Since we have been overwhelmed in the excitement of having so many ties, we wanted to keep it going by posting another set of winners today! We received 13 entries from the Great Lakes shard and had another tie!

Here are the 6 winning entries from Great Lakes:

Many of my most memorable UO moments occurred in and around Kazola’s Treetop Keg and Winery in what is now Feluccan Yew on Great Lakes.

Located under a majestic yew tree southeast of the Yew Moongate, Kazola’s was a beacon of community in the sea of chaos that saturated Sosaria in those heady early years.  As long as patrons respected one another, all were welcomed within its wooden doors.  However, this did not stop fierce battles from raging in the tavern’s courtyard as various bands of thieves and murderers sought to make a name for themselves.

Citizens of the community, whom the tavern fostered, often availed themselves of many opportunities to converse with the notable, though often strange, personalities of the realm.  One could frequently find the benevolent Rhysart the Hermit relaying the tales of Azhur the Dragon and Mordread the Lich, or the fall of Hebban Olla to a captivated audience.  Conversely, you might also have encountered the realm’s worst enemies of the time skulking about, the Followers of Armageddon’s founders: Martoo Saul, Zendella Kxriss, and Junin Pince.

Distilling out one single event from the treasure trove of fond memories, however, brought one moment into sharp focus. During the tavern’s first anniversary celebration, March of 1999, the most famous personage in all Sosaria graced the festivities with his august presence.  Lord British appeared before a humbled Lady Kazola and congratulated her on the accomplishment of carving out a stable, thriving community center in the wilds of Britannia.  He affixed two “Proclamation of Distinction” plaques to the tavern’s western wall for all to see as continued inspiration to maintain community as foremost in patron’s minds.  Awed revelers promised their liege that they would persist in the tavern’s mission for years to come.

Kazola’s Treetop Keg and Winery did indeed enjoy many more years as a vital community center, even seeing the rise of the merchant-run hamlet of Arcodia spread out around it.  The tavern managed to endure the rough transition wrought by Nystul during the renaissance as the majority of citizens fled to Trammel, retaining its light in Felucca’s darkness. 

Fortunately, the hard lessons learned during the tavern’s formative years helped to mold a stronger more unified community, one that still perseveres to this day.

        A Great Find

  My name is Nurgle and once I was a struggling swordsman in need of a much better suit of armor. Unfortunately, my funds left much to be desired. Not knowing a faster way to make gold, I spent many a night in Despise wreaking havoc on the monsters residing there. First it was the Ettins and Earth Elementals, then the Trolls and Ogres. Finally, I was able to take on the Titans and Cyclopeans. It was slow and monotonous, but still I fight on saving every gold coin I could gather.
  After one such adventure, I made the journey to Luna. I needed to check my bank balance and wanted to see if anything was going on there. Usually, the place is fairly crowded with bank sitters and people hawking out their items for sale. However, this late in the night, it was very quiet with only the minter and bank teller present. Oh well, I should really be heading home to my nice warm bed anyway.
  I was just about to turn and go when something in the corner caught my eye. Walking over, I see that it is a backpack holding 125 items. You see this often throughout the towns. Many low level crafters will sit and grind to gain their skill and leave full packs of junk sitting about. A bit rude if you ask me, but no one has so I’ll keep it to myself. Thinking I would find it full of spyglasses, oil cloths, wild staffs or even city maps, I took a peek.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered bottles of powder of fortifying. I nearly fell off my mount in my astonishment. My first thought was “new suit I can feel you now!”. The second, how am I to get this home? I do not have enough room in my backpack to hold it, nor do I have a pack mule. A quick glance at the bank tells me it is still empty. I knew my brother Kahrn the Betray had a few pack animals so I recalled home and got him as fast as a flash.
  Thankfully, it was still there waiting for him. I did feel just a bit of sadness for the poor soul that lost this. But you know how it goes, “one man’s loss is another man’s gain”. Needless to say, I never fail to stop and peek in backpacks.

In 2006, the Event Moderator of Great Lakes announced that in approximately one week’s time, players were given an opportunity to prove their skills in fishing, stealing, and crafters.  Fishers had a week to capture a fish of the same exact weight as a fish on display.  Thieves had to steal as many items hidden throughout Sosaria with the name “I Stole This” item.  Tailors had to recreate a 6 piece leather armor set with the exact resist modifications as the 6 pieces placed on display.

Since I was a Grandmaster Tailor, I decided this was my best opportunity to actually win something in Ultima Online.  I wish I knew what an impossible task I was about to embarked upon.  I took what little leather I had, and got to work crafting one piece at a time until I had exact match of 5 modified resists.  Thankfully I was a student in college with no job, because I worked at it all day until I ran out of leather, and I still didn’t have a perfect match.  How was I going to do it?

I asked my boyfriend to collect as much leather as he could buy, or collect off of animals.  I asked my Sister to cut up my leather pieces that didn’t match, to hand me back recycled leather.  I asked them both to verify that my pieces did not match.  Finally I started to create exact matches.  I might actually be able to do this after all.

On the day we needed to present our fish, our stolen goods, and leather armor sets, I finished creating a near matching leather armor set in the very last hour.  Unfortunately, I was off one resist percentage on my leather gloves.  I think I spent close to 70 hours on this, that’s 10 hours a day.  When I arrived to the event, they used moongates to split us all up into 3 groups, and closed the gates 15 minutes after we arrived.  There must have been 300 players there.  Most of us were crafters.  I suddenly became very concerned that someone else might have an exact match.  All that work for nothing, and I still didn’t know what the prize was.

The thieves went first since there were so few of them, and first place through third place got these beautiful two-tone shrouds with stealing modification on them.  I was really excited now.  The fisherman were given spell channeling fishing poles.  Finally after checking all the crafter contestants, I actually won a two-tone colored shroud with my name on calling me Lily – The Great Lakes Crafter Champion. 

On a sad note, I lost my shroud when my house collapsed due to a billing issue.  I was devastated.  Yet I saw it for the first time the other day on a player at the Luna bank on Atlantic of all places.  Amazingly it still exists.  It may no longer own the shroud, but I’ll never forget how incredibly difficult it was to get it.

I am by no means a talented writer but I will try to tell you what Ultima Online has and still does mean to me, I am sure there are many people that have far more exciting stories and can tell them far better than I can, however here is my story straight from my heart
     My most memorable moment about Ultima Online was in 1997 when I logged on the first time, I had watch my friend play in Beta and when the world went live he let me make my first character on his account. I was amazed that I could communicate with people from all over the world, I had to learn how to talk and walk in this new world it was far different than anything I had ever experienced. It took no time at all and I had my own account up and running and still have that account to this day.
     I made my first character in Trinsic and that is still my favorite town,  I logged on every chance I got, I made a tailor and spent all my time in the Trinsic tailor shop, after many months of sewing and selling my goods to the tailor I had enough gold saved to get a small house, I was overjoyed that I finally had a little spot of this magical world that belonged to me.
     After I got my little house I then spent time exploring the land and learning how to kill things, I will never forget when I was first learning how to fight I got killed by a cow, it was not funny at the time but I now get a good laugh out of it. As time went on I met many wonderful people and am still friends with some of them to this day.
     Ultima Online still has a special place in my heart and always will, I still love to login and play, material things mean nothing to me, the people I knew and people that I am still getting to know mean more to me than anything I can acquire in game. Thank you.

REAPERS AND IMPS 

Memories of death by Reapers and Imps have haunted me throughout the amazing game known as Ultima Online.  As a novice player I fell victim during my first exploration romp through the forest. I was enjoying the lush landscape and variety of plants and animals during my ride on my first horse named Fiercy Von Fiercy.  Although I knew and looked forward to encountering the dangers of the kingdom I did not know that a tree would be the cause of my first death. I was building skills and not quite sure how my character would develop.  Soon the answer would come to me.  I would need to fight magic with magic!
Most people remember by which means they died in the realm the first time.  I avoided Reapers as much as possible.  The faces these trees have remind me of the evil apple throwing trees in the classic film, The Wizard of Oz. It is a fearful memory. 
My second death was that at the spells of an Imp, those nasty annoying green flying casters.  With that death I put down my sword and shield and made magery my new direction. To this day I say to myself, at least I was not killed by a mongbat. That was over ten years ago and magery is still the way I maneuver about the realm. 
One would usually not think of death as a fond most memorable memory but I do as these deaths carved my path and made me the good and sometimes wicked mage I am today.  As with many memories there are scars that come along with them. To this day I kill every Reaper that crosses my path with great delight and I avoid Imps as much as possible as they still annoy the heck out of me.

