Characters in Lone Wolf series

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This is a list of the major and minor characters who have appeared in the Lone Wolf series of gamebooks. Some are allies of the protagonist, some are neutral bystanders, and others enemies. But all have played their part in Lone Wolf's unending crusade against the dark forces.

Contents 1 Agarash 2 Alyss 3 Axim of Ryme 4 Banedon 5 Gashgiss 6 Gnaag 7 Gwynian the Sage 8 Haakon 9 Ishir 10 Kai 11 Lone Wolf 12 Naar 13 Nyxator 14 Paido 15 Rhygar 16 Sun Eagle 17 Vashna 18 Viveka 19 Vonotar 20 Zagarna 21 References

[edit] Agarash

Agarash, or Agarash the Damned, is a fictional creature of incredible evil power from the gamebook series Lone Wolf by Joe Dever. The dark God Naar sent Agarash to Magnamund to defeat Nyxator, whom his servants had tried to kill for two millennia. Agarash build a vast city called Naaros and, aided by his three magic runes and his Claw of Naar, was able to conquer all of southern Magnamund in 6700 MS.

Agarash the Damned he created ten relics before his death to encapsulate his power and ensure that it would haunt Magnamund. Seven crystals he fashioned from jet, which he called the Doomstones, but also three slabs he created from obsidian. These slabs were engraved with marks, or runes, to distinguish their origin. Long thought lost after Naaros’s destruction, the three runes resurfaced in the hands of Lord Vandyan of Eldenora. They were destroyed in Duadon during the Rune War.

Agarash then travelled to the center of the planet, killed Nyxator and stole his Lorestones. In desperation not to lose Magnamund to evil, Ishir and Kai sent the Elder Magi, a race of magical beings who were able to combat Agarash. In a war that lasted a thousand years, the Magi were finally able to kill Agarash and recapture the Lorestones, but not before Agarash was able to hide his Doomstones. Agarash the Damned's legacy is vast; his instruments of evil have aided evils cause long after his defeat.

Here is a short list of the artefacts Agarash has created:

• The Vorka Rune was capable of summoning the Vorka, a breed of agarashi long thought extinct. Vorka are reptilian creatures with an odd grace. They were summoned in titanic numbers during the Rune War and were the driving force for Eldenora’s invasion of the Northern Magnamund. The Vorka were destroyed when the Rune was cleaved.

• The Zorkaan Rune summoned to Magnamund the entity Zorkaan the Soultaker. A dark shadow that feeds off souls, Zorkaan was imprisoned on Magnamund following the destruction of the Rune.

• The Vaag Rune summoned to Magnamund the Vaag, a flying race of agarashi capable of conquering the world. Unimpeded by any obstacle, the Vaag were destroyed when their rune was shattered in Duadon.

• The Skull of Agarash is a dark relic that fell into the hands of a Nadziran. It may have been discovered on Bukimi by accident, but Naar himself may have had a role in the discovery of Agarash’s skull. The power of the skull was used to ensnare the pirate Khadro, and the ensuing events led to the kidnapping of Lord Rimoah at the port of Kadan in 5077. Lone Wolf destroyed the Skull at Bukimi in that same year.

• The Claw of Naar, an evil wand of power, was crafted by Naar himself and used by Agarash the Damned during his conquest of Magnamund. Though believed to have been lost forever in the chasm of Naaros, it resurfaced when Autarch Sejanoz of Bhanar sent his Imperial Guard into the Doomlands. There, they excavated an unmarked burial mound near Naaros, and inside this mound was found the Claw of Naar. The Claw was to be delivered to Autarch Sejanoz. However, after a failed attempt to capture it at Sunderer Pass, the New Order master secured the Claw. Though it changed hands several times, the Kai warrior managed to keep it in his possession after a timely discovery of the Claw in Yua Tzhan. At Zuda, west of the Chai forts, Autarch Sejanoz personally attempted to wrest the Claw from the Kai warrior. A fire and a timely escape allowed the Sun Lord to escape to Chai aboard Sejanoz’s personal chariot and with the Claw. Following its capture, the Claw of Naar was destroyed by the Elder Magi. The Claw of Naar’s head resembles a petrified vulture’s foot, cast in a black metal that is flecked with shimmering scarlet specks. Its shaft is twisted, like the length of a gnarled root, and it is perforated along its length with pea-sized hollows. The wand is capable of discharging a blast of energy, and cannot be harmed by ordinary means.

