Travincal

"Whoever destroyed that place did the world a favor."

- Anajinn, in regards to the destruction of Travincal

The Temple City of Travincal was the holy headquarters of the Church of Zakarum in Kurast. It contained the Temple of Light, from which the High Council of Zakarum ruled. The city fell into ruin due to Mephisto's corruption.

Lore
Travincal was surrounded by walls. It was linked to Kurast via a causeway.

History
When the Horadrim sealed Mephisto in a soulstone, the order gave it to the Zakarum for safekeeping. At this time, Zakarum was a small and humble order. Tal Rasha had an affinity with the monks and believed they were the only ones who could be trusted with guarding the soulstone. As the Horadrim continued their hunt for the other Prime Evils, the Zakarum set about building a temple within the dense jungles near Kurast, where Mephisto's soulstone would be stored. Construction began in the year 1017. The undertaking brought about interest in the order and Zakarum teachings. In a matter of months, throngs of Kehjistan's downtrodden masses flocked to the temple to lend their aid. Construction was finished in less than a year, and what began as a small temple grew into Travincal, the Temple City. The Zakarum faith grew, and Travincal was held as the faith's holiest site, and by the 13th century, was the most heavily guarded site in all of Kehjistan.

However, over the centuries, Mephisto was able to corrupt the Zakarum faith. Corrupt priests captured and sacrificed anyone who passed by the city. By the time the Dark Wanderer and Baal arrived in Travincal, many of the greatest Zakarum Paladins and their commanders fell to corruption. Not all had fallen so, but as Diablo approached, many of the temple's defenders fell prey to overwhelming fear and fled the complex altogether. Additional reports suggest that many turned against each other, thinning out their ranks even further. Thus, the Lords of Terror and Destruction passed through Travincal to unite with their brother, Mephisto.

A group of heroes who had pursued Diablo since Khanduras arrived in the city later. Fighting their way into Travincal, they had to contend with not only demons, but corrupted zealots and the High Council members themselves. In this, they succeeded, and gained access to the temple in which Mephisto dwelt.

Currently, Travincal lies abandoned. The city was visited by Abd al-Hazir, who encountered an Archivist in one of its ruined temples.

In game
Travincal acts as a zone in of Diablo II It is of constant design, meaning it is one of the few areas in the game not randomly generated. It is usually considered a very dangerous area due to the presence of many strong monsters, including the Super Unique Council Members that comprise the High Council. There's a waypoint hidden in the northern section of the city.

Trivia

 * The design for Travincal was taken from Aztec and Mayan architecture.


 * Quest dialogue in Diablo II states that it was the Horadrim that built the Temple of Light, which was then appropriated by the Zakarum. This has since been altered in recent lore as of Book of Cain, which states that the Zakarum built the temple, and the soulstone was imparted to them.