Order of the Kai

The Order of the Kai are warrior monks who have mastered various natural and supernatural abilities. The main Kai Monastery is found in the western central part of Sommerlund near the Durncrag Mountain range, next to the Darklands, and there is a second Kai Monastery on the Isle of Lorn. They are also known as Kai Lords.

In the land of Sommerlund, it is tradition to send the children of certain families to the Kai Monastery for training. There, they become initiates who are trained by existing Kai Lords, until they too have become masters of the way of the Kai. Once fully trained, the new Kai return home, prepared to defend themselves and their families should the threat of the Darklords be made manifest. Although Kai training is not easy, it instills unique Kai disciplines upon those who practice it. These disciplines manifest themselves in areas such as honed combat reflexes, psychic powers of the mind, and uniquely sharpened senses.

History

Sun Eagle founded the Order after completing his quest to recover the Lorestones of Nyxator. He recounted his story in the Kai Orders most valuable possession, the Book of the Magnakai.

At the beginning of the Lone Wolf gamebook saga, Flight from the Dark, the Kai are all but wiped out by a sudden sneak attack from Darklord forces. The only surviving member of the Kai, who was once known as Silent Wolf, swears vengeance and takes on the name of Lone Wolf, last of his clan. Lone Wolf, in the wake of the destruction of Helgedad and the Darklords, rebuilt the Kai order and helped produce the first Kai Masters since the destruction of the order 30 year previously.

The Dark God Naar attempted to wipe out the Second Order while Lone Wolf was busy fighting the Deathlord of Ixia. He sent an army of dragon creatures to attack the monastery, laying siege to it, but Lone Wolf was able to return in time to help counterattack. He then ensured that a huge number of gigantic dragons, which he would later discover were being brought through with Shadow Gates created by Naar, were lost en route to Magnamund.

Kai Lords wear different colored tunics depending on the rank. Those in grey were the Kai masters. Those who progressed a little further were in light or dark blue. Higher ranks were indicated by green (a color shared by the Kai Initiates), scarlet, orange, yellow, white, and silver, while Kai Grand Masters wore gold.

Ranks

Kai Lords possess ranks, and as their knowledge and skills increase, they gain ranks. In the gamebooks, this is reflected in the number of disciplines the player has (gaining one per completed adventure).

For a long period of time, the highest rank a Kai Lord could reach was Kai Master (equivalent to 10 disciplines in the gamebooks). Following a vision from the God Kai, Sun Eagle undertook a quest to retrieve the Lorestones, created by Nyxator but long lost in history. The Lorestones granted Sun Eagle immense power and wisdom, far beyond a normal Kai Lord, and he became the first Kai Grand Master. This wisdom was recorded in the Book of the Magnakai. The ranks between Kai Master and Kai Grand Master were further sub-divided, and the journey of Lone Wolf to the rank of Kai Grand Master is the story of the Magnakai series.

Lone Wolf continued to study the Book of the Magnakai and the Lorestones, to hone his skills, and augmented his training with the help of Guidemaster Banedon and Lord Rimoah, learning the basics of Left-handed and Old Kingdom Magic. This allowed Lone Wolf to push the boundaries of a Kai Grand Master even further. Following his triumph in retrieving the Moonstone from Naar's inner sanctum, Lone Wolf reached the rank of Kai Supreme Master. The ranks between Kai Grand Master and Kai Supreme Master were also sub-divided, and the progression up these ranks is the story of Lone Wolf in the Grand Master series, and Grand Master in the New Order series.

Kai Lord

1. Novice
2. Intuite
3. Doan
4. Acolyte
5. Initiate (Lone Wolf starts the Kai series, in Flight from the Dark, at this rank)
6. Aspirant
7. Guardian
8. Warmarn or Journeyman
9. Savant
10. Master

Kai Master

See also: Kai Master

1. Kai Master Senior
2. Kai Master Superior (Lone Wolf starts the Magnakai series, in The Kingdoms of Terror, at this rank)
3. Primate
4. Tutelary
5. Principalin
6. Mentora
7. Scion-kai
8. Archmaster (female: Archmistress)
9. Kai Grand Master (female: Kai Grand Mistress)

Kai Grand Master

See also: Kai Grand Master

1. Kai Grand Master Senior (Grand Master starts the New Order series, in Voyage of the Moonstone, at this rank)
2. Kai Grand Master Superior
3. Kai Grand Sentinel
4. Kai Grand Defender
5. Kai Grand Guardian (Lone Wolf starts the Grand Master series, in The Plague Lords of Ruel, at this rank)
6. Sun Knight
7. Sun Lord
8. Sun Thane
9. Grand Thane
10. Grand Crown
11. Sun Prince
12. Kai Supreme Master

Disciplines

Kai disciplines are the skills taught to and mastered by the fictional Kai Lords of the Lone Wolf universe. According to the lore, these skills have been mastered over the centuries and passed down from one generation of Kai to the next. A true Kai Master will have mastered all of these disciplines.