[edit] Alyss

A mischievous-looking and -minded demi-goddess in the service of Ishir and Kai (although her morals, as Lone Wolf discovers, have also potential for evil). She appears late in the gamebook series (The Legacy of Vashna), but in the novels she takes on a more prominent role as Lone Wolf's silent guardian and Banedon's love interest.

She appears as a teenage human girl with close-cropped red hair and dressed in a short leather tunic and breeches. She has the power to make herself - and any person she designates - invisible and undetectable even to the minions of Naar, but she may drop this protection whenever she sees fit. While she is a demi-goddess, however, she has also her limitations, and at least once she requires the help of mortals as well as they require hers.

[edit] Axim of Ryme

Commander of the elite bodyguard regiment of King Alin IV of Durenor, this Durenese knight is described as a 'champion swordsman'. He first appears in Fire on the Water, where he meets Lone Wolf in the tunnel of Tarnalin and escorts him to Hammerdal to claim the Sommerswerd. He then sets sail with Lone Wolf for Sommerlund at the head of the Durenese fleet, contending with the death-hulks of Vonotar the Traitor en route and eventually arriving just in time to lift the Darklord siege of Holmgard.

He also appears in the Lone Wolf graphic novel The Skull of Agarash, riding to the Kai Monastery along with Lord Ardan of Dessi to deliver urgent news of Lord Rimoah's abduction by the notorious buccaneer Captain Khadro.

[edit] Banedon

Banedon is a young magician studying the arcane arts at the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star, the magician's guild in Toran, a Sommerlending port north of Holmgard. When he first appears (in Flight from the Dark), he is a novice, but he quickly advances in rank throughout the series and eventually becomes Guildmaster. He later becomes Lone Wolf's teacher in the use of left-hand magic as well (in the Kai Grandmaster and the New Order series).

Lone Wolf and Banedon soon become fast friends, and they end up aiding each other considerably during Lone Wolf's adventures. Banedon's most well-known resource is his skyship - first the Skyrider, later the Cloud-Dancer - with which he can transport Lone Wolf to the scene of a crisis faster than conventional transportation would allow.

In the Legends of Lone Wolf novel series he becomes romantically attracted to the demi-goddess Alyss.

[edit] Gashgiss

Appears in Fire on the Water. Leader of a colony of the small, furry rodent-men known as Noodnics, he will show Lone Wolf a way through the tunnel of Tarnalin, past two Helghast lying in ambush, if the player is able to communicate with him using the Kai discipline of Animal Kinship. However, in exchange for this aid, the Noodnics will steal all of Lone Wolf's gold.

If the player does not possess Animal Kinship, then the Noodnics will simply attack Lone Wolf and drive him away, and he must continue on through Tarnalin on his own (and contend with the Helghasts).

[edit] Gnaag

Also known as Darklord Gnaag, is one of the chief villains in the fictional world of Magnamund in the gamebooks series Lone Wolf. He arrived in that world in the year 3072 after the creation of the Moonstone (MS) along with the 19 other Darklords.

Gnaag was noted in the series as the most intelligent of the Darklords and the master of Darklord politics. Through careful manipulation, and the murder of two fellow Darklords, he became Archlord of the Darklands in MS 5058.

After leading a campaign to conquer Magnamund, the character nearly defeated the protagonist Lone Wolf by attempting to destroy three of the Lorestones of Nyxator he was questing for, and then by sending Lone Wolf into the shadow world of the Daziarn. In the final book of the Magnakai series, The Masters of Darkness, Gnaag was defeated by Lone Wolf in the year MS 5070 and was condemned by the dark god Naar to an eternity on the Plane of Darkness for his failure.

