Tyrael is an Archangel and a member of the powerful Angiris Council. He defied the council in order to teach the Horadrim how to seal the Prime Evils' souls into soulstones, thereby trapping them for eternity.
Tyrael is the Archangel of Justice.
| Diablo Character [e] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tyrael Archangel of Justice | |
| Gender: | Male (presumed) |
| Race: | Angel |
| Status: | Alive (presumed) |
| Occupation: | Angiris Council Member |
| Affilliation: | High Heavens, Horadrim |
| Friends: | Deckard Cain, Tal Rasha |
| Foes: | Baal, Mephisto, Diablo |
| Location: | Unknown |
Contents
Diablo III Character
Tyrael has been seen in a lot on concept art and on the official webpage for Diablo III. He is very likely to end up as an NPC in the game in some form. There have been debates as to his motives and whether he will be good or evil. Players will have to wait and see.
Diablo 3 Theories
Many players believe that Tyrael will be central to the plot of Diablo 3. They speculate that he will suffer the repercussions of destroying the Worldstone, and has been cast out of the heavens at some point during the 20 years following the destruction of the Worldstone. Tyrael could potentially be corrupted and an enemy in the next game [1]. These claims can be evidenced by images of Tyraels' wings appearing smoky[2]. Finally, during a Q&A session a Blizzard Representative said the following in an answer to a question on The High Heavens and Tyrael:
"We are not going to reveal any details about that but I can say we do address a lot of the issues that you’re talking about. I can extrapolate that the high heavens aren’t very pleased about his actions. I probably shouldn’t say any more." [3]
As to his whereabouts, Blizzard states, "He hasn't been seen by any mortal since the destruction of the Worldstone."
Tyrael, as seen on the official home page. Some fans claim that his wings seem to be just smoke, as if he has been banished from the High Heavens.
Related Characters (and Monsters)
Personality
The personality of Tyrael is known to only a very few. We know he is a man of great justice, compassion and hatred of demons, and he has a special interest in Sanctuary as well as humanity.
Since he was close to destroying Sanctuary himself, originally, it's clear he's not afraid to take action against what he considers a threat to the High Heavens.
Background
Sanctuary
When the Angiris Council first discovered Sanctuary, Tyrael was designated to lead Heaven's forces in destroying the "abomination". This was Imperius' view, one Tyrael sympathised with, since the whole existence of sanctuary comes from a defiled union of angels and demons.
When Tyrael witnessed Uldyssian sacrificing himself for the world of sanctuary he had a change of heart, and took the deciding vote within the council to save Sanctuary from destruction.
The council wiped the memories of all humans, and none now know that Tyrael could have been the one responsible for the undoing of all of humanity.
The Horadrim
Sigil of the Horadrim.
After the existence of Sanctuary was secured, Tyrael has been ordered by his fellow angels on many occasions not to interfere with the mortal world. He has often disobeyed, fearing that Sanctuary would otherwise fall in the hands of the Burning Hells.
When the Prime Evils later were banished from hell during the Dark Exile, Tyrael helped humanity to create the Horadrim and creating the Soulstones they used to imprison Diablo, Mephisto and Baal with, centuries before the events covered in Diablo I and Diablo II.
He also helped the Horadrim to seal the essence of Baal in the body of Tal Rasha.
The Worldstone
Tyrael destroying the Worldstone.
Tyrael was captured by Baal after he failed to stop Diablo from releasing Baal but was eventually freed by the adventurers of Diablo II. He returned to the adventurers in the Pandemonium Fortress, the last bastion before Hell, to offer some assistance.
When Diablo was defeated and the adventurers had caught up with Baal to slay him, Tyrael made it clear that Baal had permanently corrupted the Worldstone. He decided that the only thing he could do to protect Sanctuary was to destroy the sacred relic.
The destruction left the massive Mount Arreat as nothing more than a crater, and dealt a devastating blow to the Barbarian tribes, who saw it as their life duty to protect the Worldstone.
The Barbarian tribe leader Anya considers the destruction and tells us in her valediction that this action was never foreseen in the prophecies.
Speculation: Tyrael's Agenda
This Archangel, who likely is Tyrael, is doing something powerful.
Tyrael has appeared throughout Sanctuary at many times to assist the humans in the fight against the demonic forces. Amongst players there is much speculation as to Tyrael's real agenda, but in the game all of the NPCs seem to hold him in the highest esteem.
However, the speculation includes notions that Tyrael does not care about humanity, and the destruction of the Worldstone is for some devious purpose. Seen from a certain light, it seems strange he first supplied Soulstones to the Horadrim, only to ask the heroes to destroy them a few hundred years later. What implications will the destruction of the Worldstone have on Sanctuary and how do we know it really was corrupted beyond salvation? Baal had not spent that much time in the chamber, and was the Worldstone really so easy to corrupt?
Friends
As with his personality, it's hard to know if Tyrael ever had any human friends, but if he did, Tal Rasha would likely be part of those, as would Deckard Cain and the heroes who helped defeat the Prime Evils.
Foes
More than anything, Tyrael opposes the Burning Hells and demonkind. If this is his only motivation for helping humans on Sanctuary, or if he perhaps is using the human world as a battlefield against Hell is unknown.
Previous Appearances
Tyrael in Diablo II.
Tyrael is seen in three places in Diablo II. The first is at the end of Act Two, when he greets the player from the island where Baal/Tal Rasha had been imprisoned. The second meeting comes in the Pandemonium Fortress, the town of Act Four, where Tyrael interacts with characters like any other NPC, though of course he's a bit less chatty.
He is not a merchant, but he can resurrect dead mercs, for the usual price. What Tyrael does with the gold is an eternal question and running joke for many players. The third sighting of Tyrael comes at the end of Act Five, when he descends from above after Baal's defeat in the Worldstone Chamber.
After a speech in which he asserts that Baal has poisoned the Worldstone and that it will no longer function to keep most of the forces of Heaven and Hell from flooding into the mortal world, Tyrael creates a portal for the human heroes to leave.
After their departure, Tyrael hurls his sword into the Worldstone, causing it to shatter into countless millions of pieces, and its this explosion and apparent doom for humanity that fills the final cinematic of Diablo II.
For more information about the Diablo II NPC Tyrael, see: Tyrael
Tyrael Dialogues
These dialogues are the transcribed content of everything Tyrael has said in any Diablo game. So far of course only Diablo II...
Trivia
Tyrael makes a cameo in World of WarCraft as an in-game pet. This was part of the goody-bag from WWI 2008 in Paris, where Diablo was unveiled.
Media
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
Tyrael in action, trying to stop the Dark Wanderer from freeing Baal. Unfortunately, Marius gets in the way and frees him.
Destroying the Worldstone.
Tyrael's Armour.
D2's Tyrael.
Tyrael up close.
Tyrael or possibly Izual doing some soul-searching.
The WoW pet.
Fighting the Dark Wanderer.
