Tyrael

[Omni]

[float=right][/float]Location/Role: Following his sacrifice inside the Underverse, Tyrael failed to reincarnate at the Fountain of Infinity. With the collapse of the Black Gate, the Underverse is now separated from the rest of the Omniverse, leaving Tyrael’s ultimate fate and current status unknown.

Story: Tyrael’s exact origins, much like his ultimate fate, are the stuff of legend in the Omniverse. The account that follows will seek to piece together verbal and written accounts of the man in order to create the most coherent narrative.

Tyrael arrived in the Omniverse around the same time as the first raids were launched from the Underverse. No one is exactly certain where the man went or what he did following his arrival. Tyrael first enters the history of the Kingdom on a fateful day when an entire garrison a few miles from Minas Tirith was ambushed during the night hours.

Terrified and unprepared, the defenders either fled or were butchered in their sleep. Out of nowhere, however, Tyrael charged head-first at them, his stern expression never wavering as he slaughtered the beasts. His act motivated the survivors to turn around and fight back, preventing the demonic raiding party from fleeing the field.

After this act of bravery and courage, Tyrael was brought to Minas Tirith. He was ushered into the private quarters of King Aragorn, where they discussed matters that have never been made public. Most speculate that Tyrael had information about Diablo. In the aftermath of the meeting, Tyrael left Camelot to continue his personal crusade against the demon of the Underverse.

For the next several years, Tyrael became something of a wandering legend. He seemed to appear whenever individuals were under attack by Diablo’s forces, but he never stuck around in the aftermath. Many farmers, nomads, and villages started to refer to Tyrael as a ‘guardian angel.’ There are even censored accounts of imperial troopers being rescued from certain destruction by a sword-wielding wanderer.

Fighting alongside Tyrael during a skirmish or battle became a badge of pride for many Kingdom soldiers. One of the most famous accounts is from Baron Victor von Magnus, who found himself trapped inside a cavern by a platoon of hellions. Before they could overwhelm him and drag him away to their master, Tyrael descended ‘as if from the heavens themselves’ into the heart of the demon’s ranks and started to strike them down with a holy fury. Throughout the entire conflict with Diablo, there isn’t a single account of Tyrael that doesn’t place him in a positive light.

It wasn’t until the Kingdom was on the verge of collapse that Tyrael arrived outside the gates to Minas Tirith with a message for King Aragorn: “I found the way.”

While he wouldn’t share the exact method, Tyrael claimed that he had discovered the means to bring Diablo’s reign of terror to an end. To do so, however, would require they enter the Underverse itself, a feat that none had dare attempt. Despite public backlash against the outlandish notion of marching an army to the Black Gate, King Aragorn pushed ahead with the plan, wholly trusting Tyrael. The king proceeded to call in every favor he had in order to amass a giant army comprised of natives from numerous verses. After several weeks, the army departed Camelot for Darkshire and the hellscape that lie between the city and the Black Gate.

The army suffered only slight losses at it crossed the Pale Moors. It wasn’t until they arrived at the Black Portal that Aragorn realized they’d been duped into over-extending themselves. From all around the army, DIablo’s forces enveloped them. Vastly outnumbered, the forces beneath King Aragorn fought valiantly to drive their way to the Gate itself. At the peak of desperation, the king’s inner circle made it to the Black Gate and entered the Underverse.

What transpired on the other side is up for speculation, because the four survivors choose to never speak of whatever hells they endured in the Underverse. All that is known is that the energies that held the Black Gate together imploded seconds after the King and his retinue returned, without Tyrael. The legend goes that Tyrael’s plan involved a self-sacrifice to seal away Diablo and the Underverse from the rest of the Omniverse.

Even though he has never been seen since the Battle of the Black Gate, Tyrael lives on in folklore. While never an egotist or someone who ever wanted credit for the good he performed, Tyrael lives on as a symbol of justice, freedom, and righteousness. Much like any religious figure, Tyrael has been used by countless groups as an icon or a role model. Strangely enough, there are known accounts of individuals with diametrically opposed political beliefs who idolize Tyrael for their own reasons.

While being banished has become an established part of the Omniverse and primes have often been banished for their beliefs, Tyrael is often considered the only true martyr. He is so revered that many theorize he could have even been a personification of Omni or that Tyrael’s second coming will usher in a new age of prosperity in the Omniverse, free from the inter-verse and inter-factional wars that plague it.