Shareware 1 2 the Maxx/sw_1.zip/sw_1/COMMGAME/U7DOCS.ZIP/U7-HIST.DOC

Text File | 1992-04-24 | 10KB | 183 lines

               A Reinterpretation of the History Of Britannia
               ──────────────────────────────────────────────

        Being in part a collection of historical facts with a modern
      interpretation thereof supplied by the author, Batlin of Britain.

i.  Ancient Sosaria

        Long ago, before the formation of the kingdom of Britannia, that land
was known as Sosaria.  It was little more than a multitude of warring ciry
states and feudal fiefdoms, and the people of the land suffered for it.

        It was wise Lord British, then ruler of the city-state of Britain, who
eventually brought the land and the people of Sosari together.

ii.  The Ages of Darkness

        The Ages of Darkness are well named, for they were a time when dark
terrors walked the land.  It may also be said that during the Ages of Darkness,
the peoples of Sosaria were the furthest from illumination, for this was truly
a time when spiritual pursuits were at their ebb.

iii.  The Tale that is Called 'The First Age of Darkness'

        The beginning of the First Age of Darkness is marked by the coming of a
sorcerrer named Mondain.  The father of Mondain had refused to share his secret
of immortality with his son, and their disputes led to the father's death.
Torn with anguish and no doubt by his fears of persecution, Mondain turned his
dark powers agains the kingdoms of Sosaria.

        In desperation, Lord British called forth a champion to rish to the
defense of the realm.  The hero who responded to his summons would many years
later come to be known as the Avatar.  It was through the actions of this
Avatar that Mondain's foul gem of power was shattered and Mondain himself did
come to a very sad end indeed.

iv.  The Tale That is Called 'Revenge of the Enchantress'

        The triumph of the Avatar did not last long, for in slaying Mondain he
brought the wrath of Minax down upon the land.  Minax was the young lover of
Mondain and a sorceress with magical powers even greater than Mondain's.  She
had the power to command legions of foul creatures, and in her quest for
vengance over the death of ther lover, she brought much misery to the people of
Sosaria.

        Again the hero who would come to be known as the Avatar returned to
Britannia in the first recorded use of the Moongates.  The Avatar slew Minax's
minions and did eventually destroy her as well.

        While there have been speculations as to the motivations of the Avatar,
there is insufficient eveidence to show that the Avatar was driven to violence
by a jealousy over Mondain's romantic involvement with Minax.  That being said,
such theories are hereby denounced and should not be given consideration.

v.  The Tale that is Called 'Exodus'

        No one in all of Sosaria, not even the Avatar, could have realized that
by ending the lives of Mondain and Minax, the Avatar would be ophpaning their
only child.  The name of this unusual child was Exodus, and he was neither
machine nor human.  Exodus rose from the bottom of the Great Ocean to carry out
a campaign of revenge and destruction against the land of Sosaria.

        So terrible were the forces unleashed by Exodus that the hero whom we
whould come to know as the Avatar required the assistance of a mysterious being
known as the Time Lord to thwart them.  And thus is was that the Avatar did
deal with Exodus in a similar manner as he had with his mother and father.

        Since that time much speculation has been given to the potentially
immeasurable good such a creature as Exodus could have brought the land had he
been persuaded to become beneficent, but I wish to formally disagree with those
who say the Avatar should have handled the situation differently.

vi.  The Rise of Britannia

        After the smiting of Exodus, the people of Sosaria, who lived in terror
during the onslaught of these evil magical beings, did unite together as a
measure of self-protection under the sovereign rule of Lord British.  Thus was
formed the Kingdom of Britannia.

        Led by wise Lord British, the land did come to flourish.  The eight
major townships rose upon the foundations fo the old city-states.  A
renaissance of culture and civilization was highlighted by the formation of
great institutions devoted to the study and advancement of the arts and
sciences.

vii.  The Tale that is Called 'Quest of the Avatar'

        It was at this time of growth and prosperity in the kingdom of
Britannia that Lord British put out a call for one to show the way or spiritual
growth and virtue.  The call was answered by the hero who would come to be
known as the Avatar.

