Mydnight's Hero Read online

  Mydnight's Hero

  The King of Siyen has been assassinated. Prince Karvas is the sole heir of this rich and powerful realm but he lives in exile in distant Sheasu — the Isle of Lost Heroes. In his absence, evil Baron Sadanzo and his army of robber knights have staked their claim to the vacant throne.

  In Mydnight's Hero, your quest is to voyage to Sheasu and track down Prince Karvas in the fabled city of Mydnight. Once found you must persuade him to return with you to Siyen without delay. You have only 50 days in which to complete this challenging quest or Siyen will be enslaved by the tyrannical Sadanzo and his brutal followers.

  Joe Dever, the creator of the bestselling Lone Wolf adventure books and novels, has achieved world-wide recognition in three creative fields — as an award-winning author of international renown, as an acclaimed musician and composer, and as a games designer specialising in role-playing games.

  On graduating from college in 1974, Joe Dever became a professional musician, and for several years, he worked in the music industry in Europe and the United States.

  While working in Los Angeles in 1977 he discovered a then little-known game called ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. Although the game was in its infancy, Joe at once realised its huge potential and began designing his own role-playing games along similar conceptual lines. These first games were to form the basis of a fantasy world called Magnamund, which later became the setting for the Lone Wolf books.

  Five years later, in 1982 at the Origins Game Fair, Joe won the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons World Championships in Baltimore, an event held before 16,000 people. Inspired and encouraged by his success at Origins, Joe decided to quit the music business and devote his time to writing and games design.

  In 1983, after a brief spell at Games Workshop in London, he wrote Flight from the Dark — the first Lone Wolf interactive gamebook. His manuscript immediately attracted a frenzy of interest from three major London publishing companies, all of whom bid for world rights. Joe accepted an offer of publication from Hutchinson's (later to become Century Hutchinson Ltd; now Random House UK) and Flight from the Dark was first published in 1984.

  This first book sold more than 100,000 copies within its first month of publication, and overseas rights were snapped up by twelve countries (including the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Sweden). The success of Joe's first book laid the foundations for the future of the Lone Wolf series, which has sold millions of copies around the world.

  The Lone Wolf series ended after 28 books and 14 years. Joe has continued to work in the games industry as script writer and games design consultant.

  Brian Williams was first noticed by Joe Dever for his work in White Dwarf magazine (circa issue 50) and the Real Life Gamebooks series by Jon Sutherland and Simon Farrell. Brian Williams was Joe's first choice of illustrators to replace Gary Chalk. Jon, being an old friend of Joe's, introduced the two. Brian was excited to work with Joe on the Lone Wolf series. He illustrated The Cauldron of Fear and almost every book about Magnamund since that time.

  * * *

  Internet Edition published by Project Aon. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the Errata.

  Publication Date: 28 October 2012

  Text copyright © 1995 Joe Dever.

  Illustrations copyright © 1995 Brian Williams.

  Distribution of this Internet Edition is restricted under the terms of the Project Aon License.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  The Story So Far …

  The Game RulesYour Kai Name

  New Order Kai Grand Master Disciplines

  Equipment

  Rules for Combat

  Levels of New Order Kai Grand Mastership

  Improved Grand Master Disciplines

  New Order Wisdom

  Numbered Sections

  Central Southern Magnamund

  Action Chart

  Combat Rules Summary

  Combat Results Table

  Random Number Table

  Errata

  Footnotes

  Table of Illustrations

  Project Aon License

  Dedication

  For Liz and Dwight

  Acknowledgements

  ‘I would be especially pleased if my granting of the rights to distribute my books in this way was seen as my “millennium gift” to all those devoted readers who have kept the Kai flag flying high, through all the good times, and the not-so-good. It would make me very proud indeed if this enterprise laid the foundations of a lasting legacy, securing the longevity of Lone Wolf by making my creation freely and readily accessible to current and future online generations. For them, for us, for Sommerlund and the Kai. … ’ Joe Dever

