First Order of the Kai

[Peregrine]

Out of interest, and possibly as an aid to a personal project I'm considering, I'm trying to find everything there is in canon (gamebooks, MC, newsletters, but not Legends) about the First Kai Order. Names, ranks, organisation... so far I've got things like their role in the military order of Sommerlund, the rank insignia and colours, and Swift Fox and Wise Hawk from Fire on the Water.

Anything else anyone's found would be appreciated. (Also anything about Lone Wolf's history besides s.175 of Prisoners of Time?)

[Sol]

This is not much, but I considered it to be a rare insight into the First Order (from Book 8 intro):

"At the Temple of Truth in Elzian, the magnificent capital city of Dessi, the Elder Magi prepared you for the next stage of the Magnakai quest. Lord Rimoah, the speaker of the High Council, tutored you in the ancient histories of Magnamund, and you received lessons in lore that you would have learned from the Kai Masters if only they had survived the attack by the murderous Darklords of Helgedad."

[Ghost Bear]

From the Magnamund Companion:

Some information on their lands, although not really relevent to the First Order.

The Fryelund of the Kai

The lands contained by the River Tor in the north, and the River Unoram to the south, traditionally have belonged to the warrior lords of the Kai; although it was not until after their massacre that the province was declared 'fryelund', and given into the command and protection of Lone Wolf, the last of the Kai.

Some information on their founding.

Following the defeat of Lord Vashna at the Great Battle of Maakengorge, the Baron of Toran, a noble warrior who had distinguished himself during that battle, began a quest for the ancient Lorestones of Nyxator in order to acquire their wisdom. His quest was successful and in the year MS 3810, he took the name 'Sun Eagle' and established the Order of the Kai Lords, an elite warrior caste whose study of martial disciplines was to ensure the future security of Sommerlund. But in spite of that victory at Maakengorge, and the birth of the Kai Lords, the kingdom of Sommerlund was often attacked in the coming centuries. Only the strength of its people, and its alliance with the free kingdom of Durenor proved steadfast and unshakable in these years of conflict.

Some information on how they work in the armies. There's another thread around someplace about Sommerlund's army organisation, if you need to know what a cassel is.

The Brotherhood of the Crystal Star are called upon to provide sorcerers gifted in battle magic. They are attached to a cassel where they aid and advise the commander. Prior to their massacre, the Kai Lords formed a cassel of mounted and unmounted warriors, and Kai Masters were placed in command of Sommlending armies.

Information on the Kai Lords:

The Kai Lords

Of the Sommlending who first appeared from out of the Northern Void, to defeat the Darklords and establish the sun-realm of Sommerlund, there were some who possessed a great strength that lay undeveloped within them. Greater powers of mind and body, and combat skills far beyond the reach of other men were attainable to these special few. These remarkable warriors became known as the Kai Lords of Sommerlund.
The Rise of the Kai Lords

The first Kai Lord was a noble warrior, a Baron of Toran, who achieved distinction during the Great Battle of Maakengorge. Aided by the magicians of Dessi, he came to realize the true nature of his powers and the purpose for which they were bestowed. For on their prompting, he searched for and found the Lorestones of Nyxator, and through them unlocked the wisdom and strength that lay dormant within him.

In the year MS 3810, he built a monastery high in the hills of Western Sommerlund, on lands of the Royal Estate, and established the Order of the Kai. The monastery became a warrior school devoted to the development of the powerful disciplines that lay within all true Kai Lords. He took the name 'Sun Eagle', partly in honour of the sun-realm and partly in recognition of his baronial eagles' crest, and recorded the wisdom of his discoveries in a great tome that became known as the Book of the Magnakai. Guided by the wisdom of this book and the personal instruction of Kai Grand Master, Sun Eagle, the Order of the Kai flourished and grew. Children in the households of Knights of the Realm who were seen to possess dormant kai disciplines, were sent to the monastery to receive special training. They entered a caring but very strict society where their true potential as warrior lords was developed to the highest level. The skills by which they had first come to the attention of their liege-lords were honed to perfection under the watchful eye of the Kai Masters. Besides the Kai Disciplines, they were also taught the virtues of truth, honour and selfless courage.

