Coven

"The world around us is a vault of riches waiting to be plundered. Every creature, every plant, and every culture can serve us, willingly or not, in our goal to aid the Lords of the Burning Hells."

- Adria, writing on the Coven

The Coven (sometimes called the Dark Coven) is a group of dark mystics dedicated to Belial, the Lord of Lies.

Lore
Members of the Coven are experienced in both witchcraft and demonology. The final test of every Coven initiate involves drawing a symbol on the ground with powdered amethyst that inflicts a fatal curse. The initiate must conduct the ritual perfectly, then immediately reverse the effect with a counter-spell. If they fail, the result is certain death.

Some Coven members willingly accept demonic possession, believing that in doing so, they ascend to a higher plane of existence.

Origins
"We were once the Cult of the Triune, servants of the three Prime Evils: Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal. Now we are the Coven, a gathering of lost souls seeking our destiny in the fires of the Eternal Conflict."

- Adria

The Coven is a remnant of the Triune. While the Triune worshiped the Prime Evils, the Coven was formed as a collection of "lost souls," seeking their destiny. The Coven's existence became known to some extent within the Western Kingdoms, but they were looked upon with contempt by both lords and peasants.

Early History
"The final war between the High Heavens and Burning Hells is coming, and if our masters do not prevail, we will suffer a fate worse than death. I have seen the Coven's uncertain destiny in the fire. Through the flames, the demon lords whisper to me of what is to come. They have told me of two outcomes. In one, the Lords of Hell recognise our worth and we rule alongside them. In another, they see us as less than useless and torment our souls for eternity. What path we find ourselves on when the storm comes is up to us."

- Adria

According to Adria, the Coven had lost its way prior to their coup; content to consort with lesser demons and dabble with dark magic. With no vision or ambition beyond this, Adria later claimed that if not for the change in leadership, the Coven would have died a slow, pathetic death.

Whatever the truth of that matter, it is known that at the suggestion of Maghda, she and Adria poisoned the leaders of the Coven so they could take control. The cult had been floundering prior to their arrival, but they took control and poisoned its leaders, reforging it into a dangerous new order that practiced torture and demonic summoning. It is said that these witches were fueled by the belief that they were destined to become mortal heralds of the Burning Hells. Adria compiled a tome for the Coven, collecting all she had learned over her travels, so that the Coven might turn this knowledge to its advantage. She declared that the final war between Heaven and Hell was coming and that demon lords had whispered to her, telling her of two possible outcomes. In one, Hell recognised the worth of the Coven and they ruled alongside them. In the other, they saw the Coven as being less than useless, their souls tormented for eternity. She urged the Coven to look at sources of power beyond demonology, from the Mage Clans, to even Zakarum itself. While these groups were not servants of Hell, she insisted that the only pertinent question was whether they were powerful.

The Lord of Lies
"When I joined the Coven, it was weak and idle. The leaders were content to do nothing, while the Prime Evils were imprisoned. I convinced another witch to help me poison them, and together we took control. She...left some years later, but I continued, bringing the Coven to glory under Lord Belial."

- Maghda

Years after taking control of the Coven, Adria and Maghda had a falling out and Adria left the group, around the time of the Darkening of Tristram. Her departure nearly tore the cult apart and left Maghda wracked by jealousy and rage. Fuelled by her dark emotions, she redoubled her efforts to contact the Burning Hells. At some point, they made contact with Belial, Lord of Lies, and they pledged themselves to his service. Under Maghda, the Coven expanded its influence back into the East, in the deserts around Caldeum.

It is also known that, while the cultists were serving Belial unquestioningly and zealously, every member of the Coven was to be sacrificed to their demonic master sooner or later (as soon as there is enough taint in their bodies). In addition, the Coven paid generously for Behistun Magi artifacts, whose knowledge they were hoping to resurrect and use for their own purposes. The most favored servants were given special gloves made of Deceiver flesh.

In the year 1270, the Coven was a fledging group. It took advantage of the chaos wrought by the destruction of the Worldstone five years prior, its members spreading corruption wherever they trod.

The End of Days
In 1285, Emperor Hakan II of Kehjistan withdrew support from the Borderlands. The Coven and their summoned demons terrorized the populace, causing them to flee to Caldeum.

The Search for the Sword
"It is only the truly evil who force the innocents to suffer for a battle they have no part in."

- Covetous Shen, on the Coven's actions

The descent of Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice, did not go unnoticed by the denizens of the Burning Hells. Belial was aware of the fallen star and sent Maghda and many members of the Coven to retrieve El'druin, the sword of Tyrael, which had been broken into three pieces. The Nephalem encountered cultists attempting to turn the Templar Kormac to their side. The Nephalem freed the Templar and aided him in tracking down and killing Jondar, another Templar who had turned his back on the order and joined Maghda and the Coven as a necromancer.

The Coven hounded the heroes' steps as they neared the pieces of El'druin. In the Fields of Misery, they had taken control of the khazra and used them to kill those who opposed them, and tried to 'turn' the first piece of the sword for their own purposes before being thwarted. In the Drowned Temple near the Festering Woods, the cultists were teleported in by Maghda in order to claim the second piece, but fell to the Nephalem. Finally, they descended upon the town of Wortham and burned it to the ground, murdering many people in order to get their hands on the final piece of the sword. Unfortunately for the heroes, not only were the Coven successful in claiming the final piece, but were also successful in invading New Tristram and capturing Leah, Deckard Cain, Tyrael and the other two pieces.

