Talic

"This scabbard is a rare treasure. Its inscription reads, "Talic the Defender," in archaic lettering. He was one of the ancients who guarded Mount Arreat until the shattering of the Worldstone, a true warrior who gave his life to spare the world from the dark fate it has fallen to now."

- Vendel the Armorsmith

Talic the Defender was one of the three guardians of Mount Arreat.

Origins
Talic hailed from the Western Shores of the kingdom. At a young age, Talic had already mastered several of the Barbarian skills. He grew up hearing legends of Mount Arreat, even though the Kae Huron mountain range wasn't even visible from the waters he grew around. At some point he took a wife, who gave birth to his child.

At the age of 19, there was a knock on Talic's door; it was the town elder and an old woman. They entered as his wife and young child sat at the table. The woman was introduced as, the seer for Sescheron. She came to bestow upon Talic the ultimate task of protecting the sacred gates to Mt. Arreat. His reward for accepting such service would be eternity atop the mountain. While it was an honor beyond comprehension to be chosen for such a role, he would never be able to return home, nor see any of his family again. Talic rose from his chair, standing a head taller than the seer, and told her fiercely, "I won't go." He had refused. He told the seer to choose another. Kala looked at him and said the choice was not hers to make. The Ancients had spoken to her of a young warrior in the West named Talic. That was who they wanted, that was who they chose. Talic stared long at the seer. Then, finally, he nodded slowly in agreement, turned to his wife and child, kissed them goodbye, and journeyed to Mt. Arreat.

Vigil's End
"We are the spirits of the Nephalem, the Ancient Ones. We have been chose to guard sacred Mount Arreat, wherein the Worldstone rests. Few are worthy to stand in its presence; fewer still can comprehend its true purpose. Before you enter, you must defeat us."

- The Ancients

When Baal launched his assault on Mount Arreat, he was able to bypass the Ancients due to a relic provided to him by the traitor Nihlathak. The group of heroes that pursued the Lord of Destruction weren't so lucky, and thus had to defeat Talic and his fellow guardians. The Ancients were bested, and thus endowed the heroes with increased power, warning them that Baal was already inside, threatening the Worldstone, and that only the heroes could stop him. Talic died, either in the battle, or as a result of the destruction of Mount Arreat.

Legacy
"Greetings, friend. One of those dirty scavengers stole an ancient, extremely rare scabbard from me. I followed him in here, but then I lost him. Perhaps you could find it for me."

- Vendel to the Nephalem

Twenty years after his death, Talic's scabbard was recovered by the armorsmith Vendel. The scabbard was stolen by a Scavenger, but the Nephalem was able to recover it and return it to the smith.

Diablo II
Talic is one of a trio of Super Unique Monsters that the player must defeat at the end of the Rite of Passage quest in of Diablo III. His attacks mainly focus on the Whirlwind skill of the Barbarian, constantly moving in a destructive frenzy. He also focuses on Concentrate, a more focused and deadly attack. This makes him quite hard to target with missile weapons or skills due to the speed at which he moves. As such, it is best to counter with area-of-effect skills to damage him while he performs Whirlwind. He is usually the second to be defeated, after the much easier Madawc.

Diablo III
In Diablo III, Talic and his fellow Ancients can be summoned by the 's Call of the Ancients ancients ability. His scabbard can be found in The Scavenged Scabbard event.

Trivia

 * Talic is possibly named after Tlaloc, the Aztec god of Thunder.

Development
Talic has an unused blue color palette due to his lack of palshift.dat file.