and Carthas himself. After the ritual was complete and the darkness purged, peace was finally brought to the restless souls.
Ksenia returned to Zarbinzet to tell the Crusaders in town of the deeds of the hero Paladin Carthas, but many did not believe her or chose not to believe her. Perhaps the Crusaders wished not to believe Ksenia out of fear that if a man such as Carthas could fall to corruption, what hope would they have? The shield of Carthas was placed by Ksenia at a plaque upon which she wished to carve the names of every paladin in the keep that sacrificed themselves. She hoped that by doing so, his memory would live on and be known by others.
The Legacy of a Champion
The story of Carthas does not begin or end with his life. The faith that he swore to defend and uphold the virtues of was condemned from nearly it's very inception when Emperor Tassara formally established the Zakarum Church in Kurast back in the year 1042. From that moment, Mephisto began his work on poisoning the very foundations of the religion and the very spirit of the faithful. But the human spirit, is truly a hard thing to break. Carthas and many others were only emboldened in their conviction when the truth of the Zakarum's corruption was revealed.
As of 1336, the Zakarum faith is decaying rapidly. There are only scattered churches and temples left standing, most of which are in a state of disrepair and dilapidation. The Zakarum priests are elderly and shriveling, long gone are their days of traveling to spread the light of Akarat. The Crusaders are a hollow, rusted shell of their former glory, clinging on to ritual and dogma as their will to fight crumbles. Veteran Crusaders wallow in despair over their lives being wasted on a fool's errand, while the young are fearful of the weight of such a burden being passed along to them. The paladins that remain if any, are in service to the Kingdom of Westmarch, their fate to yet be determined.
The light of Zakarum has dwindled to a mere flickering flame, and the darkness of hatred threatens to extinguish it forever. But the heroic deeds of Carthas, Johanna, and others have inspired new generations to fight for the light and strengthen their resolve. To that end, the memory of Carthas may hopefully live forever.
Factoids
The name Zakarum comes from "Zakara" which means "inner light".
Kelly Johnson is the creator of the Paladin in Diablo 2.
Lorath Nahr was a member of the Knights of Westmarch.
We are currently aware of the fate of the player character Paladin, Amazon, Necromancer, and Sorceress from Diablo 2. The legacy of the Barbarian, Assassin, and Druid are still a mystery.
Riboflavin is an
excellent
name for a Paladin.
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