My most memorable moment is the story on how I got my leather gloves (Santa Gloves). It was 1997 and it was Christmas Time in Ultima Online. Their were Santa and his reindeer just about in every town in Britannia. Santa was wearing red pants a red tunic dark grey boots, and these dark grey leather gloves that matched his boots. And was something us players had never seen before. Well finally I started seeing Santa’s missing parts of their outfits, pants, shirt, etc. Or sometimes Santa was naked! At first I figured maybe the Game Masters, were just giving Santa a new outfit or something like that. But the longer Santa stayed naked the more I started to wonder about it. Well I have two Ghost chars, my second Ghost char was smith/tinker I made to repair armor/weapons for my guild Fellowship (FS) and then Dracul. But my first Ghost char was my thief. So I thought you know what? I’m going to try and steal Santa’s outfit right off his paper doll and see what happens. So I looked around for a Santa that was still fully clothed, I brought up his paper doll and hit my steal macro. Targeted a piece of his clothing and YES! I was stealing the clothes right off Santa’s back! I don’t remember just how many Santa’s I hit up that year but I had a bunch of Santa outfits and Santa gloves. Some I did sell/trade to friends. I remember once giving all the outfits I had including the gloves to my friend Ballyhoo to hold onto for me. I’d looted this red plate helm out of a house on Buc’s Den once, and thinking it was dyed with the old dye bug I only wore it at server down. Well a Counselor (Smurf) seen me wearing it and told me to turn it in. I said no, they said I was being rude and a GM WOULD be talking to me. So yeah I gave Bally my helmet and Santa outfits to hold for me just in case a GM did come to talk to me.

I never did see a Game Master and Ballyhoo gave me back my red plate helm and Santa outfits. I still to this day wear my Santa gloves as part of my outfit, with my Ghost purple, that I tried matching the color to the purple potions. Because I enjoyed trapped chests and thought the purple clothing my little warning/clue. That I was the one placing chests around town. I was also able to get a item bless deed through another friend Frostbite. People thought me weird for wanting to waste a item bless on leather gloves, I’m pretty sure I might have the only pair of double blessed Santa gloves. I’ve not seen another pair, people want to buy my gloves. But their part of my outfit and something my char is known for, so I could never sell.

We received 15 entries from the Lake Austin shard. There were a lot of extremely good memories and a tally of the votes resulted in another tie! 

Here are the 6 winning entries from Lake Austin:

My most memorable moment in all of Ultima Online is when I tamed my first ice white cu sidhe.  What makes that moment remarkable is when you take into consideration thatI started my taming at 30 skill points that I bought from a ranger in Skara Brae.  It’s hard to imagine, but I trained taming for over a year to make it to a level where I could even attempt to tame a cu sidhe.

I remember taming cows and sheep in the bullpen of Jhelom, hinds and timber wolves on the road from Britain to Skara Brae.  I spent months taming walrus, polar bears, snow leopards, and white wolves on Dagger Island.  Then spent many more months, seemed like an eternity taming Bulls and Great Harts around Delucia.

Just when I thought I had enough skill, I realized I needed to be an elf if I wanted to even mount a cu sidhe.  So I had to see Darius in the Lycaeum for the Elven Heritage Quest.  Go on to see Arielle near Spirtuality Shrine in Illshenar, Bravehorn near the Spiritwood, Enigma the Sphinx in the deserts of Malas, the Huntsman by Chaos Shrine, Maul the bear, and Strongroot the tree, before returning back to Darius.  This was a rather easy quest, and I was conflicted about whether or not I wanted to be an elf.  However I had my goal in my mind, so nothing was going to stop me now.

Until I learned I needed to complete the Dread Horn quest to get into the Twisted Weld, just another detour along the way, so I had to see Lorekeeper Calendor the Keeper of Tradition in the Heartwood to get this quest.  Foruntately you only need the quest to enter, you don’t actually have to complete it.  Thank goodness.

Now the hard part, actually taming a Cu Sidhe, you have to do your best to survive threats from Satyr’s, Dryads, and Changlings, as if the Cu’s were not tought enough already.  I camped the Twisted Weld for as long as it took to be able to even tame a Cu in the first place, but when the ice white cu spawned, I nearly killed it, but alas I was victorious.  It is a prized pet I will always cherish.  Thank you.

It’s hard to believe that there was once a time when owning a boat in Ultima Online was only for the rich people. Early in my UO days I used to mine day and night to sell the ingots and crafted armor but alas I was never able to afford a boat. This is how I became a pirate.
On the way to the mines in Minoc each day I would watch the ‘rich’ getting on and off their boat. I eventually got the idea that instead of trying to purchase one of these boats myself that I would just ‘relieve’ a rich player of theirs. Now day and night was spent sitting hidden next to the plank of a boat in hopes the owner would arrive.
At last all the dedication had paid off. The boat’s owner came to his large dragon ship and lowered the plank so he could board, unknowing that he would have a guest on his ship today. I managed to get on the boat before the owner did. I raised the plank and I yelled to the tillerman, “Full speed forward my good tillerman!”
As the boat left the shore the owner sent a barrage of arrows at me in a last ditch attempt to save his vessel. Other than a few fleshwounds, I made a clean escape with the boat. After navigating the canals of Minoc and Vesper I was free to roam the open ocean.
I only had the boat a few days before it mysteriously disappeared… perhaps the ‘gods’ took it away. Neverless, for a few days, guided by a cloth map of Brittania, I was able to live in freedom and travel the oceans to visit such exotic ports as Nujelm, Jhelom, and Britain.
I miss and will never forget those days.

The day was fair and adventure was calling to me like a long lost friend.
I told myself that I wouldn’t go far. I was still a stranger in this land and friends had warned me of the dangers. But those friends were not here today and I needed to explore my new homeland.  Deciding that there was probably less danger around the nearby town, I decided to start exploring from there. Using the rune my friend had left me, I found myself standing in the shade of a tree right beside the busy Britain bank.  While some hurried about coming and going in the blink of an eye, others sat admiring each others fine wares. I traveled out of town across the bridge and past the stables. I traveled slow and cautiously at first but with no sign of danger, I soon left caution behind. In the distance I saw the glow of a moongate. I had traveled through one once before and was confident I could decipher it’s magic once again.

  However, upon closer examination, I found myself at a loss. I vaguely remembered my friend giving me advice about the strange gates but I couldn’t seem to remember what it was. I tried so many different options with the gate, that I had forgotten where I started. Ahh, finally a place that looked familiar! I set off to resume my exploration. As I glanced back at the moongate though, I couldn’t help thinking it looked different somehow.

  After awhile I realized the trees looked different too. What dark magic could have done this? Fear was creeping up on me and I was unsure why. I had just decided to turn back towards the moongate and try my luck again when I saw him. An odd fellow who clearly had lost a battle with one of the stronger creatures of the land was running towards me. He was yelling something but I couldn’t understand him. Remembering my bandages I quickly set to work trying to resurrect this poor soul. My bandages seem to be do nothing and he was still speaking that strange language. OooOo Ooo OoO If only I knew what he was saying! “One more try friend” I said as I noticed movement to the right.

  Then I felt it. It came out of nowhere, the burning pain of a sword piercing through me. I stood in shock as the sword found it’s mark again and my life drained away.  I found myself watching in horror as I looked down at my own body. To my side the soul I was trying to help stood watching me. He was still speaking and as the shock was wearing off I realized I could understand him now. “Watch out for that pk” In a heartbeat the advice from my friend came rushing to the front of my mind. With complete certainty I knew where I was… Felucca.

