Spiritwood

Spiritwood
Location of Spiritwood
Located in:	Britannia
Type:	forest
Entering Spiritwood

Spiritwood is a forest in Britannia that lies east of Skara Brae and west of Paws.

Description

Spiritwood's limits are defined by two rivers in the north and east. The river that flows to the south is called River Maelstrom and acts as the eastern border of Spiritwood. Where it terminates into the sea, the Valarian Islands are found. Spiritwood is not only known for its growth of the rare and expensive reagent nightshade, but is also famously infested with dangerous reapers. Even wisps have been spotted on occasion, eerily pulsing in the shrouded forest. In a small mountain south of Spiritwood lies the Spirit Tunnels.

History

Age of Enlightenment

The Stranger first became aware of Spiritwood in Ultima IV, when the mage Virgil in Trinsic revealed that nightshade could be harvested in that very forest at the coordinates lat-J'F" long-C'O" at the deepest night, when both moons were new. This ensured a steady supply of the otherwise rare and unpurchasable reagent.

In Ultima V, a waterfall in Spiritwood fed by River Maelstrom marked the beginning of Lord British’s journey to the Underworld, and the Avatar had the option to follow this route in search of Lord British's Amulet. Also, nightshade was still found in Spiritwood and could be harvested once a night when both moons were at equal height at midnight.

Nightshade could still be harvested in Ultima VI as well.

Age of Armageddon

The seeming slow death of magic during the rise of the Fellowship also took its toll on Spiritwood. While the danger of repears remained ever-present, the forest seemed to lose much of the mysticism surrounding it, and the destruction of Skara Brae made it more of a remote location than it already was. Nightshade could no longer be found there in Ultima VII when the Avatar returned to the realm.

In the Great Cataclysm, Spiritwood was destroyed when the continent split.

Lore

“	South of Lord British’s castle can be found a large plain, mountains, and a dense forest. – from The History of Britannia (Ultima IV)

“	At dawn, we set off on our skiff down the River Maelstrom, east of Spiritwood. Before the falls, we pause to remember the brave men who discovered this entrance to the Underworld. Then we cast off and repeat their plunge into the lightless underground waterway. – from Journey to the Underworld (Ultima V)

“	In recent years the only places where this strange substance can be located are in the Bloody Marsh across the mountains from Cove (where many years ago thousands of soldiers lost their lives) or in the enchanted forest of Spiritwood, beneath the rotting bark of dead trees. – from The Book of Fellowship (Ultima VII)

Places of Interest

• Spirit Tunnels

The Ultima 6 Project

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This is an Ultima 6 Project-related article or section. The information within may not apply to Ultima VI or other Ultima games.

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In The Ultima 6 Project, Shamino suggests that the spirits of dead rangers haunt the forest. Also, numerous silver saplings could be found, needed for a quest given by the fuzzies for the planting of silverleaf trees.

Trivia

• In contrast to the challenge of finding the location to acquire nightshade in Ultima IV, in Ultima V the patch is clearly marked by very dense forest, to make the harvest easier.
• During map-creation for Ultima VII, Spiritwood was shrunk too much, in the end barely counting as a forested area. This was due to the need to deform the continent to so that more mountains could be created to house dungeons.^{[Citation needed]}

Gallery

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  Spiritwood art from Mysterious Sosaria

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Geography