In the year 3072 MS, the Darklords were sent to Magnamund by Naar to conquer the planet for evil. Because of their corrupt and evil nature, the Darklords could not breathe the "sweet air" of Magnamund, and so they destroyed most of northeastern Magnamund and created a realm known as the Darklands which had air that "corroded a mortal's lungs".^[1] Originally the ruler of the Darklord city of Mozgoar, a Darkland city-fortress to the west of Gazad Helkona, Gnaag was often seen in the capitol Helgedad walking on foot, in contrast to most of the then 16 living Darklords who flew on Zlanbeasts.^[2] He was also noted for his "flowery language" and his vast intellect, which was shown by the physical form which Naar chose for him.^[3] His gestures were "fey", and his body evoked "fragility", but some considered this a mask of his true strength.^[2]

Gnaag "resembles a monstrous fly", with "gleaming multi-faceted eyes".^[4] He was "slight", with an "insectile form". His outer flesh was mostly invisible, revealing his wet and green internal organs. Blood oozed in waves from the dome of his bald head, and his narrow feet had claws.^[2] His mind is his own, but his intellect and his soul are just repositories for the infinite evil of the dark god Naar, which was revealed when Vonotar entered the mind of Darklord Zagarna.^[1] To eat, he sometimes tore apart live Giaks.^[2]

One of the most intelligent of the Darklords, Gnaag was also the most politically astute, making sure to distance himself from Zagarna's failed MS 5050 invasion of Sommerlund.^[2] Gnaag had distrusted Zagarna's partner Vonotar the wizard, and disagreed that he should have equal status with the darklords.^[3] Gnaag controlled the contest for archlordship between darklords Haakon and Slutar after Zagarnas death. ^[2]

He also manipulated the competitors Glurch and Unc during the contest for control of the darklands following the death of Darklord Haakon.^[2] Gnaag ensured that things would escalate into a civil war, and right before it began, Gnaag, with the help of Nadziranim sorcerers of many Darklords, destroyed both of the Darklords in a colossal display of power,^[2] and after five years of civil war, Gnaag assumed the Archlordship of the Darklands.^[4]

Gnaag launched an enormous campaign to conquer Northern Magnamund, sending his huge armies against the freelands therein. He also sent Helghasts and other monsters to block Lone Wolf from retrieving the Lorestone of Herdos from the Danarg swamp.^[4] Gnaags Darklord armies conquered the southern Sommerlund province of Ruanon, and thus nearly prevented Lone Wolf from continuing his quest, were it not for Sommerlunds King Ulnar who requested that he continue.^[5] Darklord armies began to converge on Tahou with the help of the Vassagonian empire which was allying with them. Lone Wolf had raced there to gain the Lorestone before Gnaags armies arrived, but as he emerged victorious, he found the city in the middle of a huge siege by Darklord armies. Through the main gates came the Zahkan Kimah, the ruler of Vassagonia, who engaged Lone Wolf in combat and was defeated. Demoralized, and now surrounded by human reinforcements, the Darklord armies were decimated. This could have turned the tide in the wars against the Darklords. Gnaag then appeared before Lone Wolf in Tahou, promising to destroy him and the three remaining Lorestones Lone Wolf was searching for on his Magnakai quest.^[5] It was feared by Lone Wolf and his councilers that with the Nadziranims help, Gnaag could achieve his goal. Lone Wolf set out for Torgar, the place that had been revealed to be holding the Lorestones, but it was an elaborate trap set by Gnaag. As Lone Wolf climbed the scaffolding of the underground chamber to reach the lorestones, Gnaag appeared in the room and cried "Vengeance is mine, Lone Wolf!" He destroyed the scaffolding holding the Lorestones, and sent Lone Wolf and the lorestones into the Daziarn through a shadow gate.^[6]

Once Lone Wolf had fallen through the Daziarn shadow gate, Gnaag proclaimed the death of Lone Wolf and his own invincibility. The allied human armies were quickly ejected from Torgar, and the Darklord armies losses ceased. Using the tanoz-tukor that allowed for the Darklords to use a magical breathing device, they were able to survive outside the Darklands and wage war themselves, to devastating effect. In the next eight years, the Darklords, allied with Vassagonia, succeeded in conquering most of Northern Magnamund and building a huge blockade between Sommerlund and their close ally Durenor. It was thought to be only a matter of time, with no Durenese reinforcements, that Sommerlund and the rest of the planet would fall to the Darklords.^[7] Secretly, Lone Wolf, having returned from his exile in the Daziarn after eight years, succeeded in finding his way into Helgedad and confronting the Darklord in the Tower of the Damned in final combat. Using the Sommerswerd, the Darklord was reduced to atoms. If Lone Wolf fights with another magical item, Gnaag's combat skill is 50, and his endurance point total is 70. Gnaag wields Nadazgada, or "Dark Burn", which was forged of black steel in Helgedad and imbued with magical spells by the Nadziranim. ^[7]