  Project Aon would first like to thank Joe Dever for making this generous offering of the books that we have all loved from the beginning. We are also grateful for the generosity of Rob Adams, Paul Bonner, Gary Chalk, Melvyn Grant, Richard Hook, Peter Andrew Jones, Cyril Julien, Peter Lyon, Ian Page, Graham Round, and Brian Williams for contributing their portions of the world of Magnamund to Project Aon. We would also like to acknowledge the following members of Project Aon for their diligent work:

  Credits

  Transcription

  Jeff Teo

  Sean Donald

  Illustration Transcription

  Jonathan Blake

  XML

  Jonathan Blake

  Simon Osborne

  Action Charts

  JC Alvarez

  Jonathan Blake

  Proofreading

  Simon Osborne (Frontmatter, and Sections 1–150 and 276–350)

  Robert Wellock (Sections 151–275)

  Editing

  Jan Charvát

  Ingo Klöcker

  LeRoy McSwain

  Sean Donald

  Simon Osborne

  Robert Wellock

  Coordination

  Jonathan Blake

  Special Thanks

  James Durrant, Paul Gresty, Benjamin Krefetz, James Murray, Anders Österberg, Sam Seaver

  The Story So Far …

  You are a Grand Master of the New Order of the Kai — the warrior élite of Sommerlund.

  It is the year MS 5083 and thirty-three years have passed since the First Order of the Kai was almost wiped out by the Darklords of Helgedad. These champions of evil, who were sent by the Dark God Naar to destroy your fertile world of Magnamund, have since been destroyed. The leader of your illustrious fighting order — Lone Wolf — was the sole survivor of the massacre. As a young Kai initiate he stood amidst the burning wreckage of the old Kai Monastery and vowed to avenge the slaughter of his comrades. In the year MS 5070 he kept his pledge when alone he infiltrated the foul domain of the Darklords and destroyed the infernal city of Helgedad, the base of their evil power.

  With the fall of Helgedad, chaos befell the Darkland armies who had, until then, been poised to conquer all Magnamund. Quickly their disorder escalated into a mutinous civil war which allowed the Freeland armies of Magnamund time in which to recover and launch a successful counter-offensive. Against all odds, a swift and total victory was secured over the feuding armies of evil.

  Following the demise of the Darklords, peace reigned in your homeland of Sommerlund. Under the direction of Lone Wolf the ruined Monastery of the Kai was rebuilt and restored to its former glory, and the raising of a New Order of Kai warriors was swiftly established. You are one of the new generation of Kai recruits. You were born in Sommerlund in the year MS 5063, during the time of the war against the Darklords. When you were seven years old you were sent by your father to the Kai Mona
stery. There, under the tutelage of Lone Wolf, you developed your martial skills and honed the special Kai abilities which lay dormant within you. During the years that followed, your skills were nurtured and sharpened to perfection by long hours of study and rigorous training. Your exceptional talent helped you to master all of the Kai and Magnakai Disciplines and you rose swiftly through the ranks of the New Order to become one of only five who now hold the high rank of Kai Grand Master. It is an achievement which has brought great honour upon you and your family.

  In the year MS 5077 your skill and courage were put to the test when an attack was launched upon the Kai Monastery during Lone Wolf's absence. By means of a Shadow Gate (an astral corridor between the physical world of Magnamund and the many ethereal domains which lie beyond it) the Dark God Naar sent forth a host of dragon-creatures to besiege the monastery and lay waste to all Sommerlund. He had chosen his time well, yet his evil plan was thwarted by the tenacious defence that you and your brethren maintained until the siege was raised by Lone Wolf and the King's Army of Sommerlund.

