Durance of Hate

The Durance of Hate is the lair of the Lord of Hatred, Mephisto. It is accessed by destroying the Compelling Orb in Travincal, which opens the entrance into the Durance of Hate. It is the final zone of Act III, and has a waypoint hidden on the second level. Deep within lies an portal to the fiery underworld, opened by the reunited Three Brothers to make way for Diablo. After the player defeats Mephisto, he/she follows the Lord of Terror into Hell with the Lord of Hatred's soulstone in tow.

Background
Sometime after the Dark Exile, the Lord of Hatred, Mephisto was imprisoned within a soulstone. Under the watchful eye of the Horadrim Brotherhood, Mephisto was moved to a secure location - he was imprisoned beneath the Guardian Tower in Travincal. The Zakarum were charged with safeguarding the Prime Evil's soulstone, with the High Council of Zakarum acting as his jailors. However, Mephisto's corrupting influence soon spread. One by one the pious priests fell under the sway of the Lord of Hatred - all but one. The previous Que-Hegan, a sage known as Khalim, proved to be incorruptible. An outraged Mephisto ordered the now corrupt priesthood to slay Khalim and scatter his remains. After that, Sankekur was appointed by the demon lord to become the new Que-Hegan. Mephisto then ordered the priests to shatter his soulstone, freeing his infernal spirit. The Lord of Hatred then drove a shard of his soulstone in the left palm of each High Priest, with the largest shard piercing the hand of Sankekur. Over time, Sankekur would become the host of Mephisto's vile spirit. The Guardian Tower, also known as the Temple of Light, turned into the Blackened Temple. Mephisto ordered the Zakarumites to make human sacrifices in his name - a vile deed of which the evidence can still be found within the Durance. As a place of "hatred" would be an inappropriate use for a basement of a holy temple, it was ostensibly used for and named a holier name, but the exact previous purpose is as-yet unknown.

The Durance was filled with discared offerings to Mephisto&mdash;those who had passed by Travincal, and were sacrificed by the corrupt Zakarum priests.

Trivia

 * Since the word "Durance" means "incarceration or imprisonment," the name of the location fits since Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, was imprisoned there.