Shadowlords
| Shadowlords | |||||||||
 Shadowlords, from Ultima V | |||||||||
| Species: | Shadowlord | ||||||||
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The Shadowlords are spectral embodiments of the antitheses of Britannia’s three cardinal Principles, representing the primal forces of Falsehood, Hatred and Cowardice. Their manifestation and subsequent rise to power through the corruption of Blackthorn comprises the core narrative of Ultima V.
History[edit]
The Shadowlords have their origin in Mondain's Gem of Immortality, which was shattered by the Stranger that the hero might slay the enchanter. When this occurred, three shards of the jewel fell into the Sosarian earth, festering beneath the soil for years before coming again to light. These pieces of evil resurfaced when a confluence sealing of the eight dungeons and of the magics used to raise the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom created a vast underground network beneath the realm, allowing wayfarers to finally reach the bowels of the Underworld where the shards lay buried.
When the ship of one Captain Johne, known as the Ararat was pulled into these underground depths by a chance maelstrom, the mage found the remnants of the gem, and their dark power drove him to madness. Amid this insanity, he slew the three members of his crew, spilling their blood upon the shards. From this union of mortal cruor and Mondain's magic, the Shadowlords were born: Faulinei, Shadowlord of Falsehood; Astaroth, Shadowlord of Hatred; and Nosfentor, Shadowlord of Cowardice.
These beings spread their evil quickly, attacking the sovereign Lord British as he journeyed through the Underworld on a voyage of discovery and thereafter imprisoning him in the dungeon Doom. On the surface of Britannia, they wrought a citadel known as Stonegate, binding the daemon Balinor to serve as guard.
The triad then worked upon the person of Lord Blackthorn, the noble who had assumed the regency in British's absence – perverting his soul and twisting his interpretations of the Eight Virtues, such as that he declared martial law, enforcing morality by the sword. The Shadowlords thereafter took to haunting the eight cities which had been dedicated to the Virtues, warping the minds of those within as they spread the virulence of their signature sins. Comets in the skies heralded their foul presence, and those who stood against them were either slain outright or suffered the lingering agony of being pierced by their black arrows.
Eventually, the Avatar was summoned back into Britannia by the combined efforts of the hero's friends, who had managed to rally despite their persecution by Blackthorn and his Oppression. Immediately, upon the Avatar's return to the realm, the Shadowlords confronted them, grievously injuring Shamino before the hero beat them back with the power of the Codex Coin. Taking on the burden of freeing Lord British and destroying the shades, the champion of virtue sought out the means to slay the spectres, as they soon found them impervious to all manner of conventional attack. Eventually, the Avatar recovered the three shards, casting them into the Eternal Flames of Truth, Love, and Courage that the Shadowlords might be banished.
Despite this seeming victory, it is uncertain if these evils were truly laid to rest. During the Avatar's strange adventures on the distant plains of Mars, the hero was again confronted with the three specters in dreams, being told that they were mere eidolons for the ever present and eternal evil in men's hearts. Within the depths of the hero's subconscious, these shades were imbued with the power of speech, and tauntingly told the hero of their immortality.
Lore[edit]
| “ | The Wraiths came this morning. There were three of them. They walked through the stone. Their blackness was deeper than the shadows from which the emerged. Advancing towards Lord British, they ignored Shaana and myself. Lord British held their gazes, murmuring words of life, healing and protection. Still they advanced. One raised its hand, pointing at our lord. Then a silver bolt struck our immortal king and he fell to the stony earth.
Shaana was frozen, transfixed. I stumbled forward, but when I touched that cloak, I shrank back. Foreboding washed over me. They took our lord with them. I was powerless to stop them. I am afraid we all are. – from Journey to the Underworld (Ultima V)
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| “ | The acquisition of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the deep recesses of the underworld created a karmic imbalance in the universe, resulting in the emergence of three sinister Shadowlords from the shards of the black jewel of Mondain. These grim agents of darkness were the antitheses of virtue. Their trickery and deceit allowed them to imprison me in their underworld dungeon and, in a perversion of justice, compelled the leaders of Britannia to oppress the people. The once noble Lord Blackthorn became the human agent who fulfilled their evil intent.
