We had received 9 excellent entries from the Europa shard. Of those entries, there were 5 that we enjoyed the most.
The top 5 most memorable UO moments from Europa:
It was a cold wet December night, when I rolled up at West Britain Bank on my most trustworthy horse. There in the shadows stood my 2 most loyal friends Sir Mangus and Captain Birdseye, both passing the hours away chatting to everyone and anyone who happened to pass them by.
Hey boys I shout, what’s up? Hey Draco they both reply, nothing going on, its all quite tonight. So I ask if anyone has scouted the champ spawns to see if there is any action going on around the lands. Both shake their heads as to say nothing was happening.
After 30 minuets had passed we get a message in guild chat from our Guild mistress Tia “Every one to Guild HQ” and the message is repeated 4 or 5 times. Capitan Birdseye says “hmm, it looks as if something is kicking off, we had better go see what’s going on” So I open a gate to Guild HQ and all three of us pop through.
Once there, we quickly see that there are already 7 other members waiting. What a sorry bunch they were, not one of them liked each other, but as a team they all worked together well and fought hard on the battle field. We enter the Guild HQ to see Pyro arguing with Magot over who was the better archer, and in the other corner Sorrow was trying to kill Gelo while she was not looking. Tia the guild leader was standing chatting to Memphis and Poly telling them to get the PvM team together.
Tia, “what’s up” I ask. “We are off to do a champ at Despise” she replies. “Get the PvP team together”
So I gather the PvP team and instruct them to make sure they were ready for a fight to defend the Barracoon Champ at despise. I tell them to check they have the funds in their bank account for insurance of their kit and make sure they have a back pack full of Bandies, Pots, Apples and a trap box. Archers make sure you have enough arrows and bolts.
As soon as the PvP team was whipped into shape, Tia shouts “Everyone in the gate were leaving for Despise” Once we are there, I tell Deny to stay at the entrance hidden to be our early warning for incoming raiders. Sir Mangus and Capitan Birdseye are given the drop in point to defend, the rest of the team were to just keep each other in sight and watch over the PvM team.
Just five minuets into the champ Deny shouts over the guild chat “Incoming NDK Guild eight of them!” So I call the PvP team to the drop in point to ambush NDK when they dropped into despise. No sooner than we got there, NDK started to come into the drop in point, they all started to split up and run in different directions. So I call a target and we all went chasing him down. No sooner had we killed the first NDK player Deny shouts down the Guild chat |Incoming GOD guild nine of them” At this point we had our hands full with NDK and there was no chance of us surprising GOD at the drop in point.
At this point the PvM team had the champ up, so I call the PvP team to the island and tell them to take up a defensive position, at this point in time there was only one way onto the island and it was easy defended. I was praying that GOD and NDK would get board of trying to break our defence and start to fight each other, then we could just clear up the ones who survive. But just as we start to get the defence up on the island Deny shouts down guild chat “incoming UCH and F Guild around 15 of them”
At this point I knew we were in for a mother of all battles and the chances of us finishing the champ and surviving was getting slimmer by the minuet. My worst fears were confirmed a few short minuets latter when our defences were broken and our PvM team were dyeing thick and fast, chaos had broken out!
Deny shouts down the guild chat again “incoming DIE five of them” At this point I tell Deny to leave his post as watchman and come and help us with the fight he was sorely needed we were being killed at a fast pace. At this point there was over 50 people in despise fighting a mother of a battle. No one was paying the champ any attention as there was too much death and killing going on around them.
The battle raged on for over 90 minutes in despise, all the while our PvM team were trying to finish killing the Barracoon and finally after many deaths and resurrections the Barracoon was dead and we had the power scrolls.
But escape was not going to be easy, as NKD, GOD, UCH, DIE and us DI3 were fighting in despise FEW guild had set up a trap in the star room, waiting for the scrolls to be brought out that way.
So before we knew it the fight had moved into Terra Keep. But now we had FEW guild added into the battle. The battle raged on for a further hour, with many more deaths and many more tails of bravery.
There was talk of this epic battle for years to come. People would remember their feats of bravery and courage as well as stupidity for falling for some of the traps they died to.
