Trinsic

Trinsic [trin-sick] is the city located near the southern end of Britannia's main continent, north of the Cape of Heroes and near the Fens of the Dead.

Description
Trinsic is dedicated to the virtue of Honor, and is home to many paladins who make honorable matter of their cause. It is the only city in Britannia to have consistently sported fortifications throughout the ages, with its famed city walls having been rebuilt several times to keep up with the growing cityscape. For a time, a password was required for travel through the well-guarded gates of the towne—although this eventually came to be a ritual rooted more in tradition than in a need for security. Regardless, the eventual shifting of the terrain in the Great Cataclysm put an end to Trinsic's battlements when flooding destroyed the towne and a new city was built atop its ruins.

As a city with a strong martial tradition, Trinsic has long been home to arms and weapons dealers of all kind with a great selection of goods, as well as attracting shipwrights and sailors, given its position as a port city. The city also has a tradition of horse breeding, offering some of the best horses available. The city essentially is the center of civilization in southern Britannia.

Fast transportation is provided by a moongate just south of the city.

History
Trinsic was founded sometime after the destruction of Exodus, during Lord British's renaissance of arts and sciences that heralded in the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment. Little is known of its early years, although the Encyclopedia Britannia names its first mayor as Aakara.

Age of Enlightenment
In  Ultima IV, with the development of the Quest of the Avatar and the spread of the Eight Virtues, the city became devoted to Honor. Among the cities of the era, it was the one of the only ones appearing to have a form of local government at this time, with Dupre acting as towne leader. The paladin, however, left the settlement he governed for a time being that he might join with the Stranger in the hero's quest for Avatarhood.

By the time of  Ultima V, the city, like most of Britannia's major settlements, fell victim to the Shadowlords—indeed, when a knight of the realm attempted to bring the scepter of Lord British to safety, he was ambushed in Trinsic and lost the artifact to  these fell shades. Sindar, the last elected member of the Great Council from Trinsic stayed within the city, but seemingly placed himself into a magical slumber to keep members of Blackthorn's regime from extracting information from him, forcing the Avatar to find an unusual way to find out the word of power from him. At night the gates were closed, enforcing a strict curfew.

By  Ultima VI the city of Trinsic had expanded beyond its walls, although they still stood. The mayor at the time, Lord Whitsaber had risen to prominence in spite of a checkered past of piracy, and would eventually prove essential in helping the Avatar to reassemble the  treasure map of the late Captain Hawkins. Mandrake, a noted bard who had unwittingly drafted a travelogue for the hero with the assistance of the gypsy Taynith, was present in the city at this point, and would regale the champion with stories of his own personal set of "virtues" if asked.

Of special prominence during this age was the Rune of Honor, which was openly displayed on a pedestal in the middle of the city, being a testament of the inhabitants' virtue. Such was the trust placed in the denizens of Trinsic that the rune was left unguarded, as the officials of city believed that the honor of the populace was strong enough that none would dare to steal it—or that if it was taken, it would be returned soon after its use.

Age of Armageddon
Two centuries later, at the beginning of  Ultima VII, it was Trinsic where the Avatar would again reappear, having been drawn back into the world through the summons of the Time Lord. In a sickening coincidence, the hero arrived just as Iolo, an old friend of the Avatar, was discussing the details of the grisly murder of Christopher, the town's blacksmith, whose mutilated body had just been found. Finnigan, the mayor of the city at the time, immediately charged the returned hero with investigating the crime, refusing to allow the champion passage out of the town until a lead had been found. The Avatar eventually identified the murderer as Hook, an assassin for the seemingly benign philosophical organization known as the Fellowship.

During that time, Trinsic's walls again surrounded the entire city, forcing the Avatar to obtain the password from Finnigan before leaving. Trinsic's inhabitants had grown defensive and cynical over the years, as the virtues slowly became an institution of the past in the wake of new philosophical movements such as the Fellowship. The lapse of honor within the city was made prominent by the theft of the Rune of Honor some years earlier by an impostor claiming to be the Avatar.

In the two decades prior to the Avatar's reappearance in Trinsic, the city fell victim to the Great Cataclysm, which rended the lower peninsula of Britanna's mainland apart. A new city had been rebuilt out of the rubble of the old, centered around the Paladin's Bastion, and sat upon the waters where old Trinsic formerly stood by the time of  Ultima IX, but the corrupting influence of the Guardian's columns had turned the populace unfaithful and mercenary, causing the very ghosts of the city's honored dead to revolt in outrage. The city had no semblance of leadership to govern its citizens at the time, and it was obvious that civic obligation to law had lapsed with the virtue's fall. Sometime before or after the catacylsm the moongate was moved to the Northeast of Trinsic.

Dupre, now dead after having sacrificed himself for the Avatar's sake, was able to return briefly as a shade and instruct the champion as to how the city might be restored. After Lucero's honorable sacrifice to aid Virgil, the city began to return to its former glory, re-embracing Honor. The Avatar shortly thereafter cleansed the Shrine of Honor, defeating the last influence the Guardian had over the hearts and minds of the citizens of Trinsic.