        It was at this time that the champion of Britannia did come to earn the
title of 'Avatar' by establishing the Eight Virtues and by seizing the Codex of
Ultimate Wisdom from the depths of the Stygian Abyss.

        It has been said that the primary motivation of the Avatar has been
personal redemption for the fate of Mondain, Minax and Exodus.  While there has
been no proof of this, I say that even if it were true, all the positive things
brought forth in the world through the virtues would be enough to make amends
for almost any misdoing.

vii.  The Tale that is Called 'Warriors of Destiny'

        It seems that by removing the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom the Avatar had
inadvertently set into motion a cosmic chain of events which led to the release
of three Shadowlords from remnant shards of the black gem of Mondain.  These
Shadowlords were sinister agents of evil.  Soon they mangaed to dethrone Lord
British and hold him prisoner in a foul dungeon.  Denied his wisdom and
compassion, the kingdom of Britannia quickley grew oppressive and cruel.

        This was the Britannia that greeted the return of the Avatar.  After a
scord of valiant struggles, Lord British was liberated, his throne regained and
the Shadowlords banished from our world.

        However, Lord British's escape from the underworld did cause a tremen-
dously destructive series of earthquakes as the vast network of subterranean
caverns colpsed. Much of the gargoyle race did perish in that tragic cataclysm.

ix.  The Tale that is Called 'The False Prophet'

        After the tremors that shook Britannia subsided, gargoyles,
inhabitants of the other side of the world who now found their homeland
virtually destroyed, began to appear on the Britannian side of the world in
increasing numbers as aggressors.  They launched vicious attacks agains the
human race and many were they who lost their lives in defense of our realm.

        The gargoyles even attempted to assassinate the Avatar.  They set a
Moongate trap which lured the Avatar into their clutches, but the Avatar was
rescued by his companions.  So it was that Lord British did once again call
upon his champion to set the world right.  Ending this violent racial conflict
was the greatest challenge that the Avatar had ever faced.

        At last it was revealed that the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, which had
been removed from the underworld by the Avatar, was actually the property of
the gargoyles.  Therefore, the Avatar placed the Codex into the greath ethereal
void where it would be possessed by neither human or gargoyle.  Two lenses,
used to view the Codex, were given to Lord British and gargoyle ruler King
Draxinusom.  As the cause of the conflict between the two would eventually be
closed.

        Those who would say that this terrible and destructive was could have
been prevented entirely had the Avatar not appropriated the Codex from its true
owners are merely dissidents who are grossly misinformed.

x.  The Last Two Hundered Years

        It has been two centuries since the Avatar last appeared in our good
kingdom.  Some have written that at last it is possible to interpret the tales
of the Avatar as they should be, with the proper historical perspective.  Some
argue that as time moves on, the truth of what actually occured will fade even
further away and that we have a responsibility to preserved the legends as we
now know them.  However, most agree when it comes to a number of basic theories.

        While there are those who maintain that the stories of the Avatar are
only myths, practically all credible scholars say that at least some elements
of the Avatar's tales are historical fact.  In reality, one need look no
further than the Isle of the Avatar to see very persuasive evidence that the
Avatar did indeed exist -- at least as a person if not as a spiritual being!

        It is most likely that there has been more than one Avatar.  All of the
writings insist that the Avatar who negotiated the peace between Britannia and
the gargoles is the one and same person who first appeard to vaquish the
sorcerer Mondain those many years ago.  While saying it is most unlikely,
historians do not firmly deny the possibiliy of there having been only one
Avatar.  After all, our good sovereign monarch, wise Lord British, has himself
displayed an amazing longevity!

        Whatever interpretation of history proves to be most accurate, it seems
undeniable that the Avatar will not return to our fair kingdom.  By all indi-
cations the age of magic is coming to an end.  With the decline in reliablity
of mages, and with the kingdom turning away from the magical arts, it is
doubtful that extreme danger -- that which would require an Avatar's aid to
defeat it -- will ever return to Britannia.  And thankfully so.

        Upon us is the age of The Fellowship, in which one does not simply wait
in anticipation for a heroic savior when a crisis occurs.  In this less spec-
tacular but more practical day, we are left to solve out problems with our own
minds and our own will.