Albion is a land of farms and fields, of apple orchards and streams, of strawberry-hedged lanes and bumblebees. But Albion's quiet and rural life is always under threat. The Orcs in the mountains; the warlike Easterners; the malformed and hideous creatures of the Barren Wastes: all these threaten to upset the peace.

The kingdom is some 180 miles from north to south, meaning it would take about a week to cross on foot or about three days on horseback by the Kings Road. Its primary terrain is rolling fields and gentle hills.

It is a feudal monarchy, ruled by the just King Jarrad I from his castle walls in Littlebrook. His two cousins rule the eastern and northern reaches of the Kingdom by his decree; Duke Edward overseeing the town of Eastward and Duke George overseeing the town of Thistledelve in the north. There are numerous strongholds dotted around the countryside and various nobles rule each of these, as vassals of the king or the dukes.

To the north lie the Furrow Hills and beyond them The Jagged Peaks, dominated by the towering Dragon's Perch — an extinct volcano.

To the west lies the Elvenwood, or Sylvandale, the realm of a xenophobic fey nation, where no humans are permitted to tread. Some light tree logging goes on along the fringes of the Elvenwood but no one goes too far in.

To the south, beyond the Barren Scrubs lies an uninhabited desert, completely devoid of life. It is said by the people of Albion to be impassable. Known locally as The Great Desert , in truth this region of wasteland and sands is quite small, and not far beyond it lies the state of Hishan.

To the east lie the lands of the Easterners, as the locals know them, the people Albion have been at war with for countless generations. The Easterners are a brutal race, ruled by an aggressive emperor, who will execute a resident of Albion on sight. Vast tracts of uncharted marsh, and the town of Eastward lie on the eastern borders. Also guarding the eastern flank of Albion is the forest of Eldaran. No one is too sure what or who lives in Eldaran now.

There are three major towns in the Kingdom: Littlebrook, the capital which lies in the south western corner, between the Elvenwood and the Barren Scrub; Eastward which lies on the eastern border, protecting the Kingdom from the ravages of the Easterners; and Thistledelve, which is situated in the northeast corner of the lands, near the The Black Swamp and the Furrowed Hills. Numerous hamlets dot the landscape between these towns, which are linked by the well-patrolled King’s Road. The King’s Road has three spurs, one to each town, and these meet at the village of Waymeet, in the centre of the Kingdom.

There are just three monasteries in the Kingdom that teach The Way, one situated nearby each of the major towns. The reason for the small number is probably that they represent the Easterners’ culture and most things from the east are viewed with scorn and suspicion by the people of Albion. The populace do not generally trust the monks and consider them spies. As a result, the monks tend to keep their backgrounds secret. However, since the Chaos Wars, when one monk was pivotal in helping save Albion from The Demon Prince, the study of The Way has become much more acceptable in the kingdom.

Barbarians roam the highlands and mountains to the north of the Kingdom and are uncommon but not unheard of in the northern reaches. Numerous tribes of these filthy humans mix and breed with the Orcs of the mountains and half-breeds are not uncommon. These men are known as the Feral. The fey homeland of Sylvandale lies west of Albion and is closed to humans by the isolationist queen that rules there. A few dwarves live in the hills south of the mountains, mostly in the northwest, and it is now known that a large stronghold of dwarves, called Khazagrim, lies somewhere under the western Furrow Hills.

Noble and just king of Albion. Son of the murdered King Richard II. Husband to Queen Rachel. Liked by all his subjects. Born in 642 AR, he is now 37 years old. He is also cousin to Dukes George and Edward.

Littlebrook is the current capital of the The Kingdom of Albion. It is said by some (typically those living far away) to be too far away from what is really happening in the land. It is said by others (typically those living nearby) that anything that happens away from Littlebrook is not worth knowing about.

Situated in the south western corner of the realm this town is the largest and most heavily populated of the whole kingdom. It is the cultural, religious, financial and military centre of the land.