In the gamebooks, a new reader (playing as a new character) begins with the following number of disciplines:

• Kai Lord: 5
• Kai Master: 3
• Kai Grand Master: 4

As a player successfully completes a Lone Wolf gamebook, he or she is able to select an additional discipline, so that, for example, someone who has completed one book will have six disciplines.

From the Magnakai series (Kai Master) and beyond, disciplines are enhanced with rank. For example, Pathsmanship at Scion-Kai allows the Kai Lord to converse with any sentient creature, and make themselves invisible when subjected to any psychic or magical spells of detection.

Kai Lord disciplines

• Camouflage - The ability to remain undetected, both in terms of remaining hidden when in natural surroundings, and blending in with the natives when in more urban settings.
• Hunting - The ability to find food virtually anywhere, except in extreme arctic or desert conditions. Additionally confers a certain speed and manual dexterity.
• Sixth Sense - The ability to sense imminent danger or a concealed threat. Also the ability to sense when something is not what it seems.
• Tracking - The ability to track a person or object, or to determine the correct path to take in order to reach a given destination.
• Healing - A natural ability to heal wounds more quickly than average.
• Weaponskill - Focus and mastery of a single weapon or weapon category.
• Mindshield - The ability to protect one's mind from mental or psychic attacks, particularly those of agents of evil.
• Mindblast - The ability to attack an enemy using the force of one's mind, increasing general combat prowess except against foes who are specifically immune.
• Animal Kinship - The ability to bond with and communicate with animals.
• Mind Over Matter - Telekinesis, or the ability to move small objects with one's mind.

Magnakai disciplines

• Weaponmastery (advanced Weaponskill) - Increased mastery of a weapon and combat in general
• Animal Control (advanced Animal Kinship) - Increased mastery of animal bonding, communication and manipulation
• Curing (advanced Healing) - Ability to cure disease, blindness and combat wounds sustained by others and themselves. Ability to identify properties of herbs, roots and potions. Additionally, the player can regain 1 lost Endurance point for every section passed through the book.
• Invisibility (advanced Camouflage) - Increased ability to blend in with their surroundings and avoid detection
• Huntmastery (advanced Hunting) - Increased ability to hunt, including hunting for food, increased speed and dexterity, and resistance to ambushes
• Pathmanship (advanced Tracking) - Increased ability to read foreign languages, decipher symbols, read footprints and tracks, detect traps, and intuitively knowing the direction of North
• Psi-Surge (advanced Mindblast) - Ability to attack an opponent psychically, at the expense of the user's Endurance points
• Psi-Screen (advanced Mindshield) - Increased protection against psychic attacks, and increases the defence against supernatural illusions and hypnosis
• Nexus (advanced Mind Over Matter - Ability to withstand extremes of heat, cold and poisons, and ability to perform basic manipulations of them
• Divination (advanced Sixth Sense) - Increased ability to detect imminent or unseen danger, invisible or hidden enemies, and detect the true purpose or intent of someone or something. Also allows telepathic communication with others, and sense if a creature possesses psychic abilities. Advanced levels permit the ability to spirit-walk - splitting the spirit from the body and exploring freely as a spirit for a limited period of time.

Grand Master disciplines

^NOGM Indicates that the discipline is only usable in the New Order series of books, although it is assumed that Lone Wolf knows these too, and taught them to his students.