Lone Wolf later discovered Gnaag being chased by Tzor, keeper of Evil souls, on the Plain of Despair outside of Naars fortress on the Plane of Darkness in the book The Curse of Naar.^[8]

[edit] Gwynian the Sage

An old sage and astronomer skilled in prophecy. He becomes a valuable friend and advisor to Lone Wolf during the course of the series. In The Lorestone of Varetta, book 11 of the novelized Lone Wolf series, Gwynian explains that he is a member of the Nameless Order, an underground alliance of intellectuals with the common purpose of overthrowing the warmongering rulers of the Stornlands countries.

Gwynian originates from Varetta, an ancient city located in the Stornlands, but he has been known to travel everywhere where his advice and presence were needed. In The Chasm of Doom he appears in a small hut near the Ruanon Pike, for instance, and in The Cauldron of Fear he has become Chief Magistrate of the city of Tahou.

Besides his talent of forseeing the future, he is also skilled in the crafting of certain magical artefacts, like the Sun Stone, which is able to collapse Shadow Gates it comes in contact with (Dawn of the Dragons and The Fall of Blood Mountain).

[edit] Haakon

Also known as Darklord Haakon, is a fictional monster from the gamebook series Lone Wolf by Joe Dever. Originally he was the master of Aarnak, but became the Archlord of the Darklords before his death by Lone Wolf.

Haakon was one of the twenty Darklords of Helgedad who emerged on Magnamund in the third millennium after the creation of the Moonstone to conquer the planet for Naar, King of Darkness.

Darklord Haakon considered several Darklords to be strong opponents; Kraagenskul of Helgedad and Dakushna of Kagorst were strong contenders, for Kraagenskul possessed a magical blade, Helshezag, or the Black Sword, and Dakushna possessed the most powerful of Doomstones, the Doomstone of Darke, mounted in a magical silver rod called the Nyras Scepter. At this time the other Darklords viewed Gnaag of Mozgoar and Nhorg of Gourizaga as the weakest Darklords.

Eventually, the campaign pitted Darklord Haakon against Darklord Slutar, who took control of Kaag upon the death of Haakon after Zagarna's death.

His Nadziranim were among the most powerful in the Darklands, and he was personally a very formidable warrior. Darklord Haakon of Aarnak was one of the physically strongest of the Darklords, and he was not lacking in resources as well. War escalated between Slutar and Haakon, after they forced the other sixteen Darklords to give up their claims to succeed Zagarna.

Haakon then kidnapped Lone Wolf to impress the other Darklords in the mad rush. Darklord Slutar retaliated by trying to kidnap the warrior Qinefer, but failed. Slutar then helped Lone Wolf escape from Helgedad by using Carag, Vonotar the Traitor's Giak. He freed Lone Wolf on the very day Haakon had decided to have him executed, for he feared that this would cause his brothers Darklords to all support Haakon against him. Slutar also reckoned that Lone Wolf's escape would make Haakon look incapable.

Haakon exposed Slutar as a traitor by forcing Carag to tell that Slutar had helped Lone Wolf escape, and this caused Slutar to be looked upon as a pariah by the other Darklords and paved the way for Haakon's ascendance to the title of Archlord. Upon Haakon's slaying by the Sommerswerd, civil war erupted as those who had lain in wait sprung forward.

[edit] Ishir

Ishir is the Goddess of the Moon. She is a goddess of good. Ishir plays a crucial role in the book series, with repeated interventions to help Lone Wolf and others. Tiring of endless war with Naar, Ishir created a vessel, which Naar filled with his essence, and born of this was Aon, or the material plane of existence. Ishir was also the one who requested that the Shianti leave Magnamund with the Moonstone, and in response to their pleas, allowed them to live on the Isle of Lorn and send the Moonstone into the Trianon, a magical prison in the abyss of Daziarn.