The capital is run by the King, Jarrad the First, son of King Richard the Second, from his castle in the centre of the town. Cardinal O’Connor, head of the church resides in the magnificent Cathedral, and Sir Harken, head of the Order of the Sun lives in the Chapter House adjacent to it. These three people are in many ways the most powerful three people in the land.

Littlebrook stands on the site of the ancient city of Baras. Baras was raised to the ground in 350 BR during the Demon Prince's short Reign of Terror. It is believed that Baras was defeated by an army that came up from the underdark, headed by the Scarlet Lord, the Demon Prince's second leiutenant, spreading disease and destruction before buring everything that stood in the city. It was wiped out in less than a week.

Littlebrook is currently the biggest town in the kingdom, having been the first one to rebuild after the Reign of Terror. Baras was not the capital of the old kingdom but Littlebrook was the place the king at the time decided to build his new home.

Littlebrook was close to coming under the dominion of the Scarlet Lord and his wasting disease again during the Chaos Wars. But he was stopped by the Fellowship of Pelor. He was not destroyed, however, but imprisoned in an extradimensional prison.

Not far south of the Furrowed Hills, in the north-eastern corner of the kingdom, rolling farmlands and a few picturesque copses of ash and oak surround this town. It was a corner stone of the Old Faith and the ways of nature are still revered in this area today.

Nearby are the stronghold of Castle Fortuna, and the Monastery of the North Winds. The King’s Road North runs from this town to the village of Waymeet in the centre of the kingdom. Due to the continued protection of Eastward and the distance from the Jagged Peaks, this is a pretty safe and secure town.

The soldiers based here wear the sky blue of Thistledelve and their standard is a green thistle on a sky blue background.

Thistledelve has been here as long as the history of Albion, in one form or another. It has spent most of its time as a village but in recent centuries has grown to be a town.

Thistledelve was the home of the current King, Jarrad I, during the Chaos Wars, when he was Prince Jarrad. It was as far south as the hordes of the mountains managed to push during the wars and Thistledelve was hard pushed by the end. But it just held out due to some amazing warcraft by the now King and his advisors and generals.

The Duke of Thistledelve, Duke George, the twenty one year old cousin of the King is now ruler over Thistledelve and all the lands of the north.

Rumour has it that a strange half-man, half-horse creature apparently called a centaur now resides at the druid's grove.

The King's cousin and ruler of the north of the Kingdom. Duke George had a daughter, Danielle, who was killed by a mountain giant in the Furrow Hills.

The frontier town of Eastward is the first defence against the hordes of the east. A fortified town that is constantly at a state of readiness for war, this place is in every way a frontier town. Times are tough here and luxury is not well known.

Duke Edward, the cousin of King Jarrad I, rules this town and the lands around. It is constantly patrolled by soliders and is a safe place, in terms of crime. The palace is home to the current ruler of the town but palace is really far too strong a word for the castle keep that it really is. This whole town is built around defense and the palace is no exception.

The soldiers based here wear the navy blue of Eastward and their standard is a rampant bear on a navy blue background.

Eastward grew up from a fort, guarding the borders of the lands in years gone by. Slowly a small village grew up under the protection of the fort and the fort grew into a fortress and eventually the whole place grew into the walled town that it is today.

Eastward was ruled by Prince Jake during the Chaos Wars - the current King's elder brother. He was revealed as a werebear during the conflict as he took to the battlefield to fight the legions of the Easterners. He was also killed in that same conflict. At this stage Eastward almost fell, but was saved by the actions of a lone member of the Fellowship, who managed to assassinate Lord Taranaka - the leader of the armies opposing Eastward - in his own tent. This attack caused the Easterners' offensive to fail and the town was saved.

Since the discovery of Prince Jake being a werebear, the armies of the new Duke call themselves the Legion of the Bear and Duke Edward, understanding the importance of moral to an army, has adopted the sign of a rampant bear as the new heraldic device of his soldiers.

Trading levels with the east are good and increasing. No mans land is generally safe now.