My oldest and most memorable story from Ultima Online involved one of my real life friends. Infact, he was the person who got me started playing the game. We both worked at the same company; I worked for maintenence and he was an operator. He had told me on several occasions that he wanted to be a maintenence person, but he was very colorblind and could not identify colors of wires so he could never be.

With this knowledge and access to his house and all of his belongings, I grabbed my dye tubs and began to have some fun.

During the first few weeks it was funny. It wasn’t uncommon to see him riding up on his horse in the most flamboyant colors you could imagine. His clothes were the most gorgeous shades of mauve, chatreuse, lavendar, and of course lot and lots of pinks. I took the time to always make sure his colors were always changing and he was always stylish.

This went on for a good six months. It became almost natural to see him come to our guild meetings in his favorite pink sash, sky blue cloak, deep purple floppy hat, and glowing green boots. He seemed to wear that outfit the most so I always made sure he had a few sets of them lying around for when he died and lost them. He never questioned why he had so many clothes sitting in the chests at his house.

Eventually, after several months of this, someone at Britain bank finally asked him if he was, “a very colorful person in real life or was just roleplaying one in-game?” He didn’t understand and the coversation lead to his attire and clothing colors.

It didn’t take him very long to figure out whoe the culprit was. He swore that he would get me back somehow. I still look over my shoulders from time to time expecting something but alas it has never come. To this day I still joke with him about his colorful clothing.

Our guild has a little tradition called “Ghost of the Year” where we honor the most spectacular death by a guild member in a calendar year. Over the years, there have been some jawdroppers, but this is the one case where I still cannot stop laughing when I think back on it because of the circumstances in which it happened (names withheld to protect the honoree).

A few years ago, I was going through a rough time and just did not have the desire to really do anything when I was online. My guildmates being the caring folks that they are tried everything to get me hunting to lift my spirits and I decided to go along just to be polite. One of the members wanted to get a crafted version of a hitching post which requires among other things “Animal Pheromones” obtained from “Fire Rabbits” (yes.UO really makes this stuff up – sexy scents from rabbits…). So we were off to Tokuno to hunt. The drops are a bit rare and after close to two hours we had not gotten one. Being already depressed, I wanted to quit the hunt. After debating what to do, one of our female tamers hopped off her Cu’Sidhe saying that had the answer — she would use her own pheromones to tempt the Rabbits. She then proceeded to remove all her clothing and dance around calling for the rabbits to come out and play. Being a long time tamer myself, I said rather tongue in cheek that her pet might get embarrassed if she didn’t cover up because tamers do have a reputation to keep. Right then a fire rabbit appeared. Before anyone could chase the rabbit, her Cu’Sidhe immediately attacked her instead of the fire rabbit leading to an instant OOoOoooO and a death robe to cover her up. While everyone was stunned at the death, in one of those moments of classic UO irony like cow-tipping a super cow in war mode, someone said that it just goes to show that you just never know what might come to bite you in the naked rear you wiggle when you are playing with your pheromones. I burst out laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe for about five minutes. To this day, that remains the #1 Ghost of the Year in our guild and one of the things I think about with a smile when UO is making me work for drops. So if you play UO long enough, you truly will see things you never thought possible.

Hail! One of my most memorable days dates back to June of 1998. My best friend told me about this amazing new game with limitless possibilities. I remember my mother driving me to the store to buy this game I could not wait to play. I arrived home, opened the box, and with some help registered my account and named my very first character: a swordsman “Zygo”. I logged in and could not understand how the game worked. I just remember running aimlessly trying to find any city, anybody, or anything. Like a puppy dog I became lost in the forest for hours on end. I ran and ran and ran. When I died, I freaked out; I resurrected with penalties which was an option in those times. I was so entranced albeit frightened by the experience of truly being “lost” that I ignored family company and kept on running! Alas before I would’ve given up on this confusing new game, I came across a green patch in the woods with large brick and L-shaped houses where two characters, “Biffy” and “Buffy” of “The Nameless Ones” (TNO) on Lake Superior would welcome me as their guest. I explained as best I could that I did not know what to do. For the entire night they became my guides. They showed me the principals of the game including how to tailor, how to chop wood, how to fletch and how to use these tools to make gold! I still remember visiting the “bowyer” in Yew for the first time to train my favorite new profession. For many months afterward I knew how to find my way back to their guild town where I would frequent and visit my “old friends”. Fourteen years afterward I can look back and credit these players for showing me the way. UO has been full of highs, lows and many childhood memories that will last me a lifetime

Written by the EM Team

   Victor stretched with a loud yawn from the back of his wagon, the storm seeming to have finally blown over during the night. It’d only been a few weeks since the healers in Skara Brae had cleared him for being able to leave, and he’d taken his chance once he’d managed to purchase another wagon. He’d been told he might feel it when the weather was bad, but the soft aches that had plagued him during the night were gone with the rise of the morning sun. Crawling out from under the soft wool blanket, he took his seat at the front of his wagon, untied the horses, and got on his way. The wagon rumbled softly along the road to Yew, leaving him with his thoughts as companion for the journey.

   As he approached the Abbey, the first thing he could see after catching sight of the building was the enormous dragon outside, sitting on its haunches with it’s forelegs in the air like a begging dog. The sight was so bizarre that he could hardly fathom it, until he got close enough to make out those nearest to it, a crowd of children and townspeople all cheering loudly as the dragon set his heavy claws back down on the earth once more, and a garishly dressed man in a jester’s hat bowed. By now the horses had taken him within earshot, and a smile spread to his face at hearing the man’s performance.

   “For my next trick, I’ll need a volunteer! Oh, don’t worry, Talratha here is gentle as a kitten and trained much better, I assure you! Ah, there’s a brave young lad. What’s your name?”

   The young Gargoyle child had separated himself from the woman watching over him, holding up a talon to volunteer, and Victor was surprised to see two of the Ver Lor Reg gargoyles here in Yew. Times had driven people to strange destinations, and upon even stranger paths, he thought to himself. The young gargoyle was handed a torch, which the tamer set alight with a simple spell..

   “Now if you will, I want you to stand clear of Talratha’s mouth, but at any time you want her to show you her fire, put the torch in front.”

   The gargoyle stepped forward, and Talratha craned her neck low, opening her mouth in a roar…and only emitting fire while the gargoyle had the torch in front, moving it back and forth, before the great dragon ceased her roar and then tenderly set her chin on the ground next to the gargoyle, looking to him expectantly. The tamer gave an encouraging gesture, and the young gargoyle ran his hand along the great beast’s head, giving her a gracious pat on the head. The tamer then called the gargoyle over, and handed him a shank of meat on a long bone, and the gargoyle threw it as high as he could, with Talratha howling in joy and spiraling into the air with the pulse of her great wings, flying high enough to do a flip and circle above the tamer and gargoyle for a moment.

   “And your name, volunteer?”

   “Kar-An-Vim.”

   “Let’s hear it for Kar-An-Vim!”

   The small crowd cheered, and he gave the young gargoyle a smile and let him rejoin the elder Gargish woman. With upraised hands, the tamer signaled to the dragon who landed with a heavy thump along the ground, and both he and the dragon took a bow simultaneously.

   “Thank you, I’m Thomas Applewood, and of course, I’d be lost without my trusted companion Talratha!”

   Talratha gave an appreciative rumble of noise at some unseen cue, before Tomas and Talratha both bowed one final time, collected the few coins that had been given as thanks, and headed towards the center of Yew, detouring only to give the coins to one of the monks of the Abbey. Victor smiled at the gesture, only now remembering to spur his horses once more along the path. At the gates of the Abbey he informed one of the monks of his arrival, before another came and they discussed the terms of the trade, offloading much of his raw goods for several cases of wine he could sell for quite a bit in Britain. However, the main reason he’d come was heralded by a soft squeak, and he knelt as Sherry approached, and picked up the small mouse, before lifting her to the seat of his wagon.

