#donan

[kdval]

Diablo 4

[boyyardee]

omgee, I finished my first run on Diablo iv today on my necromancer and I’m just JHJSHBNg

but I want to draw my necromancer more but also the npcs a lot more too because I love each and every one of them,,

[displacer-beasts]

🥹

Lorath, after just locking the spirit in one of the spare closets: It's okay, I've banished it. Completely banished, gone forever. Also this closet is now off limits. These two facts are not related.

These utter nerds 🥹

[west-tokyo-incidents]

It's quiet here.

How many times will he come back to stare at the Black Lake? Rathma isn't here any more. His body lay where it has for however long it's been since Inarius came back and spread the prophecy as gospel.

No amount of speed or lack of distraction would have let him meet Rathma personally.

The wanderer huffed under his breath and leaned on his hand. He's perched above, just inside Kasama, looking down at the barely-submerged platform where Vhenard died twice over.

"The first necromancer... Wow, I bet this is a big deal for you, huh?"

"Hm? ...I suppose so."

Neyrelle's question to him, when they'd first come across evidence of where they were.

"Well, isn't it? Aren't necromancers priests of Rathma?"

He remembers his thoughts from back then. Should he pretend to be in awe? Excited? Something other than skin-crawling anxiety about meeting the nephalem his people worshipped?

"I guess I'm just... Nervous."

The wanderer considers going back down there. Hell, he even walks through the City of the Ancients to the entrance of the Cradle... Only to stop and stare at the mural on the floor in front of it.

He must've not seen it before. Rathma's face, scrolls falling from his hands, a skeletal mage at his side.

Nope.

The wanderer turns back around and goes back to his spot overlooking the lake. Back to the little food he'd packed himself. Even if he went, he couldn't cross the lake. And even if he could, Rathma would still be dead and his spirit gone from this place.

And even if he wasn't...

Best not think about that. He stuck a piece of bread in his mouth.

"Well, Neyrelle told me I'd probably find you here."

Only to nearly choke on it in shock.

"Donan...!"

The wanderer, coughing, turned to look at the man.

The man is grinning at him, "Hey, now, don't die on me, you're the only necromancer we've got!" The man walks over as the wanderer manages to get a drink and clear his throat, "Mind if I join you?"

"No, of course not. Why were you looking for me?"

With a heave, Donan sits beside him, "You'd been gone for a while got concerned. I guess you couldn't resist coming back here while we're in the area, hm? Neyrelle told me all about how you two met."

A soft grunt of acknowledgement.

"...I can't imagine it." Donan sighs, his voice becoming soft, "I guess, in a way, it's like if Inarius had just. Suddenly died one day. No glory, no songs... I can't imagine how the church would react."

"Hah, yeah, except it's as if that arse died locked away in the Alabaster Monastery and the world forgot about him. Hidden away with a key you can never get again. And why would you even want it?" A dry laugh, "Just to see a dead body?" The wanderer stares down at his food. He can feel the heat of anger beginning to boil in his stomach.

Donan goes quiet, "I'm sorry... For what it's worth, he isn't forgotten--"

"His prophecy isn't forgotten, you mean." He spits, "There are no crusaders for him. No knights to guard his tomb. His temple is sunken beneath the rancid sea and his tomb is rotting. I've heard so many people talk about him ...But no one but me and Lilith seem to grieve."

"...I thought you said you weren't religious. Yet you sound as devout as Prava. Don't go falling into Lilith's arms just because she--"

"It's nothing like Prava. And I'm not falling into that bitch's arms." He snarls suddenly. Wolven teeth snap behind his own. He can feel Hatred in his words, and Donan does, too. "She grieves him... But what she does... It's too much like... Like where I came from. Except Rathma never actually demanded the things my people did to me." His hair bristles on the back of his neck. Donan clenches his hands into fists in his lap.

"...Wanderer... What happened to you?" Donan reaches and gently places his hand on the necromancer's shoulder. He flinches, but doesn't pull away. He glares at Donan, but the man meets his eyes evenly back.

Donan seems to be considering his next move. Almost like a young boy eagerly expecting to find a small hind on his hunt and running into a great hart who has no intention of being shot.

But this hart trusts that will not be shot, and he will not run, either. The wanderer rolled his shoulder, shrugging off the hand.

"We were terrible people. Isolated from the world on an island south of Hawezar. I thought I loved what We were. We took trips to the mainland to get corpses for Our craft. They weren't dead when We got there." His hands ball into fists in his lap.

