Worldstone

From Diablo Wiki

Worldstone Introduction

The Worldstone is a huge crystal like artifact, forged by Inarius and his band of renegade Angels and Demons with the creation of Sanctuary, and placed at the heart of Mount Arreat. The original function of the Worldstone was to conceal the newly created world from the sight of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.

After the act betrayal by Lilith, Inarius could not bring himself to kill the new generations born into Sanctuarty, the Nephalem, yet he could not have left them to grow more powerful, and so Inarius changed the function of the Worldstone to not only conceal the existence of Sanctuary, but also to drain away the powers of the Nephalem with each succeeding generation. Inarius also ordered several of the Nephalem, including Bul-Kathos, to protect Mount Arreat and to prevent any one from coming near it. With the return of Lilith to Sanctuary, she used a spell to reverse the effect of the Worldstone on the dwellers of Sanctuary, having them slowly regaining the dormant power of the Nephalem.

In the second part of the Sin War trilogy, Scales of the Serpent, Uldyssian manages to slightly change the formation of the Worldstone, changing the pattern of a small part of the artifact from five sided to six sided, thus changing the resonance of the Worldstone, making it restore the power of the Nephalem to humanity even faster. In the third part of the Sin War trilogy, The Veiled Prophet, Uldyssian changes the Worldstone again, this time to sever its link with Inarius, making him unable to draw upon its powers. At the end of the novel, a second pact between Mephisto and the Angiris Council is made regarding the Worldstone, but that arrangement was not witnessed by Rathma or any of the other mortals who were left to witness the first pact, and so, it is unknown what was agreed upon.

When Izual is taken captive by the Prime Evils, presumably many years after the events of the Sin War trilogy, he tell them about the Soulstones. From Tyrael we learn that the Worldstone is the source of the Soulstones, and so, we can assume that Izual knew that the Soulstones, or other Soullstones, were already crafted from the Worldstone, or that they would be crafted if the forces of Heaven would deem it necessary.

After the defeat of Baal, at the year 1265, Tyrael discovers that he had succeeded in corrupting the Worldstone completely, and that given the time, its energies will drain, allowing the powers of Hell to take root in Sanctuary. In order to prevent that from happening, and to ensure the survival of mankind, Tyrael destroyes the Worldstone, which results in an explosion that eradicates the remaining of Baal's army and turns Mount Arreat into a crater.

Destruction of the Worldstone

Since Baal corrupted the Worldstone, Tyrael decided that it must be destroyed. The full effects of destroying the Worldstone are yet to be revealed. Many speculate that Tyrael has somehow been corrupted by Baal or the corrupted Worldstone. All should be revealed in Diablo III

Even the characters in Diablo II aren't sure of what will happen now that it is destroyed, or even if it had to be destroyed in the first place. The Prophecy stated that the Worldstone would be corrupted, but apparently never actually said anything about having to be destroyed.

This is what characters in the Barbarian city of Harrogath:

Malah:

• "If Tyrael says the Worldstone must be destroyed, then it must. We cannot let Baal's corruption prevail! The world will change, true -- but who is to say it isn't for the better?"

Qual-Kehk:

• "The destruction of the Worldstone does not bode well for our world. But I'll try not to worry… After all, we have warriors like you fighting for us and for the Light. Farewell!"

Deckard Cain:

• "So…The Worldstone was corrupted by Baal. And now Tyrael must destroy it. Worry not. Through whatever lies ahead I have faith that the Light will guide us both. "

Anya:

• "Strange that you say that the Worldstone must be destroyed. The prophecies said nothing about that. Perhaps all we have fought for will be lost…or perhaps we'll never need fight again!"

Possible future effects of the Worldstone (SPECULATION)

It is unknown what exact effect the destruction of the Worldstone will have on the inhabitants of Sanctuary. There are currently three very connected speculations regarding the power of the humans:

1. Now that the Worldstone is destroyed, the power of the Nephalem will now stop decreasing.
2. The power of the new generation of the Nephalem will not only stop decreasing, but will actually return to the original degree that it was at the creation of Sanctuary, surpassing those of both Angels and Demons.
3. The power will gradually refill over the new generations, much like it degraded before.

This may explain the very god-like powers of the classes in Diablo III as mentioned by Blizzard.