Questions about the Kai Monks

[Sunwolf]

I've got some questions concerning the Kai monks.

1. If the lore stones were lost, and lone wolf had to go find them, how did the Kai Lords before him attain the Magnakai ranks? Weren't the lorestones what made you go up in ranks of knowledge in the kai disciplines?

2. Before the massacre, who was the highest ranking Kai Lord? What rank was he at? what was his name? Or for that matter...who were some of the highest ranking lords leading up to the massacre? Do the books even talk about them? The gamebooks? The legends?

3. Were all Kai lords strictly from Sommurlund? Or could they be from beyond this kingdom?

4. Did the Grand Master desciplines exist before Lone Wolf? Were any of the lords before the massacre of this level? Why? Why not?

Any help would be apreciated.

sunwolf


In my new campaign i'm naming the head of the order Sunwolf..hehe...

[icemann]

1. Nope, a Kai monk rose in rank apon the mastering of each discipline. The lore stones caused mental, strength and ageing changes.

2. Kai Grand Master IIRC.

3. From Sommurlund.

4. You`d have to ask Joe Dever that one .

[Ghost Bear]

2. I seem to remember that he was called 'something Owl'. Winter Owl? Anyway, I'm reasonably sure that he was an Archmaster.

3. If you go by the Legends, Viveka had some latent Kai abilities, and she was Duranese.

4. I don't think so. I'm guessing the reason was that no one had reached the rank of Grand Master before.

In the ERPG, a completely fictional second book was found (The Tome of Skarn) which allowed study of the Grand Master Disciplines. But this aint canon in any sense of the word.

-GB

[outspaced]

With regards to 4, the Grand Master books contain the following in the 'Story so far . . .' section:

Your attainment of the rank of Kai Grand Master brought with it great rewards. Some, such as the restoration of the Kai and the undying gratitude of your fellow Sommlending, could have been anticipated. Yet there have also been rewards which you could not possibly have foreseen. The discovery that within you lay the potential to develop Kai Disciplines beyond those of the Magnakai, which, until now, were thought to be the ultimate that a Kai Master could aspire to, was truly a revelation.

[Storm Dancer]

1. Nope, a Kai monk rose in rank apon the mastering of each discipline. The lore stones caused mental, strength and ageing changes.

I don't think we're ever told that - the lorestones are presumably called lorestones because they contain lore; knowledge.

I think the answer is fairly straightforward: Lone Wolf was a Kai Initiate when the monastery was destroyed - he knew 5 of the basic skills, so had almost certainly been taught the fundamentals of the other 5, and when he subsequently 'learns' them, he's basically just learning to put into practice the theory he was taught.

On the other hand, no-one would have put an initiate through any significant amount of the magnakai training, so when all the kai masters died, the knowledge of their advanced disciplines died with them. Finding the Lorestones and the Book of the Magnakai doesn't reveal anything that wouldn't have been known to the old order; but it's necessary for Lone Wolf to regain their lost wisdom.

[Peregrine]

Sunwolf said:

1. If the lore stones were lost, and lone wolf had to go find them, how did the Kai Lords before him attain the Magnakai ranks? Weren't the lorestones what made you go up in ranks of knowledge in the kai disciplines?

As I understand it, after Sun Eagle discovered and developed his Kai abilities, he passed on the knowledge through the Book of the Magnakai (and probably directly as well). Even after the Book was lost, the Kai Masters passed on the knowledge to their successors. Of course, Lone Wolf couldn't learn the Magnakai Disciplines from his masters, so he needed to discover them as Sun Eagle had done.

For some reason, that makes me wonder how this oral tradition became altered over the centuries. It'd be interesting to see what techniques were used to 'enlighten' students since they couldn't just absorb wisdom from the Lorestones... I have this peculiar crossover with Karate Kid in my head.

[Laguna Blade]

I always wonder,is there any female Kai Lords,i.e. Kai Mistress, Kai Grand Mistress,Kai Supreme Mistress(new order only)

If I'm not mistaken, there were girls/women stated during the massacre, stated in "Eclipse of The Kai".

And do the Kai Lords ever marry to someone?I know Jedi Knights are prohibited.......

Any idea?

[The Tagazin Poodle]

I think it's safe to assume that gender is not an issue.

