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Lazarus, made their way to the city of Tristram.Leoric appropriated the ancient, decrepit Monastery on the outskirts  of the town  for  his  seat  of  power  and renovated  it  to  match  its  time-lost glory.  Although  the  free  people  of
Khanduras  were  not  pleased  with  being  placed  under  the sudden rule  of a foreign King, Leoric served them  with justice and might. Eventually, the people of Khanduras grew to respect the kind Leoric,sensing that he sough only to guide and protect them against the oppression of Darkness.

THE AWAKENING
Not long  after  Leoric took possession  of Khanduras,  a power long asleep awakened within the dark recesses  beneath  the Monastery.  Sensing that freedom was within his grasp, Diablo entered the nightmares of the Arch Bishop and lured him  into  the  dark,  subterranean  labyrinth. In  his  terror,  Lazarus  raced throughout  the abandoned hallways  until he at last came to the chamber  of the burning Soulstone.  No longer  in command  of his body or spirit,  he raised the stone  above  his head  and  uttered words  long  forgotten  in  the  realms  of mortals.  His will destroyed, Lazarus shattered  the Soulstone  upon the ground.
Diablo once again came into the world of Man.  Although he was released from his imprisonment within the Soulstone, the Lord of Terror was still greatly weakened from  his long sleep  and  required  an anchor to the world. Once he had found a mortal form to wear,  he could begin  to reclaim his vastly depleted power.  The great demon weighed  the souls residing in the town above, and chose to take the strongest  of them - that of King Leoric.
For many months King Leoric  secretly fought the evil presence that twisted his thoughts and emotions.  Sensing that  he had been possessed  by some unknown evil.  Leoric  hid his dark secret  from  his Priests,  hoping that somehow  his own  devout  righteousness  would be enough to exorcise  that corruption growing inside him - he was sorely mistaken.  Diablo stripped away the core of  Leoric's being, burning away all honor and virtue from his soul.  Lazarus too, had fallen under the sway  of the Demon,  keeping  close  to Leoric  at all times.  Lazarus worked to conceal the plans  of his new Master  from the Order of Light,  hoping that  the demon's power  would grow,  well concealed  amongst  the  servants  of
Zakarum.
The priests  of Zakarum  and  the citizenry  of  Khanduras  recognized  the disturbing  change within their liege.  His once proud  and  rugged  form became distorted and deformed.  King Leoric  became  increasingly deranged  and ordered immediate  executions  of any  who dared to question his methods  or  authority.
Leoric began to send his Knights to other villages  to  bully  their townspeople into submission.  The people of Khanduras  who had once grown to see great honor in their ruler began to call Leoric the Black King.
Driven  to the brink  of madness  by the Lord of Terror, King Leoric slowly alienated his closest friends  and advisors,  Lachdanan,  Captain  of the Knight of the Order  of Light  and honored Champion  of Zakarum,  tried to discern  the nature of his King's deteriorating spirit. Yet  at  every turn  the  Arch-Bishop
Lazarus  would  waylay  Lachdanan   and  admonish  him   from  questioning   the actions  of  the  King.  As  tensions  grew  between  the two,  Lazarus  charged
Lachdanan  with  treason  against  the  Kingdom.  To the Priests and Knights  of
Leoric's court,  the prospect  of  Lachdanan  committing treason was ridiculous.
Lachdanan's motives were  honorable and just,  and soon  many began question the reason of their once beloved King.
Leoric's madness  was growing  more obvious  with each passing day. Sensing that the advisors of the court  were becoming  increasingly suspicious  of  foul treachery,  Lazarus  desperately sought  to contain  the eroding situation.  The
Arch-Bishop  masterfully  convinced the delusional  Leoric  that  the kingdom of
Westmarch was plotting against him,  secretly planning to dethrone him and annex
Khanduras into its own lands.  Leoric flew into a rage and summoned his advisors to his side.  Manipulated by the Arch-Bishop, the paranoid King declared a state of war between the kingdoms of Khanduras and Westmarch.
Leoric  ignored  the warnings  and admonishments  of his  advisors and  the royal  army  of Khanduras  was ordered to the North to engage in a war that they did not believe in.  Lachdanan was appointed  by Lazarus  to lead  the armies of
Khanduras into Westmarch. Although Lachdanan argued the against the necessity of the coming conflict,  he was honor-bound to uphold the will of his King. Many of the  high-priests   and  officials  were  forced  to  travel  to  the  North  as emissaries  on errands  of diplomatic urgency,  as well.  The desperate  ploy of
Lazarus  had succeeded in sending many of the King's more 'troublesome' advisors to their certain deaths...