Lore




Ultima IV

 * Aristotle: dignified paladin
 * Dergin: soulful fighter
 * Dupre: town leader
 * Kline: searching paladin
 * Lexington: shining paladin
 * Publius: sleepy fighter
 * Quix: wandering mage
 * Rigmore: strong paladin
 * Sailor Sam: ugly sailor
 * Skitle: bony skeleton
 * Swindrik: tall wizard
 * Terrin: cowering child
 * Virgil (U4): mystic wizard
 * Winthrop: scruffy merchant
 * Nameless Gate Guard (Trinsic): big guard
 * Nameless Guard (Trinsic): strong guard

Shopkeepers: 
 * Jean: proprietor of Duelling Weapons
 * Jumar: proprietor of Duelling Armour
 * Terran: proprietor of The Keg Tap
 * Zajac (Trinsic): proprietor of the Honorable Inn

Ultima V

 * Gruman: knight of Trinsic
 * Hettar: stablemaster of Horse and Rider
 * Jimmy: young boy
 * Leila: healer at Wounds of Honor
 * Paul (U5): owner of The Paladin’s Protectorate
 * Sindar: member of the Great Council
 * Woolfe: blacksmith at The Paladin’s Protectorate

Ultima V: Lazarus

 * Anniel: knight
 * Beledan: paladin
 * Brethil: druid
 * Ellison: mayor of Trinsic
 * Magdalena: tavernkeeper at the Crystal Chalice
 * Tallon: paladin

Ultima VI

 * Alastor Gordon: mayor of Trinsic
 * Brandon: armorer
 * Harold: horseshoe-maker
 * Immanuelle: stable woman
 * Lawrence: tavernkeeper
 * Mandrake: bard
 * Sandy: cook
 * Tobatha: healer

North of the city walls:
 * Andreas: gypsy, con-artist, prostitute
 * Arturos: gypsy leader
 * Wanda: gypsy, prostitute

The Ultima VI Project

 * Abelinda: a paladin
 * Anthony: a paladin
 * Baden: fighter sergeant
 * David: retiree
 * Jimmy: seafaring merchant
 * Iona: barmaid
 * Traynor: paladin

Ultima VII

 * Apollonia: tavernkeeper; owner of the The Honorable Hound
 * Caroline: Fellowship recruiter
 * Chantu: healer
 * Christopher: blacksmith
 * Dell: provisioner
 * Ellen: wife of Klog
 * Finnigan: mayor
 * Gargan: shipwright
 * Gilberto: guard
 * Inamo: gargoyle immigrant
 * Johnson: guard
 * Klog: leader of the Fellowship branch
 * Markus: trainer
 * Petre: stablekeeper
 * Spark: son of Christopher

North of the city walls:
 * Dustin: actor
 * Meryl: actress
 * Paul: director of The Passion Play

Ultima VII (SNES Port)

 * Alfred: a guard; functionally similar to Gilberto
 * Conner: a guard; functionally similar to Johnson
 * Scarborough: provisioner



Ultima IX

 * Amande: ghost
 * Emile: drunk
 * Landis: spy
 * Lindonia: citizen
 * Lorence: provisioner
 * Lucero: paladin
 * Lucian: ghost
 * Marek: fisherman
 * Myrea: keeper of the shrine
 * Raphael: trainer
 * Rupert: blacksmith
 * Salvador: ghost
 * Sergio: bowyer
 * Synnovea: tavernkeeper
 * Umberto: fisherman
 * Vidos: guard
 * Virgil: farmer



Ultima IV

 * Duelling Armour: armour shop
 * Duelling Weapons: weapon shop
 * The Keg Tap: tavern
 * Honorable Inn: inn

Ultima V

 * Horse and Rider: stables
 * The Paladin’s Protectorate: armoury
 * Wounds of Honor: healer

Ultima VI

 * Fool's Pair o' Dice: tavern
 * The Paladin’s Protectorate: armoury
 * Wounds of Honor: healer

Ultima VII

 * The Honorable Hound: tavern/inn

Ultima IX

 * Bowyer: bowyer
 * Tavern/Inn: tavern/inn
 * Blacksmith: armoury
 * Provisions Shop: Provisions Shop

Places of Interest

 * City Walls
 * Ultima VII Cheat Room

The Ultima 6 Project
In The Ultima 6 Project, the role of the city of Trinsic, which had been minimal in the original plot, was vastly expanded.

In the days before the arrival of the Avatar at Trinisc, a hooded stranger - later revealed to be the gargoyle Beh Lem - visited the city and spoke with mayor Whitsaber, before leaving. The paladin Abelinda suggested, after witnessing this, to close the gates for the evening. This proved to be fortuitous, since hours later, a Gargoyle army arrived to lay siege to the city, cutting it off from the surroundings.

The Avatar managed to sneak into the city, after having planned a two-pronged attack with Baden and Geoffrey. After informing all inhabitants of the plan, and gaining possession of the mantra and rune, the Avatar regained the moonstone of the city and repaired the moongate, allowing a large troop of footmen to attack the southern front while Baden's men attacked the northern one. With the combined assault of the two armies and the Avatar's party, the siege got broken.

Trivia

 * In Ultima VII, the walled in structure of Trinsic enforces the copyright protection, as the Avatar is unable to leave without learning the password from Finnigan, who asks a number of geographical questions to prove that the player has access to the map that was shipped with the game.}
 * In Ultima VII, a well-known cheat room is accessible via the blacksmith's shop in Trinsic.
 * One road in Ultima VII is named "Whitsaber Road", after the mayor in Ultima VI.
 * In Origin's 1993 space trading simulation, Wing Commander: Privateer, the lone planet found in the Raxis System is named Trinsic.