Massacre of the Kai

Massacre of the Kai
Date	Berkano 1st (Feast of Fehmarn), MS 5050
Location	Kai Monastery of Sommerlund
Belligerents	Attackers Darklands (led by Archlord Zagarna) Defenders Sommerlund (led by King Ulnar V) Order of the Kai (led by Kai Grand Master Rune Helm)
Result	Darklands victory One Kai Lord, Silent Wolf, survives

The Massacre of the Kai is a central event in MS 5050 in the Lone Wolf series. The Massacre was triggered by the defecting Vonotar, who provided Darklord Zagarna with information about the Feast of Fehmarn, where all the Kai Lords would be in one place to renew their vows to Sommerlund, making it the best time to launch a surprise attack. The attack was brutally successful, with all but one Kai Lord, Silent Wolf, surviving. It was followed by the invasion of Sommerlund.

Despite the military success, however, Silent Wolf's escape proved to be the catalyst for Zagarna and the Darklords' downfall. After the invasion of Sommerlund, Silent Wolf, renaming himself "Lone Wolf" to reflect his status, retrieved the Sommerswerd from Durenor, and slew Zagarna with its power. Lone Wolf then became the primary antagonist of the Darklords for the next two decades, foiling their plans and killing several of them in combat.

The Massacre of the Kai is the event that kicks off Flight from the Dark, the first book in the Lone Wolf series.

Background

Order of the Kai

Ever since the Sommlending arrived in Anskaven from Tay Solobo in MS 3434, they had been a thorn in the side of the ascendant Darklords, inflicting their first military defeat in the Battle of Anskaven. In the following centuries, the Sommlending settled on the land, naming it Sommerlund, and drove the forces of Darkness back over the Durncrag Mountains. One Baron who proved himself militarily was Shaen Ruanor of Toran. Ruanor received a message from the god Kai, urging him to seek out the Lorestones of Nyxator. Ruanor did so, gaining immense knowledge and power. He formed the Order of the Kai, a monastic order of Kai Lords possessing latent Kai powers similar to Ruanor's own. Ruanor became the first Kai Lord, naming himself "Sun Eagle", and documented his knowledge in the Book of the Magnakai.

The Order of the Kai helped Sommerlund defy the Darklords for over a millennia. The Kai matched the Darklands forces on the battlefield, both physically and magically, defending Sommerlund from the Darklords and their allies, such as Vassagonia. In MS 3799, the leader of the Darklords, Archlord Vashna, was slain in the Battle of Maakengorge by a combined Lastlands force, and the Darklands descended into 400 years of chaos and infighting, before Darklord Zagarna secured himself as the second Archlord. Under Zagarna, the Book of the Magnakai was stolen in MS 4434, slowing the progress of the Kai, as knowledge would have to be passed from one Kai Lord to another. In MS 5000, Zagarna began planning a new attack on Sommerlund, the Second Black Muster, greater than Vashna's initial planned assault centuries ago.

Vashna's Prophecy

The day before the Battle of Moytura Pass, a prophecy was made by one of Vashna's Liganim, proclaiming that Vashna's attack would fail and that an "eagle shall fly". The "children of the eagle" would rise to defy the darkness, although it would be reborn once again. This time, however, a "wolf" would survive the second attack, rebuild his "pack", and destroy the Darklords for good.

Vashna had the Ligan vaporised in response, and attempted to erase all traces of the prophecy, but a few of his fellow Darklords heard the prophecy nevertheless. Zagarna in particular was extremely careful about this prophecy, taking far longer to muster his forces than Vashna.

Vonotar becomes the Traitor

Vonotar was an ambitious and powerful magician of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star. He sought to combine the Left-Handed Magic of the Brotherhood with Right-Handed Magic of the evil Nadziranim, creating a new Centre path of magic. His ideas, however, found little favour within the Brotherhood. Spurned, he instead sought to ally himself with the Darklords, thinking he and Zagarna were the fulfillment of a prophecy where a warrior/mage duo would protect Sommerlund. His flight from Sommerlund was violent: He denounced the Brotherhood and murdered one of the elders, and also killed the Kai Lord Storm Hawk.

In the Darklands, in exchange for knowledge of Right-Handed Magic, he told Zagarna about the Feast of Fehmarn: A festival celebrated by the Kai, renewing their oaths towards Sommerlund, but also a festival where all the Kai Lords were congregated in one place and not battle-ready. Mindful of the prophecy, Zagarna believed he could defy it if he simply erased the Kai beforehand. As such, he planned an attack on the Kai Monastery, set to take place during the Feast of Fehmarn in MS 5050.

Attempted warnings

Despite the secrecy, some in Sommerlund became aware of the attack, but obtained the information too late to warn the Kai. The Brotherhood of the Crystal Star were one of these: Having discovered Zagarna's plans, the Guildmaster of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star dispatched Banedon to the Monastery of the Kai in haste, with a message warning for Kai Grand Master Rune Helm about the Zagarna's attack. The other known figure was Kai Virin Dawn Strider, who discovered information about the attack the day before, and journeyed to the Kai Monastery to warn them. Both came under attack from Giaks and Helghast along the way, and were unable to warn the Kai before the attack.

