With the plot to destroy Khavos seen to fruition, the destiny of the vampire nation becomes one of free will, rather than the manifest will of the Spirit of Decay. Lord Lyons, realizing this to be true had worked in the shadows to ensure the downfall of his own patron deity, pitting the cultists, the government of Sundown and whatever heroes they would throw at them, against one another. With Khavos now destroyed and the city's heroes left to shine for their deed, Aero sets in motion the plot he has been brewing all along; to unite the covens of Sundown and Brookshire under one neat, quietly managed umbrella of leadership.
With the god-slaying blade, Virsaya, Light of the Heavens in hand, Dathon Edmiston and other heroes enter an ancient Shar`Vaire boromandite mine with the armies of Khavos and Sundown clashing all around them. Within they discover a great Infernium portal, protected by undead abominations and six of Khavos' High Priestesses. This ring, when charged would establish a permanent gateway between the Abyssal Plane of Xos and the Prime Material Plane. Realizing that Khavos would have to be stopped on his own Plane, the heroes vanquish the ring's guardians and venture into the Abyss, where Khavos himself awaited them.
As the stage is set to decide the doom of Sundown with the impending return of Khavos to the Material Plane, the vampire elder, Lord Aero Lyons makes ready to hatch his own plan. While the heroes of Sundown meet Khavos at the borders of the Abyssal Plane of Xos, Aero sends along an unlikely but powerful ally to his cause to assist in this great matter.
With the recovery of the Living Blade from the dangerous Emerald Tower by a group of heroes led by Corwyn Greenthorn, grandson of the legendary Trent Greenthorn. After a series of trials that taxed both the mind and body of the heroes the Living Blade was entrusted to Captain Kalian J`Venn and brought to Sundown and the Lord Governor.
With Khavos, Spirit of Decay reunited with with his Abyssal Plane of Xos and regathering his eons-lost power, the heroes of Sundown set forth a plot to capture the Bloodshade of Mason Grieg. Using a rare M`aati Gem as the vessel, the Practitioner Maere with the help of others entraps the vile essence of the slain elder vampire. This darkened the normally cobalt blue gem to an inky blood red, signifying that the capture was successful.
The so-called Path of Blood ritual utilized by the Cultists of Khavos in an attempt to reunite their dark lord with his Abyssal Plane has succeeded with the sacrifice of thirteen of the cultists' own families, then themselves in a single horrific ceremony that granted Khavos enough temporary power to cross into the Infernal Realm once more.
