Albrecht

"And a child will cradle Terror in his breast as the heart of man falls under the shadow."

- Prophecies of the Final Day (excerpt)^(src)

Albrecht
Title	The First Shardborne
Gender	Male
Race	Human (formerly) Shardborne
Affiliation	Khanduras (formerly) Cult of Terror
Occupation	Prince
Relatives	Leoric (father), Asylla (mother) Aidan (elder brother) Leah (niece)
Status	Active
Appearances	Diablo Diablo Immortal Diablo III (mentioned only) The Order (mentioned only) Deckard Cain's Journal (mentioned only) Book of Cain (mentioned only) Book of Tyrael

Prince Albrecht of Khanduras was the younger son of King Leoric.

Biography

Albrecht accompanied his family when they came to Tristram, from where Leoric would govern Khanduras. Leoric noted that Albrecht appeared to enjoy his new home.

The Darkening of Tristram

As the Darkening of Tristram progressed, Diablo attempted to claim the king's body, but was not strong enough to fully take possession. The demon required a host, simple and innocent, and thus found Albrecht to be fitting.

Diablo possesses Albrecht

Albrecht was captured by the traitorous Archbishop Lazarus and was taken down into the depths of the catacombs of the Tristram Cathedral. Diablo's shattered soulstone was driven into Albrecht's forehead, and the Lord of Terror's vile spirit possessed him and eventually twisted the boy's body into an approximation of his true form.

A group of heroes—Jazreth, a Vizjerei sorcerer, Moreina the Rogue captain, and Albrecht's older brother, Prince Aidan—entered the darkened monastery in an attempt to find and rescue the young Prince. Lazarus was encountered and defeated at the Unholy Altar, but the adventurers only found a different child, sacrificed by Lazarus as an offering.

Unwilling to give up hope, the heroes sought out, encountered, and eventually vanquished the Lord of Terror himself. Diablo let out a tortured scream of death, which went all the way up to the mortal realm, shattering the windows of the cathedral. In his dreams, Deckard Cain could have sworn that he heard a child's scream in the midst of the terrible roar. Kneeling down beside the defeated Prime Evil, Aidan used a small blade to remove the soulstone from Diablo's forehead. The demon's body transformed back into that of Prince Albrecht, who then gasped his final breaths.

Dark Rebirth

Albrect is transformed into a Shardborne

Fourteen years later, the Cult of Terror returned to Tristram. Their plan; to use the imprints of Diablo's former host and lair - Albrecht and the Tristram Cathedral, respectively - to perform a ritual that would create a path to their master. It didn't go as planned, as Albrecht turned into a raging monster that the cult couldn't control when his corpse was introduced to the Worldstone shard in their possession. After Albrecht was weakened following his defeated by the Shard-seeker, the Bride of Hell used the shard to manifest Albrecht's memories as a separate plane. At the memory containing the strongest imprint of Diablo (the moment Albrecht was possessed) she was able to open a portal to her master and deliver the shard to him.

Splintered Souls

"The voices make you strong. You can be stronger. Follow me."

- Albrecht to other Shardborne^(src)

Some time later, shortly after the Shard-seeker left the Southern Dreadlands, Albrecht was seen leading other Shardborne to the Gully of Madness.

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

Albrecht before his possession

• Albrecht is the only known host for any Prime Evil to transform into human form and/or remain alive (even for a few moments) after the defeat of the possessing demon.
• Albrecht's boss form in Tristram Cathedral dungeon is titled "The First Shardborne." While he is the first named Shardborne encountered in the franchise, the Splintered Souls update reveals that Shardborne have existed around the Southern Dreadlands since the destruction of the Worldstone.