THE DARKENING OF TRISTRAM
The absence  of prying advisors  and  inquisitive Priests  left Diablo free to assume total control over  the King's battered soul.  As  the  Lord of Terror attempted  to strengthen  his hold  upon the maddened King,  he  found that  the lingering spirit of Leoric  fought with him  still.  Although  the  control over
Leoric that Diablo held  was formidable,  the Demon knew  that  in  his weakened state  he could never  take complete possession of his soul as long as a glimmer of his will remained.  The demonlord sought a fresh and innocent host upon which to build his Terror.
The demon  relinquished  his control  over Leoric,  but the King's soul was left corrupted and his mind crazed.  Diablo began to search throughout Khanduras for the perfect vessel to act as his focus,  and found such a soul easily within his reach. Enjoined by his dark master,  Lazarus  kidnapped  Albrecht - the only son of Leoric - and dragged  the terrified youth  down into the blackness of the labyrinth.  Flooding  the boy's  defenseless  mind  with  the  essence  of  pure
Terror, Diablo easily took possession of the young Albrecht.
Pain and fire  raced through the child's soul.  Hideous laughter filled his head and clouded his thoughts.  Paralyzed with fear,  Albrecht felt the presence of Diablo within his mind as it seemed to push him down,  deeper and deeper into darkness and oblivion.  Diablo gazed  upon his surroundings  through the eyes of the young prince.A lustful hunger still tortured the demon after his frustrating bout  for control over Leoric,  but  the nightmares  of the boy  provided  ample substance to sate him. Reaching deep into Albrecht's subconscious, Diablo ripped the greatest fears of the child from their hiding places and gave them breath.
Albrecht  watched, as if  out  of a dream,  twisted  and  disfigured  forms appeared all around him.  Unholy,  writhing visages  of  terror danced about him chanting choruses  of obscenities.  All  of the  'monsters'  that  he  had  ever imagined or believed  that he had seen in his life  became flesh  and were given life before him.  Large bodies  comprised of living rock  erupted from the walls and bowed to their dark master.  The ancient,  skeletal corpses  of the Horadrim arose  from archaic crypts  and  lumbered off  into  the  red  washed  corridors beyond.  As the  cacophony  of madness  and  nightmares  hammered its final blow against  Albrecht's  scattered  and  scrambled  maniacally  into the lengthening passageways of his waking Nightmare.
The ancient catacombs  of the  Horadrim  had become  a twisted labyrinth of raw,  focused Terror.  Empowered by Diablo's possession  of young Albrecht,  the creatures  of the  boy's own imagination  had gained  corporeal form.  So strong was the terror  that grew  inside of Albrecht,  that  the borders  of the Mortal realm  began to warp and tear.  The Burning Hell began to seep into the world of
Man  and  take root  within  the labyrinth.  Beings and occurrences displaced by time and space,  and  long lost  to  the history of Man  were  pulled s creaming into  the  ever-expanding domain.
The body of Albrecht,  fully  possessed  by  Diablo,  began  to distort and change.  The small boy grew  and  his eyes  blazed as tendril-like spines ripped through his flesh.  Great,  arched horns erupted from Albrecht's skull as Diablo altered the form of a child to match that of his demonic body.  Deep  within the recesses of the labyrinth,  a growing power was being harnessed. When the moment was right,  Diablo  would venture once more  into the mortal world  and free his captive  Brothers  Mephisto  and  Baal.  The Prime Evils  would be reunited, and together they would reclaim their rightful place in Hell.

