>TM 4 >LS 2 >ps on >sm6 >pl 60 >fo off >cp on >------L------------------------!----------------------------R THE STORY SO FAR... You are a Kai Grand Master of the New Order of the Kai Š - the warrior elite of Sommerlund. It is the year MS 5083 and thirty-three years have Š passed since the First Order of the Kai were almost Š wiped out by the Darklords of Helgedad. These champions Š of evil, who were sent by the Dark God Naar to destroy Š your fertile world of Magnamund, have since been Š destroyed. The leader of your illustrious fighting Š order - Lone Wolf - was the sole survivor of the Š massacre. As a young Kai initiate he stood amidst the Š burning wreckage of the old Kai monastery and vowed to Š avenge the slaughter of his comrades. In the year Š MS5075 he kept his pledge when alone he infiltrated the Š foul domain of the Darklords and destroyed the infernal Š city of Helgedad, the base of the Darklords' evil Š power. With the fall of Helgedad chaos befell the Darklord Š armies who had, until then, been poised to conquer all Š Magnamund. Quickly their disorder escalated into a Š mutinous civil war which allowed the freestate armies Š of Magnamund time in which to recover and launch a Š successful counter-offensive. Against all odds, a swift Š and total victory was secured over the feuding armies Š of evil. Following the demise of the Darklords, peace reigned in Š your homeland of Sommerlund. Under the direction of Š Lone Wolf the ruined monastery of the Kai was rebuilt Š and restored to its former glory, and the raising of a Š New Order of Kai warriors was swiftly established. You Š are one of this new generation of Kai recruits. You Š were born in Sommerlund in the year MS5063, during the Š time of the war against the Darklords. When you were Š seven years old you were sent by your father to the Kai Š Monastery. There, under the tutelage of Lone Wolf, you Š developed your martial skills and honed the special Kai Š abilities which lay dormant within you. During the Š years that followed, your skills were nurtured and Š sharpened to perfection by long hours of study and Š rigorous training. Your exceptional talent helped you Š to master all of the Kai and Magnakai Disciplines and Š you rose swiftly through the ranks of the New Order to Š become one of only five who now hold the high rank of Š Kai Grand Master. It is an achievement which has Š brought great honour upon you and your family. In the year MS5077 your skill and courage were put to Š the test when an attack was launched upon the Kai Š Monastery during Lone Wolf's absence. By means of a Š Shadow Gate (an astral corridor between the physical Š world of Sommerlund and the many ethereal domains which Š lie beyond it) the Dark God Naar sent forth a host of Š dragon-creatures to besiege the monastery and lay waste Š to all Sommerlund. He had chosen his time well, yet his Š evil plan was thwarted by the tenacious defence that Š you and your brethren maintained until the siege was Š raised by Lone Wolf and the King's army of Sommerlund. The defeat of his minions enraged Naar and inflamed his Š lust for vengeance. Three years later he created and Š sent to Sommerlund an evil champion called 'Wolf's Š Bane' who was the very image of Lone Wolf. While your Š leader was engaged upon a quest overseas, this impostor Š terrorized your homeland in his guise and sought to Š destroy the reputation and the honour of the Kai. He Š would have succeeded had not Lone Wolf returned home and pursued this enemy to an ancient Š necropolis in the Sommlending city of Tyso. There, deep Š within a subterranean crypt, he and his evil alter-ego Š were drawn through a Shadow Gate to the Plane of Š Darkness - Naar's stronghold - where a deadly duel Š ensued. Lone Wolf vanquished the foe and discovered that Naar had in his possession the fabled Moonstone of Š the Shianti. This wondrous artifact was created many Š thousands of years ago by the god-like Shianti, whose Š presence upon Magnamund heralded the dawn of humanity. Š This stone of power contains the combined might of all Š their magic and wisdom, the sum of all their knowledge. Š So significant was the creation of this stone that all Š time on Magnamund has since been measured from the date Š of its creation. It had long been held that the Š Moonstone's location was a secret known only to the Š remnants of the Shianti, who dwell upon the mysterious Š Isle of Lorn in Southern Magnamund, yet the evidence of Š Lone Wolf's eyes had told him that this mystical Š artifact had somehow fallen into the hands of Naar. Lone Wolf realised that the Dark God had been using its Š legendary powers to generate Shadow Gates within the Š world of Magnamund, at locations and times of his own Š choosing. Such power had enabled him to send his Š loathsome champions to your home world while the forces Š of the gods of Good, Kai and Ishir, had been held at Š bay. Lone Wolf and the New Order Kai were all that Š stood in the way of the onslaught of Naar's agents Š following the demise of the Darklords. Lone Wolf successfully escaped from the Plane of Š Darkness and returned to Sommerlund, yet he knew that Š the fight against Evil had not been won outright. He Š realised that he would have to return to the Plane of Š Darkness and retrieve the fabled Moonstone. Only by Š doing so would Magnamund truly be safe from an invasion Š by