Atlantic Unique Locations

From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki

Revision as of 00:54, 23 December 2007

Unique Locations

By Aalia of Winterbreeze

In addition to the shadow black box that can be found in Goodman's and Winterbreeze rune libraries, the box that contains runes to all unique and historical locations on Atlantic, here is a summary of some of the unique locations on Atlantic, as well as some history:

Felucca

A Stone with a flame trapped inside (the "blood god" of Stormreavers Orc Clan)13o 1’N 48o 22’W

Archery Range 67o 52 ‘N 6o2’W

Atlantic Mage Tower Red Gate 48o 53’N 151o 11’W

Mage Tower on Atlantic

Tower southwest of the Lycaeum in Felucca. Once the main location for magic users on Atlantic, full of magical effects and items. Several interesting features here including a red moongate south of the tower that transports you outside the arena on Isle of the Avatar. On the roof of the tower is a stone column with flames coming out of it, called "The Eternal Flame of Mages". Saying "setra" on the roof will transport you inside the arena on Isle of the Avatar. Standing on the pentagram on the first floor transports you to Leiah's Rune Library. There used to be an Annex behind the Tower but its long gone.

Arena 149o 56'S, 126o 38'W

this was used for mage battles. A red moongate outside the arena leads to the outside of the Atlantic Mage Tower, while saying "roclaf" from within the arena teleports you to the roof of the AMT. "roclaf" is backwards for "falcor", who was the Seer that played the character Norab, the AMT's sponsor. There's another sign within the arena that says "This Arena Is Reserved For Seer Event. Thank You. Have A Good Day." There is a locked down communication crystal outside the arena, which was used to announce fights.

Blackthorn’s Defeat 27o 31’N 53o 5’W

Blackthorn’s Tomb 15o 39’N 13o 25’E

Buoy 104o 35’S 143o 43’E

Christine & Flint 49o 3’N 40o 13’E

They were married in UO, and in RL, and ran a large guild. Supposedly one of them left the game, and the other one followed because it wasn't the same for them. Plaque there says "Together Though Separate, Bound Beyond Life, Friend and Companion, Their Love Will Not End". Tombstones say "In Memory of Christine" & "In Memory of Flint". Moving to a certain spot on each platform teleports you across a small pond to the other platform

Claudia Raym’s Cave 119o 32’N 47o 15 E

Costume Chest 90o 15’S 5o 29’W

Counselors Guild Britain 8o 16’N 13o13 ‘E

Counselors Memorial 8o 16’N 13o13 ‘E

Cromwell estate 44o 2’N 172o 45’E

Dupre’s Camp Felucca 96o 51’S 25o 56’E

Ethereal Flame 140o 22’N 55o 11’e

Flower Grove 124o 44’N 9o 46’W

Grave of Coryn Ironheart 173o 25’N 3o 14’W

Grave of Gerald Tiggins

House of Norab 50o 0’S 166o34’E

Igloo (Well of Souls in Caina, Old "Order of the Ebon Skull" Guild Town) 125o 36’N 177o 37’w

Caina

Ironhand Gregory 177o 5’S 10o 37’W

Jou’Nar’s Stronghold 96o 9’S 40o 4’E

Leiah's Runelibrary 72o 14'S 32o 3'E

Leiah's Rune Library on Atlantic

Loa Village 59o41’N 43o 1’w

Marble Temple/Temple of Fate 35o 5’N 8o 34’E

The Temple of Fate

Tis strange thing happened to me recently. The town criers were telling of a strange temple which should be located in a cove in the mountains north of Britain. After talking to two friends from the honorable Sunset Knights we headed north out of the town of Britain, along the graveyard until we reached the mountains. Sadly, we got separated soon and I was trying to find the place the crier hat spoken of. I worked my way from the western parts of Serpents Spine mountains along and past the small pass leading to the dungeon known as Despise. Soon after going another short distance along the mountain range I was greeted by a band of unfriendly orcs which were soon no more. A small entrance into the mountains was nearby and I already heard battlecries coming from the pass. Quickly I readied my spellbook and awaited the worst as I proceeded inside the mountains. I was greeted by some evil looking black archmages and a great number of heroes fighting these. In the middle of the place marking the dead end of the pass stood what looked like a small temple. There were four pillars in different shades of grey, two braziers and the most amazing sight, a green object looking like a skull that was yelling strange words. I think I heard the phrase "Thy fate has been tested". Strange words were inscribed on the pillars and as I listened, I heard several people of the crowd chanting them. If I remember right, it were the words "MAL GU OM VARKA TALMA". I soon had to find out the effect of those words as an uncountable number of undead creatures appeared inside the temple. Luckily these were quickly dealt with by the crowd which seemed to enjoy the ongoing slaughter. The crowd had no time to recover as soon another wave of lzardmen appeared charging everyone in sight. As warrior veterans know, those lizards dont present much of a challenge, so the floor was soon littered with the corpses of the dead, when suddenly huge heaps of gold coins were drawing the attention of everyone. This seemed a deadly trap as just when everybody was grabbing for the gold a ring of blood elementals appeared. If you ever fought one of those creatures residing in the deepest caves of the dungeon Shame you know what that meant. Many a warrior found his death. As my reagent supply was quickly used up, I had to retreat after two of these beasts came chasing after me. When I finally got back to the fight, I found the place empty with just an inscription telling that the place might come to life again when the braziers are alight. When this will happen no one knows. The temple, named Temple of Fate still stands and may be visited by the curious traveller.

Moonstar Tomb 43o 26’N 154o 49E

Moss Covered Rock 100o 43’S 69o 18’E

Nujelm Wedding Chapel 30o 51’N 166o 8’E

Occlo Ruins 73o 54’S 158o 12’E

Outdoor Wedding Spot 91o 25’N 0o 4’W

Pirate Island 68o 34’N 66o 43’W

Pirates Hideaway 117o 9’S 4o 30’W

Saying "payment" at the locked door will teleport you inside

Rivendell 26o 48’S 6o 53’W

City of Rivendell on Atlantic

Seer’s House 106o 15’S 37o 15’E

Red's Curious Goods building. One of the first Seer locations, it's mostly been cleared out. However, there are a few unique items here. A tree stump with an axe is outside the door. Inside, you will find more place settings at the table, a chest and spinning wheel in the back room, and crafting tools in the last room.

Serpent’s Cross Tavern 93o 53’N 23o 37’W

Serpent Cross Tavern on Atlantic

Serpent’s Hold Council 151o 57’S 114o 7’E

Tree of Knowledge 37o6’N 65o 52’W

Tree of Wisdom 66o 48’N 48o 43’W

United Blacksmiths of Britannia Guildhall 13o 21’S 2o 2’E

Vesper Museum 57o 56’N 112o 34’E

The Statue of Nostur'yl in the Vesper Museum whom we managed to kill in the courtyard of the Hungry Halfling Tavern in Rivendell (where it sat till the Seers created the Museum to host it along with many other items from quests) thanks to some valient efforts of Cesspool standing guard over the Obsidian post in Serpent's hold at my request.