THE FALL OF THE BLACK KING
The war against  the zealous armies  of Westmarch  ended  with  a  horrible slaughter.  With  the  army  of  Khanduras  ripped  to shreds  by  the  superior numbers  and  defensive  positions  of  Westmarch,  Lachdanan  quickly  gathered together  those  who  were not captured or killed and ordered a retreat  back to the safety of Khanduras. They returned to find the town of Tristram in shambles.
King Leoric, deep within  the throes of madness,  went into a rage  when he learned  that  his son  was missing.  After  scouring  the village  with the few guards  that  remained  within  at  the  monastery,  Leoric had decided that the townsfolk had abducted his son and hidden him somewhere.  Although the townsfolk denied any knowledge of Prince Albrecht's whereabouts, Leoric insisted that they had  crafted  a conspiracy  against him,  and that they would pay the price  for such treachery.
The mysterious disappearance  of the  Arch-Bishop Lazarus  left  no one  in
Tristram with whom the King  would take council. Overcome by grief and dementia,
Leoric had many of the townsfolk executed for the crime of high treason.
As  Lachdanan  and  his  fellow survivors  returned to confront their King,
Leoric sent his few remaining guards against them.  Believing that Lachdanan was somehow part of the townsfolk's conspiracy. Leoric decreed that he and his party were to die.  Lachdanan,  finally  realizing  that  Leoric was beyond salvation, ordered his men to defend themselves.  The ensuing battle carried them down into the very halls  of the darkened Monastery,  bringing  a final desecration to the once holy sanctum of the Horadrim.  Lachdanan  won a bittersweet victory  as his men were forced to kill all of Leoric's  deceived protectors.  They cornered the ravenous King  within his own sanctuary and begged him to explain the atrocities he had committed.  Leoric only spat at them and cursed them for traitors against both his crown and the Light.
Lachdanan  walked slowly  towards  his King and sorrowfully drew his sword.
Full of grief and rage, all honor having been cast to the winds,  Lachdanan  ran his blade  through  Leoric's  shriveled,  blackened  heart.  The once noble King screamed an unearthly  death-cry, and as his madness  finally  overtook him,  he brought down  a curse  upon those  who had  so  betrayed  him.  Calling upon the forces  of Darkness  that  he  had  spent  his  entire  life  combating,  Leoric condemned Lachdanan and the others to eternal damnation.  In that last, fleeting moment  within the heart  of  the Monastery,  all  that  was  ever  virtuous  or honorable about  the  stewards of Khanduras was shattered forever.