Naar's legions of darkness. Two years ago, with the Š aid of his most trusted ally, Lord Rimoah of Dessi, Š Lone Wolf fulfilled his vow by journeying to the Dark Š God's domain and retrieving the Moonstone of the Š Shianti. Upon his triumphant return, Lone Wolf placed Š the Moonstone in the Vault of the Sun - his personal Š chamber located deep below the fortified citadel of the Š Kai Monastery. He had hoped that the fabled artifact Š could remain there indefinitely, to be guarded by Š generations of Kai who would keep it secure from Naar's Š minions. Retrieval of the Moonstone had denied the Dark Š God's champions ready access to Magnamund, yet Lone Š Wolf knew that there were many lesser agents of Naar Š upon Magnamund waiting quietly in the shadows for the Š chance to do his evil bidding. Undoubtedly they would Š stop at nothing to retrieve the Moonstone for their Š fell master. Within a year of his return home it became clear to Š Lone Wolf that his wish could not be fulfilled. At Š first the presence of the Moonstone seemed greatly Š beneficial to Sommerlund. Crops grew abundantly, Š incidence of disease and illness became increasingly Š rare, and the newly-born were uniformly healthy. Even Š the offspring of the impoverished who, in normal times, Š could expect only one-in-three of their infants to Š survive longer than a month beyond birth, were all in Š good health and exceptional in their physical and Š mental development. The Sommlending called this Š extraordinary period of providence the 'Blessing of the Š Moonstone', yet this time of good fortune could not Š last. The power of the Moonstone is a great force for Š Good, but it is also greatly disruptive of the natural Š order of Magnamund. Soon death itself became a rarity Š in Sommerlund, and the four seasons of the year were Š slowly transformed into one unending Spring. Lone Wolf Š was deeply concerned at the changes wrought by the Š Moonstone and sought the counsel of his closest friend Š - Guildmaster Banedon, leader of Sommerlund's Š Brotherhood of Magicians. Banedon entreated him to Š relinquish the Moonstone before the effects of its Š power became irreversible. To right the imbalance of Š nature the Moonstone would have to be taken to the Isle Š of Lorn, in the southern-most reaches of Magnamund, and Š delivered back into the hands of the Shianti. Only Š they, its creators, could prevent its powers from Š disrupting the natural order of your world. Lone Wolf agreed with Banedon - the Moonstone would Š have to be returned to the Shianti. The physical Š effects of its presence were beginning to attract the Š unwelcome attentions of those who secretly desire to Š enact Naar's revenge upon the Kai. When one of Naar's Š agents was captured by a Kai patrol within a few miles Š of the monastery, Lone Wolf felt he could wait no Š longer. He resolved to act immediately. Preparations Š were made for a long journey and, especially among the Š lower ranks of the Kai, rumours were rife that your Š leader would personally take responsibility for Š returning the Moonstone to the Shianti. Indeed, this Š speculation seemed to be confirmed as fact when it was Š discovered that Lone Wolf had secured the use of Š Guildmaster Banedon's famous flying ship - éCloud Š Danceré. It therefore came as a shock when, early one morning, Š you were summoned unexpectedly to the Vault of the Sun. Š In strictest confidence, Supreme Master Lone Wolf Š informed you that he had decided to entrust you with Š the task of returning the Moonstone to the Shianti. His Š elaborate preparations were simply a diversion, a bluff Š designed to draw attention away from the vital mission Š that he wished you - the most-talented and courageous Š of his five Kai Grand Masters - to undertake. It was Š with great pride and apprehension that you accepted the Š quest. Lone Wolf gave you the precious Moonstone in a Š seemingly ordinary satchel, yet the lining of this Š plain leather bag was woven from Korlinium, a special Š mineral that would hide the Moonstone's powerful Š energies from the agents of Naar. In the guise of a Kai Š journeyman, you set sail from the Sommlending capital Š of Holmgard aboard a caravel that was to carry you Š south on the first leg of your journey, a voyage of Š two-thousand miles to Elzian, the capital of Dessi. Š This legendary city is home to Lord Rimoah and the Š Elder Magi. They are the last surviving members of Š Magnamund's oldest race of magicians and they had Š promised Lone Wolf that they would help you reach your Š final destination. You had hoped and expected the Š voyage would be swift and uneventful, however fate and Š ill fortune decreed otherwise. Your ship was attacked Š by pirates off the coast of Vassagonia and badly Š damaged. It limped to the port of Cape Kabar where you Š were forced to continue the long journey by overland Š routes to Elzian. This trek was fraught with danger, Š yet you overcame the many perils ranged against you and Š eventually arrived at the Dessi capital, to the relief Š of Lord Rimoah and his anxious brother magicians who Š had feared the worst. Now the final and most challenging part of your voyage Š to the Isle of Lorn lies ahead. And it is a journey Š that may prove as difficult as any you have undertaken Š so far, for it will lead you deep into the wild and Š lawless reaches of Southern Magnamund.