[Black Cat]

Guest-Laguna said:

If I'm not mistaken, there were girls/women stated during the massacre, stated in "Eclipse of The Kai".

You know, the author of that book, which isn't Joe Dever, also add characters (one in particular is VERY annoying according to people who read the Legend series) and events that were not in the original series and were created so that the author could feel that it was his own creation. In fact, you should not take the details in this books for canon.

As for the possible existence of female Kai Lords, I don't think they ever existed, but maybe they have their own holy fighting order, like the Ishir Ladies or something like that. ;D

And as for the weddings of Kai Lords, I have one thing to ask: have you ever saw a super-hero getting married? Even when James Bond got married, his wife died before their honeymoon! The problem is that with a wife, a hero gets other responsibilities that might slow him in his super-hero's life.

Possible adventure of a married Kai Lord:

Evil dude: Prepare to meet your doom, Kai Lord!!!!!

Kai Lord: Ok, bring it on...Oh, but wait! Did you see the time? It's almost noon, I have to go home for the dinner or else I will hear it from my wife...Can we do this fight this afternoon? Ah, no, I forgot that I have promised Junior to take him to the Vault of Sun so he can see the Lorestones...Not tomorrow, because me and my wife are going to choose the wallpapers for the new settings of the living room...Well, what about this week-end?...[and so on]...

[outspaced]

According to 'The Story SO Far' section of Flight from the Dark:

In the northern land of Sommerlund, it has been the custom for many centuries to send the children of the Warrior Lords to the monastery of Kai. There they are taught the skills and disciplines of their noble fathers.

There's immediately a contradiction. It says children are sent, to be taught by their fathers.

This seems to indicate that yes, there were female Kai, but because of the glass ceiling they never made it to being instructors. Perhaps the more disillusioned 'Kai Ladies' fled to Telchos.

[Ghost Bear]

I think in this instance, the term 'fathers' is used to refer to their elders/ancestors, in the same way that the 'pilgrim fathers' refers to everyone who crossed to America aboard the Mayflower, rather than just the men.

At least that's how I choose to interpret it.

-GB

[North Star]

Winter Owl was Lone Wolf's teacher who was killed by a Giak hunt I think.
Kai Grand Masters wore gold (and Archmasters silver) and I'm fairly sure there must have been one or two KGMs (Sun Eagle for a start).
In Eclipse of the Kai, there is even the line to the effect of "oh look, she's in silver - she must be an Archmaster".

NS.

[Ghost Bear]

Storm Hawk was Lone Wolf's tutor. And in the Legends, he was killed by Vonatar I think (I've not read this book, so I might well be wrong about the manner of his death).

Useless trivia: Lone Wolf received a horse from Elector Manatine for his actions in Plague Lords of Ruel, which he named Storm in honour of his tutor.

It's a fair bet that Sun Eagle was a Grand Master, although that was several centuries before Lone Wolf's time.

-Ss

[Nyxator]

I think there isn't any female Kai. Every Kai Lord who is described in the gamebooks is male. Idem for those who appear in the Skull of Agarash.

[Laguna Blade]

Black said:

You know, the author of that book, which isn't Joe Dever, also add characters (one in particular is VERY annoying according to people who read the Legend series) and events that were not in the original series and were created so that the author could feel that it was his own creation. In fact, you should not take the details in this books for canon.

Well developed intepretation.The author is John Grant is it?I can't remember.I don't have the book with me anyway.

Black said:

And as for the weddings of Kai Lords, I have one thing to ask: have you ever saw a super-hero getting married? Even when James Bond got married, his wife died before their honeymoon! The problem is that with a wife, a hero gets other responsibilities that might slow him in his super-hero's life.

Some of them I remember.Superman had Lois Lane as his wife (at least for a while).So as Grey Star had Tanith. But not for Lone Wolf.

Frankly speeking,female characters are rarely seen.We have Viveka in FOTW(2),Tadia in TJOH(8),Alyss in WB(19) and TCON(20),well,those are all I can remember.But none of them exactly 'significant' (that's the only word I have in mind).

Those facts anyway, never tell us Lone Wolf never fell to someone and yet to have wedding in his life.Or some one he once saved before had fallen to him,keeping herself as secret admirer,then ended up in marriage.Who knows?

Or may be Joe himself felt introducing Lone Wolf's family is red herrings and no use at all (sounds corny isn't it?).

What say you?