The darkness was stifling. The faint silvery light of his blade shone in front of him as he carved his way through swathes of undead, an endless flow of undead from the void ahead of him. He had long since fortified himself against the terror of this place, seeing it now only as a means to an end. Two hundred thousand was the price, two hundred thousand gold from less fortunate adventurers purses, two hundred thousand for him and his band of warriors to have a place to call home. Steadying himself against the crumbling wall he tended to his wounds and judged the weight of his coin purse in his hand, ‘still short’ he thought to himself frowning, three days spent in this tormented place by his reckoning. He could not afford to miss this business opportunity and regretfully remembered the deadline before the homestead was beyond his reach, five days.
As he woke from fitful sleep, haunted by the dead faces of his attackers and fallen allies, he remembered a tale once told to him of this place, a tale that up till three days ago he had dismissed as myth. He remembered details of spell weaving undead residing in haunted crypts deep in the darkest recesses of the dungeon known only as Deceit, and more importantly of the gold they hoarded for purpose unknown. Only two days remained and the adventurer came to a decision, after a rest he would press further into the dungeon than he had previously dared. Knowing that his undead slaying prowess had improved drastically since he began his quest provided him with confidence, but doubt crept into his mind from the fear of the unknown.
Quaffing a thick, dark and foul smelling concoction he squinted forwards in the now less punishing darkness. The area was eerily quiet as he made his way down a long winding corridor, encountering small resistance to his progress, his confidence further boosted. Finally, ahead of him, long shadows patrolled what appeared to be a square room with a rank smelling pit, filled with the bones of undead and human alike. Past this room he came upon a recessed pit, containing ancient sarcophagi where dark shadows patrolled the walls around him, he had arrived.
Drawing his sword and shield the warrior charged towards the shadow closes to him. Immediately he felt weaker and less dexterous, ‘so the myth was true’ he thought to himself as he sliced and parried this new foe. After a fierce battle the warrior searched the fallen corpse of his enemy, ‘I’m going to need a bigger coin purse’ he said out loud to himself laughing.
By the fourth day, the warrior returned to the port city of Vesper to claim his reward. He proudly handed over the fee, much to the sellers surprise, and was taken swiftly by magical gateway to a small, overgrown stone tower. ‘Perfect’ said the warrior, as he placed the magical guild stone on the roof.
Summer, 315.
It had been two brief, terrible days, when all the shards of the Gem of Immortality were shaken to their roots by the prophets of some nameless god, dressed in robes hemmed in gold and claiming outrageous powers that could duplicate even the most revered of artifacts.
The mage who called himself “The Black Cobra” stood, bereft, at the gunwale of his ship. He did not have the will to fish, nor the drive to return to port. With her sails furled, the Lady Justyce bobbed on the waves, as without purpose as he himself felt.
Soon, he would return to both port and wife, as hollow as he had been when he left. Two days of sickness had left him unaware of what had been occurring until it was too late, and now his oldest companion was no more, lost in the immense spell that had reverted time by two entire days, sealing those prophets forever beyond the Facets.
Rain began to fall, the sky darkening with the onset of a storm. Still he stood there, fat raindrops trickling down his cheeks, that hollow part inside telling him there was no point to returning. What could the lands of Sosaria offer him, without the peerless companionship of Franklin, his dear mongbat? If only he had left him in the stables that day! If only he had been well enough to check on him when he’d first received the message from his closest friend, Aron Swordmaster, that dark magic was running wild… but no, these wishes wouldn’t fill the aching void or return his lost companion.
A green light broke into his maudlin thoughts. Wiping the rain from his eyes, he returned to the wheel and picked up his communication crystal, flickering with an incoming message.
“Cobra! Do you hear me? It’s Tanis!”
The voice of his friend banished the grief for a moment.
“I hear you, Tanis. What’s the matter?”
“I’m at the farms near Jhelom. I was training, and… well, a woman I didn’t recognize came running up and handed me a mongbat. I… I think it’s yours…”
The crystal almost dropped from his numb fingers. Cobra licked lips which suddenly seemed dry despite the rain.
“Not… not Franklin?” it was impossible to keep the hope from his voice.