The King's cousin and ruler of the east of the Kingdom. He was born in the year 639 AR, and is 40.

On the outskirts of the town of Eastward is the place where the horses of the Knights are trained. The third largest chapter house is located just south of the town of Eastward, attached to the Abbey of Eastward. The Abbey serves really as of secondary importance to the chapter house, as this chapter house is the place where the famous Knight’s Steeds are bred and trained. The grounds to the Abbey are huge and ranging and used to put the Steeds through their paces.

Eastward Abbey is a small church set in the grounds of the chapter house, really. The chapter house is a small stone keep which overlooks the Abbey and the grounds where the horses are trained. The grounds include large stables, training halls for the horses, tack rooms, exercise yards and miles upon miles of open expansive lands where the horses are trained.

The man in charge of the abbey where the horses are trained.

Oversees the Chapter House at Eastward Abbey.

The very centre of the kingdom, where the three spurs of the King’s Road meet is the village of Waymeet. It is a very safe place and a great place for people to meet and chat about what is happening in the kingdom. Very little occurs in Albion that does not get told of in the Waymeet Inn.

Waymeet is a delightful little place that could easily be called “quaint”. It is surrounded by farmlands and is currently the centre for the Old Faith in the kingdom. There is a small church, of course and the bishop here gets on well with the local druid.

The Count of Waymeet, Lord Thomas controls Waymeet from his castle around which the village spreads. He is a good leader, on good terms with the Abbot of the nearby seminary and also with Marik, the druid of the area. It is the most important village in the kingdom and Lord Thomas is the fourth most influential person in the kingdom after the king and his two cousins, the Dukes.

There is no standing army here but the area is patrolled equally by the soldiers from south, north and east.

Waymeet is important purely for its geographical position. It was existed for some two hundred years, since the King's Road was built. In fact, Waymeet was custom built as a meeting point at the centre of the kingdom, approximately equi-distant from all the major towns. Waymeet has always been the place to come for rumours and news in the kingdom. It is not possible to travel from one town to another in the kingdom, on the King's Road, without passing through Waymeet.

Waymeet had a fairly quiet time of it during the Chaos Wars. The hordes of the mountains were stopped at Thistledelve; the Easterners were stopped at Eastward; and the disease of the Scarlet Lord was contained before it escaped Littlebrook.

Warden Thomas was promoted to Count by the new King Jarrad I when he set up the Honour System of Albion in 670 AR. He is still as friendly as ever, his door is still open to all and Waymeet is still the place to come for news.

Lying on the southern edges of the Bandit Wood, the sleepy village of Ashtar would probably be of no significance at all were it not for the Old Church which lies some 4 miles outside of town, deeper into the Bandit Wood. Ashtar gets its name from the abundance of local ash trees. Day to day, the village is run by a village council, like most villages in Albion, under the control of Spokesman Enoch; the owner of the village inn. The village is under the effective control and protection of The Count of Waymeet, Lord Thomas. Waymeet is only a day’s walk away.

Located nearly at the heart of the kingdom, this large sprawling decidious wood got its name back at the start of the 20th century when it was crawling with bandits. It is now supposed to be clear of their like but still no one travels through the wood if they can help it as it still has an evil reputation.

Lying about a day's walk up stream from Waymeet, following the Dragons Flood, it's northern reaches edge the southern boundary of the Furrowed Hills and its southern reaches overhang the slow moving river. It is a fairly tangled forest with many briars, thorns and thistles. It is not a simple place to pass through. There are no known paths through the forest.

The trees here are not suitable for felling so there is no real economic gain to be had with claiming control of the wood. The wood is supposed to be deserted and is not logged by any woodsmen so there are no political issues here. The wood lies almost equidistant to Thistledelve and Waymeet so it probably suffers from both towns assuming the other will look after it.

It has been known to be used by the evil denizens of the mountains as a stopping point en route to raiding when times are tough in the mountains so claiming control of it would mean extra resources would need to be ploughed into patrolling it. Neither town seems keen to do that so both maintain an easy level of patrols around the area. No patrols enter the wood so no one knows what might lie in its centre.

