When the light in the sky flies once again this shall be a sign of the Dark
One's return. The light is of such beauty that it appears with the grace of a
bird, and is given the name Phoenix. The light of such elegance that many a man
fell to his knees in awe of her.

For the Phoenix represents the rebirthing of the ages. The ages come and go but
the light remains. It is this bond that links all the events of this reality. 
It is the change and the growth of all beings. It is the power that challenges
us to change, and forces us to understand. For it is the universe's tool of
change, and is a tool of great power.

Towards the end of the last Great War, the great light vanished, gone from the
world of mortals, until the time when the darkness would rise again.

For the Dark One knew of the Phoenix and knew if he were to catch her that
this would be a testament to his power and a challenge to the other gods. The
Dark One had long been beguiled by the beauty of the Phoenix and became
obsessed with a desire to possess her.

The great Legends knew of the desires of the Dark One and requested of the 
Phoenix to assist them in their quest to defeat the Dark One's Armies. The
Phoenix, knowing of the danger that the Dark One represented, agreed in
assisting them in their battle against the Lord of Shadows.

For many months the Legends managed to distract the Dark One with the Phoenix,
until he became obsessed enough to divert his Avatar away from Silvermere and
towards the Phoenix's home, The Stronghold of the Templars of Golden Light, an
ancient society of warriors who gave themselves to the Phoenix as guardians of
her and her ultimate destiny in the realm.

There the Dark One's Avatar besieged the fortress in a futile attempt to
capture the Phoenix. While this occurred, it gave opportunity to the Legends to
bring their scattered forces to bear on the Dark One. Unfortunately, on the eve
of the Legendary Heroes' assault, The Dark One, who had grown furious at his
Avatar's failure, intervened and violated a sacred law of the realm, using
ancient technology long lost and forbidden in the realm. He succeeded, 
breaching the walls of the stronghold and overwhelming the Templars, who in the
heat of the battle were unable to stop many of the dark one's heroes from
entering the Phoenix's lair.   Many of the Legends, knowing that they had
failed the Phoenix, retreated with their forces back to Silvermere to await the
final conflict with the Dark One's Avatar. Orfeo Talespinner remained with a
small band of his henchmen and managed to fight his way into the catacombs
where the Phoenix lair was located. Orfeo to this day speaks not of this
experience, only knowing the pain of his failure in stopping the Dark One's
army from taking the stronghold.  With the destruction of the Stronghold, the
Dark One's Avatar turned his attention to the great city of Silvermere, his
last obstacle in conquering the realm. Little did he know that the Legends had
from across the realm had signed an alliance to either defeat the Dark One or
be vanquished in the attempt.  At this last battle the Legends defeated the
Dark One's Avatar. The great mage Morukai, using magics bestowed upon him by
the gods to counterbalance the Dark One's forbidden intervention, countered
many of the Avatar's unholy protective powers. Vulnerable and surprised by the
combined forces of the Armies of Light, the Dark One's Avatar was overrun and
destroyed by Dorshar Lightblade and the other legendary heroes who still
survived.   This resulted in the beginning of a new age, the Age of
Tranquility. With the Dark One's power temporarily broken, the hosts of shadow
fell into disarray and were scattered about the land like chaff on the wind.
The armies of light,  decimated by the terrible war, returned to their
homelands to rebuild and begin the process of healing the scars wrought during t
his time. Only time would will tell the fate of the realm, as the forces of darkness slowly regathered to fuel the Dark One's unrelenting hunger to control the realm.