Biographies

Lord British    Biography : Lord British

   Can be found at: Castle Britannia
   Current profession : King of Britannia


 

   Lord British was born in Cambridge, on Earth, and like all the other men from Earth, British is very old, as his aging in Britannia appears to have slowed down to a tenth of the normal rate.

   Although Lord British is the ruler of Britannia, he was not born in this realm. In the story of the cardinal Ultimas, Lord British is Richard Garriot himself, who crossed into the dimension of Sosaria through a moongate that opened from his own dimension when he found a Silver Serpent medallion and manipulated it. In Ultima Online, no references to Earth have been found so far, although in a conversation with the Time Lord it is hinted that British comes from another dimension (Unlike the other citizens of Britannia, he is not the same in all the realities of the shards).

   The Silver Serpent medallion allows British to travel back and forth between Britannia and Earth by opening gates. Still from the cardinal Ultimas, British eventually invites friends to join him in this dimension : Blackthorn, Dupr�, Iolo and Chuckles, amongst others. In Ultima Online, at least Blackthorn and Chuckles seem to be enjoying the same virtual immortality that British has, which suggests they DO come from Earth. Dupr�, Iolo and Shamino (which is a native of Britannia) have not been heard of yet.

   Through a number of good deeds, which was mostly summoning the Avatar to do the job, British gained the title of Lord, and eventually came to rule some of the large city-states that were forming Sosaria, as the land was called in the past. When the city-states were reunited under a single banner, Sosaria became Britannia in honor of Lord British and British himself was crowned. He lives in the appropriatly named Castle Britannia, in Britain, the capital city of Britannia. (original names eh?).

   Lord British believes that a moral and ethical system, represented by 8 Virtues, is the way to salvation and the reuniting of the multiple shards into one Britannia. He has ordered the construction of shrines throughout the realm so that the Virtues may be closer to his citizens, and conversely. However, some view this as an attempt to impose his own beliefs on his people, and are opposing him more or less aggressively. Lord Blackthorn, the closest friend of Lord British, is the leader of another school of thought, where you are free to believe in what you want for the sake of diversity and individuality.

   For a time, the King's public appearances were increasingly scarce. Since the unfortunate episode with the Grandmaster Mage Relvinian and his daemons, Lord British seems to be ruling the kingdom by mean of proclamations and edicts.   Furthermore, his disagreement with Lord Blackthorn is getting worse, and has been cast on the citizens through the founding of the Guards of Virtue.

   In fact, Lord British appeared in Ultima Online only a few times so far, including once to fight the Hulkster in a dishonest two-against-one tag-team with Lord Blackthorn, which doesn't really count. To his credit, it should be said he also came in the time of greatest need (for some protests, for the rebellion on Great Lakes, during the Followers of Armageddon saga, ...). He does seem to appear more often lately.

  British's emblem, also that of all Britannia, is a silver serpent (see picture above).

Related articles / books

Virtues, by Lord British
Ethical Hedonism: An introduction, by Richard Garriot

Ultima Online: Shattered legacy, by the Ultima fan site Shattered Legacy (down? defunct?)
The Founding of the Guards of Virtue