Biography

Early Life

Albrecht was born into light and love.^[1] He accompanied his family when they came to Tristram, from where Leoric would govern Khanduras. Leoric noted that Albrecht appeared to enjoy his new home.^[2] Albrecht would occasionally take swordfighting lessons from Aidan when the latter had time to spare. At a point he tried to fight a group of direwolves to show his progress, but had to be saved by Aidan after being overwhelmed.^[3]

Albrecht dreamt of being a great king.^[1]

The Darkening of Tristram

As the Darkening of Tristram progressed, Diablo attempted to claim the king's body, but was not strong enough to fully take possession. The demon required a host, simple and innocent, and thus found Albrecht to be fitting.

Albrecht was captured by the traitorous Archbishop Lazarus and was taken down into the depths of the catacombs of the Tristram Cathedral.^[4] There, Albrecht was set free and allowed to flee in terror. Diablo's spirit haunted him as he ran through the labyrinth until he came to a dead end. In the height of his terror,^[5] Albrecht was recaptured and Diablo's shattered soulstone was driven into Albrecht's forehead, and the Lord of Terror's vile spirit possessed him and eventually twisted the boy's body into an approximation of his true form.^[4]

A group of heroes—Jazreth, a Vizjerei sorcerer, Moreina the Rogue captain, and Albrecht's older brother, Prince Aidan—entered the darkened monastery in an attempt to find and rescue the young Prince. Lazarus was encountered and defeated at the Unholy Altar, but the adventurers only found a different child, sacrificed by Lazarus as an offering.^[6]

Unwilling to give up hope, the heroes sought out, encountered, and eventually vanquished the Lord of Terror himself. Diablo let out a tortured scream of death, which went all the way up to the mortal realm, shattering the windows of the cathedral. In his dreams, Deckard Cain could have sworn that he heard a child's scream in the midst of the terrible roar.^[7] Kneeling down beside the defeated Prime Evil, Aidan used a small blade to remove the soulstone from Diablo's forehead. The demon's body transformed back into that of Prince Albrecht, who then gasped his final breaths.^[8]

Dark Rebirth

Fourteen years later, the Cult of Terror returned to Tristram. Their plan; to use the imprints of Diablo's former host and lair - Albrecht and the Tristram Cathedral, respectively - to perform a ritual that would create a path to their master. Traces of Albrecht's essence was harvested his childhood home from sentimental objects of his childhood and stored in a Worldstone shard. In a ritual within the depths of the cathedral, the Bride of Hell channeled energy from the shard into Albrecht's corpse, and his memories were projected as a separate plane.^[3] The mixture of his essence and power of Creation suffusing his corpse resurrected Albrecht and transformed him into a into a Shardborne.^[9] Albrecht rose with the voice of the boy he was, fragmented mind and an ever—shifting physicality.^[10] He then fought against the Shard-seeker, who was pursuing the Bride. Albrecht was defeated, but spared as his opponent was in a hurry. Within his projected memories, the Bride created a path to Diablo using memory containing the strongest imprint of the demon (the moment Albrecht was possessed) and she was able to open a portal to her master and deliver the shard to him.^[3]

Splintered Souls

Some time later, shortly after the Shard-seeker left the Southern Dreadlands, Albrecht was seen leading other Shardborne to the Gully of Madness.^[11] Albrecht gathered many Worldstone splinters from the gully^[12] and became the primary voice in the Chorus of Shardborne.^[13] His mind and body stabilized as a (implied) result.

Sanctuary's Unmaking

After Diablo was fully restored he used his Worldstone shard to bring all Shardborne under his control.^[14]

Albrecht was tasked with guarding one of the portals^[15] that transported darkness from the Black Spire^[16] to other parts of the island. Albrecht faced the Shard-seeker again, but was no match for them as they were boosted by El'druin. Even power granted by Diablo couldn't secure victory. On the verge of defeat Albrecht begged for more power, but Diablo answered with silence. The Shard-seeker's hesitation to kill Albrecht gave him the chance to escape through the portal.^[17]

The Bargain for Freedom

Albrecht chaffed under Diablo's leash and he saw a chance for freedom in the Shard-seeker. However, he needed to wait for a situation where they will be forced to listen.^[18]

The Protectors of Sanctuary were decimated by the Song of Unmaking^[19] and the survivors retreated to an Underground Camp in the Tar Wells.^[18]

Epoch of Madness

With Diablo's defeat at World's Crown, Albrecht was freed from the Lord of Terror's influence. He led the Shardborne (whom he now considered family) into the Sharval Wilds, which he intended to be their new home.^[20]

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Crimson Mass

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Flesh Harvest

Within the Boil of Creation, Albrecht planned to transform Sanctuary in his own image,^[21] and build a kingdom the Shardborne could call their own. During this period, he further empowered himself, creating new Shardborne.^[1]

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The First and Last King

The destruction of the Boil sent Albrecht even further down the dark path he trod. Maddened by loss and betrayal, and with the energy of the Worldstone that suffused him growing ever more unstable,^[1] Albrecht marched with his twisted legions through the towns of Sharval with powerful Shardborne bolstering his ranks. After the loss of his twisted paradise, Albrecht lead legions of new Shardborne through the populous areas of Entsteig. He personally created the Fleshwarped Shardborne,^[22] and sought to claim Entsteig as his own.^[23] If he could not create a kingdom for the Shardborne, he would take Entsteig as his own kingdom.^[1] However, he was defeated.^[23]

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In-game

Diablo I

Albrecht is seen in the ending cinematic of Diablo, though has no actual in-game presence.

Diablo Immortal

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Personality and Traits

While once a timid child, Albrecht's demeanor darkened as a Shardborne. Warped and reborn by the power of the Worldstone,^[1] he saw the Shardborne as his family,^[24] and as the future of humanity.^[25] Despite this, Albrecht carried some of his old yearnings to deliver a common good, and for a family he barely had time to know. The destruction of the Boil of Creation drove him even further from the child he used to be.^[1]

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

• Albrecht is the only known host for any Prime Evil to transform into human form and/or remain alive (even for a few moments) after the defeat of the possessing demon.
• Albrecht's boss form in Tristram Cathedral dungeon is titled "The First Shardborne." While he is the first named Shardborne encountered in the franchise, the Splintered Souls update reveals that Shardborne have existed around the Southern Dreadlands since the destruction of the Worldstone.^[26]

Images

Albrecht before his possession

Albrecht as a Shardborne

The Shardborne Prophet

References