“I think it must be… if not, it’s his twin brother, and just as impressively trained…”
There was more, of course. Tanis knew – must have known – the effect his words had on the mage. Wiping the rain from his face, he dug in his backpack for a well-worn runebook. This was no time to sail all the way to Jhelom; this was worth losing a ship over.
The sun came out from behind the clouds, illuminating the empty deck as the moongate closed behind Cobra. A continent away, in the warmth of life reinvigorated, man and mongbat embraced as old friends; reunited, never to be parted again.
Sea of Green
After weeks of preparation the alliance day had finally arrived! With anxious anticipation I dressed in my finest garments ( fire robe, fire cloak and 100 diamonds ring). I recalled quickly to Spirituality gate. The sense of something special was accentuated by the long row of lit torches leading from Spirituality gate to Spider Cave, where my fellow guild mates escorted guests and myself through this dangerous area filled with terathans, dread spiders and giant black widows.After surviving this arduous sojourn we arrived at the entrance of Reg Volom where we all signed the guest book and received programs listing the order of events.
When all were seated in the main room I rang the bell of Sosaria to signal the commencement of the ceremony.Our patron of Spirituality gave his blessing, followed by speeches of the two guild leaders. A humorous moment occurred during one of the speeches when an ethereal warrior hovered overhead, making an ominous warning sound that a person with negative karma was in the vicinity.The warning went unheeded , while the warrior stalked its victim and swiftly swooped down to kill its prey. Although this was an unfortunate incident a chuckle crossed my face knowing this might be the outcome.( After all quests were forewarned to have positive karma).
The moment I had been waiting for had come… the alliance leader had proclaimed the alliance official! A sea of green names instantly appeared with fireworks exploding above our heads! A feeling of exhilaration came over me … a moment I will never forget!
A sense of gratification filled me for the efforts of many had come to fruition as we were now as one in alliance. The celebration closed with refreshments in the reception area and group photos on the roof.
I recalled home … taking off my fire cloak and robe … remembering this day filled with excitement, camaraderie , and humor… and my most memorable moment … a sea of green
“How to unweave the interlocking rainbow moments that make the memory of a small, dull patch of dirt road outside Empath Abbey in Yew so powerful to me personally?
Well, I was born into Britannia in glorious low resolution 8-bit, 32 colour pixellated form back in 1989 for Ultima IV, via the Sega Master System. Answering the questions of the Gypsy as honestly as I could with regards towards my own values, she set my destiny for Druidhood, and the blobby green forests of Yew… And it was there, deep amongst the blobs, in one of my earliest memories that I found the cosy home of Iolo, and his mysterious talking horse, Smith. And without realising it then, I quickly partook of a traditional Ultima ritual; I proceeded of course to go through all their things and wander off with what I thought would better suit me!
But I knew then that I’d found a cosy gaming home of my own too. I returned to the realm for every single player game afterwords, and when I came at last to Ultima Online in 2001, I wanted so much to place a house in Yew for myself; but the lands were full of vibrant homes already, and there was no space for me. However, Yew was not long after struck by the Plague of Despair. It was a revelation to me to see the ground itself change beneath our feet, become corrupted; but to hear rumors that, through our combined arms and arts, we could return the land itself to healthy high resolution greenery…
I had neither strength nor skill yet though, for I was still young. Arriving on the designated day to cure the land, I found a small group of players at the back, stood near the Abbey and next to a red and white cross made of cloth left upon the ground. They were healing those who fell fighting the Plagues Beasts and other corruptions of nature, and handing out small packets of recovery materials to speed the return to the fight. It was on that day that my first, and so far my only guild was formed between us; The Sosarian Red Cross. Later that evening I would personally cure 2 of the large trees myself by administering potions; and I still have the runes for where those specific trees once stood, long after the Plague itself was finally pushed back
I achieved my dream eventually of living in Yew. And were you to stay a while by the Abbey on Europa today, you will see a Memorial raised to one of us, who sadly passed away in real life. It will stand now as long as the server does, thanks to the kindness of the official Event Managers who placed it there. One day though, in one way or another, it will be time for all of us to move on from Britannia; so it is there my character hopes to salute the approaching curtain call.”