  The defeat of his minions enraged Naar and inflamed his lust for vengeance. Three years later he created and sent to Sommerlund an evil champion called ‘Wolf's Bane’ who was the very image of Lone Wolf. While your leader was engaged upon a quest overseas, this impostor terrorized your homeland in his guise and sought to destroy the reputation and the honour of the Kai. He would have succeeded had not Lone Wolf returned home and pursued this enemy to an ancient necropolis in the Sommlending city of Tyso. There, deep within a subterranean crypt, he and his evil alter-ego were drawn through a Shadow Gate to the Plane of Darkness — Naar's stronghold — where a deadly duel ensued. Lone Wolf vanquished the foe and discovered that Naar had in his possession the fabled Moonstone of the Shianti. This wondrous artefact was created many thousands of years ago by the god-like Shianti, whose presence upon Magnamund heralded the dawn of humanity. This stone of power contains the combined might of all their magic and wisdom, the sum of all their knowledge. So significant was the creation of this stone that all time on Magnamund has since been measured from the date of its creation. It had long been held that the Moonstone's location was a secret known only to the remnants of the Shianti, who dwell upon the mysterious Isle of Lorn in Southern Magnamund, yet the evidence of Lone Wolf's eyes had told him that this mystical artefact had somehow fallen into the hands of Naar.

  Lone Wolf realized that the Dark God had been using its legendary powers to generate Shadow Gates within the world of Magnamund, at locations and times of his own choosing. Such power had enabled him to send his loathsome champions to your home world while the force of the Gods of Good — Kai and Ishir — had been held at bay. Lone Wolf and the New Order Kai were all that stood against the onslaught of Naar's agents following the demise of the Darklords.

  Lone Wolf successfully escaped from the Plane of Darkness and returned to Sommerlund, yet he knew that the fight against Evil had not been won outright. He realized that he would have to return to the Plane of Darkness to retrieve the fabled Moonstone. Only by doing so would Magnamund truly be safe from an invasion by Naar's legions of darkness. Two years ago, with the aid of his most trusted ally, Lord Rimoah of Dessi, Lone Wolf fulfilled his vow by journeying to the Dark God's domain and retrieving the Moonstone of the Shianti. Upon his triumphant return, Lone Wolf placed the Moonstone in the Vault of the Sun — his personal chamber located deep below the fortified citadel of the Kai Monastery. He had hoped that the fabled artefact could remain there indefinitely, to be guarded by generations of Kai who would keep it secure from Naar's minions. Retrieval of the Moonstone had denied the Dark God's champions ready access to Magnamund, yet Lone Wolf knew that there were many lesser agents of Naar upon Magnamund waiting quietly in the shadows for the chance to do his evil bidding. Undoubtedly they would stop at nothing to retrieve the Moonstone for their foul master.

  Within a year of his return home it became clear to Lone Wolf that his wish could not be fulfilled. At first the presence of the Moonstone seemed greatly beneficial to Sommerlund. Crops grew abundantly, incidence of disease and illness became increasingly rare, and the newly-born were uniformly healthy. Even the offspring of the impoverished who, in normal times, could expect only one in three of their infants to survive longer than a month beyond birth, were all in good health and exceptional in their physical and mental development. The Sommlending called this extraordinary period of providence the ‘Blessing of the Moonstone’, yet this time of good fortune could not last. The power of the Moonstone is a great force for Good, but it is also greatly disruptive of the natural order of Magnamund. Soon death itself became a rarity in Sommerlund, and the four seasons of the year were slowly transformed into one unending spring. Lone Wolf was deeply troubled by the changes wrought by the Moonstone and sought the counsel of his closest friend — Guildmaster Banedon — leader of Sommerlund's Brotherhood of Magicians. Banedon entreated him to relinquish the Moonstone before the effects of its power became irreversible. To right the imbalance of nature the Moonstone would have to be taken to the Isle of Lorn, in the southernmost reaches of Magnamund, and delivered back into the hands of the Shianti. Only they, its creators, could prevent its powers from disrupting the natural order of your world.

  Lone Wolf agreed with Banedon — the Moonstone would have to be returned to the Shianti. The physical effects of its presence were beginning to attract the unwelcome attentions of those who secretly desire to enact Naar's revenge upon the Kai. When one of Naar's agents was captured by a Kai patrol within a few miles of the monastery, Lone Wolf felt he could wait no longer. He resolved to act immediately. Preparations were made for a long journey and, especially among the lower ranks of the Kai, rumours were rife that your leader would personally take responsibility for returning the Moonstone to the Shianti. Indeed, this speculation seemed to be confirmed as fact when it was discovered that Lone Wolf had secured the use of Guildmaster Banedon's famous flying ship — Cloud-dancer.

