Rebellion:
    Exaltier, a commander in the elven army, was the stuff of legends.  Brave, strong, loyal, never abandoning his troops, never loosing a fight.  But when he began to see daemons creeping in the shadows of the Empire, his sense of duty forced him to follow them straight to Malix's highest advisors.  When he reported this to Malix, he was alternately misdirected, dismissed out of hand, and kicked out of the palace.
    With his magus, Huroon, Exaltier dug deeper, finally discovering several hints that, together, convinced him Malix was not only complacent with, but behind the daemon summonings.
    So Exaltier determined it was time to strike.  He gathered a handful of troops he knew to be loyal in a meeting at the dark of night.  After a rousing speech, he let his plan become apparent...

High Point Debacle:
    In the center of the elven capital of Ostolvi stands a great fortress watching over the city, High Point.  Taking and holding that fortress, even temporarily, would announce for all to see that the Rebellion had begun in earnest.
    A small squad of troops, lead by Huroon, Kord, and Wehn, broke into the loosely defended fortress.  Even with the tricks and traps of an elven fortress, the Rebellion had the element of suprise and shared knowledge of the fortress's running.  After a short battle, the outer fortress was secure and they assaulted the inner sanctum.  The fortress's magus put up a long and vicious fight, slaying all but Huroon, Kord, and Wehn.  However, when he was brought down the fortress was secure.  Huroon set to seizing control of the fortress's mystic defenses while Kord and Wehn prepared for the counter attack.  Kord laid cauldrons of boiling oil and lead along every murder hole he could find, and prepared a potion of giant strength to allow him to tip them on the attackers.  Wehn found a cauldron of deadly poison in the magus's lair and lathered it liberally on a quiver of arrows, then prepared a potion of speed for the assault.
    The Four Stars, the Empire's elite warrior-mages, were called upon to bring the rebellious fortress back in line with minimal waves.  However, that was not to be.  Locked out by Huroon's magic, they were forced to assault the fortress physically.  Wehn, his speed mystically enhanced, danced from arrow loop to arrow loop raining death upon them, screaming "I am the God of Hell-Fire!"  When they finally reached the entrance hall, they found themselves in a death trap as oil and lead poured down from overhead.
    At that moment, Exaltier revealed the last piece of his plan.  A larger force, gathered from throughout the city struck the Four Stars from behind.  Crushed between the fortress and the onslaught of rebels, the Four Stars were dying in droves.  A small contingent of Four Stars broke through the gates, forcing Kord and Wehn to retreat back to the Inner Sanctum.
    Sealed inside the Sanctum, Huroon attempted to remove the wards against teleportation as the Four Stars hailed the doors with destructive magicks.  The wards fell, and the three waited.  The doors burst open, the three using the last of their magicks to hold off their assailants as the gate opened.  As they fled through the gate, Exaltier's forces descended on the Four Stars now trapped in the inner sanctum and destroyed them utterly.
    Their point made and the Imperial Army realing in shock, the Rebellion slipped out of the city to redevous at their new headquarters.

The Next Generation:
    While in the Second City, Cydwin allowed himself to touch Plague Bringer, one of the Great Weapons.  He could feel the disease slowly spreading through his body, mind, and soul.  Rather than accept the slow death that would come, he sacrificed himself to the Lake of Dreams, using his energies to forge a more perfect vessel and a budding intellect.  Thus was created Xyphael.

The Myriad Quests:
    In an effort to restore lost ground the PCs searched far and wide, hunting for items to increase their mystic might and attempting to gain allies.  Gerald, Wehn, and Xyphael trained under Vile during this time, in the hopes of gaining the magicks to stop Oroth's minions.
    Contacted by a new source of information, Zeveron Garonok, they find the nature of Oroth's first strike.  He seeks to take the Platinum Key from its resting place in the lair of the Dragon of Isgor.  Through quick thinking and hardy negotiating, the party convinces the dragon to allow them to bring in others to defend its lair against the coming onslaught.  And the battle is joined...