Original Concept: GM Draugr
Scripting/Coding: GM Azuth
Design/Artwork: GM Azuth

Shard Status:
In Development

Storyline: GM Draugr
Webmaster: GM Draugr
Web Host: Soznet.net

Conversion of old game:
GM Draugr & GM Azuth

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WARNING!!!!! If thou art NOT familiar with the history of Ultima and Ultima Online it is recommended that ye install the Ultima Online client first and at least view the introduction/story of how Ultima Online came to be. With the knowledge gained by previewing the intro movie to Ultima Online, or doing some research on Ultima & Ultima Online via the internet, you will understand and thus appreciate the following passages much more!

THE STORY OF THE Shard

Welcome Travellers!

Thou hast stumbled upon a world that is both old and yet new. The land of Sosaria as it exists here is from a time long long ago, during the Third Age of Darkness. Whilst that time has long passed, the reason for the existance of this world in this day and age, is a long and complex story. Let me try to explain how Sosaria survived the transformations that made all other Sosaria's into the land known as Britannia. During the first Age of Darkness the mad wizard Mondain was slain by the hero and the Gem of Immortality was shattered by the blade of said hero. When the hero shattered the gem, it burst into many smaller shards. As these shards fell to the cold stone floor of Mondain's laboratory they ignited the magical essence that was trapped within each shard of the now broken gem. The impact of the shards hitting the stone floor is thought to be what caused the magic within to erupt and warp the lands of Sosaria into the new land of Britannia. Thus began the story of Ultima Online. Whilst the story of how the shards of Ultima Online came to be is common knowledge, the seers of the time neglected to mention the story of the lone shard that did not suffer the same fate as all the others. Alas it shall be I who tell thee the story of how Sosaria and Ultima III On-Line came to be.

[The Lone Shard]

When the hero shattered the Gem of Immortality all the broken shards burst about the laboratory. There was one piece that fell and landed where no other shard had fallen. This piece like the rest saw its magical essence ignite and cause devastating changes to the geography, people and beasts of the realm. The difference was that this shard landed on the thick blood red rug that laid in the far corner of the room. The long fibers of the rug helped to cushion the blow of the landing shard and thus the magical explosion that erupted within this lone shard was not quite as powerful as the rest. This eruption within the lone shard altered the lands and began the same process that led to all other shards turning the realm from Sosaria to Britannia and beginning Ultima Online. Unlike those other shards though, the magical eruption in the lone shard was not as powerful due to the lesser blow suffered when landing on the lavish rug, and as such the transformation never completed. Yes, the lands as they were known during the First Age of Darkness were no more. The land as it existed during the rein of Minax during the Second Age of Darkness also passed and then the land began it's transformation to Sosaria as it was known during the Third Age of Darkness. It was at this point that the magical energies within the shard waned and was no longer strong enough to carry on the final transformation to Britannia. Thus we end here and this is our land, the land in which we live and yes we have dealt with the abomination Exodus, but not all is merry, nor safe. Yes my friends there is still lots of horrors, triumphs and wealth to be had within our land and this is what inevitably pulls at you to become one with our world, and strive to be *pause*.....hmmmmm... an Avatar? *pause* Nah thats not it, too far into the future. Hmmm.... *pause* Ahhhh a King! *pause* Wait.... thats not it either. The noble Lord British is the ruler of Sosaria. Well, perhaps I should just leave your destiny up to you. You my friends may decide to be rulers, explorers, dungeon delvers, merchants, scholars, or the more dastardly thieves, thugs and others of their ilk. The choice is Ultimately yours in Ultima III On-Line!

THE HISTORY OF OUR SOSARIA

     No one in all of Sosaria could have realized the evil that Mondain and Minax were about to set free. So terrible were the forces unleashed that not even the heroes of Sosaria could stop them. In haste Warriors of all class and race were banding together and volunteering to support Lord British in his battle with the ultimate evil. The aspiring heroes were searching for a mysterious being known only as the Time Lord to assist them in ridding Sosaria of this evil. A lone group of four managed to solve the numerous riddles and alas catch up with the Lord of Time himself. The Lord of Time agreed to assist the adventurers and helped to bring the fall of the diabolical Exodus. During that final battle the adventurers prepared for a beast of great power and evil. A beast that would make the balrons look like a child's toy or cuddly pet. Alas, when they entered the infernal lair of Exodus, they were not greeted by man such as Mondain or Minax, nor were they confronted with a foul beast such as a devil or balron. No the adventurers stood before a large mechanical looking device with 4 slots and many pulsing and flickering lights. "This is Exodus?" said one of the heroes! "What type of an abomination is this?" said another. The machine started making a crunching sound and the lights on the machine flickered even faster than before. The machine was processing something.... something dangerous no doubt. It was at this moment that the adventurers gathered their composure and inserted each of the four cards into one of the four slots on Exodus. Upon inserting all four cards the machine began to make loud banging and high pitched noises. The lights really flickered and pulsed intensely. Then smoke began to bellow up from the slots and other openings around the machine. The adventurers decided it was safer to leave the castle on the Isle of Fire before Exodus blew apart or worse.

