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The First Age of Britannia The First Age refers to everything between the day Ultima Online
went public to the first day the Second Age went public. Lord British sees the land become overrun by bandits and monsters, and
calls adventurers from Earth to aid the citizens of Britannia. These people
become known as "Charter Britannians."
The first version of Ultima Online avaliable to the public was the
"Ultima Online Charter Edition." Contained with the game CD was a certificate
from Lord British welcoming the purchasers to Britannia, and bidding them
to help stop the evil which has befallen the lands. True Charter Britannians
are few and far between these days. Only persons who purchased the Charter
Edition are considered Charter Britannians.
The Charter Britannians procreate with full blooded Britannians, causing
a population explosion unparalleled in all of Britannian history. In the first three months of public release, Ultima Online gained
members extremely quickly. So many members in fact, that they exceeded
the capacity of the game servers to handle. Origin has since upgraded those
systems many times over. Oberon the Healer obtains the staff of Dar-Salaam while in a meditative trance. He believed that he was in the spirit realm, and found the staff after tripping over it. It is unclear whether this is true, or merely a hallucination.. but he did find the staff. The staff remains the key to Hebban Olla's Tomb. Rhysart the Hermit appears, searching for the Liche Mordread, which had destroyed his family. he carries with him a red crossbow which belonged to his grandfather. It was the only item left after Mordreads attack. Oberon the Healer begins to see visions from the staff of Dar-Salaam, the staff tricks him into awakening Hebban Olla. A unique White Hart appears in the vicinity of Yew. It is subsequently captured and trapped on an island in the dungeon Despise. It was eventually rescued by a party led by Rhysart. The beasts antlers were neccessary to fashion a bolt of purity, which would be instrumental in destroying Mordread the Liche. A potion of Purity was the second ingredient needed to defeat Mordread. A party was led into the depths of Hythloth to recover it, but it was discovered that Azhur the dragon had gotten there first. Azhur wished to be free of his master, Mordread the Liche, and so the adventurers convinced him to hand over the potion as it was key to Mordreads destruction. Rhysart combined the bolt of purity with the potion of purity. The act of which made Mordread mortal, and thus defeatable. Once Mortal, Mordread was quickly slain. A group calling itself the Zog Cabal terrorizes the land. Their actions
include piracy, murder, and robbery among various other evil deeds. They
believe that the world is corrupt, and desire to take charge to make everything
right in their own eyes. They are also referred to as the "Followers of
Armageddon."
The Zog Cabal got their name changed during this event as OSI was unaware that the word "Zog" was also the name of a Terrorist group. (Or at least, that is what the rumour was) Throughout these pages, I will refer to this group as the Followers of Armageddon, simply for clarification purposes.
Hartham, the head trainer of the Trinsic guards, and step-father to
Crawworth is assassinated by poison. Lord Crawworth was selected to perform
his eulogy, during which a masked man appeared and took credit for the
assassination. The man claimed to be from the Followers of Armageddon.
Paladin Juo'Nar is discovered to be guilty of several crimes during
an investigation into the Followers of Armageddon. Juo'Nar's crimes are
unreleated to the Followers of Armageddon, however.
The Evil magician, Lathiari returns to his dilapadated home in the form
of a Lich. It appears he needs something from the house.
The Followers somehow obtain Sage Winslow's research on the dialect
of wisps.
The Followers of Armageddon obtain the knowledge of the Ritual of Armageddon
from the wisps. They see this as the perfect means to accomplish their
goal of "righting the world."
The Troll brothers, G'Thunk and G'Splat attempt to seige the North Vesper
bridge claiming the northeast forests for their own.
Juo'Nar resurfaces, and murders several monks at the Shrine of Spirituality,
he also leads random attacks on the other 7 shrines.
Laithari and Kyrnia attack Yew again, Sage Humbolt begins a means of
defeating them, for their undead bodies regenerate when attacked. He gives
adventurers the task of acquiring the Bell of Courage.