   “I’ll just be a minute longer, Sherry, I need to make sure everything’s secured before we get on our way.”

   Victor headed around the back of his wagon and adjusted the crates, moving them around and securing them with rope and twine, before coming back to the front and wheeling around the horses, once more traversing the road and heading for Britain.

   “It’s good to see you again Sherry, though I was surprised to hear you needed transport again. I’d have thought some of your friends in higher places could’ve helped you out…After all, you do know our new King.”

   Sherry squeaked with a soft bit of amusement, though it seemed to be tinged with good-natured frustration. “Maybe I’d be on closer terms with King Blackthorn if he didn’t insist on keeping that cat at his new castle…Heckles swears it’s domestic, but it’s got the soul of a wild hellcat!”
Despite himself, Victor couldn’t quite manage to stifle his laugh, although Sherry didn’t seem to mind.

   “Well if that’s the worst of your worries, then it seems we are doing much better as a whole. The cities are once again working together, the moongates whole, and even the bandits seem to be almost entirely gone from the main roads, so we should be safe on our journey.”
Sherry turned to regard the merchant, her approximation of a smile once again adorning her face.

   “And how have you been, Victor? I was glad to hear you’d recovered from your injuries…and I am sorry you weren’t awake when I came to visit you during your recovery.”

   “I’ve been…very well, actually. And the healer told me you visited, thank you. I know that the wounds I suffered were terrible, but the end results were not. I’m back to as healthy as I can be, and even aside from all that…I’m quite taken with one of those healers,  and she’s become quite taken with me. I’m hoping that within a few months I’ll have a proper dowry for Miss Sans Ailes.” With a smile and a moment’s pause, he turned to Sherry.  “So perhaps, despite what I’ve suffered, the reward will have been fully worth it. Some flowers only bloom after a hard rain, after all.”

   Sherry chittered happily, before smiling up to the trader. “I expect you to invite me when you do settle things with Miss Sans Ailes.”

   Victor looked along the road, the sun shining high and bright in the sky, the autumn leaves blowing in a gentle breeze that caused their rustling to sound almost like whispers. “Sherry, I wouldn’t dream of doing it without your invite being the first sent out.”

   The soft rattle of the wooden wheels along the dirt and cobbled road may have been omnipresent, but it was underscored completely by the sounds of their laughter as they continued to talk to each other.

Update: The issue with redeeming promotional codes has been resolved.

There is currently a problem with redeeming promotional codes. We are aware of the issue and will have a fix in place soon.

Thank you for your understanding.

We had a total of 7 entries from the Chesapeake shard. The entries were so well done that we had an even amount of votes for some of them and ended up having a 3 way tie!

Here are the 7 winning entries from Chesapeake:

Maestro’s Journal – Fall 329 – Haven
After a rough week things are improving. I am returning to town bloody but alive and with loot. This is due to my skills improving but also due to Malloc. I agreed to help him acquire the materials and money needed to advance in his crafting skills; and in return he will improve my armor and weapons. This seems to be the start of a very lucrative partnership. There is just the minor problem of the cost involved in helping him advance. Just when I think we are getting ahead the money is gone. Worse is that we are sharing a room at the inn. I can only afford small room and putting two people into it with armor and crafting tools/materials is just insane.

Out of nowhere a female mage appeared before me. Startled I grab and begin to draw my sword. She is well dressed and moves with a grace unlike the common mages seen in Haven. Her eyes hold a fire that rages yet is controlled. I easy my sword back into the scabbard. I would be dead before two steps if I made a move at her.
She nods her head and speaks to me. “Maestro, are you new in Haven?”
How did she know my name but it matters not her voice is enchanting. “Aye, milady mage. I have been here a few days.”
Again she nods and commands “You are the one, follow me.”
I must have blinked and missed what she did but she was gone and a blue shimmering gate appeared. Thinking back to my last experience with such a gate, I was glad that it was blue. Red gates seem to lead to instant death. Without thinking I entered the gate. Blinding light and a fleeting moment of prickling pain and I see a small sandstone house next to a well-worn road in a forest. The mage is standing next to the house in a trance.
In a booming voice she announces “As was done for me, I freely do for another. As I was given, so shall I give. My word is my bond and my bond is my honor… Maestro this house is yours.”
I felt the weight of ownership push me to my knees and bow my head. It was all I could do to mumble “Thank you kindly milady… I shall honor you vow as if it were mine…”
She gently touched my head and was gone slipping through the closing gate.
Darkness… Darkness? The sounds of the forest fill my ears. I dash into the house and secure the door. Much bigger than at the inn and there is more upstairs. The roof would be perfect for Malloc and his tools. Where is Malloc? He’s at Haven and I’m… I’m… In a house in a forest next to a well-worn road… somewhere in Britannia. I laughed but knew I was home where ever that is.

I could hear the waves slapping up against the boat as the sea was roaring fierce with the Pink Ranger Army approaching. The Britannia Mage Tower Army stood on the island in a stance ready for war. Everyone was silent, so all you could hear was the ocean and boats that surrounded the island. The Dark Evil Leader of the Pink Ranger Army appeared in the middle of the island with her all power magics. Our Snooky look-a-like leader, Lord Gareth, chuckled and asked, “You dare to come alone?”
Mesanna’s evil laughter struck chills straight through me. “Oh how I love the sound of people dying,” was her response as she started to summon her Pink Ranger Army from the seas. Before Lord Gareth and his army knew it, the island was covered in sea creatures of all sorts! It was a grand battle fought between the two armies. I could hear the clanking of swords against scales. I could smell the singed skin and hair as fire was being thrown between the opposing sides. There were tortuous screams as people were being consumed by these horrendous sea monsters.
I attempted to be brave with the Britannia Mage Tower Army at first, but I found myself hiding on the boat we sailed in on before long. After all, I was just the janitor. As I hid in safety on deck, I could see Lord Gareth battling on the edge of the island trying veer off any more sea creatures trying to reach his army. Suddenly I saw a giant fish as big as I had ever seen in all my life making its way towards the island. It was almost as if the other sea monsters purposely moved to make a path for this giant fish. Out of nowhere, it jumped up and in one swift motion, Lord Gareth had disappeared before my very eyes. What that fish hadn’t counted on was it landed on land. Before it even had a chance to start flopping around, Lieutenant General, Lady Tigerlily called for everyone to attack the fish.
In disbelief that this would be the fate of our Snooky look-a-like-leader, Lord Gareth, I knew the Pink Ranger Army had won this battle. This may sound like a huge fish tale, but if you don’t believe me, I have the fish that ate Gareth’s remains mounted on my wall to prove it!

Sitting at my desk I allow my mind to wander back to times that were simple and unfettered. We gathered as friends and fellow travelers through an untamed land. The beasts were fearsome and the people true. Those who wandered did well to travel with friends for safety.
The local gathering point was at the bank or the smithy. I remember standing at the bank chatting with friends I had never met and sewing til my fingers bled. The tailor guildmaster was a hard woman to please but I tried my best to please her. It was soon that I discovered that my skill far outdid my resources. I was forced to move to a town that had more of the raw materials I required to further my talents.
A small island town mainly geared for mages was named Moonglow. I chose there to set up my small table in order to peddle wares and assist in repairs to other travelers. When my inventory was depleted I would brave the wild wilderness in search for cotton and sheep to sheer, or bulls to slaughter for their hides and meat. The land was untamed and wild allowing animals to wander free.
I remember a time when I was forced to gather materials and chose the local cotton field. The only reason it was even remotely memorable was due to the fact that the cotton did not grow in organized rows but popped up randomly all over the place. I spent the afternoon jumping from one place to harvesting cotton from one plant just to have another appear on the other side of the field. It must have been a humorous sight for very soon I gathered a bit of an audience watching as I scampered across the field until I was so over loaded I could no longer move.
The other thing I remember quite clearly was the first place I called home. Several guildmates would sit at houses waiting for them to tumble from neglect. When a house would fall they would place their flag claiming the area for theirs in order to return later and build.
One such home was a very small one room abode tucked in the middle of a deep wood. The home was presented to me as a gift and I accepted gratefully. I started to decorate immediately making it feel homey and comfortable. Leaving the home for some brief errands I locked the door behind me.
When I returned to my new home I found the door had been jimmied and I had interrupted an invasion. The large gargoyle that was trying to reclaim my home took one look at me and went into a fury. One wild ferocious flash of light and the next thing I remember was waking up staring at the ceiling. The smoldering floorboards around me gave my lovely new home “character”. I had found myself in the Gargoyle Neighborhood!