It is an eerie place with an evil reputation.

Nothing much has changed in this old wood for a long time. The recent Chaos Wars mostly passed it by except that the Old Church of Ashtar was recovered by adventurers.

The Barren Scrub, also known as the Barren Wastes, lies to the south of the Kingdom of Albion. It is a desolate and deadly place, infested with tribes of hobgoblins and other far more sinister creatures.

These waste lands were once rolling plains and fertile hills much like the rest of Albion, but around fourteen centuries ago the fabled wizard Callindrill apparently summoned and lost control of a great daemon. The ensuing battle laid waste to the plains of southern Albion, creating a great desert and the desolate landscape that now dominates this part of the world.

The ancient city of Tamoachan lay in the south western portion of this region on what is now the border with The Great Desert and Hishan. It was utterly destroyed in the calamity that created this region. Its ruins exist here to this day.

The Tomb of Callindrill is rumoured to lay in the north eastern edge of the Barren Scrub. It was plundered by the Fellowship of the Sun at the turn of the second millennium, in search of the legendary Key of Seven Stars that was hid there by Titus.

After the Chaos Wars the Fellowship conducted a quest deep into the Barren Scrub to reclaim the fabled lost sword of Sir Karith, last grandmaster of the Knights of the Sun. They were unsuccessful.

It is rumoured that many strange and mystical beasts and constructs roam the Barren Scrub, possibly built, summoned or conjured by the late Callindrill. The truth of these rumours is unknown but no merchant caravans have ever come back after setting off into the wastelands south of the Kingdom and those few adventurers that do tell very tall tales.

The Black Swamp lies in the north east corner of the kingdom. It gets its name from the brackish waters that comprise most of this landscape. It is a foul smelling, disgusting place that provides no resources and no one in their right mind would go into.

There are no known trails through the marsh and the best way to traverse it would be by boat, but it has a bad reputation and few people ever venture far into it.

No one knows a great deal about this marsh, but many, many years ago there was supposed to be a great city built in this region. It must have sunk beneath the brackish waters and been swallowed without trace a long time past.

The Chaos Wars had no known effect upon this desolate place.

Many rumours are always floating around about this area. Strange lights are sometimes seen across the water, supposedly the torches of the reptile men, or perhaps lights lit by who knows whom to lure people to their death.

A plain and simple forest in the south east of the The Kingdom of Albion.

Castle Fortuna lies in the north east of the Kingdom, on the edge of the Furrowed Hills and in close proximity to the Black Marsh, northernmost of the eastern marshes. It is generally far enough removed from the passes into the land of the Easterners to be safe from the threat of invasion from that expansionist realm.

Castle Fortuna is located in a relatively safe place in Albion and is little bothered except for really cold winters that sometimes force the orcs of the Jagged Peaks to raid the farmlands around the castle. This has been going on for many years now and is never more than can be handled by the local militia and the odd band of adventurers.

The Lady Fortuna, Warden of the Black Marsh, swears fealty to King Jarrad I, to of Thistledelve, and the Knights of the Sun. She has been in charge of the castle and surrounding area for nearly five years now. She is well respected and liked by the people under her protection.

The stronghold used to be called Castle de Belame, which was run by Graham, Warden of the Black Marsh.

Castle de Belame was razed to the ground by the forces of the Demon Prince in The Chaos Wars.

The stronghold was renamed Castle Fortuna when it was granted to Lady Fortuna by the new King Jarrad I. It was rebuilt over the last few years by Lady Fortuna supposedly funded in part by treasure recovered from the lair of the great Cinderstorm and the Tomb of Callindrill.

Lady Fortuna has proved a good local ruler and the area is prospering under her leadership.

These hills are so named because they are regularly farmed by the northerners of Albion. They are very fertile and most of Albion's best crops grow here.