Vespers Counselors Guild 60o 2’N 107o 13’E

Wisp’s Columns 6o 51’S 50o 16’W

Yew Council 56o 37’N 49o 46’W

Yew Mill 71o 1’N 53o 55’W

Yew Town Council 67o 46’N 59o 37’W

Since it was not mentioned in this thread, the Yew Town Council got one of the NPC houses in Felucca Yew (at that time simply known as Yew) redesigned as a Town Hall with a large meeting table and offices for the Mayor, Chief Justice and Militia Captain. As seen in the image this building also housed the Yew Town Council (YEW) guild stone. While at some point the dynamic objects which had been removed during the redecoriation came back, the original decoration still exists and the banners in and outside the building show the purpose of the building when clicked on.

Yew University 31o 23’N 64o49’W

West Yew Univeristy on Atlantic

Once possibly the most influential player group on Atlantic, this group of people helped train new users in all manners of UO play long before there were companions or other programs. As such, they recieved quite a few things to aid them in their work:

• WYU Boat transport - at the end of the road is a sign and boat. The sign reads: "to cross the river, step onto the boat and say, 'I would like to cross.'" Takes you from (35o 14'N, 58o 21'W) to (36o 12'N, 63o 33'W) and back.
• Tree of Knowledge - Used to be a silver tree within WYU, placed when the original person who ran WYU, Silver Dryad, departed. Still has it's name (36o 44'N, 66o 9'W)
• WYU Headquarters - Just outside the guardzone, this small house had a hedge placed around a small courtyard. (31o 27'N, 64o 53'W)
• WYU Building - Yew Farmhouse, converted to a school house. Outsides is decorated like a stables. Inside, additional books lie scattered on tables. A guildstone for the "House of Desires" resides in the building. (34o 58'N, 64o 45'W)
• WYU Magic & Tailoring Wing - Yew Farmhouse. The first part of the interior was converted into a magic training area. The back room was made into a tailor training area, full of tailoring equipment. Outside the building, combat and pickpocket dummies allowed fighter and thief training. (33o 23'N, 69o 15'W)
• WYU Smithing Area - Located one screen west of the WYU HQ, this small area was added to train smiths. (31o 38'N, 65o 52'W)

Trammel

Trammel

Adventurer’s Hall 104o 41’N 81o 29’E

Architect Foundation Castle 63o 37’S 43o 22’E

Bauble Hut 15o 43’S 5o 45’E

Part of the "Filberto the Tinker" Quest line. The books to follow the Quest are on display at the Winterbreeze Library (on the 3rd Floor)

Britain Fairgrounds 22o 56’s1o 7’E

Castle British Throne Room (Statue, Shilds and other Memorials) 0o 11'N 0o 29'E

Castle British War Room

Companion House 76o 43'S 160o 6'E

Dolphins 160o 50’S 51o 32’E

Gerald Tiggins Grave

Inside Pirate Cave

Malabelle’s House 19o 36’N 124o 45’W

Massacre House11o 15’N 132o 33’W

Nujelm Armor Stands 43o 41’N 154o 49’E

Nujelm’s Musik Stands 38o 9” N 170o 0’E

Ophidian’s Demands’ 54o 18’S 37o 45’W

Part of the Ophidian Invasion 2006

Pirate Cave Entrance 440 29’N 88o 39’E

Prison Cart 42o 32’S 8o 9’E

Part of the "Ricardo the Thief" Event 2007

Quest Ramparts 2 34o 17’N 2o 44’E

Quest Ramparts 3 27o 20’S 15o 49’W

Quest Ramparts 4 20o 49’S 12o 5’W

Ricardo’s Hideout 97o 28’S 2o 52’E

Part of the "Ricardo the Thief" Event 2007

Sealed Cave 6o 30’S 38o 57’W

Skara Brae Community Center 45o 26’S 48o 52’W

Talking Statues 91o 40’S 22o 4’W

Tor’s Boots 63o 43’S 35o 47’W Treasure Trove 119o 42’S 148o 13’E (gone with old Haven) Tuning Fork 5o 12’N 8o 38’E Water Prison 14o 45’S 93o 43’E (rune blocked right now) Wind Ramparts 49o 19’N 30o 14’E Yew Monument 55o 28’N 51o 23’W

Other History

Gargish Dragon shares the following links :

The Movement Quest. This was run on Atlantic in August 98 by Seer Little and included a large part which was runnung during 1 week and solving it gave time and place for the final live event. The great report was done by Garulfo. http://martin.brenner.de/uo/movement/movement.html

Seekers of the Wisp and the Conference http://martin.brenner.de/uo/wispconf.html

Dragon Quests. These were run by the Ultima Dragons, an ancient Ultima fan club (http://www.udic.org), many living in Rivendell.

http://uo.stratics.com/xena/ (Stories)

The FOA quest on Atlantic. Famous was the large group of people guarding chests for several days.

The Hulkster fights. Starr Long alias Lord Blackthorn remembers this fight http://www.gamespot.com/features/uosg/dev2.html A special arena was construction in "Green Acres", which later became the Lost Lands. Special monuments allowed player to teleport to the area. Remains of the arena used for the "rematch" actually appeared in the Lost Lands on Europa later.

The Yew Town Council. This link contains history of the early Council, starting from June 1998 and including Lord British's visit in March 1999. http://yewcouncil.brenner.de/documents.html http://uo.stratics.com/secrets/tc/tc_205.shtml

A lot of Atlantic's history can be found in Town Cryer Articles: http://uo.stratics.com/secrets/tc/tca_index.shtml

From GreyPawn comes an awesome recollection :

Comprehensive History of the Atlantic Shard

I cannot in all honesty provide you, the reader, with a complete and utterly comprehensive history of what has occurred on the Atlantic shard as I am limited by the field of my personal direct or indirect observation. I cannot tell you what happened with any great certainty on the shard before I came to it in May, 1999. But I will tell you what I’ve seen and what I know of the shard, to the extent of my ability to do so with any semblance of brevity.

Welcome to a New World

The Atlantic Mage Tower This was the first thing I encountered on the shard, still being new to things. Atlantic Mage Tower was a tower on Moonglow, having been moved by a GM from a plot in Trinsic to its location and twice blessed. The Tower possessed a large brick behind it to which it had teleporter access, called the Annex. The purpose of the Tower was to train newbies and help them excel in Sosaria. The annex, which was at times disputed primarily by Lord Gregor of Moonglow, was a vendor venue where the members of the Tower could sell their goods. The Atlantic Mage Tower is most renowned for its final event, a huge shard-wide Grand Tournament for which a tournament ring was created on Fire Island with an adjoining area for spectators equipped with a red moongate for travel. The AMT was lead by the red-clad Tiffric, who pioneered the Mage Tower project across the shards, landing Towers on Chesapeake, Lake Superior, Catskills, Baja, Drachenfels and Great Lakes. AMT’s claim to fame was one of the first UO Comics drawn with its namesake attached, but dubbed “Another Mad Tower” which told the story of the tower and the crazy antics of those who attempted to thwart its membership.

Among those immortalized in the comics were Ibn Shaun, Elizabeth, Tiffric, Nick-of-Time, Wieland, Ra, and Designer Dragon. After the Tournament, Tiffric fell to health problems and infrequently visited the tower, which eventually fell to atrophy after his passing in 2004. Aldroud Claven, who later became Grishnak of the Stormreaver Orcs, was a member of AMT and attempted to revive other incarnations of the guild on the road south to Trinsic.