"...you were an instrument in the Death Song..." Donan's voice is barely a whisper.

The wanderer tilted his head, "Is that what your name is for who We were?"

Donan scowls softly, "Well, it's what we heard from travellers who came from the south. What do you mean, were?"

"How long ago was the last time you heard a story about Us? I imagine We'll become nothing but a fairy tale to children before too long."

Donan frowns, "So... They're gone?"

"Yes. We're gone. For the most part."

Silence. The wanderer just stares at Donan, waiting for the next word.

"...What did you do?" A look of concern and caution crosses the man's face.

"I think you've already guessed the answer. Why do you think I travelled so far north? Why do you think Mephisto haunts me?"

"Answer the question, wanderer."

"I killed them." Tension hangs like a heavy stone in the air, "Say what you want about it. Yell, storm out, threaten me." The wanderer looks back at the lake.

A slow sigh, "No, I don't think I will." Donan's hand reaches to take one of his hands, and the necromancer realizes he's bleeding from his own nails, "I know you, wanderer. Whatever they did to you to push you to such a point. You still consider yourself one of them, even after killing them."

His shoulders fall. He pulls his eyes away from Donan carefully wiping the wound off with a cloth. And he decides to speak again, "I'd been a bad omen since birth. White hair. Pale eyes. And they treated me like it, only barely a part of the Whole, no matter how hard I worked, how many I killed. They only gave me a name when I was bathed in the blood of someone I loved." There is more to it. But he can barely conjure the words to speak it, "My mentor cursed me and stripped me of my name with her dying breaths. Probably the best thing she ever did for me."

Quiet, again. He glances to Donan and sees the man deep in thought as he wraps his palm. It stretches out for a while. The wanderer simmering slowly in his own head as the water below gently splashes onto the shore and stones.

"So why do you feel so strongly about Rathma? Why are you still a necromancer?"

"My craft is Mine, not Ours." He snaps, yanking his hand back and his lips peeling back from a snarl, "Made for One, not the Whole. I am a necromancer because that is who I am. My people may have shown me the path, but that's the only part they play."

A hum. He suspects Donan is confused, by what he doesn't know. It's clear to him, but Donan doesn't press on whatever it is.

"And what about Rathma?" He motions to the lake. The Necropolis beyond, "Your people told you everything was his command, didn't they?"

"Yes. And for a while, I hated him as much as I hated the Whole." The wanderer leaned against rubble nearby, looking down at his hand and finishing the wrapping himself. "And then I sought to learn more of my craft, beginning to struggle on my own. I read his teachings in the wider world, and I began to question what I had been taught."

The binding tight, he let his hands fall back down.

"First to learn he was a flesh and blood being? And not a serpent at all, but that he looks as human as you or I. And then to read his teachings and find that the Balance I had been taught was twisted." He shakes his head. He reaches into his pouch and pulls out a beaten up book; his journal. It's scarred and stained with who knows what all.

"I don't see him as a god, I don't worship him. He was a person. A teacher."

His fingers flip open the pages and his eyes flick between each one. And then he stops. The page he'd written after returning from the city of dead. There, delicately sketched, is Rathma's face.

"Almost every word I was told about him as a child was wrong. Coming here, suddenly being thrust with the realization that I could possibly even meet him. Only to find him dead. Killed by Inarius with his own weapon." A shaky breath.

"In a way, I guess I am devoted to him. But as one is devoted to a loved one, not an angel nor a demon."

Donan has been quiet for a while now. The wanderer snaps his journal shut.

"I hope you're satisfied now."

Donan still doesn't answer. After a second, the wanderer looks over his shoulder, almost wondering if the man had snuck out at some point. But no, he's still there.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you, wanderer?" Donan hums softly, "I can see why you aren't eager to let Neyrelle try and think of a new name for you."

"I am happy being a simple wanderer."

"Perhaps I'll have a word with her in private, ask her to stop."

"You don't have to--"

"No, I think it's only right." He stands up, then pauses. He wants to say something... But it escapes him, "We have to make for Hawezar soon, though. I don't want to rush your meal, but we're ready to leave when you are."

The wanderer stares at the Black Lake, but nods and begins to pack up, "I was nearly done anyway. Go on ahead, I'll meet you there."

[captainpissofff]

A son for a son..

Yorin Vs Rathma..

DIABLO is a real pro when it comes to tragedies and dark fates..

Lilith..

