From the origin of the creation of Diablo sorcerers with Esu, their evolution and their role in Diablo 4 with the complete lore!

Diablo's sorcerers, between power and perdition

Seekers of knowledge or creators of war?

The enigmatic wizards… Beings able to bend arcane forces into their purest nature or create fire and ice to annihilate those who would dare to stand in their way. Often described as dangerous and power-hungry, they will stop at nothing to increase their knowledge. True wells of magical knowledge, they have distinguished themselves on many occasions, both for better and for worse.

Before we take a closer look at their rich history, we will clear up a gray area, which will help you better understand the rest of this article. Indeed in the world of "heroic fantasy", it is not uncommon to hear the words "sorcerer", "magician" or even "mage". It is therefore quite natural to have created an amalgam of these three terms to designate a being endowed with magic. However, there is a non-negligible distinction between these three terms, which unfortunately is not perceptible in French. Let's take for example Isendra, iconic character of Diablo 2. She is notably the mistress of Li-Ming, second protagonist of this example, and also key character of Diablo 3. The English terms to describe the respective classes of Isendra and Li-Ming are: Sorceress and Wizard. What at first sight might appear to be the same thing is actually a translation error. The term used for Isendra is Sorceress which must be translated as sorcerer; as for Li-Ming, she is a Wizard, who is a magician.

According to the strict definition given by the Diablo universe: a Sorceress is a sorcerer who is federated and subject to clan rules. Conversely, a Wizard is a magician who has refused the authority of the circles or other clan assemblies. She is thus designated as a bet. Now that this is clearer, we can get to the heart of the matter: the history of sorcerers.

The story of the wizards

Just like at the Rathma Priests, sorcerers had been present since the beginning of Sanctuary. Alongside Rathma stood Esu, the first wielder of arcane magic among the Ancients – a term for the first Nephalems who were direct descendants of Lilith and Inarius. The first sorcerer is also, like Rathma, the most powerful of her lineage. We owe him in particular the creation of the Zann Esu clan, also called "the Sorceress". The members of this circle are exclusively female and in near perfect harmony with the elements of Sanctuary. This sisterhood that only studies elemental magic in its purest form is the oldest. Isendra, the sorcerer of Diablo 2 is a prominent member.

In the world of Diablo, there were originally seven major and seven minor clans. Unfortunately, only some have survived over time. Note that each clan has its own type of magic, we can thus cite:

• The Vizjerei clan, specializing in invocation and conjuration.
• The Ennead clan, specializing in transmutation and magic enchantments
• The Ammuit clan, specializing in the manipulation of illusions and the manipulation of reality and its perception.
• The Zann Esu or Sorceress clan, who excel in the use of elemental magic.

These fourteen magical clans will come together to form a council, Alrakish, a real political entity, which is the governing body of the life of the sorcerers of Sanctuary. Following this, the sorcerers will begin to extend their influence as much political as magical throughout the world, by becoming advisers to powerful monarchs or by preserving the order of things thanks to their magical arts.

Unfortunately, by the thirst for knowledge certain clans would soon set the world ablaze. The ever more envious Vizjerei of the other clans sought to increase their power by all means, as previously stated. They resorted to demonic magic to bring about their end. Two other clans soon heard of this heresy, the Ennead and Ammuit clans. Having been deeply marked by the Sin War, they began to work in secret to prevent the Vizjerei from continuing their demonic machinations.
From then on, the two clans began to hunt down and kill abusive users of demonic magic. Which did not fail to put the chip in the ear of the Visjerei who responded in turn. This is how the War of the Mages began. The summoners were very quickly in a bad position against their attackers. It was then that Bartuc, a Visjerei warlord, made his clan's opponents waver with his demonic and bloody magic. He thus led his clan to multiple victories. However, to acquire this power, he had to give himself totally to demonic magic, which soon consumed him and made him sink into madness. While the Vizjerei were triumphing over their opponents, Horazan, Bartuc's brother, challenged the latter who had succumbed to the whispers of the demons, and killed him to protect his clan and the world. It is on this tragic victory that the clan war of the mages ended.

Following this victory and to guard against a possible new appearance of demonic magic in the ranks of magic users, the last surviving high dignitaries of the Vizjerei decided to create an entity called Viz-Jaq'Taar, composed of assassins anti-mages, whose goal was to hunt down and kill all mages who fell under the influence of demon magic. It is important to remember that the Viz-Jaq'Taar clan, is a sub-branch of the Vizjerei.

Role and organization of Sorcerers

Sorcerers are everywhere in Sanctuary, in all social strata. We could nevertheless say that thanks to the Viz-Jaq'Taar clan, they ensure the stability of magic and thus are guardians of its misuse.

Regarding their social structure, they conform to the standard of Sanctuary with a few exceptions. For example, the Zann Esu only communicate with the outside world during the recruitment period, which is only done every seven years. They visit very specific Sanctuary families who all have one thing in common: they all have a 7-year-old girl. This girl must have a very strong connection to be chosen to become an apprentice. She is then trained and will in turn become a mistress.

It is important to note that the headquarters of the sorcerers is their sanctum, which was formerly in Kejan, renamed Kehjistan, where most of them are trained. Area that will be accessible to you in Diablo 4.

Kehjistan, homeland of sorcerers