The West Yew University The WYU occupies a better portion of West Yew, a ferry having been created to usher students and faculty across the water to it. WYU was among the foremost notable schools to indoctrinate and assist newcomers to Britannia, aiding those who chose the northwest as home and refuge. Some of its more notable teachers were Silver Dryad (immortalized in the form of a tree) and Krythan. At its height, there were 5 full time teachers teaching a full spectrum of students how to survive in the harsh world of early UO. WYU was blessed early on for its efforts in boosting player knowledge. The Seeker guild, a wisp-oriented guild with a tower close to WYU eventually merged with the University at the occurrence of Silver Dryad’s departure. Many of those who would eventually become militia in the Yew Town Council studied at West Yew University.

Eternal Dreams University EDU was a University liken to WYU, but formed within the city limits of Rivendell, a player run city southwest of Britain situated on the farms of what could be considered Paws. Having a limited staff, EDU often borrowed from the staff of WYU and local pillars of the community to inform and educate its students. Most of its doctrine was roleplay based, as was WYU’s, but EDU’s focused more on the survivalist side. A greater number of individuals who would later become influential in Atlantic’s community attended EDU.

Survival of the Fittest (or Fastest) Early on in Atlantic’s history, the rules governing the physics of Ultima Online were much harsher to the everyday inhabitant. Houses had limited lockdowns and keys to both houses and boats were a thing valued highest. A thief who got hold of a house key and a house rune could empty you of all your worldly possessions in under a few minutes. Pking was quite a common thing too, as the world consisted wholly of Felucca, though prettier than its current state. Anytime one ventured out of the protective coverage of the guards, they were up for grabs in a pker’s eyes. This put a great deal of hardship on resource gathering, and the economy had not yet experienced the gluts in resources and gold that it later would come to see. Miners had to gather in packs for protection, often bartering in ingots for their lives with pkers. Life for many was a competition. PvP coalesced into guilds of the like-minded, which either hunted each other or non-consensual prey for fun and profit. Most notable among the “hubs” of PvP interaction was the Britain Graveyard during server down, outside pretty much any city’s gates and the Britain Crossroads. The latter was so popular, eventually a news organization adopted the name. The advent of Order vs. Chaos turned almost every populous city into a war zone, city-fighting and house-fighting were not uncommon in those days.

Guilds and Places of Note

As far back as I can remember, player guilds have stood at the forefront of progress and been the very building blocks of what the Atlantic community has been. After players became acclimatized to the surroundings and familiar enough with how the shard worked, they sought to pursue a goal, usually within the confines of a guild. Alignment and player type had a lot to do with which guild you joined. If you were a PvPer, you probably wouldn’t join an Rper guild. And vice-versa. Though back then, the Seers did their level best to make that distinction as blurry as possible with open-ended events.

The Order of the Ebon Skull Probably the most prolific of the roleplaying guilds on Atlantic, the Order of the Ebon Skull was one of the few evil roleplaying guilds in the game, let alone on the shard. Founded by Azalin the Lich Lord, the guild grew to respectable size early on, but its main claim to fame was its deep lore and roleplay ethic. It pioneered In Character interactions on Atlantic and presented a grand antagonist for multitudes of good-aligned guilds. Eventually situated in the frozen north of Ice Isle, the OES held Black Mass in their Temple of Oblivion, conducted by the High Priest Bal-Anon Dak. The OES settlement in north ice isle eventually became known as Caina after the city was officially founded. OES represented to many early roleplayers all that was evil and bad in the world and would be the focal point for many wars.

The Lost Order of Akalabeth The LOA was a guild massive in number that situated themselves in Yew early on in the game, having formed during the UO beta test and resolved themselves to excel. L-Guild, which eventually adopted the name of “Lost Order of Akalabeth” in honor of the first of the Ultima games, founded LOA Village in a clearing near Yew and was actually visited once by Lord British, Richard Garriott, an event I had the pleasure to take part in. The Lost Order was a mix-match of all sorts of players, PvPers as well as Rpers, and their guild master Brimstone’s contributions to guild systems and guildmastery philosophy became well known. LOA found themselves often involved in as much as possible, adopting somewhat of a “thumb in every pie” policy towards Atlantic, which saw the benefits of an early well organized good-aligned guild in LOA. Early roleplay wars between LOA and OES were the foundation of the creation of many warring rules set forth beforehand with warring guilds today. LOA Village was blessed with pear trees and hedges for its continued excellence early on in the shard’s history.

Rivendell Rivendell was, situated closest to the largest city in-game, one of the most active areas of interest early on. Blessed soon after official organization of itself as a city, the Hungry Hafling Tavern saw itself in direct competition with Serpent Cross Tavern at times through the history of Atlantic. Founded by Zym Dragon and Kallel in October of ‘97, the city grew to respectable size in a time where player-run cities were all but required for mutual survival. Rivendell was host to Eternal Dreams University, the city being situated on the cusp of a guard zone aided in the survivability of its citizens, but made them desirable targets for player killers. Rivendell’s history centers around the Hungry Hafling Tavern, where, in the fourth and fifth year of UO, Seers frequented often and provided quests on a quasi-predictable weekly schedule, which drew players from all over. Among Rivendell’s famed residents are Miss Amy, Beowulf, Craig and his mongbat, and Boo.

Yew Town Council The city of Yew had since early times, been the apex of action in-game. The Yew Town Council was formed early on by a coalition of like-minded players, founded by Yew’s first mayor, Helgi Einarson and perpetuated through the years by SunWolf, Gargish Dragon, Krythan, Windlord and others. The YTC and its Militia served as the model for later Town Councils, such as Moonglow Town Council and Trinsic Town Council. Yew typically stood as a protagonist against the forces of darkness, whether they be in the form of the Order of the Ebon Skull or years later, the Orcs.

Yew, in the past, has served as a testing grounds for many of the social experiments in the roleplayer community, being the prime target for the Territorial War Project and participating in epic wars too numerous to list.

Serpent Cross Tavern This patio tavern has stood at ground zero of some of the greatest epics and events that have occurred in the shard’s history. A hotbed of roleplay and pvp in its heyday, the Serpent Cross Tavern, founded by Perianwyr Stormcrow still stands in its clearing in Yew, surrounded by buildings that later became incorporated as Fogwood Village. Neutrality in a place with so much action was enforced by the barkeeps of the SCT, its very name standing as a symbol. Serpent Cross, over the years, saw its barstools and dining room as host to literally thousands of plotlines and brainstorms, verbal exchanges and debates about ideas and concepts which would fall to nothing or later come to fruition in the form of new guilds. For most of the first four years of the shard’s history, roleplay was centered around this tavern in the woods.

The Cult of Infernal Necromancy I would be remiss if I did not include in this synopsis of history at least a brief description of the Cult of Infernal Necromancy. Founded by a necromancer who was a necromancer before necromancy was Necromancy, Smogg Azalin built a tower in the Fens of the Dead near Trinsic and dubbed home to a guild of cultists. Reknowned for its involvement in kidnappings and intrigue, the Cult was the basic bread & butter antagonist through the years. Among its more famous exploits is the deep interaction it had with Juo’Nar during the Trinsic Occupation. No other guild worked harder and did more to further the aims of evil during the invasion than did [Ncr].

