Tyrael

Tyrael, formerly the Archangel of Justice, is a mortal Elder Angel. He is a stalwart defender of Sanctuary and mankind, but is considered a renegade by the Angiris Council.

Personality
Tyrael was once seen as the most rigid of all the Elder Angels, firm in his adherence to laws, rules, and order. He had a single duty, namely to secure victory for Heaven in the Eternal Conflict. He was renowned for being calm, controlled and meticulous in his execution of combat technique. He wields El'druin, the Sword of Justice. Outside of combat, Tyrael was noted for being fair and impartial, as justice itself must be. Because of exposure to Chalad'ar, Tyrael's senses have been heightened. He possesses great raw strength, but even at his most powerful, could not defeat Diablo in single combat. After the Sin War but before the destruction of the Worldstone, for all his strength, Tyrael could only manifest himself on Sanctuary for only a night at a time.

Because of Uldyssian's sacrifice, Tyrael underwent a change of heart, and became something of a maverick to Heaven. He intervened on humanity's behalf, despite the edicts of his fellow Council members. Over time, he came to believe that the angels were meant more than just fighting the demons, but also protect the innocent from them. Even as a mortal, he stayed true to the ideals of justice.

As a mortal, Tyrael had a little bit of trouble understanding humanity. He couldn't comprehend how humans could press forward, even if they are living in a time of great despair. After spending time observing human suffering through mortal eyes however, Tyrael finally understood that although mankind faces death and darkness every day, they still find the courage to move forward. The human spirit never ceases to amaze him and he has embraced aspects of mortal life such as the ability to dream.

Biography
As with all Elder Angels, Tyrael was borne from the Crystal Arch, millennia before the present day. and as with all members of the Angiris Council, embodied one of the virtues of the primordial god Anu, or God of the Bible (in Tyrael's case, justice). It was worth noting that of all the archangels who knew God personally, Tyrael was the closest.

The Eternal Conflict
As Elder Angels were of the primordial god Anu and Heaven, so too were demons of Hell and the great dragon Tathamet. As the Archangel of Justice, Tyrael participated in the Eternal Conflict, and his exploits in battle became the stuff of legend. According to Imperius, he and Tyrael saved each other's lives countless times during the conflict. Off the battlefield, he administered the Courts of Justice.

Izual served as Tyrael's lieutenant during the aeons of war, but was captured by Hell during an assault on the Hellforge. Inarius also served under him, and the two were close, regarded as being brothers among their kind. Inarius tried to make him see the futility of the conflict, but Tyrael would not be swayed. Regardless, the EternalConflict ground to a halt on its own—the Worldstone had disappeared, and the forces of Heaven and Hell could only blame each other before realizing that a third party had absconded with the artifact.

The Sin War

 * "I did call them abominations...and I was wrong! My vote is for them...For I would see what they might become...and marvel in it."—Tyrael vouches for humanity's continued existence

In the course of the Sin War, Heaven would come to discover what Hell had already done so—Sanctuary. A world created by rogue angels and demons led by Lilith and Inarius. A world inhabited by the race of Men—beings descended from the nephalem, who had been brought into the world through the coupling of angels and demons. Venturing into the world, Tyrael spirited away Achilios, telling him that he had need of him. He forced him to target his Edyrem comrades including their leader Uldyssian, seeing them as key threats and unnatural blights upon the face of Creation. Achilios managed to refuse however, surprising Tyrael. He later convinced the edyrem that Uldyssian had been possessed by Malic. Surveying the situation, Tyrael was satisfied. Despite earlier considerations, he would not have these "abominations" allying with Heaven. They had to be eliminated due to the threat their inherent powers posed. And with the edyrem fragmented, Sanctuary's potential defenders would not be able to stand against his justice.

As such, Tyrael was among the Heavenly Host who descended upon the world, meeting in battle with the Edyrem and the Demonic Hordes themselves. Uldyssian, realizing that his growing power risked the destruction of the world, sacrificed himself to end the battle, saving Sanctuary, all those he loved, and perhaps most importantly of all, his own humanity. It was an act that touched Tyrael and swayed his heart—he had called these beings abominations. Yet no abomination would have made such a sacrifice as Uldyssian had.

