Hello there.
A promise is a promise even if made to an imaginary audience.
So here it is. My prediction for the next Diablo III game, that will be unveiled at BlizzCon.
A second expansion, set in Xiansai.
Why? Because it fits the pattern set by the expansion before it. Westmarch was unseen but frequently mentioned. It appeared in the backstory of Leoric, the backstory of Lindon aaaand even got a mention during the third act, when the king refused to aid the barbarians. One act later he dies along with most of his subjects.
Xiansai is the home of the wizard and Covetous Shen. Additionally it is the source of quite a few pieces of gear. For example several legendary gems. And while it is not explicitly said so, it is fair to assume that all chinese and japanese looking or sounding gear is from Xiansai.
There is also a theme in diablo games to travel eastward.As Marius once said: "Always into the east." While 'always' is not entirely correct, The rogue monastery-Lut Gholein-Kurast journey was ever eastward and Caldeum is as east as we ever got. Frankly it is amazing that we got this far without traveling to the Sanctuary version of the far east. Well technically it isn't the far east on the map here, but it is still pretty east. A vertical line from caldeum would cut the island of Xiansai into half. It would also be a nice counterbalance to Westmarch city which is, as the name implies, the westernmost settlement in Sanctuary.
Another thing to consider is the possible color of the logo. The vanilla logo was red. The Reaper of Souls logo was grey, but most of the game was blue tinted. Blue and grey. So what comes after red and blue? Well as every Mass Effect fan can tell you: red, blue and green form a team of sorts. And the new WoW expansion also has a black and green logo. maybe that is the theme of this year. Now this doesn't prove anything as lots of things could be green, such as jungels, but Xiansai is a nation inspired by China, Japan and Korea, so we can expect lots of bamboo forests, is renowned for its gems, copius amounts of jade, and also has poison makers. In short, it has green written all over it.
The million gold piece question is of course: What could be dangerous in Xiansai to pose a theat?
Well, whatever we want basically. Beside the Skeleton King, no enemy is tied to just one location. And I know just the right candidate.
Remember the Necromancers? Of course you do. They are part of the Cult of Rathma, an organisation dedicated to preserve the balance between light and darkness. Sounds like a very Taoist sentiment by the way. Now I personally think that a demigod that killed the Prime Evil and the Angel of Death is a very real threat to the balance. So fighting necromancers it is. Their leader is an immensly huge dragon going by the name Trag'Oul. He would serve as a very nice final boss. The Book of Cain also depicts him as an eastern dragon, so here is another point for Xiansai.
As a parting gift, allow me to give you an advice: Don't get too attached to Tyrael. He became one of us and he learned a lot about being a mortal. But the most important is still ahead. Live your life to the fullest as it can end anytime, anywhere and there is no crystal arch to bring you back. His death would also satisfy Trag'Oul's thirst for balance. Don't say I didn't warn you.
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