The Awakening, The Regency, and the TWP While each of the above titled are completely different animals, I will summarize each here for the purpose of brevity in what would otherwise be an exhaustive primer. The Awakening was a religious movement focused on the Virtues of Ultima, built by Aleph Aeirs of 2ST, Rainbow King, a famous tamer, and Azrielle. Created for the sole purpose of the promulgation of the Virtues, the Awakening spawned a number of guilds and plotlines as it networked the “guilds of light” together, among them, what would later become my guild, Moonglow Town Council. The Regency, which was borne simultaneously with the Territorial War Project or “TWP” was a solution the lightbringer guilds created to answer the question of an absent Lord British. Dayel Stormcrow, one of the few actually knighted by Lord British, was made Regent of a coalition of good-aligned guilds and given the perceived power of King of Britannia in Lord British’s absence.

The TWP was a vast project which sought to redefine the way wars took place and were decided. A map of Sosaria was divided into sections and guilds could lay claim to each section if it had vested interest or if it conquered it from another. The TWP experienced wide success in drumming up interest but soon fell to petty squabbling and became mired in bureaucracy.

Unter Brae and the Temple of the Avatar Early on in the game, blessings were handed out like so much candy. The result was lasting and indelible marks on the surroundings of the area which was blessed. Pretty much any place with a weekly dose of civil activity and a penchant for social interaction could, if they tried hard enough, get blessed. Unter Brae and The Temple of the Avatar was one of those places. Originally home to a monk-like guild of Virtue representatives, the Temple of the Avatar stood as the centerpiece for the player-run city of Unter Brae, right across the docks from Skara. The Temple and town were run by a priest by the name of Inia Geofrensis. The Temple saw a respectable amount of use in its time; at least three dozen sermons were held in its halls before its demise sometime in 2001.

The Procession of Grand Occurrences

I’ve chosen to name the sections of time when quests occurred after the foremost Seer or Event Moderator on Atlantic, in honor of their contribution to the shard’s rich history and the lasting impressions they have made, and to help divide and frame the time for purposes of composition.

The Time of Nikademus Unfortunately, I do not have all the historical documents necessary to make a valid synopsis of what occurred in the time before I came to the shard. Two years had passed already and Stratics was still in its infancy, so records of events and fiction that happened before were splotchy at best, and most of the accounts were word-of-mouth. A basic outline of the events that occurred across all shards which affected them each deeply and introduced The Second Age can be found here - http://uo.stratics.com/secrets/h_tl_main.shtml. On Atlantic, three great heroes were named from the epic quest, the battle against the Followers of Armageddon (FOA for short) and its leaders, Junin Pince, Zendella Kxris and Martoo Saul. Rainbow King, Dayel Stormcrow, and Hagbard each received the highest honors and individual recognition from Lord British himself, as well as a real life certificate commemorating their strength in rallying the people of Atlantic to fight the great threat. A multitude of quests punctuate this time in the first two years of life on Atlantic, each more epic than the next.

During this period, the largest and oldest guilds were formed; Mercs, AoD, Covetous Crew, The Syndicate, SSJ, Regulators and the Trinsic Borrowers were some of the more renowned ones that made their mark early on in both the PvP and roleplay communities. Leiah’s Rune Library was founded in what would later become Elysium.

The Time of Magdalena In this era, which began at around the opening of the Lost Lands and ended sometime shortly before the advent of Claudia Raym, most of the roleplayer guilds congealed and began to firmly plant their roots, as well as their PvP-centric counterparts. Arx Draconis officially became a city and Wintermoor on ice isle was born from the ashes of Eldanor. Caina also began to coalesce, and many of the schools mentioned in the beginning of this guide went through massive growth spurts. Serpent Cross Tavern became “the place to be” as it was often frequented by RPCs and quests. Most notably illustrated with the Westmark project, an experiment in Nujel’m in using what were to become Troubadours in a dynasty riddled with intrigue, the Time of Magdelena saw a marked increase in the amount of information that came to the players as secrets and statistics about the game world started to become revealed.

This poignant time in the shard’s history was witness to the most growth in terms of players and guilds. Order vs. Chaos became a staple in PvP circles, turning many populated cities into war zones. Reputation had finally come to effect in full swing and pkers found themselves more and more outnumbered, coalescing into larger guilds of reds like SSJ and Covetous Crew. Norab the Mage from Magincia made his rounds, Tranth the wandering dragon and Jordon Cromwell make appearances during this time as well. Also notable during this time was the “Wizard of Oz” play organized on Atlantic and held across North American shards. The player cities of Dalriada and Elysium rose during this time, east of Arx Draconis and northeast of Trinsic, respectively. Holy Disciples of Darkness, lead by Navrip joined the ranks of growing evil guilds on the shard. Clan Moor began its long residence in Yew, Knights of Sosaria and Order of the Silver Serpent were also founded during this time.

Resource gathering truly began in earnest during this period of Atlantic’s history. Grandmaster Smiths and Carpenters were uncommon at best, and UBB came into being, eventually taking up blessed residence at the West Britain Blacksmithy. GM tinkers were greatly desired and many a poor fool opened a baited box trapped with almost always fatal deadly poison.

The Time of Narcissus The arrival of Seer Narcissus on Atlantic was one, which was at first felt small in scope, but expanded to encompass most of the attentive public at one point in time. A rich plot followed the events created by Seer Narcissus, deep in fiction and establishing a new generation of legends. An epic tale was told through a series of about two dozen events focusing around the abandoned girl that had been adopted by a Dragon, Claudia Raym and her rallying of the forces of good to rid the shard of the demon Phakebrus who had possessed an individual named Aragothias. Claudia was adopted in spirit by the three men who found her wandering through the woods one day, Rictar, SunWolf of Yew, and myself. The end of the eventful era of Narcissus happened at the stable of Serpent Cross Tavern, shortly after an epic battle of good versus evil at Wrong entrance culminated in the overthrow and exile of Phakebrus.

The Time of Oberon New blood had come to Atlantic. The impact of the FOA quests lessened, the influence of Magdalena and Narcissus waned and a new group of storytellers took to the Atlantic scene. The Troubadour experiment was an apparent success, and Atlantic enjoyed a glut of events and content. BNN was giving reports in RealAudio. Trinsic had been invaded by Juo’Nar and Minax was corrupting the shrines and invading. The shard stood on the cusp of what would be called UO: Renaissance. By this point in the shard’s history, most of the earlier schools had atrophied and fallen to inactivity. The learning curve was getting less and less steep and players weren’t as hesitant to leave the protection of the guards. Guild numbers in most guilds reached all time highs and the roleplay community’s social center shifted gradually from the Serpent Cross to The Hungry Hafling in Rivendell.

