Continuity/Olthoi Rebellion

The Aluvian rebellion against the Olthoi is one of the core elements of the story of Asheron's Call. Over the years, the events of the Olthoi Rebellion have been retold many times, and some inconsistencies or contradictions have arisen.

Overview

Beta / Release

The most detailed account of the Olthoi Rebellion comes from the Microsoft Games article Asheron's Call Historical Archive. A nearly identical copy of this appeared in the Asheron's Call: Sybex Official Strategies and Secrets book. The following is a summary of the portions of those texts that relate to the Olthoi Rebellion:

Twenty-five years ago, portals to Dereth started to appear in Aluvia. The first arrivals were killed by the Olthoi, but eventually, the Olthoi began to keep some humans as slaves. Some humans managed to escape to the surface, living fear filled nomadic lives. Eventually, Thorsten Cragstone emerged as a leader among these free people.

Elysa Strathelar arrived in Dereth and was captured by Olthoi. She was enslaved for months, but successfully escaped. She was pursued by Olthoi, cornered in a desert canyon, and rescued by Thorsten and his band of rebels. Thorsten, Elysa, and Thorsten's men were pursued by Olthoi. Eventually they made it to safety in the Underground City. By this time, only a handful of rebels remained. Thorsten was content simply living in the safety of the city, but Elysa, who had been a slave longer than Thorsten, wanted to free their people.

Elysa found and translated an Empyrean text, which described the fall of the Empyrean, Asheron, and where to find a portal to his island. Eventually, Thorsten and Elysa made their way to Asheron's castle. Elysa was transported inside, found Asheron, and pleaded for help. Asheron gave her two things: an Olthoi slaying elixir, and the advice that they must kill the Olthoi queen. With that, Elysa was returned outside to Thorsten.

Armed with the elixir-treated weapons, Thorsten and his handful of men raided a small Olthoi nest. Though many of his warriors died in the attack nearly fifty slaves were rescued. Over the next several years, Thorsten and Elysa's band of rebels grew with more freed slaves. Elysa discovered the location of the queen's nest, and the time for the final battle had come.

Their army now numbered in the thousands. They fought their way to the queen's sanctum. Thorsten fought his way through the Olthoi nobles to the queen, only to be killed by her. Elysa shot one elixir-coated arrow through the eye of the queen, killing it. The humans won their freedom, at the cost of Thorsten's life. Elysa took his body back to the underground city and laid him to rest there.

Ten years have passed since the queen was killed. A year ago, on the anniversary of Thorsten's death, Elysa disappeared. Some suspect she may have returned to Asheron's tower.

The Asheron's Call manual's The Story of Asheron's Call section and the Zone article Dereth: A Brief History for Travelers both contain the same brief summary of the Olthoi Rebellion:

For many years the humans lived as Olthoi slaves, but a band of rebels—led by the noblewoman Elysa Strathelar and the warrior Thorsten Cragstone—chose to fight. Aided by Asheron's Magic, they slew the Olthoi queen and won freedom, though the fight cost Thorsten his life. Now, ten years later, Elysa has vanished and Asheron's whereabouts are unknown.

The original intro video depicts Elysa arriving on Dereth, being captured by Olthoi, and escaping from them. It skips ahead to her and Thorsten finding Asheron's tower, and Elysa meeting Asheron and being gifted the elixir. It skips ahead again to the final battle against the queen, Thorsten dying, and Elysa slaying the queen.

The text The Underground City describes the discovery of the city in greater detail, as recounted by Elysa:

Olthoi had been tracking the scent of Elysa, Thorsen, and their band of escaped slaves for days. They crossed the river in hopes of confusing the Olthoi. Soon after corssing, Thorsten spotted a portal in the distance. After hours of backtracking to ensure the Olthoi could not follow their trail, all seven of them slipped through the portal, and found themselves on an island in the middle of Lake Blessed, then called Olthoi Lake.

They discovered the underground city, and to their relief it was free of Olthoi. Thorsten declared it to be a new capital for free humans, where they will plot to overthrow the Olthoi. Their numbers slowly grew as they went back to the mainland to search for other escaped slaves.

Thorsten's funeral was held at Chapel Blackspire, a simple outdoor church.

References

Beta / Release / Pre-AC:DM:

• The Days of the Olthoi
• The Underground City

• Stormwaltz Quotes:
  • Stormwaltz Quotes/On Empyrean Population and Its Removal
  • Stormwaltz Quotes/The Historical Overview
  • Stormwaltz Quotes/On the Call
  • Stormwaltz Quotes/On Harlune and the Storyline
  • Stormwaltz Quotes/On Queen Elysa

Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty Era:

• Asheron's Call Dark Majesty Manual
• Lore Videos/Asheron's Call Dark Majesty
• Gaerlan's Diary
• Gaerlan's Field Reports
• Gaerlan's Research Notes
• Ages of the Empyrean
• Stormwaltz Quotes/On Harlune and the Storyline
• The History of Auberean
• Elysa Strathelar's Letter to Lania Cartoth (Second)
• Microsoft Zone Archive/Asheron's Lore/The Eyes of a Child - information on when Thorsten died / when Borelean was born
• Microsoft Zone Archive/Asheron's Lore/A Brief History for Travelers

Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny Era:

• Asheron's Call Throne of Destiny Manual
• Delacim's Death
• Olthoi at Knorr
• Personal Entry, Arrival of Kellin's Troops
• We, the Defenders of the Helm

Asheron's Call Later Era:

• Knorr Quiddity Seed Quest
• Black Death Catacombs Quiddity Seed Quest
• Interactions and Observations, 'Gear Knights'