Ishir is also (in both the gamebooks and the novel series) the deity most mentioned by name, and one of the main currencies in Magnamund, the Lune, seems to be dedicated to her.

[edit] Kai

The God of good. He is allied with the Goddess Ishir, and serves as the "Lord of the Sun".^[1] Kai encouraged his demi-gods to become the first mortals on Magnamund and become sea dragons, of which Nyxator was the wisest. He also co-created the Elder Magi, the Herbalish, and the Sommlending.

Kai is the patron of the Kai warriors and the nation of Sommerlund, and has given his creations many gifts. Nyxator created the Lorestones, encapsulating the wisdom given to him by Kai, and which Sun Eagle and Lone Wolf used to become Kai Grand Masters and keep the Darklords from conquering Magnamund.

Kai appears several times in the Lone Wolf series, but only once directly. He gave Lone Wolf the ability to grow beyond a Kai Grand Master and become a Supreme Master, and can also learn to call upon him for guidance every so often.

The Gods Ishir and Kai were locked in perpetual war against the god of evil, Naar. As an attempt to end this war, Ishir and Naar made a covenant, or "vessel" to seal the pact, out of which the physical universe of Aon was created. On each of the planets it contained, sentient life emerged, and soon both good and evil quickly began claiming planets for their side. The victor on the last unclaimed planet, Magnamund, would decide whether good or evil would forever dominate existence.^[1] Kai, Ishirs ally, sent some of his demi-gods to become mortal; they took the form of colossal dragons, the greatest of which was Nyxator. When Naars evil dragons begin infiltrating their underwater home, Kai spoke to Nyxator of this fear and gave him great powers. These powers Nyxator encapsulated in the Lorestones so they might be preserved for all time.^[1] Kai and Ishir also created the Elder Magi and the Herbalish; the Elder Magi who successfully made war against Naars champion Agarash the Damned, though they were nearly wiped out by the great plague the Cenerese created, and the Herbalish successfully stopped it.^[1]

Kai and Ishirs final creation was the Sommlending, a race of fair skinned people who were created to stop the Darklords of Helgedad in the year MS 3434. They also became his chief worshippers, though other aligned with good did so as well, and the Sommlending adorned their flags and heraldic images with the sun in his honor.^[1] He and Ishir also created the Sommerswerd, or the "sword of the sun", which was used by King Ulnar I to destroy Archlord Vashna at the Maakangorge.^[9] Kai, unbeknownst to anyone, gave the Baron of Toran exceptional wisdom and strength, which the Baron quested to tap into by finding the lost Lorestones of Nyxator. He became the first Kai lord, Sun Eagle, and founded the Order of the Kai and built a Kai Monastery where Sommlending children with potential could develop their abilities fully.^[1]

The Dark God Naar prevented Ishir and Kai from sending reinforcements to stop the relentless flow of monsters Naar was transporting to Magnamund through shadow gates.^[10] Lone Wolf stole the Moonstone and had it returned to the Shianti, it has been delivered to Ishir for safe keeping.^[11]

The God Kai spoke to Lone Wolf during his journey in the Daziarn. In The Prisoners of Time, Kai appears as a "mighty warrior, strong and wise, whose golden eyes stare down at you with supernatural majesty. A kindly smile softens his heroic features and a vioce, deep and wondrous, rumbles from his throat." Kai told Lone Wolf he could "right the imbalance" threatening Magnamund, and that "inside you there burns a flame that can light the hopes of future men for all time".^[12]

After his ascension to the rank of Kai Grand Master, Lone Wolf found he had been granted abilities by Kai far beyond the normal Sommlending, and discovered abilities beyond those of the Kai Grand Master, which had been thought to be the apex of Kai potential. Lone Wolf also ages only one year for every five years that pass.^[13]

In the Grand Master series when Lone Wolf reaches the level of Grand Thane and has the Grand Master ability of Telegenisis, he is able to call upon Kai for assistance. Although Kai is unable to save him from physical harm, Kai can give signs as to the right course of action. He can be called upon no more than once a month, though the frequency he can be called increases as Grand Masters increase in rank. ^[14]

In the New order series, the New Order Kai Grand Master who was sent to recover prince Karvas in the book Mydnight's Hero discovered a shrine to God Kai in the ruins of where the Elder Magi had built a fortress in the Doomlands.^[15]

[edit] Lone Wolf

He was originally known as Silent Wolf, is the main character and hero of the fictional game series Lone Wolf (gamebooks) written by Joe Dever. He was born in MS 5036 in Dage and named Landar. He began as Silent Wolf, an inattentive Initiate of the Kai Monks.