The heroes rushed back to New Tristram to rescue their friends from the Coven, learning that Maghda sought the sword on behalf of Belial. Leah killed the cultists that had her captive when her hidden power unleashed itself and annihilated them all. Seeing that her advantage was lost, Maghda spitefully spirited Tyrael away, telling the heroes that the blade would be hers. Dying from the wounds inflicted on him by Maghda's magic, Deckard used the last of his power to restore El'druin. After the death of Deckard Cain, the heroes made it their next goal to return the now reconstructed El'druin to its original owner and exact vengeance upon Maghda and the Coven.

The Vengeance of the Nephalem
"(S)He's unstoppable! No mortal could slaughter our brethren with such ease!"

- A Dark Cultist at Leoric's Manor

The Coven took Tyrael through the Highlands and into Leoric's Manor, where they spirited him down into the depths of the Halls of Agony, King Leoric's old torture chambers. Along the way, they also captured many villagers to torture and sacrifice in order to summon demons from the Burning Hells. It soon became apparent to the Coven that they had made a terrible enemy of the Nephalem. Nothing that the cultists could send their way -- not men, not khazra, not even demons -- was enough to even slow the heroes down. Worse still, Maghda cared nothing for their fates except as a means to delay the heroes while she prepared their demise in the depths below.

By the time the Nephalem reached Tyrael, the Coven had tortured him nearly to the point of death. As Tyrael lay dying, the Nephalem gave him El'druin back, restoring both his body and his mind. Maghda escaped to Kehjistan, where her master Belial had seized the city of Caldeum, and where the rest of the Coven dedicated to him had gathered. Tyrael remembered the warning he had set out to deliver about the forces of the last two Lords of Hell planning to invade Sanctuary and take control, and about how Belial had descended upon the Jewel of the East. With this in mind, after paying their final respects to Deckard Cain and giving him a proper burial, the heroes set out for Caldeum in order to free the city from Belial's reign.

The Massacre of Alcarnus
"Maghda, This "hero" means to attack you in Alcarnus. If I were you, I would set a trap at the Khasim Outpost, but I am not you. For all I know, you wish to fail me again and force me to kill you. That would grieve me, though somehow...I think I could manage it."

- Belial's message to Maghda

Hunted by the Nephalem, Maghda and the Coven descended upon the city of Alcarnus, torturing and slaughtering its people, the survivors fleeing the city and seeking refuge in Caldeum. They tortured and killed innocent villagers, knowing that it would draw The Nephalem out. The Coven attempted to stop the heroes from reaching Maghda by means of deceptive illusions, among them obscuring the Black Canyon Bridge, an effort foiled by the arrival of the enchantress Eirena, who directed them to the sites of the torturous rituals the Coven were using to create the illusions. They also attempted to lure the heroes into a trap at the Khasim Outpost, where the heroes learned that the Imperial Guard responsible for what was happening in Caldeum were the serpent demons of Belial in disguise. After freeing the Iron Wolves that Maghda had marked for sacrifice to Belial, the heroes tracked Maghda and the Coven to Alcarnus, killing every demon in their path, freeing those the Coven still held prisoner, and killing every one of the cultists before confronting Maghda herself and exacting final vengeance for Deckard Cain.

The Coven may have been suppling Belial with slaves up to this point. At any rate, after the destruction of the Coven at Alcarnus, Belial ordered the Imperial Guard be dispatched to the Dahlgur Oasis, in order to procure new slaves.

After Maghda's fall, a final remnant of the Coven in Kehjistan were seen in the Dahlgur Oasis and the Desolate Sands, presumably taking orders from Belial himself as they tried to claim the head and blood of Zoltun Kulle, and met with about as much success as their endeavors to stop the heroes under Maghda.

The Reaper of Souls
"They say Belial is dead, but I know he cannot be. He is the Lord of Lies! We will build our army and defeat the Angel of Death to prepare for Belial's return. Malthael...hah! Even a rogue archangel is nothing compared to our master."

- A cultist's log

The Coven endured the loss of their master. They had a presence in Westmarch when Malthael led his Reapers against the realm. The Coven intended to oppose him. During this time period, a reformed Coven member informed the Nephalem that there was a stash nearby, that it would have been better served in their hands, rather than his own.

After Malthael's defeat, the Coven was, by this time, in shambles. Its scattered remnants established themselves in the ruins of Leoric's Manor.

In-game
The Coven serves as a major antagonist force in both Diablo Immortal and Diablo III.

Human Ranks

 * Dark Cultist
 * Dark Summoner
 * Dark Vessel/Thrall

Summoned Demons

 * Dark Berserker
 * Dark Thrall
 * Fallen
 * Hellion

Leadership

 * Adria (former co-leader)
 * Belial (supreme leader)
 * Maghda (de facto leader)

Dark Cultists

 * Brakan
 * Crassus the Tormentor
 * Grand Inquisitor
 * High Cultist Murdos
 * Jhorum the Cleric
 * Lord of Goats (formerly)
 * Percepeus
 * Sarella the Vile
 * Theodyn the Deathsinger

Dark Summoners

 * Cadhul the Deathcaller
 * Inquisitor Hamath
 * Jezeb the Conjuror
 * Krailen the Wicked
 * Pontius (formerly)
 * Reformed Cultist (formerly)
 * Shondar the Invoker
 * Urik the Seer
 * Urzel Mordreg

Dark Vessels/Thralls

 * Hurax
 * Tortured Soul

Other

 * Jondar (Necromancer)