## The Story So Far . . .

You are Grey Star, trained in the ancient lore of a Shianti wizard. For sixteen years you have dwelt in safety on the Isle of Lorn, the hidden realm of the magical Shianti race, until Acarya, High Wizard of the Shianti, sent you upon a dangerous quest to save your people, the race of man, from the evil rule of Shasarak, the tyrannical Wytch-king of the Shadakine Empire. Held by their ancient vow to the Goddess Ishir, the Shianti are unable to leave their island and come to the aid of man themselves but no such promise prohibited you from leaving the island and you were sent to recover the Moonstone and use its power to defeat the Wytch-king.

The Moonstone, an artefact that possesses the combined force of all Shianti wisdom and power, was hidden on the Daziarn plane and you first had to find the invisible gateway to the Daziarn, the Shadow Gate. To help you find the Gate, you sought the Lost Tribe of Lara, a race of magical but primitive creatures called the Kundi, who possess the gift of astral vision, enabling them to see magic portals and gateways to other planes and dimensions. When Shasarak's Shadakine army first invaded the free provinces of the south, they came through the forests of the Mountains of Lara where the Kundi lived, and were constantly ambushed and delayed by the Kundi. The Kundi always eluded them, disappearing into the dense forest before the Shadakine could retaliate and, finally, in wrath, the Wytch-king burnt down the forests and forced the Kundi to flee south. No one knew where they came to rest.

Voyaging across the Sea of Dreams, you came first to the city of Suhn, the largest port in the Shadakine Empire. There you were befriended by a cheerful merchant named Shan Li, a widely travelled man. Your questions about the Lost Tribe aroused suspicion in Suhn and you were captured and taken to the House of Correction, the prison of Suhn, and subjected to the truthsay of Mother Magri, Shadakine Wytch and Law-giver. With the aid of the power of the Kazim Stone, she attempted to read your mind, but you were able to preserve the secret of your quest.

With the help of Tanith, a young and beautiful girl learning the ways of wytchcraft in the service of Mother Magri, you were able to escape from the House of Correction. With Shan as your guide, you eventually turned south and headed towards the region known as the Azanam, for it seemed likely that the Lost Tribe had settled there. However, again using the power of the Kazim Stone, Mother Magri summoned a Kleasá against you--a demon shadow that feeds upon the soul. Neither your Magical Powers, nor the might of your Wizard's Staff were able to defeat the Kleasá, and it had almost destroyed you when Tanith cast a spell and called the demon against herself. She was totally consumed by the Kleasá and both disappeared in flames. Her brave sacrifice saved your life.

At the Azanam you found the Kundi and they gave you their Shaman, Urik the Wise, to guide you to the Shadow Gate. You travelled across the hostile lands of the Shadakine Empire and, close to the gates of the city of Karnali, you freed a man named Samu, a former king of the extinct tribe of the Masbate, from a Shadakine slave train. Then the leader of the rebel Freedom Guild, Sado of the Long Knife, enlisted your aid in freeing the city of Karnali from the rule of its Shadakine Wytch and her warriors, but you did not, for still you had to find the Shadow Gate. You journeyed on, accompanied by Samu, Urik, and a thief by the name of Hugi. On this later stage of your journey, you discovered that Shasarak was once a Shianti Master. So now you know your eventual confrontation will be with one versed in the same magical arts as yourself. You finally found the Shadow Gate beneath the wasteland of Desolation Valley, only to discover that the magic portal was guarded by a demon Kleasá, holding in its grasp Tanith, who had not after all been slain in her attempt to save you. Instead, the Kleasá had offered her to its master, Shasarak, as a prisoner. Using Tanith as a shield, the Kleasá withstood your attempts to gain entry to the Daziarn portal but at last you managed to force the Kleasá away from the Shadow Gate and stepped through to be reunited with Tanith.

Together you entered the Daziarn plane which held many mysteries and perils, the worst of which was the Jahksa, a creature created in your likeness by Shasarak. You travelled through this strange, abstract world until, at last, you came to the Trianon, a chamber floating in the void. Within the Trianon was the Moonstone and, after a last paradoxical confrontation with the Jahksa in which the lawful and magical effects of the Moonstone were used, the Jahksa was defeated and the Moonstone made yours.

With the Moonstone now resting in your hand, you begin the final part of your quest to defeat the Wytch-king. Armed with the might of the Moonstone, you now possess the only known power that can destroy Shasarak the renegade Shianti Wizard.

Concept copyright © 1986 Joe Dever and Gary Chalk.
Text copyright © 1986 Ian Page.
Illustrations copyright © 1986 Paul Bonner.