Author Joe Dever has stated that he admires his singleminded pursuit of his noble causes. He also stated that the comparisons between himself and the character are "few", and Lone Wolf is not his alter ego. Steve McQueen in The Great Escape was another inspiration for the character.^[16]

In the novel series, Lone Wolf is a rather moody character, prone to fits of rage which make him a target for emotion-controlling attacks from time to time. He is slow to mature, both as a man and a Kai Lord; therefore his name appears quite fitting. His favorite weapon is the axe, although he also uses the Sommerswerd extensively.

[edit] Naar

The name of the god of darkness in the Lone Wolf book series. Naar appears to be an infinite being, always having existed in conflict with Ishir in a sort of duelistic fighting. It appears from the author, Joe Dever's writing that they are unable to conquer one another, though in the book The Curse of Naar, there is text that indicates that Lone Wolf with his Sommerswerd could smite the dark god, meaning either harm or destroy.

Naar exists on the Plane of Darkness, and from there leads his forces of darkness against the Goddess Ishir and the God Kai, and Lone Wolf on the planet Magnamund. When Lone Wolf encounters him, Naar's appearance is described in the following fashion: "Naar's favored form is a great globular body, like that of a bloated spider, borne by a score of stunted limbs which emerge chaotically from the underside of a sac-like abdomen. His face hangs like a parody of a wrinkled old sow's yet with an evil-smelling black hole where one could expect a snout. The upper surface of his body is covered with pouches of vile fluids that trail wisps of black smoke, and his maw is studded with hundreds of blue-stained fangs. But it is the eyes that shock you most. The Dark God has the eyes of a man." Naar is renounced throughout existence for his ability to create a huge variety of monsters to unleash upon the universe of Aon.

[edit] Nyxator

He was a fictional sea dragon in the gamebook series Lone Wolf by Joe Dever. He was sent to Magnamund by the God Kai to establish good as the dominant force on the planet. He was blessed by Kai for being the wisest of his disciples and was granted great powers which Nyxator encapsulated in the Lorestones.

Evil sea dragons sent by the dark god Naar infiltrated the dragons and wiped out all of the good dragons except Nyxator who fled to the core of the planet, where he remained until he was slain by Naar's champion, Agarash the Damned. His legacy lives on through protagonists Sun Eagle and Lone Wolf, who used the Lorestones to become Kai Grand Masters.

The planet Magnamund was the key to the victory of either good or evil in the material plane of existence known as Aon. The first creatures sent there were demi-gods of the God Kai who shed their immortality and took the form of giant sea dragons. Naar sent his own agents as dragons, and thus disturbed, Kai instructed Nyxator, the wisest of the dragons, of this growing danger and also gave him many powers. Nyxator gathered all of the good dragons, left the seas and built a civilization on land called Cynx. In the year 12,209 MS, Nyxator created the Lorestones to encapsulate the knowledge given to him by Kai for all time.^[1] Part of this wisdom was an abiding love for all living things.^[17]

The dragons aligned with Naar emerged from the seas and made war upon Cynx for centuries. They rained fire on the land, and the good dragons were reduced from thousands, to tens, until all were killed except Nyxator, who fled to Magnamunds molten core with the Lorestones. For centuries the evil dragons decimated the land until they turned on one another and went extinct. ^[1] The dark God Naar was furious that Nyxator had survived, and for two millennia "the air was dark with steam and fiery dust", and the seas boiled and the land erupted, but he could not reach Nyxator. In his fury, Naar sent his greatest avatar, Agarash the Damned, to Magnamund. He journeyed to the planets molten core to battle Nyxator, and though the dragon dueled with him for decades, he was now several thousand years old, his strength failed him and he was slain. The last thing he ever saw was Agarash stealing the Lorestones he had so long protected.^[1]