The story of the invasion of Trinsic is well known across all shards and is simultaneously considered the most famous and infamous of events in UO’s history by many. NCR and several of the evil-aligned guilds on Atlantic aided Juo’Nar in his bid for control over Trinsic, in one case even becoming actual undead to stalk the streets of the city of Honor. Atlantic was, due to The Cult of Necromancy’s involvement, one of the few that had Joye assassinated in its Trinsic Invasion sequence. Trammel arrived and Atlantic reeled in pain as it suffered not one, not two, but THREE time warp reverts during house placement activation. Many who had placed the first and second time were unable to place the third time around. The arrival of Trammel was daunting and confusing to many on the shard, the traditionalists preferring to continue life on the destroyed facet and the die-hards refusing to even enter Trammel.

Eventually, the convenience of not having to worry about non-consensual PvP won out with most of the population and the exodus (pardon the pun) began. The majority of events continued to take place in what was thought of as the “real” facet, Felucca. A great dragon named Lady Lianne took to visiting Rivendell and Gregory Ironhand and the Sword of Sacrifice quests happened. You can read about those here - http://uo.stratics.com/secrets/archive/swordofsacrafice.shtml. The arc of events included Xerot the Illusionist and the Lantern of Shadows, as well as many monster invasions of player-run cities. Farmers and Tailors and Evil Bastages made their names on the PvP scene.

The Time of Daven The Time of Daven began at the first of two large tournaments that took place in the Jhelom Pit. Elder Daven continued the story of the dragon Lady Lianne and a new storyline came about, centered around the daemon Nostur’yl and his zealous follower. Priam and Wilmeth, Atlantic’s other Interest Team members, took great pains to provide events as well. An Adventurer’s Guild was opened in Minoc Trammel, the very first unique location to be created in Trammel. Weekly events took place there and in many major cities. Being predictable and relying on a large word-of-mouth communications network fueled by Molly of Hedge’s Run, many were able to attend the events who never had experienced them before.

The Companions, which had been introduced earlier, came into full force. Third Dawn was brewing and the first UO World’s Faire took place in Austin, Texas, uniting many and putting faces to a great number of well-known names. Factions arrived and Atlantic’s PvP and to some extent its RP communities segmented into ideologies, the foundation of the Regency being the end result of one of those ideologies. Moonglow held summits and The Stormreaver Orcs grew to large numbers. A number of other specialty groups formed in the pattern of the Orcs, such as the Goblins, the Dwarves and the Savages, but each fell to its own doom as time passed. The Firm was founded, one of the latter day schools to indoctrinate newcomers in areas where Companions could or did not. A city bearing the name Wilmeth was also host to a school during this time. Goodman’s Rune Library was founded on the shores of Magincia beach halfway through The Time of Daven, one of the first to offer a comprehensive treasure map rune system.

The Time of the Player In one fell stroke, the Counselor and Interest Programs were terminated by OSI. All robed volunteerism was ended due to a collection of volunteer counselors suing for back pay. Atlantic, one of the oldest production shards that had experienced years of events was suddenly without the oversight of player volunteers. Players and guilds were now left with the responsibility of self-serving their own content and events and while many consider this a golden age of innovation, some thought of it as a dark one. UO2 came soon to excite the masses and fell by the wayside, leaving its story in bits and pieces with Lord Blackthorne’s Revenge, which came about allowing 2D client players to enter and explore Ilshenar, which had remained nearly virgin to all but a few Atlantians who used the 3D client. Dawn came and went, with her the UO3D and LBR storyline. All of a sudden, tamers were prevalent, fishing was no longer the monster money maker it once was, and banksitting had come into fashion through the gradual proliferation of ice-staffs, nightmares and neon hair dye.

It was a new world with new people joining the shard every day, taught their basics by Haven’s guiding quests, powerhouring to greatness. It was the time of the lumberjacking axer and of the dexer. With no reason to leave the safety of Trammel, the playerkiller made an appearance on the endangered species list, right below the Feluccan taverns of RP history’s yesteryear. Never-ending innovations and concepts were put to the test to entertain and amuse, to enrich and build the intrigue of the shard’s story. The Territorial War Project was one of these, begun by a coalition of guilds willing to work together out of game to define how in-game wars were to take place and the effect they would have. A map was drawn up with hued territories for each participant guild’s claim and conquests, and a shardwide game akin to Risk was played.

Formed in this time were the guilds Humanis, HOT, DEI, The Fishing Council of Britannia and Elf. The Odyssey Niteclub opened and then closed. Few on the shard could anticipate the bigger change the Age of Shadows had waiting in store for Atlantic.

The New Generation The Age of Shadows came to Atlantic, spearheaded by the promise of new land and the ability to customize housing. Luna, Umbra, and Hanse’s Hostel in Malas each became the centerpiece of a new community. Luna found itself at the center of vendor commerce; houses placed within its city limits allowing the greatest ease of shopping and convenience. This is the time we know that is most recent. The age of Tiffany Case, Stuffa and the Barton craze, artiwhores and pally/tamer/bard combos. Crystal Fens was founded shortly after the opening of Malas, to the southeast of Luna. Umbra too had a small village founded near it, Charnel Hill was founded by The Shadowform Empire and recently merged with Admoreth’s reborn OES. Hanse’s Hostel was selected as the centerpoint for the foundation of a breakaway guild of Stormhaven, the City of Sanctus.

Insurance had a two-pronged effect on the population of Atlantic. Insurance redefined the impetus for player killers to go red. Profit could be made through gold automatically deducted when a player was killed. Additionally, the boost in resources in Felucca and the reassurance that a player’s most valuable items would remain in their possession pushed a slight repopulation of Felucca. Several guilds capitalized on this and the Yew Felucca Moongate has become a nexus of PvP as the Brit Crossroads of old were.

The advent of the Gauntlet caused a new breed of player and guild to develop on the shard. Artifacts became the staple primary source of great wealth on the shard, real estate having fallen dramatically post-Malas. Just as the procurement of resources lead to mission focused guilds forming in the past for the purposes of the extraction of those resources, so has the Gauntlet. Groups of dozens or more battle Dark Fathers non-stop in Doom’s Gauntlet, each vying for a shot at scoring a high damage hit which might yield a bracelet of health or an ornament of the magician. Shortly after the release of Age of Shadows, OSI began hiring Event Moderators to create new events. Event Moderators were to be akin to Seers, but with beefed up powers and contracted directly by EA.

Nikademus – Reloaded Atlantic was fortunate enough to get Nikademus as its Event Moderator for the OSI fiction arc that followed Age of Shadows. Nikademus and the other EMs have conducted a year and a half of events on Atlantic since the inception of the EM program, each with ever increasing success bringing the experience of an in-game event to grateful players. Unlike former events of UO’s youth, the EM events cater to an entire cross-section of Atlantians. PvPer, PvMer, RPer, and Banksitter alike are found in attendance at the throne room during action hours. The shard has seen the resurfacing and departure of Lord British, the handing over of power to Lord Arathen Wudrin and epic battles with Minax and her bevy of cohorts.

The most recent unique history, the events revolving around the Gem of Garanzen the gargoyle, can be found with a simple search for “Garanzen” in Stratics News. Prime fiction proceeded unaltered from other shards, with the exception of several locations changed. Atlantic is one of the few shards who’s “Member of the Britannian Royal Guard” sash is officially purple, as credit to the True Britannian official faction color. Unique to the shard are Royal Guard survival knifes, given for the correct answers in response to a hunt for a man named Vincent as well as Royal Guard Investigator Cloaks.

