Mount Arreat

"The will of the mountain perseveers."

- A Barbarian

Mount Arreat was the tallest mountain near Harrogath and former resting place of the Worldstone. Once the beloved site of the s, it is now a smoldering crater.

History
Mount Arreat was created by Inarius, shaping the mountain as a protective shell around the Worldstone. It was the first landform created on Sanctuary.

The Barbarians held that they were all tasked with defending Mount Arreat until death, at which point they were free to pass on. However, some bound their spirits to the mountain, so that they could serve the mountain well after their physical forms had perished. The Barbarians buried their warriors upon the slopes of Arreat, and believed that those who were denied this would be doomed to have their spirits roam the land for eternity.

The Barbarian tribes were aware that a day would come when they would have to protect the mountain from the armies of Hell. That is why they built extensive walls and fortifications throughout all larger open areas on the mountain. When Baal's armies arrived, however, these fortifications were overtaken by the demons and used to their advantage.

Three ghostly warriors, known as the Ancients, also stood at the mountain's summit and protected the entrance to the Worldstone Keep. Their names were Korlic, Madawc, and Talic. The three warriors were summoned to Mount Arreat in order to protect it, honored to guard the Worldstone for all eternity. When he came for the Worldstone, Baal was able to bypass them due to possessing the Relic of the Ancients, while the heroes in pursuit of him were forced to fight through him. They succeeded in defeating Baal, but not before he corrupted the Worldstone, forcing the archangel Tyrael to destroy it. He succeeded, but the resulting explosion sent half of Arreat's bulk exploding outward, devastating the surrounding lands. Stone and ash rained from the sky for days, turning the waters around it as red as blood. The explosion was so loud that it was even heard in Westmarch. The destruction of the mountain spurred bordering nations to close their gates, strengthen their walls, and let the world grow savage in their wake.

20 years after the mountain's destruction, the forces of Azmodan poured out of the mountain's crater to assault Bastion's Keep to the south. However, they were driven back to the crater and defeated.

Locations and Topography
Prior to its destruction, Arreat featured open expanses of land, snow-covered tundras, and an extensive network of ice caves. Twenty years after its destruction, it now resembles a volcanic wasteland.

The following areas were located on the mountain prior to its destruction. Post-destruction, it is doubtful whether some, if any of these locations still exist.


 * Arreat Plateau
 * Arreat Summit
 * Crystalline Passage
 * Drifter Cavern
 * Frozen River
 * Frozen Tundra
 * Glacial Trail
 * The Ancients' Way
 * Worldstone Keep

Trivia

 * Mount Arreat seems to be based on Mount Ararat, a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. Mount Ararat in Judeo-Christian tradition is associated with the "Mountains of Ararat" where, according to the book of Genesis, Noah's ark came to rest.