Humans arrived in the world of Blizzard's Diablo courtesy of Lilith, Daughter of Hatred, and Inarius, an Archangel of the High Heavens. When the angel and demon pair stole the Worldstone and created Sanctuary, they didn't expect that they can copulate. Their fellow angel and demon renegades felt fear over the potential of these new spawn, the Nephalem, which could hold power greater than them. In turn, a series of events would lead to the Nephalem losing their powers and becoming humans.
However, like Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 would prove, no amount of time could seal the inherent potential in humans. The Nephalem would walk in Sanctuary once more but with Lilith making a return in Diablo 4, fans also extend the question to Inarius. Would the father of the Nephalem return? Just what other secrets were Inarius hiding?
10 The Testament Of Inarius Gleams Insight
Players can glean insight into Inarius and Lilith's plan of stealing the Worldstone with the Testament of Inarius. This seven-part tome, found in Diablo 3's Act 5, will also complete an achievement. However, players need to complete the seven parts of the journal in order to gleam into Inarius' mindset during his time with Lilith.
Upon reading the journal, players can learn the majority of details about Inarius' life. Inarius will explain how he slowly found people disillusioned with the war but found himself captured by Lilith. Unfortunately, he would fall in love with Lilith and plan the theft of the Worldstone together.
9 Inarius Was An Archangel Without An Aspect
Despite being an Archangel, he didn't seat with the rest of the Angiris Council nor did he have his own Aspect. Instead, the lore states that Inarius initially served under Archangel Tyrael's command, and he served as the advisor of the Council at large. Unfortunately, players don't get much information on the exact nature of Inarius' responsibilities.
However, fans might get intrigued by the notion of an Archangel with his unique armor but without an aspect. This fact implies that more powerful Archangels may exist without ever having an aspect of their own. Or perhaps, Inarius may acquire an aspect for himself in the future.
8 Lilith Was A One-Sided Thing
Fans of the lore know that the Nephalem came as a result of Inarius and Lilith doing the nasty, sprouting a child with the potential to be more than their angel and demon parents. However, while Inarius may have genuinely felt affection for Lilith, the Daughter of Hatred may not have felt the same way.
Inarius met Lilith when the latter captured the former during a skirmish in the Eternal Conflict. However, instead of outright fighting Lilith, Inarius instead shared his distaste for the Conflict as a whole towards her. This revelation was surprising for Lilith, as she didn't like the Eternal Conflict either. Unfortunately, this mutual interest didn't blossom into love. And what affection Inarius had for Lilith, the latter only used the former for her plans to create an army of Nephalem to win the Conflict.
7 Inarius Managed To Halt The Eternal Conflict
In a twist of irony, Inarius and Lilith's theft of the Worldstone actually granted when what they wanted: ceasefire. Thanks to their tampering, the Worldstone had teleported itself and the pair's forces into a pocket dimension, hidden from the High Heavens and Burning Hells. In turn, the Eternal Conflict came to a halt when they realized the Worldstone was missing. Unfortunately, they had no idea who took it, how they took it, and where they took it.
Using this opportunity, Inarius shielded the Worldstone's presence with Mount Arreat and then formed Sanctuary around it. And then, Inarius redirected the Worldstone's energies into himself, becoming the strongest being in Sanctuary.
6 Inarius Had Conflicted Feelings With The Nephalem
When the renegade angels and demons discovered the potential of the Nephalem, most of them advocated for their destruction. However, instead of following their suggestions, Inarius decided to meditate on the thought. After Lilith slaughtered Inarius' followers at the suggestion of genocide, Inarius relented and instead sealed the Nephalem's powers for good.
This move was particularly interesting for Inarius. Despite his perceived pride and arrogance, he couldn't blatantly kill the Nephalem outright. However, Inarius seems unbothered at the notion of having to kill the Nephalem, should the need arise.
5 Inarius Fought A Cold War
Inarius fought in a cold war of sorts against the Prime Evils in Sanctuary. In fact, it's the Prime Evils who first discovered the existence of Sanctuary and the potential of the Nephalem. Hoping to influence them to their favor, the Prime Evils formed a religion around them called the Triune. However, Inarius caught wind of their plans and created his own organization, the Cathedral of Light, based on the High Heavens' teachings.
Inarius seems to have made the Cathedral not out of benevolence. Rather, Inarius wanted to secure the safety of the Nephalem by not attracting the forces of the High Heavens. The formation of the Cathedral served as a sign of Inarius' growing fear of the High Heavens' retaliation if they discover the Nephalem.
4 Inarius Was Worldstone-Empowered
As an Archangel, Inarius can go toe-to-toe with most demons and lesser generals of the Great Evils. When Lilith managed to capture Inarius, this event proves that Inarius could at least face someone directly tied to a Prime Evil. However, when Lilith and Inarius stole the Worldstone, the artifact had greatly enhanced Inarius' abilities.
With the Worldstone, Inarius and Lilith managed to create Sanctuary. Inarius now possessed the ability to cast entities into the Void, such as Lilith. In fact, his abilities became so enhanced that even the Prime Evils had to secretly form the Triune so as to not catch his attention.
3 What Was Inarius The Prophet Of?
The Archangel Inarius didn't have his own aspect or virtue to represent despite his powers. However, people did pertain to him as the Prophet or the Veiled Prophet. In fact, Inarius appeared as a heavenly but heavily-armored knight to a group of enchantresses that he would organize into the Hand of the Prophet. The sisterhood's original goal was to help the Nephalem at the End of Days, when they were supposed to wake up from a long slumber.
Inarius' plans met some setbacks in Diablo 3. However, the creation of the sisterhood did demonstrate Inarius' incredible foresight. Was Inarius' ability to see in the future an innate ability? Or rather, was Inarius created by the Crystal Arch specifically to see the End of Days?
2 Inarius Became Broken In Mephisto's Realm
When the Angiris Council and the Prime Evils decided to leave Sanctuary to their own devices, part of the deal was Mephisto taking Inarius to his own realm. Unfortunately, this meant Inarius had to suffer Mephisto's torture for all of eternity. Fortunately for the Archangels, this would come to a halt when Mephisto will be defeated by heroes. However, as with the events of Diablo 3, Mephisto's essence will return to Sanctuary after the destruction of the Black Soulstone.
Inarius' fate remains unknown. Whether Inarius used this opportunity to escape and what happened to him afterward may be revealed in Diablo 4. However, the fact remains that Inarius became a broken angel while Inarius tortured him.
1 Inarius Originally Explained The Overlord
Fans of the first Diablo game fondly remember the Overlord demon at the early stages of the title. These hulking brutes became extremely difficult opponents at the beginning of the game, due to their speed. Despite their nature as demons, they become attributed to Inarius, at least in the Diablo manual. In fact, the team apparently designed Inarius only to explain the origins of the Overlord.
In this original design, Inarius served as an arrogant and prideful angel who thought himself higher than both demonkind and angels. In turn, he created a great cathedral that attracted various followers. Unfortunately, when Inarius assaulted a temple of Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred himself captured Inarius and tortured him. His followers apparently became the Overlord. Given the new information on Inarius, this piece of trivia may be a retcon, cut content, or a misunderstood part of Sanctuary's history.