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Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred expansion launches on April 28, bringing the game’s Age of Hatred saga to a close as players work with Lilith to stop Mephisto. The campaign takes place in the new game region of Skovos, an island chain plagued by both volcanic eruptions and vicious storms. Along with previewing its new Warlock class and giving players who pre-purchase the expansion the chance to build a Paladin, Blizzard Entertainment is also providing an early taste of what’s in store through the tie-in prequel novel, The Lost Horadrim.
Written by Matthew J. Kirby, who previously penned a series of tie-in novels for Assassin’s Creed, The Lost Horadrim follows Lorath, a member of the ancient order of mages. He journeys to the Skovos Isles to find out what happened to a Horadrim expedition sent to unlock a hidden vault. There he has to form an alliance with Captain Adreona of the Amazons to help her deal with an undead attack.
Ahead of the book’s release on April 21, Random House Worlds offered Polygon an exclusive excerpt from The Lost Horadrim:
Lorath said nothing to Adreona as the cutter rowed them from the harbor out into open water, and she said nothing to him. After they passed under the colossal statues of angel and demon, they worked together to raise the Arabel’s sails, but neither of them spoke more than the few words necessary to set the rigging. Lorath genuinely felt no anger toward her, despite their brief imprisonment at her insistence, and despite her desire to banish them from Skovos. He did not resent her personally for the relative prosperity of Skovos compared to other cities and regions in Sanctuary. Yet he sensed her anger toward him, radiating off her like heat ripples off an Aranoch horizon, and in truth he found that more than a little unjust.
They had the wind at their back, out of the southeast, and the Arabel galloped with glee across the waves. Once they were underway, Lorath took up a position near the stern, next to Keldon at the tiller. Adreona stood on the other side of the captain. Keldon seemed quite content with the silence, but Lorath was not. Eventually, he had to speak his mind.
“Captain,” he said, “this arrangement may not be what either of us would’ve wanted, but you can trust me. I swear I will do my best to fight for you and—”
“I don’t want you to fight,” she said, as if the words had been waiting on her tongue. “Not for me, and not for Skovos. I want you to stay out of my way. I don’t have time to be your minder.”
Lorath worked to keep his pride in check. “Look, I did not want to come to Skovos in the first place. But now that I’m here, your queen has commanded me to fight. That’s what I was doing before we sailed to your islands, and that’s what I plan to do while I’m here. I could be of help to you.”
“I doubt that,” she said. “I plan to keep you where you can do no harm.”
“Do you often disregard the orders of your queen?”
That finally turned her head toward him. “Queen Etara did not give any command as to how you would fulfill your duty. There are many tasks within our ranks, and all of them are important. All of them are performed in service to the islands we safeguard.”
“Why am I sensing latrine duty in my future?”
“Perhaps you should be with the seers instead of troubling me.”
“We’re luffing,” Keldon said between them.
Lorath looked up, then moved to trim the mainsail, while Adreona saw to the jib. After that, they resumed their silence for a time, until Adreona spoke with a somewhat gentler manner than before.
“This isn’t personal,” she said. “How can it be, when I don’t know you?”
“If you did know me, you would—”
“Please, I am trying to explain something.”
Lorath closed his mouth and nodded.
“You are strangers,” she said. “You are unfamiliar with our customs, but you do know something of the threat we face, since that threat would’ve killed you if we had not arrived when we did.”
“And I’m grateful you—”
“I’m not finished. I said you know something of the threat, but you don’t know all of it. The Amazons lost many, many warriors during the Reaping. We were slaughtered, and our legions have not recovered. Meanwhile, the Drowned have only grown their ranks. My forces are barely holding the line. If we should break . . .” She paused, as if momentarily seized by that thought. “So, you see, our position is fragile. We cannot risk any weakness or disruption, no matter how well intentioned. As I said, I don’t know you, and it is because I don’t know you that I cannot afford to trust you with the lives of my troops.”
“I understand,” Lorath said.
“Do you?”
“I do. I was a soldier. I understand the importance of troop cohesion and the danger of a weak link.”
She tilted her head. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Put me to work in whatever capacity you deem best.” Lorath had accepted he would get nowhere convincing her with words. “I can dig a hole as well as anyone.”
“I never doubted that,” she said.
They had come to a workable understanding, at least for now, and the tension between them eased. Even Keldon appeared somewhat more relaxed at the tiller. Lorath did not look forward to the menial tasks he would soon be assigned, but he knew that he could earn Adreona’s trust in time, if not her respect. He wondered only if they would be in Skovos long enough for him to achieve it.
