Chronicles: Shards Galore
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: Chronicles: Shards Galore... Werent they destroyed?
Author: Ronefaer Velderi
The explanation of the shards creation has several inconsistencies with the Ultima storyline. First, Mondain was killed by the Stranger, who was not yet the Avatar.
The opening movie shows the Stranger as wearing an Ankh, but the concept of virtues and spirituality would not be established until Ultima IV.
The Stranger was said to have destroyed ALL but 3 Shards, later used by The Shadowlords. Where did all these other shards come from?
The Stranger appears roughly the same as in Ultima IX. In the early games, the hero could be a different race, sex, or (starting with VI,) appearance than the blonde male depicted as the Avatar. The Avatar was not used as actually being the Stranger until around Ultima VI and Ultima VII.
Sosaria consisted of 4 lands, and didn't resemble Britannia until after the gem was shattered. They were: Lord British's Realm, The Lands of Danger and Despair, The Lands of the Dark Unknown and The Lands of the Feudal Lords.
Unless Britannian land was created the moment the gem was shattered, each shard should mirror the appearance of Sosaria.
The time period in which the Ultima Online series takes place seems to indicate a future version of Ultima VII, due to cities, dungeons, bestiary, and friendly relation with gargoyles. If time evolved the same as it would have from Ultima I to Ultima VII, these events would have occured:
- No threat from Minax,
Exodus, or Shadowlords.
- Little influence from
the Virtues (shrines exist, but arent heeded).
- A possible discovery
and peacemaking with the Gargoyles.
- No earthquakes caused
from Exodus, the Isle of the Avatar, Isle of Fire, causing many land masses to not appear.
- No attack from The
Guardian, stoping the big changes in Ultima IX.
- No discovery of Old
Sosaria, Serpent Isle, Ambrosia, or the Time of Legends. Or most of the Stygian Abyss, Mars, Eodon, or worlds in Ultima Underworld II.
- No knowledge of the
Avatar whatsoever. If asked, NPCs will respond "I never heard of this 'tar' person". There are several books in Ultima Online that explain the Time Lord visiting each shard's version of Lord British. The Time Lord, from the main series, is aware of the existence of shards as alternate versions of Britania is not in the main series.
Expansions add to shard evolution, but ignore Ultima. New lands are said to have "always been there". this is not consistent with a perfect mirrored Britannia.
- UO: The Second Age:
The Lost Lands are inhabited by strange creatures that didn't exist in Ultima. Also, Ophidian cutlure does not exist and they are portrayed as savages.
- Ultima Online: Lord
Blackthorn's Revenge: Blackthorn's cybernetic look does not fit with the low level of tech in Britannia. The exception is in Ultima I, where Exodus had some sci-fi elements.
- Ultima Online: Age of
Shadows: Malas is brought in but no such land mass has existed previously in Britannia. The land mass is polar, suggesting it was formed from ice over time.
- Ultima Online: Samurai
Empire: The Tokuno Isles are explained as always existing in Britannia, but "hidden" until now. This is not consistent with the Ultima series. Or the concept of mirror shards. Other inconsistencies are references to Earth, such as "French Bread" or Katana, or names of characters and places.
There has been mention of characters coming from other worlds, past Ultimas as well. So are these places now Shards? It seems Origin is a "Head Shard" and the rest mirrored from its events. In the trial with Ricardo, the trial occured ONLY in Origin,