However, following your instincts and the admonitions of the Codex, you applied the principles of truth, love and courage against the Shadowlords and the corrupted Blackthorn. Your efforts allowed me to banish them and their agents from the realm of light. Thus was I restored to my consecrated throne. – from Compendium (Ultima VI)
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| “ | It seems that by removing the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom the Avatar had inadvertently set into motion a cosmic chain of events which led to the release of three Shadowlords from remnant shards of the black gem of Mondain. These Shadowlords were sinister agents of evil. Soon they managed to dethrone Lord British and hold him prisoner in a foul dungeon. Denied his wisdom and compassion, the kingdom of Britannia quickly grew oppressive and cruel.
This was the Britannia that greeted the return of the Avatar. After a score of valiant struggles, Lord British was liberated, his throne regained and the Shadowlords banished from our world. – from The Book of Fellowship (Ultima VII)
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Gameplay[edit]
Assaults on Cities[edit]
During Ultima V, each Shadowlord will occasionally attack each of the eight cities of Virtue, staying in the vicinity for the course of one day. When one is present, the party will be informed with a message saying that an "air" of hatred, falsehood or cowardice surrounds them. While in the city, the Shadowlord will affect the behavior of the citizens: Astaroth will make them violent and drive them to attack the party; Faulinei will make them deceptive and prone to lying; Nosfentor will make them fearful and thieving. Should the party approach a Shadowlord while present within a city, he will transport them to a dimension of his own making, where he must be defeated or driven away in order for the party to survive. Between the hours of midnight and 1:00 AM, however, a Shadowlord will remain immobile.
Shadowlords in Combat[edit]
When confronting a Shadowlord in Ultima V, the Avatar's party will instantly find itself in a shadowy plane from which flight is impossible. Once here, the party must win the fight, force the Shadowlord to flee, or die.
Shadowlords are capable of teleportation, invisibility, summoning daemons, possession, Sleep spells, and hurling magical bolts of energy. Their physical attacks cause considerable damage and can further cause poisoning. A Shadowlord dissipates once killed in combat, but must be defeated twice before it vanishes from a city it is targeting. This effect is only fleeting, and the shade will return the next night. The best strategy for defeating a Shadowlord in combat is to use the Crown of Lord British to negate its magic powers, and then employ Time Stop and Summon scrolls to kill it while it is immobilized. Another option is to use a glass sword found in the Serpent's Spine mountains against it. Unfortunately, only one of these items may be carried at any point in time.
If a player should engage a Shadowlord while in possession of Sceptre of Lord British, the artifact will instantaneously be reclaimed by the spectre, and it will vanish from the character's inventory, instantly returning to its place at Stonegate.
Trivia[edit]
- Three people in the course of Ultima V are known to have been struck with the Shadowlords' bolts: Shamino, Mariah and Kindor. The first two survived, but Kindor’s fate was not settled.
- In the book Warriors of Destiny in Ultima VI, the Shadowlords' abilities of transportation are explained by them "drawing on the Vortex," a magical methodology similar to that claimed by the Xenkan Monks of Serpent Isle.[1]
- In Martian Dreams, the Shadowlords are given definitive genders and personalities during their conversations with the Avatar. Astaroth and Faulinei refer to themselves as males, while Nosfentor is regarded as a female. Their dialogue in this game starkly contrasts their presence in Ultima V, during which they were portrayed as mute. Astaroth is actually the name of a female deity in Babylonian mythology.
- The Shadowlords are portrayed as having glowing red eyes in Ultima V, while they are green, red, and orange in Martian Dreams.
- Richard Garriott revealed in the hint book to Ultima IX the Shadowlords were originally to be connected to the origins of the Guardian. In this outline, the Gem of Immortality had resonated with the Stranger at the time of its destruction, capturing the dark impulses of the individual which shattered it and coalescing them at a later time into the Shadowlords. After their initial banishment, the energies which formed the three shades were to have met and integrated in the Void, forming a new entity which would become the Guardian.
Gallery[edit]
In the ending of the NES remake of Ultima IV, Lord British identifies the opposites of Truth, Love, and Courage with ignorance, hatred, and fear, respectively.
Fighting a Shadowlord
The Shadowlords as envisioned in a Lazarus trailer
The Shadowlords in the introduction of Lazarus
See Also[edit]
External Links[edit]
- Ultima V: Lazarus – The Tale of Captain Johne – a popular fanfiction by Michael D. Hilborn, which was used as the canonical background of the fan-remake Ultima V: Lazarus
- The destruction of the Shadowlords (YouTube)
- The Shadowlords – a website containing the dialogue trees for the three Shadowlords as they appear in Martian Dreams
References[edit]
- ↑ Warriors of Destiny (Ultima VI – in-game).