Battle

This section is a stub. It may be expanded-upon with information in the Collector's Edition and/or Definitive Editions of Flight from the Dark.

The Darklands' attack took place on the morning of the Feast of Fehmarn of MS 5050. A huge flock of Kraan descended upon the Monastery, blocking out the clouds. Giaks and Helghast attacked on foot, hunting Kai Lords in the Monastery itself but also the surrounding forests. The attack was brutal and thorough, with only one Kai Lord at the Monastery surviving.

That Kai Lord, Silent Wolf, had been out collecting firewood as a punishment for inattention in class, allowing him to survive the worst of the attack. As he was gathering firewood, he noticed a huge flock of Kraan attacking, so large even the sky was turned dark. In haste, Silent Wolf began to make his way back to help defend the Kai Monastery, but slipped in the unnatural darkness, and struck his head on a tree branch, falling unconscious. In his final moments, he saw the walls of the Monastery fall. When he awoke, he was greeted by utter destruction. Making a tearful vow to avenge his kin, he began to make his way towards Holmgard to warn King Ulnar V of the attack, becoming Lone Wolf, the last of the Kai.

The Legends of Lone Wolf series adds some background details of Alyss's intervention in this pivotal event. Alyss was well aware of the impending attack and also what the outcome will be, but she is prohibited from making major changes to the map of the future. Instead, she induced a nightmare in Lone Wolf that caused him to leave the monastery, then conjured the tree branch that knocked him unconscious when when the attack happened. As the Kai fought and died, she challenged Vonotar to a duel, to prevent him from discovering that Lone Wolf had survived. Vonotar initially underestimated Alyss, but quickly realized he was fighting an entity with powers that at least matched his own. The two dueled to a draw, but Alyss had achieved her purpose of distracting Vonotar, and furthermore aged Vonotar's body. Although Vonotar had the power to make himself virtually immortal, he would forever be old.

Aftermath

Lone Wolf successfully managed to reach Holmgard and warn the King. Depending on the actions of the player in Flight from the Dark, he may have met Banedon for the first time, too late to deliver his message to the Order of the Kai; if he did, Banedon gave him his Crystal Star Pendant as a token of friendship. However, without the Kai, Sommerlund was unable to resist Zagarna's follow-up invasion of Sommerlund. It did not take long for his forces to overrun much of Sommerlund from the west and south, and they began to siege Holmgard itself. The King ordered Lone Wolf to travel to Durenor to retrieve the Sommerswerd — a legendary weapon given to Sommerlund's ally as a mark of trust, but also a godly weapon that could slay a Darklord.

Despite the success of the attack, Zagarna could not stop the Ligan's prophecy from coming true. In spite of Zagarna and Vonotar attempting to stop Lone Wolf, the Kai Lord successfully retrieved the Sommerswerd and returned to Holmgard at the head of the Durenese fleet. That morning, Lone Wolf pointed the Sommerswerd at Zagarna from atop the battlements of Holmgard, unleashing a concentrated bolt of energy that vaporised Zagarna in an instant. This attack sent the Darklands forces into a rout, as they fled back towards the Durncrag Mountains. Just like the prophecy mentioned, Lone Wolf would then go on to become the Darklands' greatest enemy, eventually slaying Zagarna's successors, Darklords Haakon and Gnaag. He would later also recover the Lorestones and rebuilt the Order of the Kai.

For failing to stop Lone Wolf from returning to Holmgard and Zagarna's death, Vonotar was forced to flee, now an enemy of both the Darklands and Sommerlund. He kidnapped Loi-Kymar and used his Guildstaff to teleport him to Kalte, where he tricked its leader, Brumalmarc, killed him, and became Kalte's ruler. Lone Wolf hunted Vonotar and brought him back to Sommerlund, where he was cast into the Shadow Gate of Toran to the Daziarn, believed to never be seen again.

Zagarna too did not escape further punishment. Naar captured Zagarna's spirit, and sentenced him to an eternity of torment in the Plain of Despair.

In Lone Wolf media

The Massacre of the Kai is the start of Lone Wolf's story, and the start of Flight from the Dark. Lone Wolf, however, does not take part in the battle, although he will encounter remnants of the Darklands forces in the forest. He may also encounter Banedon in the forest, who will give him a Crystal Star Pendant as a token of friendship.

In the short gamebook Dawn of the Darklords, the player can experience the same encounter from Banedon's perspective. Banedon witnesses the attack before he can deliver his message, and himself comes under attack from Kraan, Giaks and Helghast. He meets Lone Wolf at the end, after Lone Wolf saves his life from a Giak, suggesting their first encounter here is canon.

In the Collector's Edition of Flight from the Dark, the story is written from a different perspective, where Lone Wolf can take part in the battle, providing more information about it. This story was also rewritten from the Original Edition, and features 550 sections, rather than the usual 350.