New Order of the Kai

The New Order of the Kai are a new generation of Kai warriors created by Lone Wolf, established in the peaceful years after his defeat of the Darklords. This generation replaced the old Order of the Kai, lost during the Massacre of the Kai. It became the strongest yet, with many Kai warriors reaching Kai Grand Masters in rapid time, matching Lone Wolf's own rapid rise through the ranks. The New Order of the Kai inflicted multiple defeats on the forces of Darkness, allowing Lone Wolf to focus on developing the Kai further.

Background

Around MS 3799, in the aftermath of the Battles of Moytura Pass and Maakengorge, Baron Shaen Ruanor undertook a quest at the God Kai's request, to recover the Lorestones of Nyxator. With these, Ruanor, who already possessed latent Kai powers, discovered immense knowledge and power, far beyond what he knew. In MS 3810, he became the first Kai Lord, renaming himself "Sun Eagle", and wrote his knowledge down in the Book of the Magnakai. He built the Kai Monastery and founded the Order of the Kai, creating a order of warrior monks that defied the forces of Evil until present day.

In MS 4434, the Book of the Magnakai was stolen, believed to be by a Helghast. This act slowed the progress of the Kai dramatically. This was only partially-compensated for in MS 4771 by the creation of the Lore-circles by Kai Grand Master Grey Wolf.

In MS 5050, Vonotar betrayed Sommerlund, revealing to Archlord Zagarna that the Kai would gather at the Feast of Fehmarn, an event where all the Kai were gathered in one place and unprepared for battle, making it a target for when they were weakest. Zagarna took advantage of this to launch a surprise invasion of the Kai Monastery, in an event known as the Massacre of the Kai. However, one Kai Lord, Silent Wolf, survived, taking on the name "Lone Wolf" in response, and vowed to avenge his Order. Despite Zagarna and Vonotar's forces obstructing him, he was able to retrieve the Sommerswerd from Durenor, and used it to obliterate Zagarna as he sieged Holmgard. True to his vow, Lone Wolf went on to become the Darklands' greatest enemy, slaying Zagarna's successors Haakon and Gnaag, eventually winning the Darklands War for the forces of Light in MS 5070.

History

Founding

After Lone Wolf's victory over the Darklords in MS 5070, Lone Wolf, now Kai Grand Master, set out to create a new Order of the Kai, aided by the recovered Book of the Magnakai and the power of the Lorestones. The fledgling order was attacked for the first time in MS 5077, by dragons sent through a Shadow Gate by Naar, using the power of the Moonstone. The Kai Monastery was besieged for days, until Lone Wolf returned from his quest in Ixia to break the siege by sealing the Shadow Gate with a Sun-crystal.

In his vengeance, Naar created a Jahksa of Lone Wolf called Wolf's Bane, who terrorised Sommerlund in his guise. Four Kai Grand Masters aided Lone Wolf in his pursuit of Wolf's Bane, until Lone Wolf and his impostor were isolated to the planet Avaros to duel each other. Lone Wolf discovered that Naar was using the Moonstone to create Shadow Gates, and although forced to flee Naar's inner sanctum with the help of Alyss, he returned to recover it and save Alyss, securing Magnamund once more, and becoming the first Kai Supreme Master.

While Lone Wolf was in the Plane of Darkness, one whole year had passed in Magnamund. In his absence, Firestone, the most senior of the New Order, took interim command of the Kai. He was aided by Lords Rimoah and Ardan of the Elder Magi, who helped teach the New Order Kai the skills of Old Kingdom Magic. When Lone Wolf returned, he praised Firestone's leadership of the Kai.

The New Order grows

With the power of the Moonstone, Sommerlund blossomed, with endless springs, babies being born in perfect health and strength, and death becoming a rarity. The Moonstone also helped the New Order progress even further, with the likes of Grand Master becoming a Kai Grand Master at the age of 20, matching the rate at which Lone Wolf himself became the same rank. Despite the prosperity, Lone Wolf became concerned at the imbalance it was having on Sommerlund, and the Moonstone had begun to attract the attention of the forces of Darkness, seeking to steal and destroy it. Lone Wolf resolved to return the Moonstone to the Shianti, and in MS 5083, during the events of Voyage of the Moonstone, made it publicly-known that he would do so. In secret, however, he tasked Grand Master with doing so in disguise, while Lone Wolf merely acted as a decoy.

This quest was the first amongst many for the New Order. The New Order were responsible for the destruction of the Runes of Agarash (in Rune War) and many champions of Darkness like Xaol (in Trail of the Wolf), Demonlord Shom'zaa (in The Fall of Blood Mountain), and Autarch Sejanoz (in The Hunger of Sejanoz).

In MS 5088, the Shianti left the Isle of Lorn to return to the Plane of Light. Their final act was to grant the Isle of Lorn to the Kai. In MS 5090, construction of a new Kai Monastery on the Isle of Lorn began, which took ten years and most of the New Order Grand Masters were involved in the process. A Shadakine plot to destroy the Kai Monastery of Lorn was thwarted in MS 5099, albeit at the cost of Kai Grand Master Bright Star, and the then-unknown destruction of the power source that powered the ancient Shianti defences that cloaked the island. After the Monastery was completed, Grand Master was put in charge of the New Order of the Kai on the Isle of Lorn, with Blazer as his deputy.