The Furrow Hills saw the brunt of the Chaos Wars. Most of the small hamlets and farmsteads which used to dot this landscape are now burnt out shells and rubble. Some have been rebuilt and there is a spirit of defiance among those who live here. The Duke of Thistledelve sees the rebuilding of the northern lands and these hills as his number one priority.

The ruined churches to two ancient demigods have been discovered near the village of Casden in the northern reaches of the Furrow Hills. This vale is known as the Valley of the Shrines.

The mage tower of Hollytree. Now owned by Camero the Archmage.

Hollytree is a small and insignificant village on the edge of the forest of Eldaran. Or at least it was. It is now home to the tower of Sir Arundel and also Sir Flek's original home village.

Hollytree is famous because it is the village where the Mage of Albion has always lived. In the past that was Myrddin, then Sir Arundel and now Sir Ermended. Additionally, Sir Flek's human parents lived here and he grew up here. Perhaps Myrddin had something to do with Flek's appearance in this place.

After the Chaos Wars, Sir Flek moved to Sylvandale and Sir Arundel moved into the tower here. Recently Sir Arundel has given up his tower in favour of Sir Ermenred.

The dwarven homeland, called Khazagrim by the dwarves, lies deep under the western end of the Furrowed Hills not too far from the Dragon’s Perch. It is the only place in all of Albion where dwarves are to be found, bar the few exceptions that take up adventuring and the well-known Dwarven Trade Missions. It is a mighty place with many halls, forges and craft shops. The entrances to Khazagrim are few and far between. Only one main entrance is known to the outside world and that lies in the western most hillside of the Furrowed Hills, over looking the place where the Dragon’s Flood leaves the Jagged Peaks. Less than a score miles to the north rise the foreboding slopes of the Dragon’s Perch.

Almost the entire population of dwarves in and around Albion lives in Khazagrim. There are some 500 dwarves living here in the halls and forges of the subterranean land.

A single monarch, Dain Balzar, rules the dwarven nation. His word is law. He is nearly 400 years old yet stout and strong like a young dwarf in his prime.

No one in Albion really knows how long the dwarves have been hidden here in their great halls under the Furrow Hills.

Very few people ever get to go to Khazagrim. No non-dwarves are ever allowed into its halls except in special circumstances such as happened in the Chaos Wars when the Fellowship of Pelor was permitted entrance, in the company of Traubon.

The dwarven trade missions are still running and trading with the people of Albion and in that way the dwarves keep apace with the developments above ground. They are slow to share news of what is happening below ground though.

The Abbey of Mount Macarack is located in the eastern edges of the Jagged Peaks, some three days walk from the nearest stronghold of Castle Fortuna. It is a huge stone fortress, guarded by a company of Knights of the Order of the Sun, and serves as one of their prime chapter houses. Abbot Kieran oversees the running of the abbey and the Paladin Dame Roseate is the head of the company of knights who guard it. It is also home to the famous Library of Macarack, popularly believed to be the biggest library in the whole Kingdom.

The Abbey of Mount Macarack sits atop a high peak of the same name. It is built like a huge castle of rock, straight up from the mountainside. The standard of the Knights of the Sun flies under the holy standard of the Light from the flagpole. In the courtyard is the famous Tree of Health. It is said that while that holy oak remains standing the clerics of the Sun in the Kingdom will retain the ability to cure their brethren, but if that tree ever dies, that skill will be lost to them.

The top floor holds the only guest suite available. It is cold and damp but, when fires are lit and hot water is made available, it can be fairly homely. It gets comfortable enough when it heats up and it is certainly better than sleeping in the cold snow outside. Palettes are available for sleeping on. The general feeling one gets from this place is one of practicality, certainly not luxury. All the inhabitants of the abbey sleep in simple cells with no luxury at all.

The abbey is staffed primarily by the Monks of the Order of the Book. There are a dozen such clerics in attendance. On top of these, there are twelve servants and associated staff who work in the abbey, cleaning, cooking and doing general chores. Finally, there is a small company of sixteen Knights of the Sun who call the abbey home. This means about forty people in total live here. The library at Mount Macarack is the largest one known in the lands. It is open to the public but rare indeed is it that anyone just comes for a read. Most of the population can’t read in fact. This place is a wealth of knowledge.