THE REIGN OF DIABLO
The  Black  King  lay  dead,  slain  at  the hands  of his own  Priests and
Knights. The young Prince Albrecht  was still missing,  and  the proud defenders of Khanduras  were no more. The people of Tristram  looked about  their lifeless town  and  were  greatly dismayed. Awash in feelings of both relief and remorse, they soon realize that  their troubles had merely begun. Strange,  eerie  lights appeared in the darkened windows of the Monastery.  Misshapen,  leathery-skinned creatures  were seen  venturing forth from the shadows of the church.  Horrible, wounded cries seemed to linger  on the wind, emanating from deep underground. It became  apparent  that  something  quite unnatural  had  infested  the once holy sight...
Travelers on the roads surrounding Tristram were accosted by cloaked riders that seemed to now constantly roam the deserted countryside. Many villagers fled
Tristram, making their way to other towns  or  kingdoms,  fearing  some  unnamed evil  that seemed to wait in the shadows  all around them.  Those  few  chose to remain seldom ventured out at night,and never tread foot upon the grounds of the cursed Monastery.  Whispered rumors of poor,  innocent people  being abducted in the night  by wicked,  nightmarish creatures  filled the halls of the local inn.
With no King,  no law,  and no army  left  to defend them, many of the townsfolk began to fear an attack from the things that now dwelt beneath their town.
The Arch-Bishop Lazarus, frayed  and disheveled,  returned from his absence and assured the townsfolk  that  he too had been ravaged  by the growing evil of the  Monastery.  With  their desperate need for reassurance clouding  their good judgement,  Lazarus whipped the townspeople into a frenzied mob.  Reminding them that  Prince Albrecht  was still unaccounted  for,  he persuaded many of the men to follow him  into  the depths  of the Monastery  to search  for the boy.  They gathered torches  and soon  the night air  glowed  with  the flickering light of hope.  They armed themselves with shovels, picks and  scythes and  so  prepared, they boldly followed the treacherous Arch-Bishop  straight into the fiery maw of
Hell itself...
The few  who survived  the horrible fate  that  awaited  them  returned  to
Tristram and recounted what they could of the ordeal.Their wounds were terrible, and even the skills of the healer  could not save  some of them.  As the stories of demons and devils spread,  a stifling, primal  Terror  began  to consume  the hearts of all the town's inhabitants. It was a Terror that none of them had ever known...
Deep beneath the foundations of the ruined Monastery, Diablo gorged himself upon the fears of the mortals above him.  He slowly sank back into the welcoming shadows and began to harness his depleted power.
He smiled to himself in the sheltering darkness,  for he knew that the time of his final victory was fast approaching...

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12.  I T E M S
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SWORDS
The sword is the epitome of the warrior's weapon. Forged in fire and tempered to a fine edge,  a good blade  can cut  through armor  or a demon's thick hide with equal case.  Some warrior clans of Khanduras  go so far  as to forsake any other weapon besides a sword,  and abandon the use of a shield in favor of greatswords that stand the full height of a man.

AXES
Axes  are favored  by  those who  are willing to sacrifice defense for power. In addition  to being slower  than  other weapons,  even  the  smallest  combat axe requires  two hands be free  to wield properly,  precluding the use of a shield.
However, no other mundane item can match the damage of a good axe. Legends speak of enchanted axes  capable  of  slicing  through  flesh and steel  as if through butter.

MACES AND CLUBS
Sometimes  the simplest tools  are the best. Whether it be a stout piece of wood or a spiked mace  a good clubbing weapon  can be deadly in the hands of a strong warrior.  The minions of Mephisto -the undead- are said  to  have  an especially difficult time  resisting  the effects  of broken bones and shattered limbs.

STAVES
The art of staff fighting has never  gained  much acceptance  in Khanduras,  but long ago  the Brotherhood of Vizjerei  discovered  ways  to use  a simple wooden staff  as a container  for  focused  magical  energy.  The  process  of creating a spell staff  is very time consuming,  but  even  an  apprentice  Vizjerei  can recharge a stafff by channeling magical energy into it. Spell staves may be used to cast spells that the wielder does not yet know,  and that  do no require  the expenditure  of  mana.  The staff  must be  wielded in order to use the spell it contains.  Oddly enough,  the act  of infusing a staff  with  sorceries seems to grant the staff a will of its own.  Only  those skilled in the arts of magic can hope to control very powerful spell staves.  It is  also possible to find staves that  have been  further enchanted  to make them  more effective in combat or to grant other abilities to the wielder.

BOWS
Bows are excellent weapons  for those who to prefer to strike at their foes from a distance.  The greatest archers  in the world are the Sisters of the Sightless
Eye. They are trained in the use of every instrument of archery,  from the short bows  used by  the Horsemen of the Kataan Steppes  to the great war bows  of the
Northern Tribes. Even the most skilled of the Sisters, however, knows that a bow is no match  for a sword  or other weapon  if  the fighting should come to close quarters.

LIGHT ARMOR
Light armor ranges from simple clothing,  such as robes and cloaks,  to hardened leather armor.  Even tossed aside rags  will  provide some protection.  Although armor of this type  offers  minimal protection  from most attacks,  it  is  very