The Angiris Council convened to discuss Sanctuary's fate. Imperius opted to eradicate Inarius and Lilith's progeny while Auriel and Itherael voted in favor of humanity, believing that humanity's potential to serve the Light could surpass even their roles and that the Conflict might be ended for good. Malthael abstained. Thus, the deciding vote would be left to Tyrael—were he to side with Imperius (as everyone suspected he would), Sanctuary would be destroyed, as a tie would still result in their original goal being carried out. Tyrael however, sided with humanity. They would be left to their own devices, free to choose between Light and Dark.

The Dark Exile
Tyrael would at times make sojourns into Sanctuary. However, greater tragedy was to come—Hell had not given up on Sanctuary, believing that humanity could be swayed to their cause. This was a view not shared by the Lesser Evils however, and in what became known as the Dark Exile, the Prime Evils were banished into Sanctuary. However, they were still capable of bringing woe to the mortal realm, and by the time Tyrael discovered their actions, they'd been active for decades. This concerned Tyrael greatly—Sanctuary had been spared by a margin of one vote when the Angiris Council had discussed its fate. If Heaven learned that Hell was focused on Man, it might carry out what he and Imperius once, and perhaps still, intended. As such, he kept silent. He would intervene on Sanctuary's behalf, and do so alone.

Fashioning three soulstones out of the Worldstone, Tyrael gathered a number of mages, forming a group called the Horadrim. Over many years, they hunted down the three Primes. Mephisto fell first, and Baal second, though he shattered the soulstone meant for him in battle. There was not enough time to reformulate the soulstone, but with the suggestion that a mortal heart could serve as a surrogate soulstone, Tal Rasha stepped forward, plunging the stone into his flesh. Tyrael assured him that his sacrifice would not be forgotten, and led the mages to a tomb beneath the sands of Aranoch. There, the Horadrim built a binding stone etched with runes of containment. Tal Rasha ordered that he be bound to the stone, and as the other mages looked on in sorrow, Tyrael jammed the soulstone shard into Tal Rasha's heart, transferring Baal's essence into the mage's body. Sorrowfully, the Horadrim departed, leaving Tal Rasha to wrestle with Baal's writhing spirit for all eternity.

Finally, after a decade of searching, the Horadrim confronted Diablo in the lands of Khanduras. The soulstone worked and was hidden away within a labyrinthine cave system near the River Talsande. Tyrael appeared before the Horadrim one last time, commending them for having achieved a victory despite their losses. He declared that the site would have to be guarded and to this end, the Horadrim erected a monastery over the site.

Tyrael had succeeded—the Primes were captured, Sanctuary still existed and Heaven was none the wiser. However, he had not counted on the Prime Evils' ability to exert their will over Men. Over time, Mephisto would corrupt the Zakarum faith and Diablo would do likewise through the archbishop Lazarus.

The Return of Evil
In 1263, Diablo escaped from his prison by corrupting the spirit of Prince Aidan of Khanduras, hence referred to as the Dark Wanderer. He headed east, seeking to free his brothers, Mephisto and Baal. Baal was first, bound to Tal Rasha's body. Tyrael appeared to stop the release and did battle with the Wanderer. However, another had traveled with the Wanderer—Marius, and thanks to the demon's manipulations, released the Lord of Destruction. Tyrael telepathically ordered Marius to take Baal's soulstone to the Temple of Light in Kurast, where he would find a gateway to Hell and by extension, the Hellforge, where the stone could be destroyed. Immediately afterwards, Tyrael was ensnared by Baal and bound to the Binding Stone.

Tyrael came to be freed by a group of heroes who were pursuing the Dark Wanderer. They traveled to the Pandemonium Fortress; Deckard Cain arrived first, whom he greeted. He told Cain that he had known his ancestor, Jered, and that he had been waiting to meet Jered's descendant for a long time. He told Cain about Izual and the Hellforge, where they could destroy Mephisto's soulstone. He did not doubt that Cain would provide wise counsel to his companions, but warned the scholar that one day, he might be required to do more. That one day, he may no longer be present, and Cain would have to face the darkness alone.