This brings me at last… to now. Currently, Atlantic stands on the threshold of yet another chapter in its history. How will the Samurai Empire affect us? What can we, the residents of one of the oldest and most glorified shards expect for the future? What changes to Atlantic’s culture and community will we see when tomorrow comes? Only time will tell. And if it doesn’t, rest assured, I will.

Your Humble Servant, GreyPawn

I would like to extend an apology to any individual, guild, city or venue that I did not include in this abridged version of the history of the Atlantic shard. To write the entirety of the shard’s history would be a feat of monumental effort and would probably take a year or more of research and fill twenty volumes. This basic outline was created for the purpose of informing and educating, a greater portion of the history and lore had to be summarized. I heartily solicit and encourage you to amend any parts you feel I may have missed in the appropriate thread on Stratics Atlantic message board.

Rob_D has this to add :

The Story of Elysium and the Knights of Sosaria

The player town of Elysium was formed in the year 1997 by the Knights of Sosaria. Especially by Lord Wolf and his daughter Lady Nova, the two founders of the KOS. Elysium is just south of where the old ruined town of Paws once stood. Wolf was born in Paws and had witnessed the destruction of it by the Orcs. As he came to age he settled down on the plains north of Trinsic, and formed Elysium. One core of the town was the Wandering Wisp Tavern. Another part was Leia's Rune Library just a few stumbling steps from the away. Soon the town grew bigger as the number of Knights increased and their link to Trinsic was beyond measure. Several members of the KOS became Mayors of Trinsic or at least members of the Trinsic Council of Honor. But then came the discovery of Trammel and the lands of Elysium became empty. The Knights, however, placed a large tower and a castle on the same plains. The Tower served as new home for the KOS guildstone, while the tower, more or less in the same spot where Leia's rune library is on Felucca, holds the Elysium Rune Library and the Drunken Dragon Tavern. Lord Wolf retired, leaving the guild business first to his friend Lord Breti (the owner of the Tower and the Castle) and later Sir Robert and Lady Arcana became co-Leaders. Those two also became (in the roleplaying scenario, not OSI endorsed) the Duke and the Duchess of Trinsic. Sir Robert took over the Wandering Wisp Tavern as well. Lady Arcana is today the Guildmistress of the KOS, Sir Robert had left the guild to start his own and Breti is more or less retired as well. The Knights are now located at Vesper / Trammel.

The Ghosts of Paws By Gwendoly

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, I went to Trinsic to attend the Council Meeting. I had heard reports of strange ghosts haunting the lands of late and I hoped to learn more. These ghosts apparently were cursing people and someone even told me that the new town of Elysium was cursed. As my guild had put a lot of time and effort into creating Elysium, I wanted to help in any way I could to remove the curse.

I went to the Trinsic Meeting Hall and found a number of people already there. A few more came in after the meeting began. I counted thirty-one people in all. There was even a seer at the meeting, Seer Nikademus. I found this interesting because I have seen a green-robed seer only once before. The attendees included: Christian of RAV; Lenknat of KOP; Fizban; Magus Draco; Arturius of C^L; Zeromus; Alma Beoulve; several members of the Trinsic Council; some representatives of the Yew Militia; Gargish Dragon, the Mayor of Yew; Dyluck Blade of WYS; Aleph Aeirs of 2ST; and several members of my guild, the Knights of Sosaria.

Orchid, the Mayor of Trinsic, began by telling what she knew of the ghosts and their mysterious messages:

"It was brought to my attention that the strange events we have experienced began not last week, but actually some time before when an oracle of sorts visited Dalriada. He said of some forthcoming troubles he saw between Yew and Trinsic. Recently, as we all know ghosts started appearing - Sir Simon, Belle, etc - carrying messages speaking of curses upon Trinsic because they supposedly did not aid in their time of need. Who's time of need? Apparently The long since destroyed town of Paws. Paws was attacked and destroyed by Orcs long ago, and it is true that Trinsic apparently did not show up in time to prevent it. In fact, only one survivor remained when they finally came. You may recall Crawworth. He was the survivor. Now I know not the reason why it took Trinsic so long to get there. It was long since before my time and there is nothing I could have done to aid. Apparently though, now they want revenge. But why now? What have they waited so long to seek vengeance upon us?" "It is the ghosts, of those I assume to be deceased citizens of Paws that want revenge. Last night, I am told they came with a message more frightening than any before."

At this point, several people told Orchid of the ghosts who appeared to them last night. Fizban said, "Last night every ghost along with a few new ones appeared before WYU." SunWolf was also a witness: "Ma'am Mayor, these ghost of some sorts had visited Abbey. Also Serpent Cross Tavern. They stated Trinsic Council will pay for their deeds at the meeting at next sun rise." "I fear we may be in grave danger, though I am still not sure from what," replied Orchid.

The discussion continued for some time, when, all of a sudden, I felt a chill behind me. I turned towards the door and saw a ghost walk into the room. His name was Sir Simon. The communication crystals that were set up for the meeting allowed us to understand all of Sir Simon's speech. I faithfully wrote down everything he said:

"In a chest hidden by the best of thieves...this letter shall rest an eternity" "false paladin....stole...my letter" "the others...do not know...the truth" "they will not....listen" "they must...have peace" "Paws...destroyed" "I failed" "false paladin...stole...my letter" "they blame...Trinsic" "the spirits...will not...listen" "and neither...will He" "follow"

At this point, Sir Simon left the room. We all scrambled to follow before we lost sight of him.

Sir Simon led us out of Trinsic and north along the road. We hadn't gone far when he stopped and moaned something. Lenknat interpreted for us: "In Vain I died here." Sir Simon then continued north aways. He led us east through the woods and stopped at a graveyard near the swamps. He began reading the headstones to us. It quickly became apparent that the people buried here were killed by the orcs that destroyed Paws. This is what he said:

"Belle....daughter...of Samuel..." "child of Paws..." "Poor Tremain...guard of Paws" "Marianne...baker...of Paws" "Sir John...Mayor..." "Polly...Paws tavernkeep" "only survivor" "Farley...foolish drunk" "he will not listen" "Farley knows...the way..." "Farley will not listen" "foolish drunk..." "seek Farley...he lives near" "only survivor..." "Tessa.....my Lady Tessa" "My lady Tessa...I miss her" "our son...Crawworth...all dead" "all gone now" "the spirits...will not rest..." "Farley will not listen..." "foolish drunk..." "seek him"

Sir Simon suddenly disappeared, leaving us to speculate who this Farley person was. Sir Simon said something about him living nearby, so we began to search all the houses in the area for any signs.

We split up into groups to search the area faster. I know not who first found it, but we soon gathered in front of a small wooden house. The sign read: "Farley's Hunting Shack - Go Away!"

After discussing what to do next, we decide to wait in front of the house in case the owner returned soon.

