Kimah

Zakhan Kimah and the Orb of Death.

Zakhan Kimah led the Sharnazim before ascending to the throne as Zakhan of Vassagonia with the death of Moudalla in MS 5055. He reigned for six years, during which time Vassagonia served as the only major ally of the Darklords of Helgedad in their campaign to conquer central Northern Magnamund.

Biography

Kimah was originally the leader of the Sharnazim, under Zakhan Moudalla. Prior to becoming Zakhan, he ruled Ferufezan in Vassagonia. The childless Moudalla died in MS 5055, which threatened a civil war among several Vassagonian princelings contending for the throne. The "civil war" fizzled out within a few hours, however, as Kimah acted ruthlessly and immediately. The other princelings and their families were all arrested and executed, and Kimah installed himself as Zakhan. By this time the agents of the Darklands were infiltrating Vassagonia through the Birthplace; Archord Haakon himself came to Vassagonia. Negotiating with the Darklord, Kimah agreed to exchange both Lone Wolf and the Book of the Magnakai for the Orb of Death, a powerful Nadziranim weapon. He possessed neither at the time, but thanks to his incredible strength of will, he was able to conceal this from the Darklord.

When Lone Wolf arrived in Vassagonia during the events of Shadow on the Sand, Kimah ordered him arrested. He would have delivered Lone Wolf to Haakon, but the Kai Lord escaped. In the Legends of Lone Wolf novels, Haakon has Kimah imprisoned for his failure, intending for Kimah to be tortured to death in public. This plan went awry when Thog and Jenara, shocked at the brutality of the torture, conspired to kill Kimah instead. They were nearly successful: hit in the chest by a crossbow bolt, Kimah was grievously wounded, but survived. Recovering slowly afterwards in the Baga-darooz - the throne had been claimed by Allani in the meantime - Kimah swore revenge once he reacquired the Orb of Death.

It is unknown what happened afterwards in Vassagonia because the Legends of Lone Wolf series ended, but it is known is that Kimah reacquired the Orb of Death and reasserted himself as Zakhan by MS 5061. By this time the Darklords were waging open war in Northern Magnamund, and Kimah allied Vassagonia with them. He personally led Vassagonia's armored legions during the siege of Tahou, wielding the Orb of Death. The Orb made him invulnerable to ordinary weapons, a power Kimah used to force his way into Tahou. He encountered the Kai Master Lone Wolf in the city, who possessed weapons that were capable of penetrating the Orb's shield. Lone Wolf won the ensuing duel, killing the Zakhan. His death led to the collapse of his oppressive regime and the withdrawal of Vassagonian troops from all of the lands that they had previously occupied in support of the Darklords' campaign of conquest.

After his death, Lhazhor of Bisutan was elected as his successor.

Appearances

The Cauldron of Fear

• Combat Skill: 39/30/29
• Endurance: 46/38/38

His stats vary depending on the weapon Lone Wolf uses; they are (from left to right) for the Sommerswerd, Dagger of Vashna, and Psychic Ring respectively. He is immune to Mindblast and Psi-Surge if Lone Wolf engages with the Sommerswerd or the Dagger of Vashna, but is vulnerable to psychic attacks if using the Psychic Ring.

Difficulty

In the original edition of the books, Zakhan Kimah had a combat skill of 44 if engaging with the Sommerswerd. This extremely high combat skill caused some controversy: the maximum possible combat skill for a player who had completed every preceding book as well as acquired all possible CS-boosting items was only 38 (19 natural +3 weaponmastery +2 shield +2 Silver Helm +1 Lore Circle of Fire +3 Lore Circle of Spirit +8 Sommerswerd), or 40 with an Alether potion. The -4 combat ratio meant Lone Wolf would lose endurance points at the same rate as the Zakhan, and very likely meant death, especially since Lone Wolf would have just been hit by an energy bolt before combat (taking 5 endurance points of damage). Even if Lone Wolf chose not to equip the Sommerswerd, Zakhan Kimah still had a very high combat skill of 34, and is very hard to beat.

In the revised Mongoose editions, Zakhan Kimah's stats were toned down, making him significantly easier (but still challenging) to defeat.