I would LOVE to believe that she got blinded by hatred and revenge for choosing Donan's son Yorin.

Why this boy in particular?

She could've chosen any one (and correct me if I'm wrong)

Nothing special about Yorin except he is a son..

She wanted to tear some parent's heart apart just to transfer her pain for Rathma.

"All you might have been, has been stolen from me.."

[sunshineram]

yall are getting him too :)

[ultralowoxygen]

Eilean Donan Castle by Jack the Hat Photographic Via Flickr: Fujifilm GW690III, Ilford HP5+ film.

[kaelula-sungwis]

An Alternate View by Trey Ratcliff Via Flickr: A different view of Eilean Donan castle from the one I shared a few weeks ago. I liked that alternate view, looking back down the glen towards the mountains, rather than out towards the sea as seen here but this one does have a typically Scottish weather feel to it... which was good because the first chunk of my trip was abnormally sunny with clear blue skies a lot of the time. Nice to get some contrasts.

[warlock-enthusiast]

"Do you even know what this means?”

Prompt number: 4 Fanfiction Fandom: Diablo IV Rating: PG Characters: Lorath Nahr, The Wanderer (female Sorceress), Neyrelle, Donan Warnings: non apply

"Do you even know what this means?” His eyes are feverish and his skin flushed. We’ve spent the last hours in almost complete silence. So quiet that both Donan and Neyrelle left to do something more interesting than studying scripts that they’ve read over and over again without finding anything worthwhile. I can’t blame them. Puzzling over the same words, for days at a time will not save a single soul, but Lorath is sure that he’ll find a key in there. I stumbled upon the journals of a scholar that lived during the sin war. Back when demons and angels fought for the souls of us mortals. Have they ever stopped? We seem to be trapped in this endless cycle of being nothing more than pawns to someone bigger and stronger.

I look up from my script, blots of ink covering the tips of my fingers, and find Lorath looking at me. 

“That we might stand a chance after all.” I answer, knowing that it is the one he is looking for. 

He offers me one of his rare smiles and my stomach flutters. “Yes… yes. Exactly that.”

Lorath is more alive, more himself, now that he has a goal and allies that help him fight against Lilith’s influence. No more nights drinking his sorrows away and waking up in his own bile, but helping Neyrelle understand the teaching of the Horadrim and sharing old stories with Donan. It touches me to see him like this, but I can’t ignore the darkness that still hides in his eyes. 

A broken man is not easily mended, but we are all doing our best. 

My back cracks while I stand up and start to stretch my hurting limbs. I put my hands on my hips and move around a  little. “We should take a break. I feel as if I haven’t seen the sun in a few days.”

“To be fair, we haven’t.” Time doesn’t seem to matter in this vault and there are always more books to read before I go outside and fight against the forces of Lilith. It’s nice to not smell of blood and gore or to stand in the ruins of human settlements for once.

“Let’s find some food and maybe catch a ray of sunshine then.” And we do follow our plan. I grab some items from the kitchens while Lorath finds our companions. Thankfully it’s not raining, but there is a chill to the air, which makes me wrap my cloak tighter around myself. There is tea that warms me from the inside and Lorath is close enough to feel his knee brushing against mine.

I try not to think too much about us being close and instead focus on the bread and dried meats. There is cheese to go with it and some fruits that Donan brought from his home. 

“Surprised you didn’t end up as a pile of ash.” Neyrelle points towards the sky and a very bright sun that is stinging in my eyes. 

“Hey now, I’ve been known to be outside at times. It’s not all about caves and grimy dungeons.”

“Sometimes it is about old, dusty Horadrim vaults as well,” Lorath adds and has the nerve to chuckle. 

I’m so very tempted to poke out my tongue, but settle for a more relaxed raised eyebrow. “Better company there.”

“Debatable.” I look towards Donan, who is calmly cutting some cheese and is not even looking up.

His single word makes all of us erupt in laughter and for a few seconds I know that we’ll survive all of this. 

[postcard-from-the-past]

Port of Donan, Java, Indonesia

Dutch vintage postcard

[mizumiii]

I'm dying for some Diablo IV content, is there anything around here? I'm craving some Donan content... Should I just go and write some?

[kyndaris]

Blessed Mother

The Diablo series has always had a soft spot in my heart ever since I played the second game back when I was 12 at the behest of a few school friends. Yes, it was MA15+ and I probably shouldn’t have been playing it at that age but I managed to convince my father to buy me it, one of a thousand cherished memories that I had with him, because I was already hooked on Blizzard’s other games: Warcraft and Starcraft. So began my descent into the terrifying world of Sanctuary and humanity’s quest to purge the evils that stalk its land.

