The Triune was one of the two leading cults on Sanctuary several hundreds of years prior to the events of Diablo I (the other being the Cathedral of Light). Though it appeared to be a peaceful sect from the outside, it was in fact a secret foothold of the powers of the Burning Hells on Sanctuary. The Triune stars in the Sin War trilogy by Richard A. Knaak.
Belief[]
The religion focuses on the individual and teaches that through them can an individual achieve their greatest potential. This seems to be directly related to the Prime Evils wanting to unlock the powers of the nephalem inside all humans. To reach that goal, the Triune focused around the three different spirits of the temple:
- Bala, spirit of Creation, represented by a leaf. He carries a hammer and the bag containing the seeds of all life.
- Dialon, spirit of Determination, represented by a stubborn ram. He carries the Tablets of Order.
- Mefis, spirit of Love, represented by a red circle. He carries nothing, merely cupping his hands.
The three spirits are roughly equal in prominence, but the spirit of Mefis is at least considered first among equals. This could be due to the fact that Lucion, son of Mephisto, leads the Triune.
Organization[]
At the bottom were the normal initiates and believers. None of these had any idea of the darker nature of the Triune or its relation to the Burning Hells.
Above them were various priests of the order who tended to the temples and acted as missionaries across the land. The Triune also employed it's own armed force, dubbed Peace Warders, to served as infantry when the need arose. Though their purpose seems to primarily have been to protect the temples and the traveling priests they were used by the Triune to hunt Uldyssian and his allies during most of the Sin War. Some priests and Peace Warders seem to have been aware of the true nature of the cult, while some did not.
Above them were the high priests, the highest ranking humans in the organization with executive power who only answered to the Primus.
At the top of the leadership was Lucion in the guise of the Primus, a wise and elderly yet imposing man, who had complete control over the organization. He represented Mephisto, but since the Triune was a joint venture between the three Prime Evils the other two had their own representatives present as well: Baal had Gulag and Diablo had Astrogha. While neither of those two demons had any authority over the Triune itself, neither did Lucion seem to command obedience of them either. Both seemed to have been placed there to keep an eye on the other parties, and at least Astrogha regularly reported to Diablo what was going on in the temple.
Temples[]
The Triune had temples in various major settlements in the eastern regions of Sanctuary around Kehjan. Each temple was subordinate to the main temple, the Grand Temple, and incorporated similar designs. Common themes were triangles and threes, references to the three spirits of the Triune and the Prime Evils themselves. Temples were structured around three towers, each dedicated to one of the spirits, and doors, windows and buildings were often also built in triangular ways.
Each temple had its own high priests who probably answered to the high priests of the Grand Temple where the Primus resided.
Known Members[]
Demons
- The Primus (Lucion), leader of the Triune
- Astrogha, representative of Diablo
- Gulag, representative of Baal
High Priests
- Malic, high-priest (Mefis)
- Arihan, high-priest (Dialon)
- Balthazar, high priest (Bala or Dialon)
- Herodius, high priest (Bala or Dialon)
Priests
- Atilus, priest (Bala or Dialon)
- Caligio, priest (Bala or Dialon)
- Durram, priest (Dialon)
Other
- Damos, morlu
The Sin War[]
When Uldyssian first comes into contact with the Triune, the religion is already well established in Sanctuary. Lucion quickly takes notice of Uldyssian and immediately tries to capture him and bring him back to the Grand Temple. He appoints Malic to this task, and Birthright follows the story of how Malic tries to capture the farmer. When Malic eventually fails and is killed, Lucion himself decides to bring in Uldyssian, only to be defeated himself.
At the start of Scales of the Serpent, the Triune is in a disarrayed state as no one knows where the Primus has gone or what's happened to him. At this time Astrogha tries to wrest control of the organization when Lilith, disgiused as her brother Lucion, appears and assumes the leadership again. Under the guise of the Primus she begins to systematically destroy the cult from the inside one bad decision at a time. Astrogha suspects something is amiss but does not realize the truth until it's too late.
When The Veiled Prophet begins the entire organization has crumbled. As Uldyssian and his edyrem make their way to the Grand Temple of the Triune the remaining high priests mount a resistance, but with many of their numbers already destroyed and with their leadership gone they fall to the edyrem. Uldyssian then proceeds to tear the whole temple down, leaving nothing but rubble.
Diablo III[]
- Caution: The following section contains content that has not been confirmed. At this point, it is pure speculation.
In the Diablo III artwork section, there is a piece of monster artwork named Triune Cultist. This might indicate the Triune will once again play a significant role in the unravelling storyline. It is unclear how the Triune managed to survive, as it seemed to have been utterly destroyed during the Sin War. But many ages have gone past since then, possibly allowing the scattered remnants of the Triune to regroup. More information about the resurfacing Triune has yet to be revealed.
References[]
Clans and Orders | ||
---|---|---|
Sin War Orders | Cathedral of Light • Triune | |
Zakarum Orders | Hand of Zakarum • High Council of Zakarum • Knights of Westmarch • Zakarum | |
Other Orders | Mage Clans • Barbarian Tribes • Witch Doctor Tribes • Horadrim • Knights of Khanduras • Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye • Viz-Jaq'taar | |
Non-canonical | Brotherhood of the Bough |