A strange looking fellow wearing the shiniest plate armor walked up and asked why we were gathered about the house. His name was Stratege. Lady Nova told him that we were waiting for a man called Farley. Stratege told us about someone he met a few weeks back in the woods who was trying to fight off a few ratmen near a chest. Stratege said that he helped kill the ratmen and that the man gave him part of the treasure, 500 gold pieces. He seemed to think that the man was named Farley, but he couldn't be certain. Stratege seemed to be amused by our explanation that we were waiting because a ghost told us to, and he left with the words, "back to smithing."

Remembering what Sir Simon said about Farley being a drunk, Orchid went to search the taverns for him. Some of the people in our group left to search other areas. I left for awhile as well.

When I returned to Farley's house, there was still a good-sized group waiting. A few minutes later, Orchid returned from her search of the taverns without having found anything. A discussion began regarding what we learned about the ghosts and Farley, speculation as to who the master thief is, and how all this relates to Trinsic. It was feared that all this was a ruse to get us away from the city and that Trinsic was under attack. Callisto Gabriel rode to Trinsic and returned to report that all was peaceful there.

A few of the people waiting had taken to summoning elementals and sparring with them to practice their skills and help pass the time. While all this was going on, it was almost easy not to notice a small, gray-bearded man walk up from the west. Lady Nova was the first to say, "There he is!" We all turned and were glad to finally see Farley, the Treasure Hunter.

Farley walked up to his house, mumbled under his breath angrily, and said, "Get ye away from me house." Lady Nova and Orchid tried to ask him some questions, but his reply was, "Ask ye questions to the swamp." After muttering, "Away from me doorstep," Farley went inside his house and locked the door behind him. We continued to wait outside his house in case he changed his mind about talking to us. We could hear him drinking.

Some minutes passed before Farley stumbled out onto his doorstep. He muttered, "Ye best be off, fore I get angry." But we were not so easily shooed. Lenknat asked, "Can you help us?" To which Farley replied, "No one can help ye as no one can help me." Orchid said, "We need help obtaining a letter sealed in a chest hidden by the best of thieves." We tried to explain briefly why we were there and asked Farley many questions which he did not answer. Someone mentioned a test, and to this Farley responded: "A test I give thee. No one can best me in the hunt. I shall devise a test. Only I am able to find the treasures that others hide." He then tried to scare us away with a feeble attempt at magic by muttering, "Corpus Por," "Corpal Por," and "Corpy Pory." This, of course, did not work.

We asked Farley again about the test. He said, "A test I give thee. Ye shant pass test, give up now." Someone mentioned the ghosts, and Farley muttered, "Evil spirits. The spirits haunt me dreams. I shant have thee cluttering me mind with these lies." Orchid told him, "We can stop the spirits, but only with your help." Farley said, "This map I give thee, ye not find treasure," and then asked who was the leader among us. We told him that it was Mayor Orchid. Farley continued: "Ye not find this treasure, even me unable. If thee finds this treasure, me give what ye ask. Bring to me the completed map along with all gems and drink. If thee do this, me take to fake orc chest." Orchid replied, "Its a deal." Farley gave Orchid a tattered treasure map, muttered "Now begone from me hut," and went back inside to resume his drinking.

We discussed what to do next and how we were going to find a treasure hunter. Lenknat's father, a master cartographer named Maximun, came to see if he could help. Maximun tried to read the map and then announced, "Tis too difficult." He told us that only a grandmaster cartographer could read the map. From this we knew that it was one of the most difficult types of treasure maps in the lands and that getting the treasure would involve fighting several of the toughest monsters in Britannia.

Several people sent messages via pigeon to friends to help locate a grandmaster cartographer, without any success. It quickly became clear that finding one could take awhile. Several of us went to the Wandering Wisp tavern to discuss the situation further over a good drink. Orchid decided that we should continue our search for a cartographer and return to the Wisp in two hours.

I went home get supplies for the hunt. When I returned to the Wisp, no qualified cartographer had yet been located. Callisto Gabriel soon had a lead and gave the information to Orchid. The Mayor contacted this cartographer, and he agreed to help us. Orchid brought the cartographer, named Cotton Picka of LoT, to the Wisp.

Cotton read the map and told us that the treasure was buried on a small island between Britain and Trinsic. We located two boats and then went to Leiah's Rune Library. A rune was found to a nearby island so that our sailing time would be shorter. We gated to the island and then boarded the boats. Most of the people got on the first boat. I boarded the second boat with a few of my guildmates. We tried to keep up with the first boat, but managed to get lost. I was able to get the coordinates of the first boat via pigeon and then we were on our way again.

When we caught up with the first boat, they were already at the island and the treasure hunt was in progress. The corpses of several monsters lay on the shore. I witnessed the deaths of a lich lord and two elder gazers before the treasure hunt was over. All the loot was gathered, and we then gated back to the Wisp.

Mayor Orchid let each person chose one of the magic items from the loot as a reward for helping with the quest. She then asked us all to meet back at the Wisp tomorrow night at 8 o'clock to see if we can locate Farley again and show that we have passed his test.

This Sunday proved to be a very long day for me. I was glad to go home and get some rest, though it was an adventure not to forget!

-Gwendolyn

Draft of Book of Destiny story... By Wolf

As a young boy, I lived a peaceful life in a small village known as Paws, between Trinsic and Britain. That is, until the days of Thornewood and the attack of the orcs. History books tell of the orc attack and how the village was destroyed. But few know the full story of evil, deception, and death…

When the orcs attacked, the men hid the women and children in barns and cellars, and then sent a call for help to the Paladins of the Trinsic Honor Guard. But the message never arrived.

Running to Trinsic, the messenger found a Guardsman on the trail and begged him to call the Guard to aid Paws. The Guardsman wheeled his horse, glowered down at the panting man, and struck him down with a single blow! For this Guardsman was an imposter who had infiltrated the Guard’s ranks. It was he that led the orcs against the town. His name was Thornewood.

Not knowing the messenger’s fate, the men and many of the women of Paws fought bravely against the waves of orcs that attacked their homes and families. But they never stood a chance against the horde. Blood ran freely over doorsteps and through the streets. Men, women and children were all cruelly slaughtered. And the mysterious Guardsman was never seen again.

In the end, Trinsic’s Honor Guard did learn of the attack and arrived to find the orcs in the last stages of the obliteration of Paws. Hartham himself strode through town demolishing orcs and searching for survivors. In one of the few houses not burned to the ground he beheaded an orc that had just killed some poor, brave woman of Paws. The story has been told that as Hartham turned to leave, he heard a sound under the floorboards. Tossing aside a rug he ripped open the trapdoor, ready to attack any vile creatures below. And there he found a young boy. Apparently, he was the sole survivor of the once peaceful town of Paws. His name was Crawworth, and Hartham raised the boy as his own. Years later Crawworth achieved notoriety in the battles against the Followers of the Armageddon, and in the initial explorations of the newly found Lost Lands, where he was eventually killed.

What many people have never known was that Crawworth was NOT the only survivor of Paws. Indeed, several years ago, it was discovered that Farley, a half-mad drunk living in the swamps, had been hidden in the woods as a child and was overlooked by the orcs. When the Knights of Sosaria were building their town of Elysium on the ruins of Paws, Farley played a part in quelling the angry cries of ghosts that rose up to complain to the people of Trinsic for not sending aid during the attack. He eventually told them of the false paladin who betrayed both Trinsic and Paws, thus finally allowing the ghosts to rest in peace. But soon after, Farley disappeared and has been seen no more.

