Kane

Kane is the former Grandmaster of Flowers at the Monastery of the Yellow Rose in Damara.

Kane meditates at least four hours each day and practices his skills for another four. Whenever he needs food or other items, he takes the most menial jobs he can find, preferably involving hard physical labor. This preserves his sense of connection with the world. He is in his early 70's. He is wiry, but muscled, very thin, and dresses in simple rags, as befits an ascetic.

History
In 1357 DR, Kane was recruited along with six other adventurers, Olwyn Forest-Friend, Friar Dugald, Riordan Parnell, Celedon Kierny, Emlyn the Gray and Gareth Dragonsbane to protect the village of Bloodstone from an army of bandits. After a difficult battle, the heroes prevailed and were next sent to investigate the recently abandoned Bloodstone mines after a series of vicious Worg attacks. In the mines, he and the party discovered a temple to Orcus. The Duergar of the temple were planning on gating in Orcus to the Material Plane. But these adventurers foiled the plot by killing the Duergar clerics performing the ritual to do so. They then helped set up a mining agreement with the Svirfneblin living in the mines that ensured increased prosperity for the Barony of Bloodstone.

With Bloodstone now prosperous with the reopening of the mines, the town flourished, but then an assassination attempt on Gareth and the other adventurers now on the council of Bloodstone roused them into action once again. Following leads, Baron Tranth, Father in-law to Gareth, suspected that the attack was from the Duchy of Arcata, a theory proved when Arcata marched against Bloodstone soon afterwards. It was war. Arcata was added to the Bloodstone territory after a lightning counter attack on the city of Valls. With Arcata defeated, the Duchy of Carmathan joined the fray but were defeated as well. With this news, the Vaasan puppet baronies of Ostel, Morov and Polten attacked but lost to the armies of Bloodstone too. The territories of Damara had finally been united. The Grandfather of Assassins, a close ally of Zhengyi, lured Kane and his party to his mountain stronghold, which could not possibly be taken by sheer force. Brilliantly though, the adventurers snuck into the fortress disguised as assassins themselves and succeeded in neutralizing their threat. Unfortunately, this was the last straw for Zhengyi who amassed the armies of Vaasa to put down the impudent ones to the south.

The battle was held at Goliad, the scene of the greatest defeat for Damara in the first war with Vaasa, this time though, the Damaran army battled to a stalemate after it was realized that Zhengyi's undead troops could not move south of a certain line on the battlefield as it was too far from the magic that animated them in Vaasa. The mortal warriors were defeated and the Damaran army left the field of battle for Heliogabalus where Gareth was soon crowned king of all Damara.

There was still an undead army waiting at the northern border and the Witch King was still alive to threaten the new kingdom though. Attacking Vaasa head-on would be suicidal, even if the armies they had at their disposal had not already been weakened in the battles of the past months so it was up to Kane's party once again to save the day. The party traveled to Castle Perilous where they defeated the demons and dragons that defended the place to reach Zhengyi himself. It was an epic battle, and Zhengyi was finally killed.

Before his death, Zhengyi had teleported to another part of the castle where he defended a portal to the Abyss with the last vestiges of his unlife. Saint Sollars, the patron saint of Bloodstone Pass appeared to the party and informed them that Bahamut wanted to prevent Orcus, Zhengyi's patron from getting to the Material Plane. They were tasked with traveling through the Abyss to the realm of Orcus where they would steal his famed wand and deliver it to him in the Celestial planes. Traveling through dozens of Abyssal layers, they finally made their way to Thanatos where they snuck into the demon lord's castle and, utilizing a pre-organized distraction that lured Orcus away, stole the wand and fled to the Astral Plane where they were escorted by archons to Saint Sollars. Told that only Bahamut can destroy the artifact, the party went to him who then told them to steep it in the blood of Tiamat's heart. He transported them to where an avatar of Tiamat lay in wait and was thusly killed. The wand was destroyed, leaving behind a gem then they were returned to Bahamut who told Gareth to plant the gem in his castle's courtyard. Kane and the rest of Gareth's party were then returned to the Material Plane victorious.

Zhengyi's undead crumbled without the wand of Orcus, leaving only the surviving monstrous elements of his armies, who had fled into various hiding places in Vaasa. The gem was planted and within two weeks it had sprouted into a 10-foot tall White Tree with golden leaves. It was from a branch of this White Tree that Kane later fashions his formidable Jo Stick. But, this adventure and war was now over and Kane went back to the Monastery of the Yellow Rose where he eventually became Grandmaster of Flowers, the head of the order. Also, Kane leads Spysong, a spy network of scouts ran by Kane, Celedon Kearney, and Riordan Parnell. Spysong operates in Damara, Vaasa, and the Galena Mountains. The network relays information back to Gareth Dragonsbane and his allies about threats to the Kingdom.

Magic Items

 * Carpet of Flying, which also serves as his meditation rug.
 * Jo Stick of the White Tree This walking stick was formed from a branch of the White Tree that grows in the courtyard of Gareth Dragonsbane's Castle in Bloodstone Village. It is said that in the hands of Kane, this white stick is as hard as adamantine and can shatter stone.

Appearances
Kane first appears as a pre-generated player in the 1985 ADnD BATTLE SYSTEM supermodule titled Bloodstone Pass by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. Kane continues to appear as a pre-generated character in the subsequent adventures: The Mines of Bloodstone, The Bloodstone Wars, and The Throne of Bloodstone. Later, Kane plays a role in the 2006 novel Road of the Patriarch by R.A. Salvatore.