03-29-2004, 08:05 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-29-2004, 10:14 PM by Rhydderch Hael.)
Westmarch does indeed have Paladins. It was the Paladins of Westmarch who fought against King Leoric's warriors of Khanduras when mad King Leoric attacked Westmarch. The Paladins of Westmarch kicked the Khanduran warriors' asses big-time: the Warrior you play in D1 is a survivor of the Khanduran army who weathered the failed campaign against Westmarch, to return home to Tristram for a little fun below the church.
And that's canon, as written in the D1 game literature, as I recall.
As in my own fanfic concepts, I resolved the Westmarch/Zakarum thing by seeing the Zakarum not so much as a Church, but an administrated Empire that is governed by a Church. Westmarch happens to be the most distant (and hence, most independently-minded) province of the Empire, much like Britain during the reign of the Roman Empire. As Zakarum crumbles (and does so in the Time of Troubles), the outermost provinces begin to splinter awayâ Westmarch being the most prominent. Hence, the Paladins of Westmarch, while still technically part of the now-corrupted Church of Light, have not fallen to Mephisto's Compelling Orb (and don't join their brother Zealots and Faithfuls and whatnot in Kurast) by their very lack of faith in the established Empire.
The end of one chapter in my fanfic (the close of Act IV) is punctuated by the actual collapse of the Zakarum Empire. Once word gets out that the Temple City of Travincal has been lain waste, all the provinces of the Empire fracture and vie for independence (or the control of the other provinces). Rule is consolidated to local capitals and short wars are made to further combine splintered nations into alliances and annexed territory. The now-independent Kingdom of Westmarch does soldier on with a reincarnation of the Church known as the Church of the Western Light.
And that's canon, as written in the D1 game literature, as I recall.
As in my own fanfic concepts, I resolved the Westmarch/Zakarum thing by seeing the Zakarum not so much as a Church, but an administrated Empire that is governed by a Church. Westmarch happens to be the most distant (and hence, most independently-minded) province of the Empire, much like Britain during the reign of the Roman Empire. As Zakarum crumbles (and does so in the Time of Troubles), the outermost provinces begin to splinter awayâ Westmarch being the most prominent. Hence, the Paladins of Westmarch, while still technically part of the now-corrupted Church of Light, have not fallen to Mephisto's Compelling Orb (and don't join their brother Zealots and Faithfuls and whatnot in Kurast) by their very lack of faith in the established Empire.
The end of one chapter in my fanfic (the close of Act IV) is punctuated by the actual collapse of the Zakarum Empire. Once word gets out that the Temple City of Travincal has been lain waste, all the provinces of the Empire fracture and vie for independence (or the control of the other provinces). Rule is consolidated to local capitals and short wars are made to further combine splintered nations into alliances and annexed territory. The now-independent Kingdom of Westmarch does soldier on with a reincarnation of the Church known as the Church of the Western Light.
Political Correctness is the idea that you can foster tolerance in a diverse world through the intolerance of anything that strays from a clinical standard.