I look back through the years and think of my first adventure. I had spent some time wandering the lands of trammel with my flock of sheep, but because of my youth I was always protected in my travels. As I grew older and stronger, the guards decided I was safe enough without their help.

I remember wanting to see the land of Illshenar and the treasure it held. My first trip there was through the gate of Valor.

The woods were beautiful but I began to grow worried as I saw the piles of bones and blood stained grass. I crossed a bridge that led over a small river and that is when I saw a truly majestic being, a dragon! I was still in the trees near the river bank and the beast had yet to notice me. I thought back to what I knew about dragons; Books say that they can be good, evil, and sometimes both at the same time. All of my experience thus far with dragons had come from my time in Haven. Gentle giants that you could walk up to and admire and pet!

Remembering the gentleness of previous dragon encounters I walked out of the trees and stood next to the red dragon. “You are so beautiful” I said as I reached out to stroke its neck. Suddenly everything went gray and I was staring at my chard remains. That day I learned a very important lesson: DO NOT PET A WILD DRAGON!!!!!!

As a young adventurer, no memory can compare to the days with my steed crossing the majestic land of Britannia. Many nights spent out in the forest, falling asleep to the sound of wisps while I lying upon my bedroll in the mist of twilight. And mornings, waking up to the smell of burnt kindling and magpie’s chirping. I was never certain of what I would encounter next, but that is just half the excitement.

I remember my time spent at a guard post on my way to Yew; I met several noble men honing their skills in Archery while the ocean waves crashed against the shore. These men greeted me with cheerful faces and several ales, and then decided that my skills with a sword should be put to the test. I am glad they did, as it was not only nefarious murderers that would seek not only my loot, but terrifying monsters seeking blood.

During this endeavor, the most memorable moment was when I stumbled across Relvinian’s greatest creation on my way from Skara Brae to Britain: the Hedge Maze. I have never seen anything so glorious, but yet, so dangerous. This labyrinth was not for the weak at heart, but for those with courage and charisma, it is worth the exploration. Passing through the hedges and stumbling across beautiful fountains and gardens, to my dismay, I found the laboratory nested at the center – and it was heavily guarded by daemons.

Fear shook my bones in fear as I raised my sword. A daemon approached me while shouting words of power. The techniques I learned at the guard post came in handy: I evaded the deamon’s attacks and managed a swift blow to defeat the creature. His corpse held loot of gems and gold was beyond my wildest imagination. I knew that if I could continue slaying these beasts, enough funds could be raised enough to reach my goal of purchasing a home. So, I spent many days and nights, slaying this spawn from the abyss and saving my gold pieces.

The faithful day came; I earned enough money to buy a deed to a stone house. I always dreamed the time when I could settle down after a long adventure up to the hearth of a fireplace in my home by the beach. So that is exactly where I went, to the beach beyond the Britain moon gate and across the bridge to claim my piece of Britannia. Whether it is a long journey across this great land, or hunting daemons at the hedge maze, nothing is better than coming home and enjoying that ocean view and recollecting the adventures had with yourself and the world around. But, a day does not go by when I think about my first experience when I stumbled across Relvinian’s creation.

My husband started playing UO with a friend of his from work.   I wasnt very happy because he wasnt working alot and I was.  He spent alot of time on the computer playing.  One day he asked me to make a character.  He said I could make a tamer and tame alot of pets, so I did.  That was the birth of Yoshi. I started taming pets and running all over picking up worthless things to sell until one day I seen him fighting red people.  I wanted to fight.  So I shed the tamer and started fighting with a kryss. My kids each created a character as well and they were playing right alongside us.  

A few years went by and my husband an I got a divorce.  It was a funny because our UO game and accounts were listed in our divorce division.  I did win both accounts. During the divorce I also got layed off from my job and this caused my home to go into foreclosure.  My car was repoed and I had an huge amount of credit card debt he left me with before he moved to Florida.  I was sinking further into depression and didnt think anything could get worse. 

I logged into my account and lo and behold I had been hacked.  They had taken everything.  I had gotten pretty good at keep very valuable stuff back then. I had 3 accounts by then and the houses were filled.  They deleted characters and left each of the remaining characters bare and naked.  I was frantic.  I called UO and after alot of time they did provide me with the IP address.  I contacted the State Police and they came and looked at my computer and later came back and took it for 2 weeks. When they returned it everything was wiped off my computer. He said there was nothing he could do.  It was a guy from Delaware that got into my account and they could not press charges.

So I reloaded UO.  Things were slow going to get back but I needed to stay busy with the kids at school.  Then the sheriff came and said we had 1 day to move. The house would be chained the next morning.  I had finally had enough.  The kids were at school and I was going to go out and enjoy one last day of UO…and then end things that night. I had no more will to live.  It was too devastating to try and continue.  I grabbed my miner and picks and went to Shame mountains in Fel.  I was just waiting for some red to come along…today was not the day.  I mined for a few hours and was at the blacksmith in Britain when a kid came up and started asking me 1000 mining questions. He wanted to mine.  I said no.  He pestered me for a half hour and finally I said we would go to the Shame mountains and mine for a bit.  I figured I was walking into some kind of a trap but it shut him up for awhile. We mined for the better part of a day and he never stopped talking. He was only 18 and he told all about the problems he was having. I was getting close to the time the kids were coming home from school and he wanted me to meet his cousin.  He was a guild leader and wanted me to join his guild.  I didnt even know what the heck a guild was. I told him Id be back on and we could go meet his brother.  I wasnt going to log back in but I did, and met with Duncan McLeod of the guild L/V.  His cousins name was Blackbeard.  We talked for a little bit and after hearing their stories I knew mine was bad but no where what they had been through. I joined the guild,  gathered the kids, had them call every friend they had with cars and trucks and we moved the entire house that night. He saved my life that night.

I later found out that my ex-husband had actually sold our contents of the game to someone ….thats why all the characters that were left were mine and they deleted only his.

I became very close with those guys in the guild…Badger of DWxC stills plays.  Im sure there are others.  Ive loved this game from day one and have mad so many friends.  Ive actually met several and I love that part of the game too.  Im now in several guilds and all of these people are awesome.  Alot Ive know have left but return once and awhile.  UO  saved my life that day.  I hope its around for a long time.  I never tire of playing.  And Id also like to says THANK YOU to everyone at EA.  You guys do an awesome job.

I started playing Ultima Online when I was a teenager and have continued to play and grow in this world for the last 15 years. Having to choose one of my most memorable moments from all those years has been challenging but I would have to say without a shadow of a doubt that the war between the Britannia Mage Tower Army and Mesanna’s Army is the moment in my UO time that is most memorable to me.

What started out as nothing more than taunting and poking fun at Mesanna on Stratics turned into a shard wide event where everyone was able to battle the “Prehistoric Neon Pink Loving Goth” aka Mesanna. Players immediately signed up to serve in the army and were designated fun player ranks such as Generals, Lieutenant Generals, Colonels and even a Janitor Poopsie.

Once the date was set and Mesanna gathered her own diabolical team, we were gated to one of the deserted Tokuno Islands which was decorated in amazing detail, right down to named characters heads mounted on poles and an already constructed graveyard for our army to rest in. We didn’t have much time to look around before Mesanna began her assault. She decimated our forces within a few seconds as players scrambled to their ships trying to survive…for Mesanna and her team it was probably like shooting Fish in a barrel which is very fitting since our war ended with me being swallowed up by a Giant Neon Pink Fish which I am still stuck in today and probably mounted on some lucky players wall… most likely in JinX’s Museum.

