Atanna

Biography

The Fall of Ureh

Atanna lived in Ureh when the city was besieged by Diablo. In an effort to save themselves, her father and the city's Sorcerers attempted to cast a spell that would take the city into Heaven, under the guidance of the Archangel Mirakodus. However, Mirakodus was nothing but Diablo in disguise, and the spell would actually drag Ureh into Hell. The Sorcerer Gregus Mazi (whom Atanna may have been romantically entangled with) disrupted the spell, which left the city stuck in Limbo, and he himself cast out of the city.

Juris Khan, still in Diablo's thrall, and now ruler of a stranded city, followed the "archangel's" directions, and opened up his people to the "subtle ministrations of other angels." Or, in reality, demons. Atanna tried to resist, and gave Diablo himself pause, but he nonetheless forced himself into her. Like the rest of Ureh's people, Atanna became an undead monster.^[1]

The Return of Ureh

Thousands of years later, a band of mercenaries led by Kentril Dumon made their way into the city, having followed the guidance of the Vizjerei Sorcerer Quov Tsin. Her father introduced her to the mercenary captain. She served the mercenaries with food and drink as her father told them the (false) story of how Gregus Mazi had betrayed Ureh, stranding the city in Limbo and thwarting its people's attempt to ascend into Heaven, to escape from Diablo. She followed her father's line in describing Mazi. They told the Dumon how they might escape their fate if the Key of Light was placed atop Mount Nymyr; an impossible task for the people of Ureh, as they would burn if they stepped out of the city.

Dumon succeeded, and Ureh returned to the mortal realm, much to the joy of its citizenry, though a shadow needed to remain over the city, lest they burn from the sunlight. Dumon handed Atanna a brooch that contained her visage, one which he had found in the ruins of Ureh before he and the mercenaries had succeeded in entering it. She claimed that Mazi had desired her, and had stolen the brooch. She noticed Dumon clutch his sword, and asked if he would be her champion. Enraptured, Dumon declared that he would do anything for her, and she kissed him.

Dumon later encountered Atanna again in the palace, seeing her play the flute. She guided him through the gardens, and mended his hand after it was stung by something, presumably an insect (now possible as Ureh had returned to Sanctuary). In truth, no such sting had occurred, and Dumon had momentarily glimpsed Ureh's true, hellish state. Awhile later, she saw him again, thanking him in regards to Tsin, who had told her father that he might have found a way to completely solve Ureh's curse. He had likewise convinced her father that Ureh shouldn't try to ascend to Heaven again, that rather, ascending to Heaven would be something to be earned within the mortal realm. A celebratory dinner was held, with Dumon continuing to be enraptured by Atanna. He did, however, suffer a kind of panic attack (another glimpse of the nightmare that was Ureh), but Atanna got him to come to his senses.

Tsin's spell worked, and Dumon was made consort to Atanna. However, not all was well, and Dumon had come to suspect that something was wrong in Ureh, foremost of which was that a number of men had disappeared. She pouted, hoping that Dumon wasn't accusing her, but he pressed forward, telling her that her father hadn't slain Mazi, but had imprisoned him beneath the palace, turning him into some kind of hellish sentinel. Atanna momentarily lost her composure as Dumon continued to press that something was wrong, but regained it enough to try an alay his fears through seduction. She reached out for him, but something caused Dumon to surge forward, barging into Atanna and sending her plummeting off the palace balcony. The shadow made it too dark for him to see her body hit the ground, but there was no doubt in his mind that she should be dead.

And yet she wasn't, for she found Dumon with her father, desparately trying to explain that he hadn't meant to kill his daughter. One of her legs had snapped in the middle, her other foot was twisted on the side, her left arm was at an impossible angle, and her right was mangled beyond recognition. Physically, she was maimed, yet there was no sign of blood, and Atanna appeared to not even notice the damage that had been inflicted on her. Khan cast a spell and the damage appeared to heal, though her head still hung limply. Or at least it did, until Khan physically fixed it in place, as flesh and muscle fused, all sign of injury gone. Such was the power of Heaven, apparently, even while Dumon found the sight hellish. Atanna wasn't perturbed though...soon, she and Dumon would be together, and he'd be just like her. The true story of Ureh was soon revealed, and Atanna revealed herself as being so far gone, that she appeared enraptured at the memory of Diablo forcing himself onto her.

The time came to allow Ureh's people to enter Sanctuary proper. A ritual that would involve Dumon being a blood sacrifice. Atanna stroked her lover's hair, content that he would soon be like her, in an undead state. However, the ritual was interrupted by one of Dumon's companions, who absconded with the mercenary. Frustrated, Khan slew Tsin, completing the blood ritual, and thus, the stage was set for the people of Ureh to gain access to Sanctuary. All that remained was the sun to rise and touch the Key of Light atop Mount Nymyr. Atanna was assigned to guide the key, but was tormented as to what might happen to Dumon. Of what she might have to do to guard the key. She remembered the "archangel" that spoke to her, this time her memories tinged with both love and fear. She resolved that if Dumon confronted her, she would give him a test. Ideally, he would pass, but if not, he would die. She could accept that.

Dumon reached the key, but Atanna mentally contacted him, trying to sway his actions to not destroy it. Even her father attempted to keep the mercenary at bay, but he nonetheless threw the key off the top of the mountain. The sun rose, and Ureh's people burnt in its light. Dumon found himself falling down from the mountain, towards the city. About a hundred feet before the ground, however, Atanna, from the palace, used her magic to slow his fall. Even so far apart, their eyes locked, and her final moments, Atanna realized all she had done. Light began to shine over the palace, and she hastened the rate of his descent, but not so much that it would kill him. Yet the light reached her, and as it rose up her body, Atanna simply faded away.

Her actions weren't in vain however, and while injured, Dumon survived the fall. Two days later, he departed the ruins of Ureh with his surviving fellows, yet still kept the brooch that held Atanna's image.^[1]

References