In later books both Sun Eagle and Lone Wolf later used the power and wisdom of Nyxators Lorestones to become Kai Masters, and the quest to find them is a central storyline in the Lone Wolf gamebook series. Nyxator also came up in Lone Wolfs quest of the Magnakai, such as when he journeyed into the city of Zaaryx, the only surviving dragon city from the Age of Chaos, which was deep underground the modern human city of Tahou, to recover one of the Lorestones.^[18] At the end of Lone Wolf's quest to free his friend Banedon from the Darklord fortress of Kaag, he observes that the southern gate is built from the hide and bones of Nyxator.^[19]

[edit] Paido

A warrior-magician from the southern land of Dessi, from the folk of the Vakeros, allies of the Elder Magi. He first appears in Castle Death, though only as a guide, not as a companion. He later joins Lone Wolf and is captured by Gnaag's forces (The Jungle of Horrors), only to resurface again in The Dungeons of Torgar. However, the reunion is brief; he is soon slain by Gnaag, and his soul is condemned to the Plane of Darkness, where it is eventually found and recovered by Lone Wolf and sent to eternal rest on the Plane of Light (The Curse of Naar).

[edit] Rhygar

Sommerlund's envoy to Durenor. Born of a Sommlending father and a Durenese mother, this wise and powerful knight meets Lone Wolf in the Consulate of Sommerlund in Fire on the Water and, with three of his best men, escorts the Kai Lord on the 230 mile ride to Hammerdal. However, the party is waylaid by a group of six Helghast mid-route, and scattered. Lone Wolf is forced to flee the terrible battle with Rhygar until they reach the great tunnel of Tarnalin, where the valiant Lord-lieutenant gives him some food and tells him to go on with his mission while he, alone, holds the tunnel entrance against the pursuing Helghast. The player, at this point, has the option of giving Rhygar the only weapon in his possession capable of slaying a Helghast, a Magic Spear.

Later, after Lone Wolf has acquired the Sommerswerd, the sad news is brought to him by Madin Rendalim that Rhygar had fallen in battle with the Helghast.

[edit] Sun Eagle

He is the fictional founder of the Order of the Kai in the gamebook series Lone Wolf by Joe Dever. Originally the Baron of Toran, he also fought against Darklord Vashna in the Helghast Wars.

He was told by magicians that he had great latent powers given to him by the God Kai. He then went on a legendary quest to develop his powers and seek out the Lorestones of Nyxator, the God Kai's greatest champion of old. After recovering them all, he developed the Kai disciplines, abilities to become superhuman and push past what was thought possible in human potential.

Sun Eagle built the Kai Monastery in MS 3810 and began recruiting among the Sommlending children. He recorded his wisdom and experiences in the Book of the Magnakai, which Lone Wolf would later recover and use to discover where the Lorestones had gone.

[edit] Vashna

Also known as Darklord Vashna, is the fictional leader of the Darklords in the gamebook series Lone Wolf by Joe Dever, and their most powerful member. After the departure of the Shianti, the Age of the Black Moon began with the arrival of the 20 Darklords created by the evil God Naar. Vashna soon achieved mastery over the others and launched the War of Desecration, succeeding in conquering vast portions of the Northern Continent and exterminating multiple races. He took the title of Archlord in MS 3192. He was the architect of Helgedad and eight other colossal fortress-cities.

The Sommlending, lead by King Kian, stopped this conquest and took the land that was to become Sommerlund. Vashna swore vengeance on Sommerlund for his first defeat. He initiated the Helghast Wars in retaliation, but the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star helped turn the tide against the shape shifting hordes. In the last battle of the Helghast Wars, Ulnar I and his armies drove the Darklord army to the brink of the Maakengorge. There, Ulnar I cursed Vashna with the Sommerswerd and dispersed Vashna's atoms to the ends of Aon. It is said that Vashna and his armies spirits are still in the Maakengorge, waiting to be summoned to obtain vengeance against Sommerlund and the house of Ulnar. Lone Wolf foiled two attempts to raise Vashna and his armies from the dead.

