Rathma's Prophecy

"Lilith's return was prophesised?"
"There was a prophecy, yes. It foretold the rise of the Prime Evils. The return of Lilith and Inarius. The doom of our world. Inarius adopted the prophecy for his own selfish purposes—put it in the Cathedral of Light's gospel and made it seem like he was the hero to save us."

- The Wanderer and Lorath Nahr^(src)

Rathma's Prophecy

Rathma's Prophecy is a prophecy imparted to Rathma.

Lore

"It started in dreams. I saw shattered images of the end of Sanctuary. The scales of a great serpent carried these visions, and so I went to visit him. My and the serpent's thoughts met, and the fragmented future was mended together. I put it down in order, and the prophecy was born."

- Rathma^(src)

The origins of the prophecy date back to before the Purge. It came to Rathma in dreams; shattered images of the end of Sanctuary, carried to him by the scales of Trag'Oul. The thoughts of Rathma and Trag'Oul met, and they were able to piece together the elements of the prophecy. Rathma put it down in order.

The prophecy was believed to foretell the rise of the Prime Evils, the return of Lilith and Inarius, and the doom of Sanctuary. Rathma was again tormented by his visions sometime during or before the Great Enmity. This time, Rathma codified the prophecy into written form.

Inarius became aware of the prophecy sometime after forming the Cathedral of Light. The "light piercing hatred's heart" line was seized upon by Inarius, who claimed that it was proof he was fated to kill Lilith. The Cathedral's priests went on about the prophecy ad nauseum, and it was claimed that by this act, Inarius would be given the means to ascend to Heaven, and bring the faithful with him. Rathma used the Key to Hell to seal the Gates to Hell, but knew it was only a matter of time before Inarius came to him, demanding the key.

In 1336, Inarius journeyed into the Necropolis of the Firstborn to confront Rathma; a confrontation that resulted in Rathma's death at the hands of his father. Inarius returned to the surface and placed the prophecy in the Cathedral's gospel, and made it seem like he was the hero to save humanity.

Transcript

"I saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred,

A father burned his children on a pyre,

and a mother molded a new age from the ashes,

I saw the weak made strong,

a pack of lambs feasting on wolves,

Tears of blood rained on a desert jewel,

and the way to Hell was torn asunder,

Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart,

And he who was bound in chains was set free."

Burned Parchment

Another fragment of the prophecy, known as the Burned Parchment, can be found in the Tormented Ruins in Diablo IV:

I saw a serpent coiling in the fires of the Eternal Conflict...saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred...the weak made strong...

Tears of blood rained on a desert jewel...Hell was torn asunder...a spear of light, piercing Hatred’s heart...a wise man with seven arms...a fog of lies...plagues of every name...

I saw a child give birth to a mother, as Hatred’s sun set and that of Terror and Destruction dawned.

Possible Interpretations

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Caution: The following section contains content that has not been confirmed. At this point, it is pure speculation.

I saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred

• The first part could be a literal description wherein Rathma prophesied his own death.
• The gates to Hell were locked by Rathma, and the second part may allude as to how the Bloodied Wolf entered Sanctuary.

A father burned his children on a pyre,
and a mother molded a new age from the ashes,

• The words "father" and "mother" could be metonyms for Inarius and Lilith respectively, while "children" could be a metonym for humanity. Further evidence for this comes from Diablo IV, as the followers of Inarius call him "Father", while the followers of Lilith call her "Mother".

I saw the weak made strong,
a pack of lambs feasting on wolves,

• The "pack of lambs" may be a metonym for the Wanderers, the playable characters in Diablo IV.
  • This may have an in-game validation. After completing the Whispers of the Dead activity, the player is rewarded. Upon receiving the reward from the Tree of Whispers, a head hanging upon it known as the Disturbed Head remarks to the Wanderer to "feast", and likens the Wanderer to a "lamb"
• These two lines could be an allegory of the player characters becoming more powerful by killing "evil" foes, thereby gaining experience, then leveling up.

Tears of blood rained on a desert jewel,

• "Desert jewel" is a possible metonym for Caldeum, as this city is also known as the Jewel of the East and is located in a desert in Kehjistan.
• This line might be a literal description of blood raining upon Caldeum, with tears as a possible metaphor for the turmoil experienced by its inhabitants during its invasion.

and the way to Hell was torn asunder,

• The line could refer to Lilith opening the gates to Hell.

Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart,

• Inarius believed that this line specifically referred to him killing Lilith. The gospel of the Cathedral stated that by this act, he would ascend to Heaven Prava took the interpretation of this line a step further, believing that Inarius would strike down the Prime Evils after killing Lilith.
• The following are possible interpretations:
  • This line may refer to the confrontation between Inarius and Lilith. The mentioned "spear of light" may refer to Inarius' spear. The phrase "piercing Hatred's heart" could refer to:
    • Inarius and/or Lilith being impaled by the spear (as both are impaled by the same weapon)
    • a metaphoric "heart" of the two lovers that was torn by literal hatred.
  • Another interpretation is that "spear of light" could refer to the soulstone that Neyrelle used to impale Mephisto, and "Hatred's heart" could refer to Mephisto's soul or essence that was imprisoned in the soulstone.
    • The convention is that "Hatred" (capitalized) is a metonym for Mephisto.

And he who was bound in chains was set free

• The phrase "he who was bound in chains" could refer to Inarius, who was bound in chains by Mephisto after the Sin War.
• In conjunction with the previous line, Inarius believed that with Lilith's death, the High Heavens would exonerate him of his 'crime' and emancipate his status as a bargaining chip to Mephisto.
  • In a sense, he would be 'unchained' from Mephisto's confinement. However, this did not come to pass, as Inarius was slain in the Realm of Hatred in Hell.
  • The "set free" descriptor could also be interpreted as Inarius being liberated from life or a metaphorical detainment such as emotional anguish.

---

I saw a serpent coiling in the fires of the Eternal Conflict

• The convention is that the serpent in this line refers to Trag'Oul.

a wise man with seven arms

• The "wise man" may be a metonym for the Horadrim. Among the details mentioned, wisdom may be attributed to the Horadrim's sizable knowledge of magic and demons, and each arm may represent each of the founding members of the order.
  • The Book of Cain mentions that the first group of Horadrim may have numbered to seven, or twelve if escorts and apprentices were counted.
  • It is mentioned in the Legacy of the Horadrim that the Horadrim had nine founding magi. The arm interpretation may still hold true, if it is considered that two founding magi betrayed the order, specifically Zoltun Kulle and The Nameless.

I saw a child give birth to a mother,

• This line can mean that Lilith (a "mother") will return through the Wanderer (a "child"). It is shown in Vessel of Hatred that her blood is still active in the Wanderer. The Bloodied Wolf even once called them "child of my child".

...as Hatred’s sun set and that of Terror and Destruction dawned.

• The convention is that "Hatred", "Terror", and "Destruction" are metonyms for Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal respectively.
• The sentence "Hatred’s sun set" is a possible metaphor for Mephisto being the first one to be defeated, while "Terror and Destruction dawned" could mean Diablo and Baal regained their strength as well and became the next threat.

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

• The prophecy is written in the apocalyptic literature genre, with examples related to the Judeo-Christian writings such as the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation. In this type of literature, characters, locations, and events are obscured into symbols, predominantly through metonymical aliases, though some parts of the texts are written literally rather than figuratively.