Its Monday again and we have another set of questions that were answered by the development team. There were even a couple questions answered by one of our GMs. 

Can we get an option added to crystal portals to hop over to the Heartwood Gate in Yew? It would making visiting Heartwood that much more convenient! (sablestorm)
Mesanna:  Sorry this is not possible to do the fact that Heartwood is on a Dungeon Server

UOForums – There’s several different types of chats so Im wondering if there is a personal message system in the works? Though I kinda enjoy the classic UO “drop me a little book in my mailbox” thing, I think we’ve evolved past that now. Thanks! (Quintus Batiatus)
Mesanna:  The team has talked about different ways to improve on the existing mailing system but nothing concrete as of yet.

UOForums – I am looking forward to the Vendor Search option. Is there any details that can be given on this yet? Will you get coordinates to the vendors location, or be teleported to the vendors location, or be shown a map of where the vendor is? Thanks!(Quintus Batiatus)
Mesanna:  How about all of the above?  We want to give you options and make it useable by all.

UOForums – Im a veteran player since 1997. Ive come and gone a few times now. Though I enjoy the game as it is currently and find it fun to discover new things thats been added in recent years, I sometimes long for the days of the original release. Or maybe, the post Trammel release. The days when GM smiths sat outside the Brit Blacksmith shops, selling their wares. You know, the “stand outside the bank repeating the same items your trying to sell” days. My question is this, would it be possible or have a shard just for classic game play? Thanks! (Quintus Batiatus)
Mesanna:  Not to  give you a short answer on this one but it’s been hashed many times and the answer is still no.

‘Ello all! We have this fisherman in the SRC who is constantly frustrated by using his bait. He moans, that having to attach them individually everytime you cast is so fiddely for his clumsy hands, he doesn’t even bother with it anymore. Is there a way you can make it more manageable even for slightly inapt fisherman? Maybe create a hook which can be charged with bait and then work like the lava ones? I am sure fishermen (and women of course) around the realms would be glad for it …. and stop prodding me Vaughan, I did ask them now …. so stop it! (John II, A&A4 Comments)(also asked by Frarc, Ask the Devs)
Mesanna:  Our stealing skill has just increased by .05 cause we are going to steal this awesome idea =)

If a house falls next to you and you resize a house next to it. Will you be able to place on the idoc spot? Or will you not be able to place because of the Idoc placement timer?(Lord Gareth)

Mesanna:  Gareth *shakes head*  you should know this!  There is a delay and the time delays is from 30 minutes to 2 hours it’s totally random.

UOMania clorenz – after paging a GM with one character, if I log off and switch to another character on the same account will I stay in queue and still receive an answer?
GM Inarea: Yes as long as they are on the same account.

UOMania clorenz – could we get also GM support via e-mail? It would be easier to explain the problem (especially for non native English speakers!)
GM Inarea: So if English is not your native language, when you page state in the beginning that you would like to be contacted via email instead and give a brief description of the issue. 

UOMania clorenz – I left my Personal Bless Deed on Europa when I transferred my character to another shard. When I transferred the character back to Europa, the Personal Bless Deed was not working for him anymore. How do I get it fixed?
Mesanna:  Short answer a GM can fix it for you, long answer is we have this on our list to fix in the big bug push next publish.

UOMania Sir Bolo – I’ve heard that under Lord Blackthorn’s rule the players will be able to run for office in the cities of Britannia. Is this just for roleplaying or will the player-run city councils also gain in-game powers? Can we have an example of the things they could do?
Kyronix:  If you mean in terms of having the ability to add or change your city? To give your city random buffs or a facelift or add a soda jerk or additions like this? Maybe.  All I can say right now is that it is roleplaying with a twist.  All the details are not worked out, nothing is in stone .  As soon as we have more details we will be happy to share them with you.

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.”

We had 13 entries from the Drachenfels shard that included some very creative stories.

For your enjoyment, here are the 5 winners:

[Somewhere in Sosaria back in 1999…]

Dear diary,

*inkblot*

It´s been some weeks now, since I started travelling the lands of Sosaria. In my efforts to become a good citizen I had to encounter fearsome creatures like Mongbats, Ettins and evil undead.

My brothers Hegor and Kregor are good-for-nothing, lambasting murderers and bandits down at the crossroads, but I think a woodelf should follow the path of the virtues.

… more or less. *smiles and takes a nip of Ale*

Enviously I noticed all those fine structures built by respected and honorable people everywhere throughout the lands. So I decided to become a home owner…

*inkblot*

Little did I know about what it means to become the proud owner of even a small property in the lands of Sosaria. It is extraordinarily expensive, knotty and tough. So I slayed thousands of Harpies, Headless and Gazers down in dungeon Covetous. And it was dangerous and harsh and my collection of grey robes was astonishing.

But eventually I did it! – I earned enough money to buy the scroll and rights for a little plot.

*moaning*

And this was when the second part of the journey began – finding a free building plot somewhere in  Lord British´s realms seemed to be even more challenging than to defeat a Shame blood elemental barehanded.

Well, anyway…

After almost endless travels throughout the lands I was desperate…

…until I found this little plot on a small island today! Even big enough for a small tower!

Hurray! *praises the gods*

I placed my new home.

A bit leaning – but all mine!

*nip of ale*

Tonight I will spend the first night in my new home – people say, things you dream about in the first night will eventually come true.

Well… *nip*

*Falls asleep and dreams about a Lady killing people in Roulette games giving out strange lanterns…*

Odd.

Our son was born at September 29, 2010. With his birth, our dream came true: We became a family. Soon everything in our lives changed: Nights without sleep, weekends without parties, years without vacations – and love without conditions. The first months were challenging and exhausting but also magical and rewarding.
However, sometimes we felt lonely: We have always been very sociable, being part of a large circle of friends. We went to the pub, to the cinema, to festivals and parties. After our son´s birth, many of these activities came to an end: Our friends didn´t have children, they lived their lives as they always did. And in many situations, we couldn´t participate – and felt sad about this loss of social moments.
It was in such a lonely mood in February 2011, when I had an idea: It was a cold winter night, my wife and the little boy were sleeping. He had a terrible cough and I promised to watch his sleep. I looked out of the window and reminisced about my past. I remembered how I moved to Sosaria in the late 1990s – and how I lived there with my friends for about two and a half years. It had been more than eight years since I left and I never forgot how wonderful this time was. I wondered how this world might have changed, if there were still people living in Britain, if my Sosarian incarnations would still be alive, if this would still be a place of adventure and friendship.
At the same night, I decided to visit this old, intimate world. And yes, there were still people here, my avatars still were alive – and indeed, many things had changed. My first steps led me through Britain – it felt like coming home: The West Britain Bank was camped by the notorious banksitters, the graveyard was inhabited by undeads and in the stables I found Ozzy, my old reptile friend – a White Wyrm. Socializing wasn’t hard: I met some wonderful people who invited me to their guild and helped me with everything needed to make a new start. I felt that this was still the great, distinctive place of adventure and friendship it has always been.
I had many wonderful moments since my return, but my most memorable moment was when my wife decided to join me and to become an inhabitant of Sosaria. I presented her to my friends and they gave her a warm welcome. For me, it was a return. For her, it was a step in a completely new world.

Today, we have a fulfilling social life – even if we cannot go to parties every weekend or visit the cinema. At night, when our child sleeps, we grab our spellbooks and longswords and join our friends. We are now living a richer life: A life with our child and our families, another life with our friends and relatives – and a third, a new life in Sosaria. And this time, we won´t leave again.