Evil stirs again

In MS 5102, the New Order faced its greatest challenge yet, as multiple Evil plots began to stir in coordinated fashion around Magnamund, seemingly-designed to stretch the forces of Light before they could be ready. Lone Wolf dispatched his most senior Kai Grand Masters all over the world to handle the threats, but not all were successful. Blazer was able to destroy a Cener plot to revive Wulskor, a champion of Naar, intended to become the leader of the Kragnagrath Agarashi; Star Lynx defeated the Agarashi at the Chasm of Gorgoron, and Grand Master was able to recover the evil relic known as the Eye of Agarash before it could be combined with the Claw of Naar to create a devastating weapon (during the events of The Storms of Chai). However, Black Hawk and Swift Sword died on their missions to Cragmantle and Kalte respectively, and Steel Hand was captured while attempting to thwart the Acolytes of Vashna in Zekgazad.

In response, Star Lynx was dispatched to complete Black Hawk's mission, Blazer to complete Swift Sword's mission, and Grand Master to complete Steel Hand's mission and rescue him from captivity (during the events of Dead in the Deep). All three were successful, but at a cost: Blazer had become taciturn from his trauma at dealing with the Ice Demons in Kalte, and had unwittingly been possessed by the Nadziranim with an Ice Crystal implanted in his brain. And while Grand Master was able to rescue Steel Hand, the Dagger of Vashna fell into the Maakengorge, where the Nengud-kor-Adez now resided, and resulted in Archlord Vashna being reborn, merged with the Nengud-kor-Adez.

The Second Age of Eternal Night

In MS 5103, during the events of The Dusk of Eternal Night, Vashna's undead marched on Ruanon, and the New Order were called upon to defend Sommerlund. In the Battle of the Ruanon Homelands, they were successful, although at great cost as the Nengud-kor-Adez expanded to the battlefield and swallowed up even more souls. At the end of the battle, Vashna threatened to expand the Nengud-kor-Adez even further, unless he was fought in Zekgazad, far under the ground, where the Sommerswerd was ineffective, a trap Lone Wolf had to face, as they had no way to stop the Nengud-kor-Adez. At the same time, however, Grey Star informed the Kai of an even greater potential threat: A Naarvakim plot to bring back Agarash the Damned, Naar's greatest champion, from the Pit of Eternal Pain.

Lone Wolf and Steel Hand travelled to Zekgazad to confront Vashna, while Grand Master and Blazer travelled with Grey Star to thwart the Naarvakim's plans. However, both were unsuccessful. Lone Wolf, despite having mastered the power of the Sommerswerd despite being underground, found that Vashna was reborn from the Nengud-kor-Adez with every death, and was forced to flee, but not before Vashna branded him with a supernatural fiery wound that taunted him. Blazer's possession also made him betray his vows, delivering Grey Star into the Pit of Eternal Pain to be exchanged with Agarash the Damned, although he redeemed himself to a degree by saving Grand Master or Grey Star from eternal damnation in the Pit, depending on the actions of the player in The Dusk of Eternal Night. Agarash's first action was to summon the Vaag to attack the New Order Kai on the Isle of Lorn, and Grey Star teleported himself and Grand Master there to escape and prepare.

In the Battle of the Isle of Lorn, the New Order was unprepared, with half of the Kai still in Sommerlund from the Battle of the Ruanon Homelands, and those left behind were not battle-ready. However, they were unexpectedly reinforced by allies of the Elder Magi, who had prophecised the Kai to fail, but knew that the prophecy would not have stopped them, and that their efforts would have helped them in the upcoming battles. The battle against the Vaag was fierce, but at first, the forces of Light prevailed. However, Agarash grew impatient, and imbued the Vaag with more of his power. The Vaag suddenly became impervious to damage, and the sheer evil of Vaagarash, their leader, Grand Master's will, forcing them to kneel. As all seemed lost, however, the God Kai saw Grand Master's courage, and blessed them, raising them to Kai Supreme Master. In a titanic battle, Grand Master, now dubbed "Supreme Master", defeated Vaagarash, sending the Vaag into disarray, and winning the battle.

Differences

The New Order of the Kai were the most promising yet, bolstered by the power of the Book of the Magnakai, the Lorestones, and the lingering effects of the Moonstone and the Shianti. In effect, they progressed faster than their predecessors, even faster than those before the Book of the Magnakai was lost, with multiple Kai warriors reaching Kai Grand Master at a rapid rate, with Grand Master even matching the rate at which Lone Wolf himself became Kai Grand Master. The expansion of the New Order to the Isle of Lorn, creating a force of Kai Warriors that could respond quickly to threats in Southern Magnamund, helped the forces of Light even further there.

Under the New Order, new Grand Master Disciplines were created:

• Astrology
• Bardsmanship
• Elementalism
• Herbmastery

In response, the Kai Grand Master ranks were shifted slightly, with the second Kai Grand Master Rank, Kai Grand Master Superior, requiring the mastery of four Grand Master Disciplines, instead of two.

The New Order have adopted Lone Wolf's crest as an unofficial symbol.

List of known New Order Kai

This list is incomplete.

Kai Supreme Masters

• Supreme Master (formerly known as Grand Master)

Kai Grand Masters

• Blazer
• Steel Hand
• Star Lynx
• Black Hawk
• Swift Sword
• Bright Star
• Firestone
• Autumn Snow
• Winter Oak
• Mountain Sun

Kai Masters

• Flame Strider
• Pure Might
• Silver Flame
• Valiant Cub

Kai Lords

• Lightning Guanza
• Bold Toa

In the gamebooks

The New Order of the Kai are the focus of the New Order series, which is played through the perspective of Grand Master, the most promising of the New Order of the Kai, and Lone Wolf's likely successor. The New Order take on increasingly-important roles in the series, leaving Lone Wolf to deal with the greatest threats and coordinating the efforts of the forces of Light.

See also

• Order of the Kai