Unlike its other major franchises, Diablo is an action role-playing game. Or, ARPG for short. But for many, it’s known as the one game that helps most people develop repetitive strain injury (RSI) because of the constant clicking that goes throughout the gameplay.

Diablo IV continues in this vein as very little of the core gameplay has changed. The playable character moves around by clicking the mouse to a specific spot on the map. The playable character attacks by clicking on enemies. Occasionally, one can mix it up with a variety of other skills by pressing something on the number pad.

That is, of course, if you play Diablo IV on the computer. The controls might be a little different on consoles but I’ve always found that the best way to play isometric click-heavy ARPGs on computer.

Besides, I didn’t get a heavy-duty PC just to write my stories. I mean, yes, that is the primary purpose but not the sole reason. I do use it occasionally to play video games that seem best suited for the PC. Why, just recently, I even bought an external SSD to possibly install Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield because these games require an SSD. And while my PC does have an SSD installed, since I bought my PC about five years ago, the storage on it is only about 256GB with quite a bit of it taken up by...well...normal PC function.

How was I supposed to know that game development would go towards SSD? I’m not a TECH expert with a pulse on the ground when it comes to new technology although my work colleagues think differently.

Anyways, back to the game at hand: Diablo IV.

While I was excited to re-enter the world of Sanctuary following the events of Diablo III and the interesting premise promised by the trailers regarding Lilith, it is my personal opinion that opening up the world only served to damage the game. While some might enjoy having an open world to explore, I personally found the countless cellars and dungeons repetitive. With level scaling and how quickly I managed to level up to 50, much of Diablo IV felt much the same. Especially when I’d unlocked all the skills that could fill my skill hotbar.

True, I could have respecced my character but there wasn’t much need for it with my storm wolf druid. It was an effective DPS machine and with the added ability to fortify at the end, I was essentially unkillable in the lower world tiers. Especially when I began to be level past the recommend threshold.

Open worlds, it must be said, used to be one of my favourite game builds. However, as worlds have become larger with needless collectibles to fill out the world, they have also become some of my most hated elements because I’m a compulsive explorer - always desperate to check out the next nook or cranny in case of side quests or something interesting. Diablo IV proved infuriating in this respect as it had so many side quests but no way to track the ones you’d completed except with a ?/45 on the world map. This made knowing which side quests I’d completed difficult to keep track of and figure out which ones I was still missing.

For a completionist such as myself, it was a nightmare. 

Even as I attempted to get most of the blue exclamation marks that I could find. It doesn’t help that they also only appear if you’re in that particular segment of the map, which makes it even harder to mop out unless I decided to hop between fast travel portals.

Despite this, I can see why the developers decided to go for an open world. After all, Diablo end-game (at least from 3 onwards) has always been about collecting the best gear and becoming stronger than you were before. Slap on live-service with battlepass and it’s a winning formula to become an endless grind quest. 

A part of me almost wanted to shake the developers and have them turn the franchise into a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) for it appears to be the direction that the franchise is going. Should it go down this route, I’d also be happy for it to ditch the isometric focus on the ground. 

Alternatively, Activision Blizzard, you could also scale it back down. At least for the story segments and have it opened up afterwards. I much prefer the more compact nature of Diablo II, where I was free to explore the map of the immediate area, kill all the enemies it contained and be awed by the majesty of how large the world COULD be rather than be faced with all the open space and respawning enemies. Which, also, only seem to attack the playable character rather than have any real conflict amongst themselves.

Are you honestly telling me that the demons and the snake cultists wouldn’t fight each other or the hellspawn-esque willdlife?

Honestly, I pity the people still alive on Sanctuary. It’s clear that they can get nothing done without being mobbed by an endless amount of bandits, goatmen, cultists and demons.

Yes, it works from a gameplay perspective but it SUCKS from a world-building perspective. The people of Sanctuary might as well give up and succumb to the end if all they have to look forward to is being eaten alive by cannibals that are just outside their gates.

Now, most of my readers, and friends, would know that I love myself a good story. And Diablo IV delivered it, especially at the start. Lilith’s arrival in Sanctuary was suitably chilling and the prologue with the people at Nevesk laid the ground work for what I had hoped would be an interesting throughline of the greyness that encompasses real-life morality and perhaps have the playable character struggle with the implications of ingesting Lilith’s blood.

