Ancient Sosaria

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

Before the founding of Britannia the land consisted of five continents, two of which were named Akalabeth and Ambrosia. It was then that a young man from our world was first transported to this old Sosaria by way of a moongate. The moongate brought this young man to the home of the ranger Shamino in the "Lands of Danger and Despair" continent. The two met and became friends quite easily. Amidst their inital conversation the young man revealed that he had come from the city of Cambridge in the country of Britain. From this, Shamino aptly named him Cantabrigian British. Thus came the beginning of the life of Cantabrigian British in the world of Sosaria.

Cantabrigian British travels the "Lands of Danger and Despair" learning the ways of weaponry and magic. In his travels he ventures to the continent of Akalabeth. In the land of Akalabeth, British is named "Champion of the White Light" because of the serpent's amulet he dawns upon his neck. He then defeats the evil creatures of the wizard/prince Mondain and banishes him to the continent known as the "Lands of the Dark Unknown"

In light of his victory, the people of Akalabeth make Cantabrigian British their king and the land is renamed to Britannia.

The Ages of Darkness

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

The First Age of Darkness (Ultima I)

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

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

Revenge of the Enchantress (Ultima II)

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

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

Exodus (Ultima III)

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

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

The Rise of Britannia

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

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

Quest of the Avatar (Ultima IV)

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

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

Warriors of Destiny (Ultima V)

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

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

However, Lord British's escape from the underworld did cause a tremendously destructive series of earthquakes as the cast network of subterranean caverns collapsed. Much of the gargoyle race did perish in that tragic cataclysm.

The False Prophet (Ultima VI)

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

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

At last it was revealed that the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, which had been removed from the underworld by the Avatar, was actually the property of the gargoyles. Therefore, the Avatar placed the Codex into the great ethereal void where it would be possessed by neither human nor gargoyle. Two lenses, used to view the Codex, were given to Lord British and the gargoyle ruler King Draxinusom. As the cause of the conflict between the two races had been removed, it was hoped that the rift between the two would eventually be closed.