The following text is taken from Origin's Official guide to Ulitima
Online. In the guide, it is presented as columns in a newspaper.
New Grandmaster mage announced
The Guild of Arcane Arts today announced that another mage had
achieved Grandmaster status in the city of Britain. Known only as Relvinian, the new
initiate into the highest level of the arts has been called an "incredible
natural" and "extremely talented." Still, there are some that accuse him of
being "just wierd."
"He's ... disturbing," according to Kandace the Lovely,
another gandmaster mage. "He's really into all of the summoning spells. He dabbles
too much with the darker magics. I don't know He's earned his position, cerainly, I just
don't want to be in the same room with him."
Relvinian's tutor, Grandmaster Luthior, agreed with Kandace.
"Yes, Relvinian does tend to deal more with lesser used or altogether forgotten
spells, but he means well. He's trying to find ways to help Britannia as a whole, not just
on a one-to-one basis. I think he'll be a very positive addition to our community, and I
believe Britannia will be hearing more from him."
A small reception will be held in Relvinian's honor at the mage's
guildhall in northern Britain.
Relvinian: Daemons can do our work
The eccentric mage known only as Relvinian has announced that his
current project will free mankind forever from menial labor. From the steps of his
laboratory, he described to a good-sized gathering what daemons can do for the human race.
"With daemons doing the manial labor that takes up so much of everyone's day, people
will be free to follow more cerebral paths," Relvinian said. "We will be able to
better educate our society. Who knows what new heights we might attain!"
Daemons are usually associated with dark magic and other evil
intentions. This would be the first attempt on record to bring them into a more positive
light. Some experts are concerned about the implications of a creaure borne of evil
working daily with the citizens of Britannia. "I'm worried about our children. Our
family values. What kind of a role model will these things be to our kids?" asked
brother Andrew of Empath Abbey. "I mean kids will suddenly want to summon their own
daemon to get out of making their beds, or going to the market. Children won't learn
responsibility because here's this guardian of evil at their command. The next thing you
know, they'll be hexing each other, or sending their daemon out to exact revenge on Little
Willian for pulling a dog's tail."
Relvinian says that the fears brother Andrew and the others like him
are completely unfounded. "I've created a spell that will summon and totally control
a daemon and all its actions, but it can only be cast by a Grandmaster Mage such as
myself. We will then assign the daemon to a household and place a schedule in its mind.
The creature will have no choice but to perform the assigned tasks." In response to
questions about no-so-wellintentioned mages who get possession of the spell, Relvinian
replied, "The spell drains the caster a great deal. If one were to summon a daemon
and charger it with malevolent tasks, it owuld be a simpe thing to discover who the
offending mage was and bring him or her to answer for the deed."
Other concerns were brought to light by a group calling themselves
Britannia Species United. "Why must one group, in the case the humans, control the
minds or actions of another? We already have enough warring between the species of
Britannia, must we have slavery, too?" asked a BSU spokeperson. "No creature
should be able to control the minds of another, be they men, gargoyles or daemones. It
just isn't right."
Relvinian goes Monday to further explain and demonstrate his
theories to Lord British, who seems cautiously optimistic about the idea. "I think
the potential is immense," The Ruler of Britannia said in a conversation with Your
Correspondent. "As you know, I have been actively promoting eight Virtues throughout
Britannia, and freedom from menial labor would be a great step toward the education of the
populace as a whole, both in the Virtues and in more standard curriculum of reading,
writing and mathematics. I think Relvinian's ideas could possibly benefit the citizens of
Britannia as much as the consolidation of the city-states, and this the ending of their
petty wars, did at the beginning of our current Enlightened Age. Sure there are a few
bumps to smooth out, and I won't allow the plan to be adopted until the time that those
problems are addressed, but I see promising things ahead."
Daemons loose in Castle Britannia. Fifteen missing, presumed dead
Disaster struck Castle Britannia yesterday as several daemons,
summoned by the mage Relvinian, went on a killing rampage throughout the great fortress.
Relvinian had been invited to the castle to discuss with Lord British his theories of a
daemon workforce for Britannia and to demonstrate his improved summoning spell. He claimed
that the spell would bring a daemon under the complete control of the caster, wiping its
mind and preparing it for instructions which would compel it to any assigned task. When he
cast the spell in the Great Hall, however, his theories went up in smoke.
"I don't know what happened," one incredilous bystander
exclaimed. "I saw a daemon appear, it looked around at us, and then more showed up
out of nowhere! They just started throwing fire at everyone."
A Britannia noble added, "All I remember is that huge daemon,
looking down on us. Oh, and a cat. There was a cat hissing at it, I don't remember where
the cat came from. Then everyone started running."