After one year, they each received a new name. It was given to them by their teachers on the feast day of Fehmarn, and it reflected qualities in their growing personalities. Gradually, as the young novices mastered each of the ten basic Kai Disciplines, they were awarded ranks and titles and given greater responsibilities both inside and away from the monastery. At the rank of Warmarn or Journeyman, a Kai Lord was either sent into the service of the Sommlending Army to accustom himself to the command of troops, or sent abroad to gather information about the lands bordering his realm. Upon complete mastery of all ten basic Kai Disciplines, a Kai Lord became a Kai Master. The pupil was now a teacher whose role it was to train young novices in the way of the Kai.

But a Kai Master's learning was still incomplete, for beyond the ten basic skills there awaited the higher Kai Disciplines. The 'Magnakai' skills were handed down through each generation of Kai Masters by personal instruction and study of the Book of the Magnakai. The skills were divided into groups, each of which was governed by a separate training school called a 'lore-circle'. By mastering all of the Magnakai Disciplines of a lore-circle, the Kai Masters increased their fighting prowess and their physical and mental stamina to a level far higher than any mortal warrior could have otherwise attained.

The Kai Monastery built by Sun-Eagle in MS 3810. Situated high in the hills of Western Sommerlund, the monastery became a warrior school devoted to the development of the Kai Disciplines. Here potential Kai Lords were trained in all the warrior skills and imbued with the virtues of truth, honour and courage.

The MC is going to be published under the PA license, but I believe that we're still waiting to hear from some of the illustrators.

-GB

[Sol]

GB,

Can you explain "the PA license"...? Do you mean that it is going back into print?

Also thanks for this post - it was VERY interesting!

Sol

[columbob]

It's the Project Aon License, which you can read on the main PA site.

[Ghost Bear]

Sol said:

GB,

Can you explain "the PA license"...? Do you mean that it is going back into print?

Basically, what I mean by that is that Project Aon has permission to publish the Magnamund Companion. The problem, as I understand it, is that all the artists who drew for the MC have yet to be found.

I was lucky enough to be able to snag the working copy of the MC off the Project Aon site ages ago. I don't think it's up anymore.

-GB

[outspaced]

If you have a 'working copy' of the MC, GB, it's probably more like a Work-In-Progress version, because it'll be missing lots of the illustrations and some of the text. The most recent version (unreleased) has all but 3-ish of the full-page illustrations in place, and 100% of the text.

If you're reading this, KaiLord, did you ever get those remaining pages done?

The problem with official distribution is that most of the artists whose work is showcased are currently unavailable (i.e. we haven't been able to contact them), so an "unofficial official" release is probably the only way that book will ever see the light of day. Annoying but true. :-\

[Ghost Bear]

Oh yeah, it has no images in it. It's still proven useful in discussions on here, as well as for my own use in the ERPG though. I think the version I have was the first version put into online form. Or one of them anyway.

-GB

[columbob]

Do you take anything from the RPG as canon?

[Black Cat]

Did you know that you can download the MC on the Lone Wolf Online website under the download/resources section? It's just the scans of all the pages of the book and I don't think it's a legal copy though...

[outspaced]

Black said:

Did you know that you can download the MC on the Lone Wolf Online website under the download/resources section? It's just the scans of all the pages of the book and I don't think it's a legal copy though...

It won't be a "legal" copy, since only Project Aon (and possibly Mongoose) have been given the rights to distribute previously published Lone Wolf material.

However.

Because we at Project Aon aren't arrogant control freaks, and since we can't officially distribute the Magnamund Companion ourselves due to all the missing artists, we aren't going to make a fuss about it. As I said above, likely, the only way the MC will ever see the online distrubution "green light" is by it being an unofficial release.

Of course, it's worth pointing out that the PA version of the MC will be superior to a bunch of scans since it'll be in PDF format, it will be printable, the scans have all been colour-corrected to make them more vibrant and warm instead of washed out and dull, and the text will comply fully to the PAMoS! What more could you ask for?

Oh yeah, a printed version in your hand. I guess you could ask for that.

;D

[Zipp]

columbob said:

Do you take anything from the RPG as canon?

I do. I've checked most of their info with the books and it rings true. Also, Joe Dever personally oversaw the history aspect of it.

[Peregrine]

columbob said:

Do you take anything from the RPG as canon?

I probably won't, for various reasons including the need for game balance occasionally overriding canonical accuracy (and fair enough if you ask me). But hey, throw it in anyway.