Serpent Pillars
The twin Serpent Pillars are towering cylindrical structures in an unknown arctic region of Britannia that function as a magic portal to Serpent Isle. They appear only in Ultima VII Part Two.
Description[edit]
The pillars stand in the arctic oceans of Britannia, surrounded by the ice of eternal winter, with a waterway ending just between them, which is mysteriously kept ice-free. The Serpent Pillars are a huge teleportation gateway to the Serpent Isle, although it is unknown how they came to be in the first place. When a ship goes between them, it is swallowed by a glowing, white portal, and transported to the Serpent Isle. The transporting process is hinted to involve the vessels flying during transit. The Pillars are not always visible; they only appear in winter, when both moons and the sun are at the same time on the sky. A matching pair for travelling back to Britannia exist on the Serpent Isle, but no one could find them, because the circumstances of their appearance are unknown.
History[edit]
Erstam and the other unsatisfied left Britannia through the Serpent Pillars prior to Ultima IV, settling the land after transit. It is unknown how Erstam got the information about the pillars in the first places, as he kept silent about it. Erstam spoke of attempts to find the matching pair of pillars for return to Britannia, but due to lacking information no one had been able to find them, thus in the end all attempts were given up. Gwenno also used them when travelling with the Fellowship expedition to leave Britannia prior to Ultima VII and it was never exactly clear how she gained such detailed information about the circumstances of the pillars' behavior. In the beginning of Ultima VII Part Two, the Avatar and company used the pillars as well to travel to the Serpent Isle.
Though nothing was mentioned, the return of the companions to Britannia prior to Ultima IX proved that somehow they must have been able to learn where to find the matching pair on the Serpent Isle.
Lore[edit]
| “ | Locating the Serpent Pillars took considerably less effort than I first expected, though even now I am still a bit dizzy from the trip.
... With what information we had, all obtained through my research and investigation, we set sail to find the Serpent Pillars — and what we would come to call the Serpent Isle. The trip was long and arduous and many gave up hope, myself included. But one morning, surrounded by a storm sure to shatter the rigging of our ship, a sailor spied two great pillars rising in the distance. With a will of its own, the ship sped to them. As we approached, we watched with a mixture of optimism and trepidation. |
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Trivia[edit]
- It is unclear how Erstam learned of the pillars, nor how they came to appear in Britannia.
- The loading screen of Ultima VII Part Two (seen below) depicts transit through the pillars from the entrant's perspective.
- In Denis Loubet's original Serpent Isle introduction, the Serpent Pillars are seen to rise from turbulent waters before receiving the Avatar's ship, whereas the final game shows them already having emerged in icy, mostly static surroundings. While the unused depiction is more consistent with Erstam's description in Beyond the Serpent Pillars, its dynamic animation ultimately had to be dramatically simplified to accommodate the space limitations of floppy disks.
- Ultima Online also features Serpent Pillars (seen below), which serve as a gateway between Britannia and the Lost Lands. Unlike those in Ultima VII Part Two, however, they are not seen in pairs, and are activated by chanting a specific magical word before them. Visually, the snakes on these pillars appear to be thinner and more tightly coiled.
Gallery[edit]
The end of the waterway and the opening portal
A still from Denis Loubet's unused Serpent Isle introduction
Ultima Online Serpent Pillar
Transit through the pillars