Members of the Guild of Mages stayed in the Great Hall and attempted
to dispel the daemons, but only managed to spread them throughout the castle. "One
ran into the kitchen. I saw a magic-wielder charge in after it, and then I heard a lot of
noise. I don't know what happened after that, but they're still looking for the kitchen
staff, the mage, and the daemon," said Torrie Flynn, a valet to Lord British
The castle guards were mobilized and sent throughout the maze of
halls in teams of finve with one accompanying mage for each group. As of this writing, no
recent word has been reported as to the current status of the daemons or the guards. The
castle, however, has been evecuated of all non-defensive personnel, and fifteen, including
the kitchen staff, are currently unnacounted for.
"It's a travesty," according to brother Andrew of Empath
Abbey. "I was afraid something terrible would come of Relvinian's tamperings, but I
never imagined it would be like this. This things have been loose in the castle for more
than twelve hours now. I can only hope that the creation has cost its creator as much as
it has cost the citizens of Britain."
Tyrnius, guildmaster for the Guild of Arcane Arts, said he will be
calling a special hearing of the guild to look into the revocation of Relvinian's status
in that organisation. �This was just irresponsible and reprehensible! We cannot have this
kind of thing going unchecked. Someone should have been reviewing Relvinian's researchg,
and it's now my job to figure out who failed to do so and what we can do about it."
Lord British was safely escorted from the Great Hall and is
directing rescue missions with his personal guard from the old keep, where he can better
view the ongoing situation.
Britain guards still searching for rogue mage
The Britain guard will be sweeping through the city tonight,
searching for the mage known as Relvinian. The Grandmaster Mage has been missing since the
disaster at Castle Britannia in which he failed to adequately control several daemons he
had summoned. The daemons then went on a murderous spree throughout the castle, killing at
least five, with ten more missing and presumed dead.
Lord British's guards fought their wayu through Castle Britannia in
an effort to end destruction and locate the instigator of this tragedy, but found no sign
of Relvinian. His residence in Britain was then searched, uncovering no clue as to his
whereabouts. A house-to-house search of Britain and the outlying farms has begun.
"He has to be around somewhere," said Martin, a town
guard. "People don't just disappear for good. Not even mages."
Relvinian has not been seen since the killings bagan, but Lord
British is sure he will return to take responsability for his actions.
"He misjudged his powers, that's all. He's not a killer.
Relvinian is a visionnary who attached himself to a more or less dangerous idea. I still
think his plan might have merit, but it certainly must be closely analysed before any
further harm is done."
Relvinian believed he could summon daemons to undertake
labor-intensive jobs for the citizens of Britannia. He claimed that a spell that he had
created could control the daemon's thoughts, making it possible to place a schedule of
labor activities in their heads.
Some, such as brother Andrew of Empath Abbey, warned Lord British
about the inherent dangers of summoning creatures of the dark for "fun and
profit." But the monarch chose to ignore the warnings. "Given what's occured, I
would hate to say I told you so," Andrew told reporters. "You can never trust
creatures born of evil. My two-year-old niece could tell you that. Relvinian should have
known better. I want the Guild of Arcane Arts to ensure he never practices magic in
Britannia again."
If anyone knows of Relvinian's whereabouts, please contact the guild
or the town guard.
Relvinian thought responsible for maze
The guild of Arcane Arts has focused oa considerable amount of
attention on the mysterious maze that appeared south of Britain two days ago, and they are
finding more and more evidence pointing to Relvinian as the one responsible for its
creation. "Relvinian is the only one who is both capable of the power needed to make
this thing and whose whereabouts are currently unkown," said Turnius, guildmaster for
the Guild. "And as it sprang up whitin a week of the disaster in Castle Britannia, I
suspect that he's sequestered himself in the middle of it and doesn't want to come
out."
The maze appeared three days ago, replacing valuable farmland hand
hunting habitat with what appears to be bits and pieces taken from all parts of Britannia.
Creatures from all over the land seem attracted to the maze and wander about aimlessly
inside it, according to sources who have briefly entered the place. "There were all
kinds of monsters, and a bunch of brigands seem to have taken to it pretty quickly too. I
guess they're counting on being safe from the law."
Relvinian was the mage responsible for the daemon attack inside
Castle Britannia, and is, therefore, ultimately to blame for the fourteen deaths that
occured that night. Virgil Hassenm the lone survivor of the kitchen staff, who was
crippled and seriously burned in the attack, said, "An army needs to storm that
maze and hang that mage on a short rope from a tall tree." When asked if he thought
Relvinian had planned the attack inside the castle, Virgil replied, "I don't know.
Sure. And don't say that name in my presence again."
An official scouring party is being formed by Lord British to try
and map the maze, and to find out if Relvinian is, literally, at the center of it.
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