Sneak Peek: “The End of Her Journey” by Robert Brooks
by Whitney "Neinball" Fairchild - 10 years ago show comments
Before the launch of the original Diablo III, Blizzard had put together a small event to help provide depth to the new heroes joining the fight against evil. This event, known as “Heroes Rise, Darkess Falls”, included an amazing collection of short stories covering all of the original classes. Each one of the stories touched on what it meant to be that particular class, how they reacted to threats, what they believed in and what they feared.
With the new Crusader class being added in Reaper of Souls a new short story will be joining the collection to give a look into what it means to don the armor and take up the name of one of these holy warriors. We’ve been given a small preview today of the short story “The End of Her Journey” by Robert Brooks and we can already see that this Crusader is fearless in her quest to uncover any secret but will never risk putting an innocent in danger.
If you like what you find here you will definitely want to check out the other classes’ short stories at the bottom of the post and keep checking back as Crusader Week continues!
While some players might revel in the nitty gritty of combat skills and techniques, others like myself have an insatiable taste for the flavorful histories that round out (and give context to) the heroes of Sanctuary.
Our newest champion is no exception, and story developer Robert Brooks has been hard at work weaving a tale of intrigue about the Crusader and her mission. His narrative will not only give you an inside look at how this nephalem’s journey comes to pass, but also an understanding of who she is as an individual.
To give you a glimpse of the crusade to come, we’ve prepared a special sneak peek of “The End of Her Journey,” available below. Enjoy!
Anajinn was reading through a thick tome when he entered the library. “Anajinn, or whatever your name is, you need to leave now.” She glanced up at him and turned a page, tracing along the text with her gauntleted fingers as she read.
“I heard some angry words out there,” she said.
“There’s a man… a paladin. He says you’re a heretic,” Reiter said.
She laughed. “I suppose he would.” Her eyes never left the book. Reiter stammered incoherently for a moment. “Did he threaten to kill me?” she asked.
“Well, not… Yes.” Reiter tried to make his voice firm. “He’s waiting outside for you now.”
“Nice of him to send you to warn me.”
She continued to read. Reiter shifted uncomfortably. “Aren’t you going to… face him?”
“Eventually. If he’s still there,” she said. “I have a lot of reading left. Maybe he’ll find something better to do.”
Reiter felt utterly helpless. Dragging her out seemed like a bad idea. Still, he pressed forward. “Anajinn, I want you to leave my inn. Right now.” She didn’t immediately respond, and Reiter exploded. “What is wrong with you? What is in that book that’s more important than a man trying to kill you? Why in the Hells have you come back to my inn?”
Anajinn sighed and set down her book, sitting up straight. Her armor clacked together lightly. “Your father asked my master—”
“The real Anajinn? The first one?” Reiter interrupted without thinking.
She didn’t seem to take offense. “Her, yes. But she wasn’t the first. Anajinn began her crusade a couple centuries ago,” she said. Reiter blinked at that, but she moved on. “Your father asked all about our crusade. He didn’t share that with you?” Reiter shook his head, lips pressed together. “Then I’ll be brief. I’m searching for something to save my faith.”
“From… what?”
Anajinn’s smile was sad. “Decay. Corruption.”
“So why does this paladin hate you so much?”
“Would you be happy to have someone tell you your faith is flawed at its core? Doomed to rot and cause untold suffering and pain?” She sighed. “I don’t think this paladin outside is of high rank. Knowledge of the crusade is suppressed to all but the leaders of his order. If he were one of them, he would not wait patiently.”
“What would he do?”
“He would level your inn to kill me.” Anajinn’s expression hardened. “I don’t know whether I can talk sense into him. If I can’t, I’ll likely need to leave town. So until I’m ready to leave, I’m going to finish my reading.”
“But he threatened to kill me too!” There. It was out.
A pause. “Did he?”
“Well, not in so many words…”
Anajinn cut him off. “But you felt threatened.” It wasn’t a question. Anajinn closed her book. “Then I will leave immediately. I don’t want you to feel at risk because of me.
“But this book,” she said, holding it up. “Would you be willing to sell it? I can pay a fair price.”
Reiter stared at her.
Are you excited to read more? We are too and look forward to releasing “The End of Her Journey” by Robert Brooks in its entirety on diablo3.com next week!
In the meantime, be sure check out the other class short stories we’ve published (if you haven’t already):