One of my memorable moments in Uo was, when I started playing UO in 1998. My in the first days I hunted a lot of monsters, I was training and trying every skill I got. At this time I had no clue about skill limit nor how to make money or how to train easy a skill.
So I started hunting around shame area, bought my first bow and killed monster for hours.
After 8 hours I had about 2000gp of money. – A fortune for a newbie like me. Heavy loaded I carried that stuff back to Britain my home town.
I could hardly move. At that time no “real” map existed for me, so I was wondering around in the forest. Finally after 30 minutes I came close to a house which was placed in the middle of a hedge mace. – I was so happy to see that seemingly there was one guy right in the middle, whom I can ask what the shortest way back to Britain is.
So I stepped close and formulated my words. “Hail good Sir, could you please tell me shortest way to Britain, please……” – But guess what. – That guy started to cast on me:
“Corp Por”- I got shocked, so I did not react on the first time
“Des Mani” – I tried to run… – Could not move
“Kas Vas Flam”
Dead, I am DEAD. – NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, NOOOO.
All my 8 hour work was gone. I saw him looting my corpse!!!!
Gosh, I was so upset. – SO ANGRY!
I was jumping around him in circles. And I blustered him for quite some time.
And believe me, that guy ignored me totally!
So I went to the woods and was looking for a healer to ress me, but I could not find any. Finally after 20 minutes some people on a street ressed me and I told them that I need their help to kill that pk.
But they seems to freighted about PKs, so they just left me alone after my ress and run away.
….
Well that was the time, where I was thinking of stopping playing UO….
But as you can see I am still with the game and still enjoying it.

So now for the memorable moment:
The moment was there…  about 4 years later.
When I passed by accident hedge maze again and I noticed: That PK, who lived there was a NPC Pk.
DOOOH! – I felt like a newbie and when i was realizing, that I was yelling and screaming for several minutes to an NPC in that old time.

After so many years walking the world of Sosaria it is hard to pick one memorable moment.

But the most memorable moment must have been the wedding between Lessa and me.

One day i just had this idea to ask Lessa how she would feel for a wedding between Lessa and Frarc.

She did ask me why at first , so i explained that would be for in game fun.

But i was glad she did accept to do it and we filled in some forms and sended that to a counselor.

We had to choose a date and place and even a engraving for our wedding rings.

“I am my beloved and my beloved is mine”

I still have that ring in my bank box.

I just not wanted to tell everyone our idea for the wedding ,so i ask Max Wulf our guildmaster to help us out on something.There was a guild tournament planned to see who was the best PvPer.

We ask Max to cheat on the drawing of opponents.

Lessa and me would fight each other on the second fight.

When the battle started i refused to fight her, i role-played that a trowed away my sword and took of my helmet. Its where i ask Lessa to married me.

And of course she accepted.

The date was set : 31 July 1999

Max prepared the castle for the wedding.

Morgaine the guilds blacksmith made two matching full plate valorite suits.

She made a matching blue cloak.

In those days those suits where very valuable!

Invitations been send out for the day with big announcement on the guilds web page.

The day of the wedding had come and we where all ready for it.

I was even not allowed to see Lessa ingame that day.Good thing we had other characters.

Lessa stood with Max at the altar in the castle while i was waiting outside the counselor would come to do the wedding.

He was late… so i thought.

Its the day you learn that GMT is not the same as CEST!

A lot of people came, even people that played often on other shards like Ariye came for the wedding.

All dressed up nicely for this occasion.

Eventually the Counselor appeared and my brother took me to Lessa.

It was all nicely done , like a real royal wedding.

The counselor did a great job!

We took our vows and then gave each other the wedding ring.

After we kissed it was time for celebration. With many food, drinks and presents!

Its a day i never forget.

Many years gone by since then , many people left and new friends where made.

But Lessa and Ariye they still here with me after all this time.

I honestly have no idea what i would do without them!

So Thank You Ultima Online to bring all these people from the last fourteen years in my life even when some already moved on!

My time travel
________________________________

Yesterday I had a very very nice for me UO experience.
I am very interested in old stuff from past UO days, rummaging through old houses which are apparently uninhabited for years, is for me the greatest, they are like time capsules are where the clock stopped.
For old items I do everything.
Even old threats in UO forums that were written years ago, I often find most interesting.
Unfortunately, there is not the skill archeology, I would Legendary archaeologist
* g *

Yesterday I met a beginner who enjoyed a huge horse-given, after a few minutes it became clear that he had played a few years ago already times.
I told the reactivate the old account, if he knew the old account name yet, the old email address would still etc.
And it worked!
After waiting a few minutes opened up not far from me a Moongate, and out ….. a 5 year old Char, logged out years ago and now for the first time came back online, including the dusty knowledge of the player in front of the screen.
A player in a PvP armor Valorite would now bear no more, the blacksmith of it produced there for years no longer than one swinging Tunic, a weapon that everyone would be lying in front of the bank.
Although this equipment has probably cost a fortune at that time nothing was insured, his ancient horse was not Bondet and the BackPack there were strange items that I had never seen before.
He stood there like a reawakened dinosaurs from prehistoric times, and alive to the touch, … madness!
Something I had only seen on old screenshots.

We three went to the third was (coincidentally on site and would also like to try to reactivate an old account, I am looking forward
* G *) tap into a dungeon to the earth elementals the rust from the old armor.
He had to fight hard to maintain and looked enviously at the paladin spells and weapons of the two companions of the future.
For the Poison Elemental he unfortunately died twice, his old armor was just too weak to give us companions time to heal, even his old horse, he lost here.
Still, it was all great fun, and for me it was like going back in a time machine to the past, an unforgettable experience.

Anniversaries are always ripe with memories of a time past. The original producers of UO recently shared their memories of the early beginnings of Ultima Online at the 2012 Game Developers Conference. Gamasutra did an interesting summary of a few of those memories here.

Though we enjoyed all of the entries we received from the Catskills shard, we had to force ourselves to only select half of them.

Here are the 5 winning entries from Catskills:

Author: Ludes

Title: The Discovery of Illshenar

         Ludes puffed contentedly on his pipe as he sat on the porch of his first home..  It was a small marble workshop south of Minoc, close to the bay.. It had taken almost a year for him and Lady Kyra to buy it.. but at last it was his.. an actual home to store his things and be a base for his new guild.  The guild was barely a week old and the guildstone still gleamed with freshly cut corners and sharp lettering.  He had one guild member, Garion. A capable fellow he had met near Brit smithy while we waited in line to get our armour repaired.

  As Ludes puffed away considering his plans Garion rushed up to the house..  “M’Lord!” He exclaimed..” They have discovered a new land!” Sitting up in excitement Ludes drops his pipe and say “What?.. Where?”  Garion reaches down and picks up Ludes’s pipe.. ” The Moongates are tied in M’Lord.. Come, lets go see!”

  So off Ludes and Garion head to see the new lands.. upon reaching the moongates Garion quickly tells his Lord.. “The Compassion moongate in the new lands of Ilshenar seems to be fairly in the center Sir..” Ludes checks his sword and bandage supply as he says.. “Lets go check it out my slalwart friend!” 
Excitement abounds as the two worthy warriors stick back to back. Healing each other and letting no foe approach. They work their way through lava fields and molten rock waterfalls.. eventually finding a city. Scouting this strange metropolis in the middle of nowhere they see it is occupied by gargoyles who seems to be trying to go about the daily business of living.. but there are also Overseers and Golems everywhere who seem to be in a position of authority.  “What do you think my friend?” Ludes looks at Garion warily.. Garion grins and says “Lets go see..”

Staying shoulder blade to shoulder blade the two warriors enter the city and work their way to the center.. With swords smoking and nicked they find themselves in a room with strange machinery in the center..  Curiously they study the equipment but the golems continue to press close and the Overseers keep calling for reinforcements even as they fall to the deadly swordplay of the two men.

  “We can always return to study this further.” Ludes yells.. “Lets fall back and rest.”
Garion nods as they slowly back out of the city.. walking south they slowly leave the area of the city and walk out into a beautiful plain covered in fruit trees and other lush plants.
  Ludes grabs an apple off one of the trees and loosens his armour.. “These new land seemed filled with both challenges and rewards my friend!” he wipes juice off his chin as he speaks..
  Suddenly a whirring sound startles both men. A bola comes whipping through the air and wraps itself around Ludes’ legs.. ” Uuuhh” is all Ludes can say as he stumbles forward and falls, his legs wrapped firmly.
Steel appears in Garions hand as he quickly looks around and with a backhand slice frees his guildmasters legs. Mounted savages appear and surround the two men. Once again they go back to back as they defend themselves.. in a few short minutes they pant as they survey the scene.. over a hundred slain savages lay around them. “Now what?” Garion says between breaths.. ” Look bro..” Ludes says with a evil grin.. “Lets pile these bodies around the fruit trees and come back in six months and collect the fruit..”  Garion grins and says.. ” Aye, good plan.. every six months we’ll come back and feed our fruit trees.” 
  With a chuckle Ludes wearily mounts up and they slowly head back to the moongate..