I know this story well. It’s a dramatic history lesson that I’ve followed all my life. But it’s like the surface of a deep pool….it’s only a small part, the beginning of the story. Many may know that my daughter, Nova, and I founded the Knights of Sosaria and that we built our homes in Elysium, on the ruins of Paws. Few know much more about my history, and how I came to be drawn to the area. Perhaps by now you’ve guessed…

I am another survivor of the devastation of Paws.

Few people know, or ever knew, that the small town of Paws held much more than taverns and shops. Deep in the woods west of town was a small, plain looking house. Tucked away in a thicket, most never even saw that it was there; but if they did, it looked so ordinary they paid little attention to it. Just a cottage inhabited by a few old men, living out the ends of their days telling each other stories of when they were young. Or so it seemed. But hidden away inside was a great secret.

Those men weren’t just telling stories of old lovers and historic battles. They were scholars and mages who had dedicated their entire lives to hiding, protecting, and understanding an artifact far older they. They called themselves the Elysians. Long ago they had joined this sect and vowed to give their very lives for this thing.

It was book. No one knew how old it was, nor where it came from. It was titled “The Book of Destiny”. After years, even generations, no one was able to decipher any more than that. It seems the title could be easily read, but the script inside was unfamiliar to anyone who ever saw it. They didn’t know if it was in code, or some ancient language unknown to anyone living.

But why had these men, and many others before them, dedicated their lives to a book that no one could even read? What made it so special? Miraculously, the book was sentient. At least, it could speak! Which is not to say that it would converse on mundane topics of daily life or even speak all the time, but it would speak. And more, it seemed to know of things throughout the lands, and perhaps even throughout time! I gather it spoke of historic events, and even seemed to warn of dangers to come.

I don’t know much more about the book. The only reason I know of it at all is because when I was a very young boy I was befriended by Thomas, one of the Elysians. Young as I was, I’ll never forget the time he took me in to see the Book; or perhaps it was for the Book to see me, I’ll never know. I thought it was a fair bit of magic when I heard it speak, though I was chilled to the bone by what it said. “Death soon surrounds this one.” A week later, Paws was attacked.

Looking back, I think Thomas must have hoped I would succeed him. And in a way, I have. I’ve dedicated my life to finding that book. You see, during the attack on Paws The Book of Destiny disappeared.

I woke up to sounds of my father shouting in the next room. Mother was shaking me. “Wake up, wake up! We have to run!” She dragged me out of bed and into the main room. Papa pushed a large knife into my hands. It was like a sword to me. “Richard! He’s only seven!”

“Old enough, if need be. Don’t worry, you’ll both be safe there. And the Honor Guard will have word soon. Now go!” She kissed him, and grabbed me by the hand. In a daze, I tried to keep up as we ran out the back and headed through the woods. I glanced back to see my father pulling out his great viking sword that usually hung over the door.

“Orcs are attacking! And hundreds more where seen skirting ‘round the swamps. We have to go see Thomas,” she panted, “He’ll keep you safe”

As we rushed along, I remember hearing shouts in town to the south. Then some of the shouts turned to screams. We kept running. Thomas and the Elysian’s house never seemed so far.

Mother stopped short. Somewhere ahead we heard heavy footsteps, leather, and steel. Dragging me into the bushes, she said, “Stay down here. If they look this way, I’ll lead them south. When they go out of sight, run to Thomas’s house! I’ll meet you there.” I started to cry for her not to leave me, but she covered my mouth.

Orcs came around the bend at a slow trot. I had never seen an orc up close. They looked huge and mean. My hand tighten in fear around Papa’s knife. Just as they came past us, one of them stopped and turned, sniffing the air. “Remember to find Thomas” she whispered. Then Mother jumped up and ran across the path and into the trees. The orcs growled and followed her. I was frozen with shock and fear. Then finally, I got up and ran on.

I found Thomas and the others outside their house, listening to the sounds of battle in the near distance. “We have to prepare to leave”, they said.

“We can’t leave. Mother is coming! And the Honor Guard will be here soon.”

“They won’t get here in time, boy. We must protect the Book. I pray your good mother will be alright, but we must leave. And the Book tells us that you must come with us. Let’s get inside quickly!”

“Inside? I thought we had to leave? But I can’t leave my family and my home!”

Thomas comforted me, “We have to go, boy. Your parents would want you to be safe. And this is a great mission you are about to embark on.” He smiled. “We will leave by going inside. Come along and you’ll see.” We went in and he explained, “There is great power protecting this house, but even so, to protect the Book we have to prepare to teleport far away. In fact, we will prepare a spell to travel to another land. One where no other men of Brittania have yet gone. A mirror image of this world, but unknown to men. But since the Book has chosen you, I should tell you more about it, while the others prepare to leave.”

While the other Elysians packed the Book and some other belongings in backbacks, Thomas told me a little about the Book. “Some say the Book came from this other land ages ago. While the Book can talk, it often speaks in cryptic phrases that take careful study to understand. And even though the title can be read by all, we cannot yet translate the writing inside. And the Book can’t, or won’t, tell us what’s written inside. It’s believed to be a language from before all known history. Or even a language from some unknown land. We had hoped to search this alternate world for scrolls of translation that the Book tells us exist somewhere. I suppose that now we’ll get the chance to do just that. Come, it looks like we are ready.”

We sat in a circle and the men began chanting a spell unlike any I had ever heard. Then as they chanted, a stranger stepped into the circle. “I am Thornewood” he said, “I have come for the Book of Destiny! I can not let you leave!”

The Elysians looked up in fear, but they didn’t stop their chant. The one called Thornewood reached behind his head and pulled a strange wand from his pack. He held it high and also began to chant. The competing words of power rose to a crescendo just as I was covering my ears in pain and fear, Thomas pushed me back out of the circle. At that moment, it seemed there was a powerful explosion! I don’t remember much more after that.

The next thing I remember was wandering in the woods far from home. For months I struggled just to survive alone in the wilds, with occasional help from rangers and lumberjacks. I befriended a young wolf cub who’s mother was killed by hunters. As I grew, men began to call me Wolf, just like my constant companion. Eventually, I was able to find my way back to Paws. Or at least, where Paws once stood. And I found the remains of the Elysians house. There was little left of it. And certainly no sign of Thomas or the Book. But somehow I knew that the Book had not been destroyed, and vowed I would devote my life to finding it again.

And now the Book of Destiny has been found. After being gone for months, my daughter Nova returned with the Book. Then she disappeared again. I don’t know where she found the Book, or where she has gone, I can only hope she is safe and will return to us someday soon. Nova told us she was pursued by great danger and that we should keep the Book safe.

The Knights of Sosaria will devote ourselves to protecting the Book, and to understanding its revelations. And we will now search for the translation, for I hope that it may be found somewhere in Trammel. But even without it, the Book can tell us many things. Soon, when all safe precautions can be taken, we hope to make the Book of Destiny accessible to all the people of Sosaria. This is a great moment in history. And perhaps our own destiny will be revealed.