  It therefore came as a shock when, early one morning, you were summoned unexpectedly to the Vault of the Sun. In strictest confidence, Supreme Master Lone Wolf informed you that he had decided to entrust you with the task of returning the Moonstone. His elaborate preparations were simply a diversion, a bluff designed to draw attention away from the vital mission that he wished you — the most talented and courageous of his five Kai Grand Masters — to undertake. It was with great pride and apprehension that you accepted the quest.

  Lone Wolf gave you the precious Moonstone in a seemingly ordinary satchel, yet the lining of this plain leather bag was woven from korlinium, a special mineral that would hide the Moonstone's powerful energies from the agents of Naar. In the guise of a Kai journeyman, you set sail from the Sommlending capital of Holmgard aboard a sailing ship that was to carry you south on the first leg of your journey, a voyage of 2,000 miles to Elzian, the capital of Dessi. This legendary city is home to Lord Rimoah and the Elder Magi. They are the last surviving members of Magnamund's oldest race of magicians and they had promised Lone Wolf that they would help you reach your final destination. You had hoped and expected the voyage to be swift and uneventful; however fate and ill fortune decreed otherwise. Your voyage was fraught with danger, yet you overcame the many perils ranged against you and eventually arrived at the Dessian capital, to the relief of Lord Rimoah and his anxious brother magicians who had feared the worst.

  For three days you were treated to the hospitality of the Elder Magi and the freedom of the wondrous city of Elzian. Then, on the morning of the fourth day, having fully recovered from the rigours of your journey to Dessi, you set out upon the final stage of your quest — the voyage to the Isle of Lorn. Passage had been arranged for you aboard a Suhnese trading ship called The Azan. The ship's master, Captain Jenkshi, had been paid handsomely to carry you to his home port of Suhn and you had been promised a swift and comfortable voyage. However, this was not to be. In the Shadakine city-port of Ghol-Tabras you fell foul of Sesketera, the cit
y's ruthless ruler, and you were forced to abandon The Azan during your daring escape from his murderous bodyguards. After a perilous journey south by way of land and sea, you finally reached the Port of Suhn. There you made contact with Lord Zinair, the Dessian ambassador. He provided you with a small sailboat for your passage to the Isle of Lorn. This tiny island home of the Shianti lies no more than 200 miles east of the busy Port of Suhn, across the Sea of Dreams, yet no sailor has ever set eyes upon it for the Shianti have encircled their refuge with a web of enchantments, magical mists, and winds. Aided by the power of the Moonstone, you were able to navigate these mysterious waters and land upon the shores of Lorn.

  The Shianti had sensed the approach of the Moonstone and were waiting to greet your arrival. In a formal ceremony in the sacred Temple of Amida you received the thanks and praise of Acarya, the leader of the Shianti exiles. Solemnly, he vowed to deliver the Moonstone into the hands of Goddess Ishir herself, thereby ensuring that never again would its power disrupt Magnamund's delicate balance of nature, nor be misused by the forces of Evil.

  After the ceremony, the Shianti revealed to you some of the magical wonders of their island that have never before been seen by Man. You marvelled at flowing rivers of jewels, fabulous flora, and species of exotic fauna. After your tour of this paradise isle you were allowed to rest before being escorted to your sailboat to begin your journey back to the Port of Suhn.

  Your return voyage across the Sea of Dreams was swift and eerily smooth. You sensed that your direction and speed were being controlled by the Shianti, for within minutes of casting off from the shores of Lorn, the bustling harbour entrance to the Port of Suhn suddenly appeared from out of the swirling sea mist. A stiff breeze caught your sail and propelled you towards the quayside where Lord Zinair was waiting to greet your valiant return.