My dear Jeah.
In the inevitable event of my death, may I precede you by many decades to the grave.
Do not mourn me, Jeah. Despite all I have been through. I have had a long and amazing life. I have died doing exactly what I was meant to do. I have lived and loved freely these long years-and have known only joy at seeing the bright, beautiful woman you're become. I believe that I now go on to a place beyond imagining, though I have no name for it, nor real understanding of where it lies, save beyond the broken bounds of this world.
I long for this paradise, Jeah-and the peace and rest I might find there on the other side of this mortal existence. I want you to know this, dear one, above all other things I could have taught you-that there is hope beyond this reality, beyond the realms of Heaven and Hell and all the shadowed space that lie between. Hold fast to that hope in the face of the dark times ahead, and you will find the truest meaning of your life.
Though I know that you do not believe me when I speak of dread omens. I think you are beginning to suspect that my words
ring of truth. I was a nonbeliever as well. I remember, even as a child, reading the Horadric tales and thinking that while they were wonderful stories, they were only that-wonderful stories. Tales such as those of Anu and the Dragon, the Mage Clan Wars, the Sin war, and the Hunt for the Three merely were told to embrace imagination. I now see, much to my regret, that even within these legends there lives a deeper and more profound truth, for, as I have come to discover, truth is hidden in unexpected places.
If events are as I believe them to be, some truths will be revealed very shortly which will make you a believer-perhaps even upon the day of my death, for I believe that if our world is to be saved, you have a pivotal role to play in its salvation, though I know not-nor do I begin to speculate-what that role might be.
Many of the things you will see in this book will be familiar to you. There are texts from the Great Library at Caldeum. I can never forget how, even as a young girl, you mastered the city. Although I was quite aware you were sneaking around the sewers (when you and I were not exploring old ruins), which led some to call me a negligent uncle. I further knew that the survival skills you would develop there, and likewise on the rest of out journeys, would prepare ou for the work you have cut out for you. Here also you will find the drawings I made of the Neztem Petroglyphs, the strange mirrored cuneiform writings which I believe were made by one of the original nephalem. Much of this you will see again, but this time with the eyes of a Horadric scholar, not the eyes of a young girl. Understand this: As of my passing, you will become the last of the Horadrim.
At one time it had been my objective to write the first-ever history of the world, starting with the myth of Anu and the Dragon and continuing on to the events that unfold before us even as I write this letter. I use the example of the Stranger, who came to us so recently. It's becoming more and more clear who the Stranger in our midst truly is, and the sacrifice he must have made, further. I have speculated on the true nature of the heroes who have also joined in our fight against the shadow. And most certainly you have done so as well.
Some material in here will be familiar to you from the dreams which have plagued you since childhood. Indeed, those dreams might be the
key to preventing the end times.
Always dear Jeah, keep your eyes on the Prophecy. It is the key to the salvation of our world.
...And at the End of Days , Wisdom shall be lost
as Justice falls upon the world of men.
Valor shall turn to wrath-
and all hope will be swallowed by despair.
Death, at last, shall spread its wings overall-
as fate lies shattered forever.
I cannot pretend that even I fully grasp how the knowledge contained herein informs the recent events in New Tristram , save only to say that we have already witnessed reawakened evils, and the mortal realm will see more before this is over. I must beg you, Jeah, to stay vigilant and probe this book and, indeed, the people and lands you shall encounter, for within them, further glimpses of the truth shall be revealed to you.
The one thing I know is that the end times are not preordained. As I said, I believe there is something beyond all of this, I know not what, only that it exists. Jered Cain saw it, and, I am told, even Zoltun Kulle glimpsed it. Mark well this truth, though you do not yet believe that there is something far greater that awaits us outside all the suffering of this world. Sweet Jeah, trust in you uncle until your doubts are removed.
Your first duty calls for you to forestall the end times. And now I must reveal to you that I, like you have had prophetic dreams. In one such dream, not only did I see malefic forces at work, haunting echoes of the distant past-demons and angels-but, in the center of it all, I saw you standing between light and dark, between the Heavens and the Hells. The odd thing is that I had this dream of you when you were a child. However, in the dream you appeared just as you are now.
Study all that is written within these pages. All the work of my life, I now bequeath to you. I know not what in the writings is vital or what is offal. It is a compendium of knowledge collected the throughout hundreds of yeard by adventurers, purveyors of dark arts, Horadric scholars, and madmen. Inside is information that will aid you in confronting the dark days that lie ahead. Do not mourn me, Jeah, I have seen and heard accounts of those who have been beyond and returned. It is my belief that in death there are yet other mysteries to be revealed.
Live life well, my dear Jeah.
All of my love.
Uncle Deckard
[ 此贴被chadesataniu在2012-03-21 22:30重新编辑 ]