     Moments after escaping the Castle of Exodus a large BOOM like that of the loudest clap of a deep dark thunder could be heard across the land. The sound was thought to be that of Exodus' demise. There was no true proof as the adventurers were on their boat fleeing the castle by the time of the loud explosion. It wasn't till days later when Lord British claimed that Exodus must truly have been defeated. The following days after the adventurers confrontation with Exodus, the Orc war drums ceased to ring out across the land. Beasts of the most diabolical nature were seen retreating back into the depths of Sosaria, and the majority of the humans who took to the dark side of life either perished, fled to the farthest reaches of the land or were snapped out of their evil ways. It was almost like they were in a trance or possessed. Many did not even recall what happened to them over the period of the last few years. Lord British determined with the help of his magi that Exodus corrupted these citizens against their will and forced them to do his bidding. With the termination of the machine that was Exodus, the power he used to control these innocent citizens dried up and control of their minds were returned to them. While the majority were truly innocent and forced against their will, there were quite a few that were just truly evil or corrupt and sought wealth in any way including robbing, pillaging, and murder! To those who committed crimes of their own control and choice, Lord British began having his guards round them up and place them in the jails of Montor. Alas only the most devious of the scum manage to escape or avoid the grasp of Lord British, but our king will not rest until the last of these thugs are incarcerated.

     Now just a handful of months after the apparent fall of Exodus you arrive in the land. Sosaria shall be your home and your life path shall be that of thy own choosing. No evil such as Exodus shall hinder the fair citizens of Sosaria, at least that is what everyone believes, yet Lord British knows it is possibly only a matter of time before another dark evil attempts to take over the land of Sosaria, and the fair Lord British shall be there to combat that great evil. Thus is the life and responsibility of being a fair and just ruler of Sosaria!

EPILOGUE

Welcome to the Land of Sosaria as you have never seen it before. With this new remake of Ultima III using the Ultima Online Emulator we hope to breath life back into a game that was one of the all time classics in CRPG history. Every attention to detail was taken during development to insure that we preserved the land of Sosaria as it was long ago, and that your playing experience here can be taken to new heights that were not even dreamt of when the game was originally released in 1983.

Let it be known that while the land of Sosaria has been preserved as closely as possible, Ultima III Online is yet a game of its own. Much more attention to detail has been adhered to, and the basic concept of the land and its living species both human,animal and beast has been expanded upon and enhanced to mimic that of a truly living world, and a world of great adventure and mystery. As any who have experienced the original Ultima Online would know, our shard contains many if not all the features of the original UO. All skills, items, spells and features that players of Ultima Online have come to love and enjoy have been injected into our shard and thus Ultima III Online and most importantly, Sosaria itself is more alive and breathing than ever before thanks to the technology created by the fair and just leader of Origin Systems and the father of the original Ultima's; Mr. Richard Garriott aka Lord British! :) As with all worlds time does not stand still here in Ultima III Online. Time moves forward and both heroes and villains shall come and go. This persistence in the world is what shall make Ultima III Online so intriguing. Think about it! What would have happened had the transformation of Sosaria to Britannia not occurred after the fall of Exodus? What would Sosaria have become? What would the next trials and tribulations be? Could the Quest of the Avatar still have taken place, only this time on Sosaria? Would a future villain gather up such power and amass great numbers of followers to warrant a Fourth Age of Darkness? Alas, we can only speculate as to what would have happened.... Until NOW! Ultima III Online lets us the fans of the original Ultima and the die hard fans of Ultima III: Exodus fantasize as to what may have been of our beloved Sosaria. Come join us and see what Sosaria and it's populace may have experienced had it not been wiped out after the fall of Exodus, during the transformation to Ultima IV's Britannia.

If you would like to see maps of the world, or images of the in game scenes then visit the MAPS section. We have also made a small video trailer explaining the game that we are working on that can be downloaded from the VIDEO TRAILER link in the menu on the left of the page.

~ GM Draugr ~