Read Voyage of the Moonstone Online
Authors: Joe Dever
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Lone Wolf, #Magnamund
Voyage of the Moonstone
The Moonstone is a legendary artefact that was created by the god-like Shianti. It contains the might of all their magic and wisdom, the sum of their divine knowledge. Lone Wolf — Supreme Master of the Kai — has succeeded in retrieving it from the clutches of Naar, the King of the Darkness.
Now the Moonstone must be returned to its creators who are exiled upon the remote Isle of Lorn in Southern Magnamund. Someone must take the fabled artefact to the Shianti and Lone Wolf has chosen you, the most promising warrior among the ranks of the New Order Kai, to carry out this vital mission. Armed with the special weapons and skills of a New Order Grand Master, you embark upon a secret voyage to the distant Isle of Lorn. However, your mission quickly becomes a life-and-death struggle when you encounter intrigue and deadly danger
en route
.
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.
Sadly,
Trevor Newton
, illustrator of
Voyage of the Moonstone
, passed away in 2002 before Project Aon volunteers could contact him regarding his work for the
Lone Wolf
series. He illustrated a number of titles for younger readers. His wife has very kindly allowed us permission to use his work for
Voyage of the Moonstone
for Project Aon, stating ‘I am sure Trevor would have been delighted to hear that Joe Dever's (and, incidentally, his own) work is being preserved.’
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 © 1994 Joe Dever.
Illustrations copyright © 1994 Trevor Newton.
Distribution of this Internet Edition is restricted under the terms of the
Project Aon License
.
‘Fear is a habit. I'm not afraid’
For Aung San Suu Kyi
1
[1] Aung San Suu Kyi is a renowned pro-democracy activist, advocate of non-violence, and prisoner of conscience in Burma.
‘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:
- Transcription
- Stuart Bradshaw
- Illustration Transcription
- Jonathan Blake
Ryan Marshall - XML
- Jonathan Blake
Simon Osborne - Action Charts
- JC Alvarez
Jonathan Blake - Alternate Illustrations
- Jan Charvát (Map)
Brian Williams (Weapons, Equipment) - Proofreading
- Sean Donald
- Editing
- Sean Donald
Ingo Klöcker
LeRoy McSwain
Simon Osborne
Timothy Pederick - Coordination
- Jonathan Blake
- Special Thanks
- Jan Charvát, Benjamin Krefetz, Chris Neilson, Anders Österberg, Robert Wellock.
We would also like to extend special thanks to Anita Newton for her blessing in using her husband's work as part of Project Aon.
You are a Kai 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 — the legendary warrior Lone Wolf — was the sole survivor of the First Order of the Kai, and as a young initiate he had stood amid the burning wreckage of the old Kai Monastery and had vowed to avenge the massacre of his comrades. In the year MS 5070 he was to keep his pledge when alone he infiltrated the foul domain of the Darklords and destroyed the base of their power — the infernal city of Helgedad.
With the fall of Helgedad, chaos befell the Darkland armies who had, until then, been poised to conquer all of 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 reestablished. You are one of this new generation of Kai recruits. You were born in Sommerlund in the year MS 5063, during the era of war against the Darklords, and you were sent by your father to the Kai Monastery at the age of seven to develop your martial skills and the latent Kai abilities which lie dormant in some Sommlending. During the years that followed, your skills were nurtured and honed 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 Sommerlund and the many ethereal domains which lie beyond it) the Dark God 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 the Dark God 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 had 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 forces of the Gods of Good, Kai and Ishir, had been held at bay. Only Lone Wolf and the New Order of the Kai had stood in the way of the onslaught of Naar's agents since 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 and retrieve the fabled Moonstone. Only by doing so would Magnamund truly be safe from 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 fell 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 after 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 was a great force for Good, but it was 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 concerned at 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 balance 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 sought 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 Lone Wolf himself would take responsibility for carrying the Moonstone to the Shianti. Indeed, this speculation seemed to be confirmed as fact when it was discovered that he 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 taking the Moonstone to the Shianti. The elaborate preparation he was undertaking was simply a diversion, a bluff designed to draw attention away from the vital mission that he wished to entrust to you — the most talented and courageous of his Kai Grand Masters.