But did we get any of that?

No. No, we didn’t.

The playable character serves as a patsy to link up the other main characters: Lorath, Donan and Nyrelle. It is never explained why the playable character is so strong, tearing through demons left, right and centre as they traipse through Estuar (the eastern continent of Sanctuary). Or how they seem able to resist the influence of Lilith’s blood in their veins. Even Lorath is amazed at their mental fortitude but it’s never truly explored. I never see my character waver in their convictions although there is a scene where they confess to Nyrelle that they have flaws.

WHERE ARE THESE FLAWS? All that the playable character does is help out those that need it and shout defiance at the demons of Hell.

I would have preferred a story with more player choice and to see us grapple with the consequences of our actions. Instead, most of the major decisions were made by other characters and the player character was simply along for the ride as the hired muscle. 

It would have been far more interesting to me if we could have chosen to follow Lilith rather than stop her and allow Mephisto to do what he will upon Sanctuary. I mean, with that ending, there is little doubt in my mind that the world will be drenched in Hatred. A rather frightening prospect although it’s no different to the world we live in today. And while we fight amongst ourselves, the world as we know it steps ever closer to the edge with climate change wreaking havoc.

Let it be known that our current civilisation was laid low by our own hubris and the fact that we had grown fat and indolent on greed that thinking to change our ways to ensure our own survival came second to materialistic objects.

But enough of the doom and gloom! Diablo IV! 

Personally, while I am fascinated with the lore of the Diablo franchise, this recent game left me wanting. I would have much preferred a more engaging story where the playable character didn’t sit on the sidelines as the other characters decided the fate of the world. In fact, I’d have rather a slow-burn corruption story where we step off the path of the lawful good and accept the lesser-evil to save Sanctuary.

Or perhaps have us turn away from the Light entirely and fight against the Heavens for their callous disregard of humans.

At this point, I probably have a corruption kink. 

Wait. What are you doing?

No. Don’t look at that!

...

...

...

Okay, yes. Voldemort x Hermione Granger and Voldermort x Harry Potter are a few of the things that I like to peruse on the odd occasion. No, I won’t explain myself.

All right. Where were we? Ah, right. BALANCE!

For all its talk of balance, Diablo IV very much likes to paint things in black and white. Lilith, the Mother of Sanctuary, has an evil plan to cull the weak. As such, we must stop her even if it would open us up to the Greater Evils. Elias, because he brought the Mother back, is also evil despite his intention to save Sanctuary because of the ongoing threat.

As for the Angels, well, they’ve all apparently abandoned humanity. They might not have voted to destroy Sanctuary but they are doing nothing to combat the threat of the Greater Evils in the world. 

Tyrael, a mainstay of the last two games, is absent in Diablo IV and its difficult to understand why.

In any case, if Activision Blizzard ever saw fit to paint out a little more of the world, I would have liked to play a game where the playable character deals with the corruption of the Zakarum by Mephisto. 

Or maybe if we finally saw a few demons turn to the light. 

Why is it that angels can fall but demons remain forever in the depths of Hell?

Despite quite a few gripes regarding Diablo IV, I still enjoyed the majority of the game. My only wish was that it was more concise without so many open-world shenanigans thrown in to elongate the longevity of the game. Yes, there will be  a large group of people that will enjoy the end-game portion of it, but for those that thrive on story, the open world proves to be detrimental to one’s enjoyment. Especially when the world is so utterly grim. 

And I think the wider question that needs to be asked is if Sanctuary ought to be saved or not.

[sheltiechicago]

Dreams are.... by Lato-Pictures Via Flickr: ...beautiful silent thoughts that warm the heart like rays of sunshine. The famous Eilean donan castle in Scotland in the sunrise and fog.... Träume sind.... ...wunderschöne stille Gedanken, die wie Sonnenstrahlen das Herz erwärmen. Das berühmte Eilean donan castle in Schottland im Sonnenaufgang und Nebel..

[displacer-beasts]

Lorath's writings during his time with the Horadrim:

He's so hopeful in these early texts. Talking about the "end of hard times". 🥺

On Donan:

On Elias:

He's so hopeful and proud! 🥹

Tyrael may be gone, but the Horadrim have been reformed and Lorath has such hopes for how they are going to help Sanctuary.

[peacefulandcozy]

Instagram credit: __suzannah

[captainpissofff]

"..Was it enough?.."

"...Will he think it was enough?"

"Yes.

More than enough.."