Mount Macarack was here long before the Knights of the Sun were formed. It served as the personal castle to Eldred, the first king of the lands back in the first year of the common calendar, and before that belonged to a warlord, called Macarack who had it built. It has never fallen to enemy attack.

In the Chaos Wars Mount Macarack almost did fall to the hordes of the Jagged Peaks when they united, orc and man, under the banner of the Demon Prince. The castle came under attack at the same time as the Fellowship of the Sun were there, and with their help and the eventual assistance of the Tree of Life itself, which seemed to come to life and fight the barbarians and orcs, the horde's attack was thwarted.

Since the end of the Chaos Wars, the monks of the Order of the Book who are located here have been busy recording the history of that time and the time since then.

The Southern Swamplands are a vast, sprawling area of bog, heathlands, swamps and marshes. They are nothing like as sinister or unpleasant as the Black Marsh to the north, but rather are where the waters of the Dragon Flood empty out. It is believed that perhaps the far eastern end of the swamp there may be a large lake but that would be in the Easterner's realm so no one is sure.

This area of swampland has been here as long as anyone can remember and as far back as history goes.

The Southern Swamplands play a vital role in defending the realm of Albion from the east. Between the Black Marsh, the forest of Eldaran, the Barren Scrub and these swamps the whole of the eastern edge of Albion is pretty much impassable apart from the small corridor guarded by the town of Eastward.

Rumours tell of a land of huge reptiles in the southern area of the swamps, near the Barren Scrub and the Great Desert, but no one has been there and returned with any proof yet.

The peasants are reasonably well looked after by the Royal Family and their vassals and generally the morale in the country is high. Taxes and tithes are also high, due to rebuilding of the country after the Chaos Wars, but the proud people of Albion consider this money well spent. The life of the peasants is nasty, brutal and short, but that is considered totally normal. Life in the peasant community revolves around the farming year. This gives structure to their whole existence.

The state religion of the Kingdom is that of the The Church of the Sun — an aspect of The Light. The royal family are devout worshippers and supporters of the church. The leader of the Kingdom’s religion is Cardinal O'Connor, an old and experienced campaigner who resides in the fabulous Cathedral in Littlebrook. The Old Faith, a religion based around herbal remedies and ancient knowledge of nature, still has some followers in the countryside but the effort of building a church in every hamlet in the Kingdom by the current King’s grandfather, Richard I, has meant the worship of the Light is almost unrivalled now. The two faiths get on reasonably well where they meet. As for the religions of the Easterners and crude barbarians, only they can guess. Demon worship is an all too common threat to Albion. Worshippers of demons are heretics and are burnt at the stake for their sins.

Standard cavalry units wearing the livery of their employer patrol the King’s Road. Sky blue is the colour of the northern army, navy blue the colour of the eastern army and royal blue, the colour of the King’s army. This keeps the road a very safe place to travel. Off the road however, things are not so settled, especially on the edges of the Easterner’s lands where red uniformed soldiers of the enemy occasionally launch raids into Albion’s lands. The Knights of the Sun, a holy order of warriors, protect the churches and clergy of the lands. They also help out in protecting the kingdom in dire needs but that is not normally in their remit. Local law enforcement is performed by the local sheriffs who work for the local lords.

Albion is an illiterate place. Only a very few can actually read, and these are generally the clergy. Books are a rarity in Albion and the only known library is located at Mount Macarack Abbey and is so important it has a Chapter House of the Knights of the Sun to protect it.

Heavy armour of any description is illegal to the peasants of Albion. The only people who are allowed to wear heavy armour are the nobility. In practical terms the only people who normally wear heavy armour are the Knights of the Sun. They wear the platemail of their station.

