Skara Brae

Description
Skara Brae is the the city of Spirituality and the home base of the rangers of Britannia. The city itself was rebuilt only recently, therefore all of the buildings are relatively new. Years earlier, the city had been utterly destroyed by a magical explosion, the buildings ruined shells, and the inhabitants ghosts wandering the streets.

It is situated on an island west of the main continent, separated from Spiritwood by the Misty Channel. The city can be reached in Ultima VII with the aid of the mysterious Ferryman, who waits at the Ferry Station. He demands 2 gold pieces for travel to Skara Brae, but travel to the mainland is free.

A sight in the city is the Dark Tower of Horance. Once the headquarters of the liche, it is now a harmless place, where Horance dwells and meets visitors.

In economic terms, the rebuilt city hadn't really rooted into the Britannian economy again, but already provides everything a traveler should need and has secured the lives of its inhabitants. Other than that, none of the more exotic things are offered in the shops of the city.

A moongate on the island itself ensures fast transportation.

History of the city
Skara Brae was founded after the destruction of Exodus, and the following re-shaping of the land. It was dedicated to the virtue of Spirituality and remained a quiet place throughout the ages. The island location preventing much city growth. The city however, was not the place of one of the runes in Ultima IV.

In Ultima V, the dark mage Flain, who was in league with the Oppression, took residence in Skara Brae, and ordered a moat constructed around the city, while his tower was erected in the city center. Also, the Shadowlords haunted the city like all of the eight cities of Virtue. After Blackthorn's regime was over, the moat was filled up and normality returned to Skara Brae with Flain gone, as seen in Ultima VI.

But bad fortune was with Skara Brae after that time. When the mage Horance was possessed by a Liche, a horrible accident in the efforts to stop him, caused by the stupidy of the mayor, burned down the whole city, killing the entire populace. The city was declared off-limits. It wasn't until Ultima VII, when the Avatar managed to free Horance from the Liche, and therefore lift the ban from Skara Brae.

Free for the Liche's bane, a new Skara Brae was later erected and it once again became a place of Spirituality and the home of Rangers from all Britannia, under the care of a mysterious stone effigy called the Sentinel. When the Cataclysm ravaged Britannia, the Sentinel protected the city from destruction and ended up being buried in rubble. However, the city survived and thrived for twenty years, the Spirituality of its inhabitants preventing them from succumbing to the columns' influence. However, in a demonstration of his power, the Guardian destroyed the city during Ultima IX in front of the Avatar's eyes, reducing it once again to a lifeless wasteland.

Ultima IV




Ultima V


Ultima VI

 * Dezana: healer
 * Gideon: innkeeper
 * Horance: mage
 * Marney: dock helper
 * Marta: rose seller
 * Quenton: a ghost
 * Stivius: wine merchant
 * Trenton: mayor of Skara Brae
 * Yorl: fisherman



Ultima VII
(Note that they are all ghosts, and therefore their "jobs" are only things of the past)


 * Caine: alchemist and tortured one
 * Ferryman: ferryman
 * Forsythe: mayor of Skara Brae
 * Horance: a powerful mage
 * Markham: tavern owner
 * Mordra: healer (and from Pagan)
 * Paulette: tavern maid
 * Quenton: long-time ghost
 * Rowena: wife of Trent
 * Trent: blacksmith



Things to see
This puts all of the locations into a easy to read list.


 * Dark Tower
 * Ferry Station
 * Sentinel

Trivia

 * Skara Brae is the name of a real historical settlement on the west coast of Orkney (off northern Scotland).


 * Skara Brae is also the town where the computer game The Bard's Tale - Tales of the Unknown takes place. The city is destroyed in The Bard's Tale III - Thief of Fate. Interestingly, on some platforms, you could import characters from Ultima III and Wizardry into The Bard's Tale. In Ultima V there is an easter egg behind the apothecary's house--a tombstone reads 'Here lies the tale end of a bard'.


 * In Ultima VII it's possible to use the Magic Carpet to bypass the ferryman and land on the island.