Some believed they must find and purifying all the Tribe's cursed ancestors. Others said a journey through all twelve houses of the Duat. Many felt that only the destruction of Set himself would release them from his curse. The assembled elders chose to leave nothing to chance. They believed that success in these tasks would be necessary to find and defeat Sutekh. Many packs ran through the Dark Umbra in search of their cursed Ancestors. Of those that ventured into the Shadowlands in search of their Ancestors, most did not return. Their names and deeds are recorded, and remembered as heroes. But a few did succeed at locating and purifying the spirits of the cursed. Still, Sutekh's curse hung over the Tribe like a pall.

Only one pack alone accepted the journey through Duat. All the Tribe's hopes lay with them. Of that pack, only one returned... changed. He had forgotten who had been before, and there was no mistaking who he had become. Anubis. Though he was the last of his pack, Anubis did not return from the Duat alone.

Beside him walked Sutekh. In an ancient tongue, Anubis and Set spoke the words to remove the curse, together.

"As you were cast out, so were we exiled, voiceless and lost.
I withdraw my mark from you, that you may once again commune with thy dead fathers and mothers,
and find rest in the lands of our people."

The darkness continued its inexorable press into the Middle Kingdom. Oblivion rose from beneath the Dark Kingdom of Sand, and the spectres of the dead with it. Sekhmet's soldiers, lost in the bloodlust of battle, were easy to manipulate. The Aether distracted them with shifting shadows, and misdirected against one another. Anubis' forces fell prey to their own darker passions. Oblivion pulled their shadows to the fore, and turned them against their allies. As hope waned, Thoth and his priest-sorcerers drove back the darkness. They summoned forth a great light from the shards of Ra. Many of Set's children fell to ash as well, but it was a necessary sacrifice to save the kingdom.

The Diamond's ambassador approached Dischordia to trade in weapons and beasts of war. In exchange for this, he promised hordes of magical gems, diamonds the color of blood. It was not long before the Dischordians learned the truth of the Blood Diamonds. Each gem held spirit of a tribal ancestor, trapped in an endless nightmare of blood and death. Each gem offered power to the wielder, but at a terrible price: destruction of the spirit within.

The Middle Kingdom grew enraged that Dischordia had armed it's enemies. To sooth the diplomatic incident, Dischordia offered to aid them as well. Tzeentch, of the Wolves of the North, sought his domain's aid. He promised land and population to the Wolves, if they would assist in the Middle Kingdom’s war efforts. But he had failed to make any such arrangement with the Middle Kingdom.

Set placed the Dischordian troops on the front line, as he and his followers enacted a great ritual. At the ritual's conclusion, the Blood Diamonds shattered. No longer bound within the gems, the angry spirits turned upon their captors. When the truth became known, the Kingdom of Diamond was thrown into upheaval. The spirits and their descendants turned on Tore and his warlords. When the dust settled, the grateful spirits of the Diamond had joined with the Middle Kingdom. For a time, Africa united under Pharaoh Set.

Set and the Middle Kingdom had no desire to take part in the war. Lazarus had spent considerable time in Egypt in a past age, in pursuit of his sire's goals of apotheosis. He had forged an alliance with the Setites of the region. Despite the ongoing conflict, they still considered Lazarus an ally.

Lazarus and his Stygian allies had other plans. The Council of Stars counted them as an enemy from the moment they swore Oaths to Dischordia. The Grim Legion brought war to the shores of the Middle Kingdom, as a massive force of wraiths attacked. The armies of Archive and the Middle Kingdom repelled the main force.

Yet it proved to be nothing more than a distraction. A smaller force infiltrated the Library of Alexandria. They retrieved Lazarus' research from centuries past, and burnt many more volumes. It was not long before the librarian identified the missing texts. They contained Lazarus' research of the spell of life. It was the knowledge which would allow Lazarus to achieve apotheosis, and godhood.

Lazarus sent the Stygian Legions to retrieve artifacts and knowledge. Set demanded that Ptah deliver his people as proised, and protect his people from this war. Doc obliged, opening an Umbral gateway to allow most of their number to return home. Many chose to remain.

During this time of transition, the Kindgom of Diamond reclaimed its independence. Ogun, God of Iron and the patron deity of warriors, saw Set's actions as cowardice. He led a rebellion and seized control of the Diamond Congo. Slaying those who had kowtowed to Set, Ogun severed their Oaths and freed the Diamond from Set's control."