Bryona

Bryona
Gender	Female
Race	Human
Ethnicity	Glennfolk
Affiliation	Druids
Class	Druid
Relatives	Braega (sister), Donan (brother in law) Yorin (nephew)
Status	Active
Appearances	Diablo IV

Bryona is a druid, who fought beside her sister, Braega, and her Horadrim brother-in-law, Donan, during the Days of Ash.

Biography

Early Life

Bryona attended the druid college at Túr Dúlra and was trained in the ways of a druid. At some point she met Davish, and the two remained good friends for decades.

Days of Ash

During the Days of Ash, Bryona fought against Astaroth alongside her fellow druids including Nafain and Airidah as well as her relatives, Braega and Donan. She would later recount that her sister would compose songs and sing them after they returned from battles.

After Astaroth was defeated and Donan placed him within the Soulstone, Bryona became estranged from her sister and Donan after she was unsuccessful in her attempt to convince Donan to not hide Astaroth's Soulstone beneath Eldhaime Keep.

The Knife Twists Again

Years later, Lilith made a deal with Astaroth and freed him from his Soulstone, and used Yorin, Bryona's nephew, as Astaroth's host.

Bryona recorded the withdrawal of the Cathedral of Light from Scosglen after the Wanderer's defeat of Astaroth.

Nafain's blood had been used to create the Amalgam of Rage, and the blood was still corrupting the moors of Scosglen months after he had been slain by the Wanderer. Bryona and other druids had sought the aid of Hluttred, a spirit wolf known as the Eater of Evils, as she had the power to consume corrupted blood to purify the land.

Sins of the Horadrim

Bryona held a grudge against the Horadrim for their handling of Astaroth, who she saw as careless, bungling fools who would swoop in to cover things up while leaving the survivors to deal with their mistakes. Months after Donan's death, this grudge led her to sending homeless Glennfolk to go live in Firebreak Manor, as she blamed Donan for them losing their homes and farms to Astaroth. One group of Glennfolk mistakenly tried to go into Eldhaime Keep instead, and half of them were slaughtered and the rest were driven mad from the trauma. This prompted Bryona to enlist the aid of the Wanderer, and the two of them set off to Eldhaime Keep to help any survivors and find the source of the demon infestation.

Inside the keep they discovered the Horadric Wayfinder, a device they would later learn was created by Elias and which Donan was supposed to have destroyed. Instead, Donan had used the device to contain Astaroth's blood inside Blood Relics, and hid them around Sanctuary, mostly inside Horadric caches within Horadric Strongrooms. The Wanderer collects the Blood Relics while Bryona researches a way to permanently deal with the blood. Bryona's longtime friend, Davish, was brought in to help.

Bryona eventually decides that they should use Hluttred and have her consume the blood as they were doing with Nafain's blood. Bryona and other druids begin to prepare a ritual, while the Wanderer is tasked with performing druidic rites of Sacrifice, Resolve, and Reflection. The Wanderer discovers Astaroth's blood had been hidden beneath Túr Dúlra, a development that Bryona and Davish were unaware of.

The ritual was to be performed at the Scar, where Astaroth was first defeated during the Days of Ash. The Scar still had curdled earth and the stench of melting flesh, which Bryona said was how all of Scosglen was like during the Days of Ash. The druids had prepared circles of runestones and other ritual items such as cleansing incense and a still-living Fallen, which was impaled with a burning piece of wood in the center of the runestone circles. Bryona began the ritual by calling for Hluttred, while the Wanderer lit the incense and decapitated the Fallen to offer its head to the spirit wolf.

To Bryona's dismay, Astaroth was able to interact with the ritual and corrupted it. Navain's blood had been used to create the Amalgam of Rage which Lilith had presented to Astaroth as a mount. This blood was within Hluttred, and Astaroth was able to corrupt the ritual and transformed the spirit wolf into a small Amalgam. Bryona was devastated, she lost her temper and snapped at the Wanderer before running off to Cerrigar. Davish apologized for her, and told the Wanderer to meet them later.

Bryona was now fully committed to seeing Astaroth purged from Sanctuary, and she headed to the Horadric Vault in search of answers. When the Wanderer found her, she apologized to them and admitted she had been tpo harsh on the Horadrim, and she should have empathized with Donan and the others as they were all trying to achieve the same goal: peace. Through the writings of Elias they learn that the only way to get rid of the blood is to summon Astaroth himself, something that even the Horadrim would have balked at. The Wanderer and Bryona discussed the risks and Bryona decided that she was prepared to make the same sacrifice Donan had, and give her life if need be. The Wanderer had discovered a book of maps where Elias had marked the location of his palace, and they concur they should head there to search for more of his forbidden knowledge.

In Tarsarak, Bryona met with Davish and informed him of their plan to summon Astaroth. Davish cannot believe it, and when he learns the Wanderer is in on the plan he turns around and leaves. Bryona and the Wanderer continued to the palace, and Bryona said that it was the first time Davish had ever walked away in the decades she had known him. After fighting their way through the palace, the Wanderer discovered a tome containing Elias' demon summoning rituals. Bryona set off to choose a site for the ritual far away from innocents, which ended up being a cavern in the Dahlgur Oasis.

Bryona and the Wanderer prepared the ritual site, however the Wanderer told her to leave and let them do it alone, out of fear for Bryona's life. Bryona reluctantly agreed and left the cavern. A while later the Wanderer emerged and informed her that Astaroth was dead and his blood was gone, and Bryona confirmed it as she could no longer sense Astaroth. She thought of her sister, and the songs she would have composed to celebrate, and she though of Donan and the slaps to the head he would have given them for what they had just done. With that, she asked the Wanderer to meet her at Firebreak Manor as she wanted to go visit the graves of her family.

At the manor, Davish confirmed that while the elder druids were "furious" at Bryona, they could admit when they were wrong and would, begrudginly, accept her back. Bryona stood in front of the graves and reflected on her life. She admitted she had blamed Donan as she saw his actions as reckless, but she now realized that what the Horadrim had really been trying, and that Donan had done his best to fulfill the oath he had taken, "Justice and Light." Bryona is uncertain of what she should do and asks the Wanderer for advice (the player can tell her to take care of the commonfolk, as Donan would, or to return to the druids and help them heal Scosglen). No matter which role the Wanderer suggests, Bryona and Davish are left satisfied, and Bryona will either be taking care of things at Firebreak Manor or helping the druids find a way to deal with Navain's blood after having lost Hluttred.

In-game

Bryona is an NPC in Diablo IV, exclusive to Sins of the Horadrim. She plays a significant role in the season's storyline.