Madawc

Madawc is one of the Ancients of the Barbarian culture. He was one of the three guardians of the Arreat Summit.

Diablo Game Madawc

Madawc is found in Diablo 2 as one of the Ancients. In Diablo III, he is summoned by the Barbarian skill Call of the Ancients.

• Madawc in Diablo 2

Background

No one is quite sure where Madawc is from, only that one day he walked out of the hills of Val Narian in the North, an axe in both hands, ready to battle. Those who were crazy enough to battle beside Madawc referred to him as the warrior prophet. He claimed he was cursed with visions from both past and present. He would often begin fights without provocation, claiming he sought justice for crimes not yet committed. Before every battle he would sit, trance like, staring up to the skies. Sometimes, when he would fall out of these trances, he would rise from wherever he was, and leave, not taking part in the waiting battle. Those that knew of Madawc’s trances began to believe he could tell the outcome of a battle even before it was fought. How else could the crazy old codger have survived for as long as he had?

He became well known among the warriors of the Northern Lands because of his supposed gift. Men began to follow Madawc wherever he went, staying if he stayed, leaving when he left. He became something of a legend, a warrior prophet. However, one night as Madawc sat around the fire with some of his men, he stood up, dropped his pipe, and left. When one of the men stopped him and asked where he was going he said, "The Ancients have called me to guard Mt. Arreat. So, I must go." Pushing past the man, Madawc began his long trek south to the summit of Mt. Arreat.

Nephalem

The "Ancient Ones", or the Ancients have been associated with the "spirits of the nephalem." Whether they really are spirits of the Nephalem, or perhaps these are Nephalem descendants (and they are spirits of them) is unknown. The powers of Madawc seem to indicate he has some sort of Nephalem connection.

Trivia

Real World Reference

Madawg (sometimes also Madog or Madoc) is a Brythonic (Old Welsh) Celtic name. The most famous Madawc was a Brythonic king, who is usually said to be either the son or the brother of King Arthur. In one of the mythological texts featuring him (Breuddwyd Rhonabwy) he is depicted as ruling over a lesser age where men looked back with nostalgia to the true Golden Age of King Arthur. Madawc was linked to, but at the same time able to live beyond this time. This background may have inspired the dreamer-prophet countenance given to his namesake in Diablo II