The heroes arrived after Cain, and Tyrael guided them to face Izual and Diablo himself. He dared not help them directly, as he had been weakened by Baal and feared that direct action could lead to the High Heavens discovering the danger Sanctuary was in. The heroes prevailed however, and Diablo's soulstone was destroyed, as was the stone of Mephisto.

Marius, however, had not been so courageous. He had failed to venture into Hell and consequently, the stone was still in his possession. Possession that switched to Baal himself, now the last Prime Evil active in Sanctuary. Baal marched on Mount Arreat, intending to corrupt the Worldstone and in doing so, shackle humanity to Hell's cause. To this end, Tyrael transported the heroes to Harrogath, but weakened as he was, could not face Baal directly.

The heroes came to defeat Baal, but were too late to prevent him corrupting the Worldstone. By this point, he was aware that Heaven and Hell's continual warring over the stone had 'poisoned' it, altering its original nature. After transporting the heroes to safety, Tyrael cast his sword into the stone, shattering it. The resulting explosion destroyed Tyrael's physical form and rendered Arreat and the surrounding lands a barren wasteland. Worse still, although humanity had been saved yet again by the Archangel of Justice, the destruction of the Worldstone meant the world was open to both Heaven and Hell.

Return to the High Heavens
Eventually, Tyrael regained physical form. He returned to the Heavens and summoned El'druin to his side. The act of reformation was unprecedented, as usually Elder Angels were replaced through the Crystal Arch, a new Elder Angel embodying their aspect rather than rebirthing the original angel who was deceased. At some point after this, he advised Urzael to search Sanctuary for the missing Malthael, as the Archangel of Wisdom had taken an interest in humanity prior to his disappearance.

He along with the remaining four members of the Council were later given ownership and ruling rights over the High Heavens by Anu, who took the simple identity of God and left Heaven to tend to the destroyed Sanctuary.

Justice Shall Fall

 * "You cannot judge me. I am Justice itself! We were meant for more than this! To protect the innocent! But if our precious laws bind you all to inaction... then I will no longer stand as your brother."I am Justice itself.jpg—Tyrael's parting words

About a decade before the events of the main series, evil threatened Sanctuary, this time from the inevitable return of the Prime Evils and the Lesser Evils separately. He promised that Man would not face the coming darkness alone. Imperius however, had since discovered his transgressions, and was unmoved by Tyrael's defiance. The two came to blows before Tyrael declared that if Heaven would not intervene on Man's behalf, he'd do so himself. Tearing off his wings, Tyrael deliberately chose to become mortal, sacrificing his angelic essence. In doing so, Tyrael hoped to demonstrate to the High Heavens that laws could be bent for a greater good. He had a degree of control over the process, and as he intended to walk amongst humans, taking on their form would serve his goals. Furthermore, by becoming mortal, he would no longer be bound by his nature as an Elder Angel, as the other members of the Angiris Council were. Such an act was without precedent amongst angelkind.

Now mortal, Tyrael fell to Sanctuary as the Falling Star, smashing into St. Peter's Square by the Vatican. The journey left him weakened, but he was saved by an exorcist named Vasco Strada and a fellow nun named Griselda Quarta. Tyrael suffered from amnesia and over the first few days of his now mortal life, he tried to fight his body's need for sleep, something that he'd had no need for as an Elder Angel. When exhaustion took over, he dreamt—another new experience that filled him with disquiet, for while his dreams were initially wondrous, they steadily became darker. As an archangel who had watched entire generations of Men live and die, studying the forces that governed their lives, he had previously come to the conclusion that he'd learnt everything there was to know about being mortal. It was an assumption that the reality of his mortality shattered.

By retrieving the shards of El'druin, Tyrael's memory was restored, and he relayed to both Vasco Strada and the pope of who he was and why he came to Earth. Realizing of the present corruption growing within the Church, the pope gave Tyrael his full blessing of reforming the Inquisition, but this time to purge any demonic influence lingering within the faith.

At some point, Tyrael took Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou under his wing and trained them.