• Grand Weaponmastery (advanced Weaponmastery) - Further increased mastery of a weapon and combat in general
• Animal Mastery (advanced Animal Control) - Considerable control over hostile, non-sentient creatures. Ability to converse with birds and fishes, and use them as guides
• Deliverance (advanced Curing) - Ability to repair serious battle wounds. If, in combat, the Kai Grand Master's Endurance points are reduced to 8 points or less, they can draw on their powers to restore 20 Endurance points. This can only be used once every 20 days.
• Assimilance (advanced Invisibility) - Can effect striking changes to their physical appearance, and maintain these changes over a period of a few days. They are also virtually undetectable in an open landscape.
• Grand Huntmastery (advanced Huntmastery) - Can see in total darkness and have greatly-heightened senses of touch and taste.
• Grand Pathsmanship (advanced Pathsmanship) - Can resist entrapment by hostile plants, and have a super-awareness of ambush, or threat of an ambush, in woods and dense forests
• Kai-Surge (advanced Psi-surge) - Greater ability to attack psychically
• Kai-screen (advanced Psi-screen) - Greater psychic protection of themselves and others
• Grand Nexus (advanced Nexus) - Can withstand contact with harmful elements, such as flames and acids, for upwards of an hour
• Telegnosis (advanced Divination) - Ability to spirit-walk for far greater lengths of time, and far fewer ill effects
• Magi-magic - The Kai interpretation of Old Kingdom Magic, granting the usage of basic Old Kingdom spells
• Kai-alchemy - The Kai interpretation of Brotherhood Magic, granting the usage of their elementary spells
• Astrology^NOGM - Ability to predict and shape, to some extent, the future by studying the relative positions of the Sun, the Moon, planets and stars
• Herbmastery^NOGM - Ability to readily-identify any substance derived from living or growing organic material, and any secret uses. Skilled in releasing a substance's medicinal and/or magical properties
• Elementalism^NOGM - Ability to manipulate the four basic elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water
• Bardsmanship^NOGM - Ability to perform with any musical instrument; sing, chant, recite or compose tales of legend; mimic speech or dialect; and stimulate emotions within sentient creatures

Supreme Master disciplines

Upon reaching Kai Supreme Master, Lone Wolf gained further knowledge and many new skills from the God Kai as a reward.

A small number of these skills are known:

• Kai Weaponcraft - Ability to construct magical weapons, such as the Kai Weapons given to his Kai Grand Masters
• Unnamed ability to create the Nyxator Mails (this may be Kai Weaponcraft as well)
• Unnamed ability to construct artificial limbs (such as an artificial hand for Steel Hand)

Notable Kai Lords

Notable Kai lords include:

Autumn Snow, Barking Fox, Black Hawk, Blazer, Bold Blade, Bold Dancer, Bold Fire, Bold Friend, Bold Hawk, Bold Heart, Bold Helm, Bold Sheild,  Bold Star, Bold Strider, Brave Blade, Brave Dancer, Brave Fire, Brave Friend, Brave Hawk, Brave Heart, Brave Helm, Brave Shield, Brave Star, Brave Strider, Bright Hawk, Bright Star, Cloud Maker, Cloud Owl, Dawn Light, Deep Heart, Diving Skua, Eastwind, Firefly, Firestone, Forest Hawk, Frost Lark, Ghost Hawk, Gold Rain, Lone Wolf, Moon Blade, Moon Dancer, Moon Fire, Moon Friend, Moon Hawk, Moon Helm, Moon Serpent, Moon Shield, Moon Star, Moon Strider, Red Dawn, Rune Blade, Rune Dancer, Rune Fire, Rune Friend, Rune Hawk, Rune Helm, Rune Serpent, Rune Shield, Rune Star, Rune Strider, Sabre Fox, Shadow Raven, Sharp Dove, Silent Wolf, Silver Flame, Spring Eagle, Spring Rain, Star Lynx, Steel Hand, Storm Blade, Storm Dancer, Storm Fire, Storm Friend, Storm Hawk, Storm Hawk II, Storm Helm, Storm Serpent,  Storm Shield, Storm Star, Storm Strider, Strong Bear, Sun Blade, Sun Dancer, Sun Eagle, Sun Fire, Sun Friend, Sun Hawk, Sun Heart, Sun Helm, Sun Shield, Sun Star, Sun Strider, Swift Blade, Swift Dancer, Swift Fire, Swift Fox, Swift Friend, Swift Hawk, Swift Heart, Swift Helm, Swift Moon, Swift Shield, Swift Star, Swift Strider, Sword Blade, Sword Dancer, Sword Fire, Sword Friend, Sword Hawk, Sword Heart, Sword Helm, Sword Shield, Sword Star, Sword Strider, True Blade, True Dancer, True Fire, True Friend, True Hawk, True Heart, True Helm, True Shield, True Star, True Strider, White Crow, Wild Weasel, Winter Owl, Winter Owl II, Wise Blade, Wise Dancer, Wise Eagle, Wise Fire, Wise Friend, Wise Hawk, Wise Hawk II, Wise Heart, Wise Helm, Wise Shield, Wise Star, Wise Strider