Humbolt deduces that the source of the Evil Liches power is their hearts.
He finds a way to destroy them, and leads an expedition into Dungeon Despise,
where he is killed, but not after he is successful in defeating the liches.
Lord Crawworth resigns his position as Captain of the Guards of Trinsic,
appointing Finth Desryn to replace him. Finth Desryn had previously been
the Master at Arms for the Paladins Guild.
Juo'Nar attacks a weapons caravan headed for Trinsic, killing the caravan's
leader, Tali Desryn. Tali Desryn was the wife of Finth Desryn, Captain
of the Trinsic guards.
Sage Humbolt's wake is held, he is entombed in the Britain graveyard.
His successor is Sage Winslow.
Sage Winslow dies at the Bottom of Dungeon Shame. The Followers of Armageddon
had their hand in this event, for he is replaced by a False Winslow who
is loyal to the Followers.
False Winslow begins to debunk rumours about the Followers of Armageddon,
dismissing them as a myth. Lord Crawworth becomes his most vocal opponent.
False Winslow even goes so far as to claim that Crawworth is insane.
Juo'Nar is located in Ocllo and slain by a group of warriors.
G'Thunk and G'Splat are sighted in the Forests near Vesper. They are
hunted down for the bounties placed on their heads by the Minoc constabulary.
G'Splat does not survive the encounter, but G'Thunk escapes.
False Winslow continues to announce his beliefs that the Followers of
Armageddon are a myth, even after Crawworth presents incontrovertable proof
that they do exist. He is arrested and questioned by royal officials. He
is later released.
Julia the tinker and Mariah the Mage are simultaneously kidnapped from
Vesper and Moonglow, respectively.
Halston Montil of the Britannian Royal Army is appointed lead investigator
of the FoA (Followers of Armageddon).
The Skeleton of a man is found at the bottom of the Dungeon Shame, the
Staff of Sage Winslow is found nearby. Halston Montil begins an investigation.
Halston Montil's investigation reveals that the remeains do indeed belong
to Sage Winslow and that False Winslow was a replacement. Furthermore,
it was discovered that False Winslow was the leader of the FoA. Efforts
to find False Winslow were doubled.
The FoA attempt to cast the Ritual of Armageddon prematurely. The result
is a series of termendous earthquakes which kill many people. Lord British
sends adventurers to the 4 corners of the globe to assess the damage to
his kingdom.
Halston Montil and his party finally locate False Winslow, along with
Mariah and Julia. The Troll brother, G'Thunk was also present. G'Thunk
announced his intention to kill False Winslow, as he blamed the FoA for
the death of his brother, G'Splat. Upon seeing Montil, False Winslow surrendered,
but the troll was bent on slaying the evil leader. Julia stepped in between
the two, and pleaded with the angry Troll, saying Justice would be served.
G'Thunk could only think of one kind of justice he wanted, and with a single
strike from his weapon, Julia fell to the ground, dead. Montil and
his party leapt into action before Julia came to rest on the damp floor
of Dungeon Shame. G'Thunk did not last long against the onslaught of adventurers,
led by Halston Montil.
Montil carried Julia with him, as he and his party brought False Winslow
to Yew for trial. Lord Britshes adventurers returned to him, reporting caves that were
heretoforth unknown to anyone. Some had ventured into the caverns and spoke
of a new, savage land. Lord British then commissioned a party to explore
these caverns, lead by none other than the noble Lord Crawworth. Crawworth and party Journey to the new lands. They discover a savage land in the middle of a war. At first the party was very successful, and they covered a lot of ground quickly. Soon though, they began to succumb to strange illnesses.. Crawworth in particular. They are drawn into an internal war, and most of the party is killed while trying to return to Britannia. Crawworth is struck by a poison arrow, and his condition deteriorates rapidly. The other remaning party member, a journalist attempts to remove the bolt, but pricks herself in the process. Both Crawworth and the journalist die aboard the ship as it enters Britain harbour. The Journal leaving the only record of their adventures. |