Humans are by far the most common species in Albion and live everywhere. Dwarves typically come from Khazagrim, but are sometimes seen wandering on their trade missions. Fey are almost non existent in the Kingdom as they have shut their borders — their only contact with humans is on the edge of the Elvenwood. A very few half-orcs can be found in the northern reaches. A few of the humans found in the Kingdom are of Eastern origin. They must be very careful to avoid getting lynched wherever they travel, but they are usually found inside the cloistered walls of a monastery, and anyway, the peasants fear Easterners enough not to attack them wildly, especially if they are unarmed!

The Church of the Sun is the formal church for the worship of The Light in The Kingdom of Albion. Headed up by Cardinal O'Connor in Littlebrook it is the main religion in the kingdom. The Church is a father organisation for the The Knights of the Sun.

The Knights of the Sun are a holy order dedicated to the worship of The Light. They are based in the The Kingdom of Albion and are currently headed up by Sir Harken. They were formed when three siblings received visions from the Light.

They typically wear full plate armour with white tabards over the top, emblazoned with sun moifs.

There are three monasteries set up in the lands of Albion. One is located near each of the towns of importance in the kingdom. The monasteries are named the Monastery of the North Wind, East Wind and West Wind and are situated near to the towns of Thistledelve, Eastward and Littlebrook respectively. Each monastery teaches students from the East and Albion in The Way, not caring about their background as long as they are prepared to learn.

The Way is a path to Enlightenment that stresses focus and dedication. It does not care if its students are good or evil, instead concentrating on order and discipline as its primary goals.

In 338 AR, 341 years ago, a trader from the east began teaching some local farmers around the Thistledelve region, a system of martial arts he called The Way. These arts involved fighting without weapons and the trader claimed a man skilled in these arts could defeat a seasoned warrior. A Knight of the Sun, passing by and seeing this man's lessons in progress challenged him to ask what he was doing. The easterner explained and the Knight laughed at him. The easterner proposed that he would show the Knight that his platemail and sword were no match for the trader's bare hands and woolen tunic. The Knight reluctantly agreed and the easterner proceeded to easily defeat the Knight in one to one combat. The future of The Way was assured as news of this achievement spread. The trader settled down in the area and started the Monastery of the North Wind.

During the Chaos Wars the reputation of the Monasteries suffered quite a bit due to their association with the Easterners who were engaged in a full scale assault on the eastern borders at this time. However, the monks of the Monastery of the North Wind were at least partially responsible for the lifting of the seige of Thistledelve, as they left their Monastery and helped in the fight for the city. The monastery was burnt down and Shidohi Yahara was killed in the fighting but the help they gave raised their reputation in the north quite a bit.

Since the end of the War, Shidoshi Sir Kai has become Master of the North Winds and has rebuilt the monastery with funds he gathered from the lair of Cinderstorm and the Tomb of Callindrill. As Sir Kai was a member of the Fellowship of Pelor the reputation of the monks in Albion is now probably at an all time high.

There are 4 ranks in the Monasteries of the Way: Shidoshi, or teacher of teachers; Sensei, or teacher; Sempai, or senior; and Kohai or junior.

Progression in the Monasteries is through a process known as the Kumite. The Kumite is a no equipment, no spells fight, refereed by at least a current sensei. The fight goes until one combatant is unable to defend themselves anymore. Typcially these fights are continued until one opponent is unconscious, and typically the monks use non-leathal techniques, but there is nothing in the Rules of the Kumite that state this is required. It is not unknown for people to be killed in the Kumite. Good and Evil are not a part of the Way, only discipline and order.

In order to progress to the rank of sempai, a kohai must defeat a sempai in the monastery where the kohau was trained. In order to take the title sensei, a monk needs to beat a current sensei in The Kumite. He must also stay at the monastery and teach others to become a sensei, otherwise he is still just a sempai, no matter how good a fighter he is. In order to take the title shidoshi a monk has to beat the existing Monastery's shidoshi in The Kumite, and have been at the monastery long enough to have taught at least one of the sensei teaching there. There is only one shidoshi at each monastery at a given time.