Author: Mon-t

What captured my interest and long term interest in UO has been the community and houses especially. UO was the first MMO I’ve tried and it offers a few things that others don’t offer: Extreme template Customization and Housing. I’d like to just focus on Housing and the Community. My first house I did not own alone. I was Co-owned with a friend, we had to split the cost of gold after a couple of months of farming, selling wares, and selling pets at West Brit Bank. Our house was a Log Cabin east of Covetous; and it came with a house key – and you know how important this was if you remember. After several months another friend, Duke, helped me get my own house; a two-story villa next to a mountain good for mining, especially since I loved mining ore elementals and most things crafting in general. Mind you, this was before the large Malas expansion (my how much they’ve added to UO since its Launch) – so housing spots were few and far between (or close and extremely packed). I believe I still even own a rune for that spot on one of my initial characters. Once Malas was added I was one of the first prospectors to get in on the ground breaking (I have the sandals and robe to proof it!), and got a great location as an 18*18. It was right at the entrance to the snowy part outside Luna with mountains all around me. Now why this 18*18 was important to note, was the simple fact this house was the largest you could place and use Ultima Online’s new feature: House CUSTOMIZATION. So now not only can you decorate your house with the treasures you acquire, rare items, favorite items, and decorative items; you can also customize how the house itself looks by changing the floor, walls, roof, and everything in-between.

Back then we actually interacted with neighbors. I joined their rag-tag guild and stayed in it for several years and met many new friends to get where I am today, 108 months later (as of September 15th 2012 my paper doll updated to 108).

Today, I’ve build up my “empire” and own a keep and castle (which I finally acquired this year with the help of a dear friend). We have a very close and trusted guild – as is much of UO actually. We do spawn together and peerless together, and we help each other with suits and templates – there is not much more I could ask for.

Ultima Online has had its up and downs – but what has kept me here and playing are the houses and the tight-knit community.

Author: Dante Signas/Baudwin Wulf

Title: A new shade of friend.

              I was instantly hooked when my then girlfriend introduced me to Sosaria.    As I began playing Ultima Online I was mainly interested in killing monsters and crafting items to sell to the denizens of the land.  However it was the social aspect of the interactions I had that really grabbed me. 

             One day, I was out in Felucca and was doing some looking around for the first time as I heard so many stories of murder and chaos, I was afraid to in the past.  I happened upon a fella in Moonglow who was decked out in the finest of armors and whose name was a sparking shade of crimson.  I was scared stiff and ready to run but then realized I was safe in town because of the guards. However, I still had my finger over my “Vendor Bank Guards” macro just in case….  So he made a comment about my armor and how it wasn’t very safe to run around in the old lands with such low resist on my gear and that rolled into a conversation about the finer points of armor and stat thresholds.  I was quickly enthralled with the scientific formulas that folks like him and others had come up with for their characters builds and suits.  I never realized the community and culture of Felucca was so rich and involved due to my fear of getting killed. I figured it was all delinquents and ruffians!  But from that day on I was no longer afraid of Felucca and no longer afraid of those with crimson names as I had made a friend who I hold dear to this day.    That was 9 years ago and we continue to enjoy each other’s friendship even today. 

              The one thing that Ultima Online has given me that other games never could is a sense of real community.  From stranger s, from friends, from new and old players, this game seems to bring out the best in people as far as I have experienced and that is why I will be here as long as the servers are running!

Author: Sindee

I had been playing Ultima online for only a short wile and my skills as a swordswoman were still in there master stages, Most of my time was being around the small town of Heaven back before it was distroyed by blackrock I made alot of good friends just by sitting around the banks and hearing about there storys of battle with dragons or of murderist bands of players on the other side of the red moongates that i would see pop up every now and agin. But on one afternoon I cought wind of monsters attacking players near the west bank of britian and when I heard they were only groups of lizardmen I knew I could handle my own and went out to see what was going on, I had no idea it was a full scale Invasion of the city! I never seen myself as a solider or hero I looked up to alot of other players with there amazing powers with magic or weapons of great stranght of the warriors or archers but when I see them rushing to meet the monsters head on I felt a fire burn inside me and drew myself to run along side them in the thick of it. It was sheer madness there were bodys of my fellow friends and hero’s of the relam alisde the monsters and there Generals that poured from the depths of Despise dungeon. It wasnt long before I fell to the numbers and woke up back at the healers building in the city and wile I was there players who knew we were loseing started handing out what ever weapons they could to help out. I rember being a mystic scimitar by a fencer that did not need it and was told to take care of it for its powers ( stats ) were a weakness to the siders that often traveled with the lizardmen armys and I felt so over whelmed when I weilded it in battle ( i really didnt much as far as good itmes back then) I made sure to insure it and I still have it to this day in my bank box. A few days later the event was over and most of the players that I used to see now traveled to Luna to the holy city to spend there free time in safty but I now had a feeling of pride over myself I was no longer a bystander who used to hear the tales of valour and heroisum, I was that I had my own tale to tell about how I was a simple solider that fought to defend the great city of Britain from evil and the friends i made as well as the tropies i resived. I would have many more events and friend through out my time in UO and I’m pround to not only say I play the game but I was part of its long histroy.

Author: Nails Warstein

This is my entry for the contest.  It was hard to choose a singular memorable moment.  Yet it was easy to pick moments to explain their significance as to why I play UO.  I felt it was best to be sincere and meaningful whether I win or not.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

“I had just started my second year in law school when I learned that my Father had been given 6 months to live.  Growing up my Father and I were never that close, mainly because he was always such a workaholic.  Now that he was ill, he needed to live life a little easier, so I came home to take care of him, and suddenly found that I had some extra time on my hands.  I had always enjoyed role playing games over the typical game consuls, and I began experimenting with these new MMORPGs. 

My most memorable moment is when I tried UO for the first time, I was exploring around Haven when suddenly this player shows up, and I get this message, “A friend has arrived to help”.  He was riding a horse, dressed like a ranger with a bow.  Although I can no longer remember his name, I do remember him explaining how to use this “A Young Player Ticket” with another player in the trade window, and I remembering getting “Studded Sleeves Ranger Armor” while the other player got “A Coupon For A Free Hair Restyling”.  This “Companion” stayed to answer any questions we both had, and follow us as we teamed up together to help heal us as we killed these tough Mongbats.

We never did see him again, but that moment had sparked a 6 year friendship of teaming up together to fishing, treasure hunting, and exploring dungeons together in UO.  Even though he left to start a new family, I still email him every September to try UO when Return to Britnannia is active.  Now that his kids are older, maybe this year will bring him back.

Anyhow, as my Father’s illness got worse, UO was a place I could escape from the reality I was desperately trying to avoid, a place where death was a very common occurrence, yet your character never truly dies.  Despite this, I still didn’t handle dying very well.  I was always fighting the “Lag Monster” as a horde of “uglies” as I would called them would easily run me down.  Granted I did take too many risks.  If it wasn’t mobs of creatures killing me, it was some egotistical red named player “PKing” me.  As a result, every character I created had the skill “hiding” in hopes of avoiding death.

My Father did live a whole extra year longer than expected, but when he died, I created and named a character after him that I still play to this day.  I made him a crafter so that his name would live on in everything I made.  When mourning him, I would spend several hours a day killing the liches that spawned in the cemetery near Cove.  Ultima Online is still therapeutic for me today.  A great game to release stress, and give me time to heal.  I honestly do not know what I’d do in my free time without it.”