[edit] Viveka

Viveka is a mercenary woman who first (and in the gamebook series, only) appears in Fire On The Water. A very attractive woman, her face bears a scar which, however, only enhances her beauty. She is a deadly opponent in hand-to-hand combat.

In the Legend of Lone Wolf novel series, she has a more prominent role. A former princess, she was nearly killed by her Naar-worshipping brother and was forced to kill him. She then fled and was taught to be a warrior by a Kai Lord (In fact she had latent talent for being a Kai Lord herself, but then she was too old to be initiated). She turned to the life of a mercenary.

Viveka meets Lone Wolf during his journey to Durenor to seek aid from King Alin and retrieve the Sommerswerd. She immediately senes that he is not what he claims to be and takes it upon her to protect him during his mission, even to the point that she is seriously wounded twice. She later reappears, however, and becomes one of Lone Wolf's trusted friends and companions. There are hints that Lone Wolf has - for a time - also a crush on her, but she keeps her distance.

[edit] Vonotar

Also known as Vonotar the Traitor, is a fictional wizard who was originally a member of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star from the game book series Lone Wolf by Joe Dever. He was a member of the left-handed magicians guild in Toran, where he advocated the idea of using right-handed, or evil Nadzarin magic in combination with goodly magic to gain more power. Generating some support, but unable to sway the Guild as a whole, he set out to ally himself with the Darklords. After meeting with Archlord Zagarna, Vonotar informed him of the Kai lords feast which is held every year at dawn on Fehmarn. All the Kai are assembled in one place, and they may be destroyed in one fell swoop.

Vonotar helped coordinate the invasion, and helped to personally track down and kill those who survived the enemies invasion. With Lone Wolf's destruction of Darklord Zagarna, the Darklords and Sommerlund turned against Vonotar and he had to flee. He took up residence in the icy region of Kalte, where he killed the current ruler and then proceeded to conduct experiments to create an army of mutant followers, to little initial success. Having been captured by Lone Wolf and brought back to Sommerlund, he was banished to the Daziarn plane, a place where no one had ever returned from. Vonotar must not have been in the Daziarn that long, since the days there equal years in Magnamund. But while he was there, he allied himself with other criminals banished from the world of Magnamund, and searched for ways to return.

Having obtained the last of the lorestones, Vonotar uses his fellow exiles in the Daziarn, various Sommerlund criminals sentenced to the Daziarn, Vonotar attempts to escape through a portal to the world of Magnamund. Lone Wolf dispatches them in haste and engages in final battle with Vonotar, and finally kills him and claims the Lorestone for himself.

[edit] Zagarna

Also known as Darklord Zagarna, was the Archlord of the Darklords during the Massacre of the Kai in the fictional gamebook series Lone Wolf by Joe Dever. Taking the form a towering wolf-man, Zagarna also has a large set of salivating jaws in his abdomen which are controlled (as with many of the Darklords) by a secondary brain. He came to power through his successful discovery of one of the Doomstones of Agarash the Damned, and was responsible for conducting the nearly successful campaign to wipe out the Kai Lords and Sommerlund in the year MS 5050, the pivotal moment in the Lone Wolf book series.

Though all 19 Darklords attempted to succeed Vashna, Zagarna succeeded having found one of Agarashs Doomstones. Zagarna first invaded Sommerlund in MS 4219 and seemed likely to be victorious, but soon the great weakness of the Giak infantry was discovered and the invasion failed.^[20]

Tactically, Zagarna does not appear to have been heavily involved in the planning, and mostly he agreed to the requests of Vonotar, and for a while to great success. But as things began not to go their way, the relationship began to fray. His relationship with Vonotar was volatile, especially as the invasion commenced. At the height of his power, Zagarna was destroyed when Lone Wolf used the Sommerswerd to destroy Zagarna after Lone Wolf had retrieved it from Durenor and thus ended Zagarnas life and his invasion.

[edit] References

• Oasis Vonotar Entry
• Caverns of Kalte Book review
• Ishir definition
• Lone Wolf Newsletter 2000
• Sun Eagle entry
• Shadows on the Sand Book Review
• Kingdoms of Terror Book Review
• Oasis Agarash entry
• Doomstones entry