Timeline of the Ultima universe

The fictional Ultima universe has quite a detailed history that has been built up in through both the games themselves, and the backstory therein. Events are dated from the foundation of the kingdom of Britannia, hence BC (Britannian Calendar). History before Britannia's founding is uncertain and vague.

This timeline includes all the canon single-player Ultima games. The timeline is derived from the events in the following games: Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness, Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, Ultima III: Exodus, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny, Ultima VI: The False Prophet, Ultima VII: The Black Gate, Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue, Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, Ultima VIII: Pagan, Ultima IX: Ascension, Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire, Worlds of Ultima: Martian Dreams, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, and Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds.

The timeline of the Ultima universe can be aligned with that of Earth, however for every year that passes on Earth, many centuries may pass in Britannia.

The universe of Ultima Online branches off from this timeline just after the events of Ultima I, and thereafter follows an alternate continuity.

Prehistory

• At an unknown point in time, a sapient being known as the Great Earth Serpent ascends from his dwelling on the Isle of Crypts to the Ethereal Void, that he might instill cosmic balance in the universe by maintaining harmony between the diametrically opposing forces of two other serpentine deities, the Order Serpent and Chaos Serpent.
• Enigmatic representatives of the Xorinite dimension known as wisps teach the Armageddon spell to a prehistoric entity named Zog, who then casts it and eradicates all life on Sosaria for an indeterminate period of time.
• Sosaria is eventually repopulated by numerous serpentine species. Other creatures and civilizations follow, including cyclopes, before the arrival of humans, elves, dwarves, and bobbits. Meanwhile, on landmasses as yet unknown to humanoids, gargoyles flourish in isolation.
• Silver serpents are venerated in the form of monuments and wall carvings.

Archaic Sosaria

• Humanoids become the dominant society on four of Sosaria's continents as they organize into city-states and feudal fiefdoms.
• Over 3,000 years before the unification of Britannia, an unnamed order is founded, which later produces The Ancient Liturgy of Truth.
• An advanced civilization flourishes on the island of Ambrosia, building mystic shrines that are able to facilitate significant enhancements in physical ability and intellect. Eventually, Ambrosia's capital city is pummelled to ruin by caddellite meteors, before the island itself is swallowed by a whirlpool and thought lost.
• Deeming it a corrupting influence, various lords of archaic Sosaria outlaw the use of magic and banish its practitioners.
• Humans drive the cyclops race underground.
• Wolfgang, a future mage and king, is born.
• Wolfgang's first son (name unknown) is born. Nothing more is recorded of him.
• Wolfgang's second son, Mondain, is born.
• The Terran youth known as Cantabrigian British unwittingly opens a blue moongate on Earth after happening upon an amulet fashioned in the likeness of the Great Earth Serpent. He is transported to Sosaria, where he soon meets Shamino Sallé Dacil.
• Lusting for power at the age of fifteen, Mondain murders Wolfgang and takes possession of his ruby gem, a magical artifact reputed to harness the power of the sun.

The Age of Darkness

Main article: Age of Darkness

• Mondain begins vile experiments among his own followers, forming hybrid creatures such as minotaurs, goblins and lizardmen.
• British drives Mondain from his corner of Sosaria ("Akalabeth"), and becomes Lord British.
• Various heroes enter the service of Lord British, ridding the local realm of monsters, and earning the title "Knight".
• Shamino becomes ruler of his own kingdom in the Lands of Danger and Despair.
• The presence of sea monsters is confirmed, as the frigate Pembroke is sunk by one in plain sight of a small armada.
• Seeking allies to continue his fight against the eight lords of Sosaria, Mondain recruits help from "starwalking monsters of unparalleled savagery".
• Minax is born.
• At just eleven years of age, Minax is apprenticed to Mondain.
• While still young, Minax becomes Mondain's consort.
• Exodus is "conceived".
• Mondain uses the ruby gem against itself, creating the Gem of Immortality.
• Mondain's ascendancy spurs a revival of the arcane arts, as the long-outlawed practice of sorcery is now deemed necessary to combat his depredations.
• The Stranger appears in Sosaria, entering through the moongate known as the "Siege Perilous". After questing in the realm and obtaining a time machine, the hero uses it to step outside of natural time and penetrate Mondain's stronghold. In the ensuing battle, the Stranger shatters Mondain's Gem of Immortality and slays the wizard himself. Three stray shards of the Gem are accidentally scattered.
• The release of magic at Mondain's death causes great upheaval, rending time and space, and three quarters of the world disappear. However, at least some of these lands are later found to still be in reach: the Lands of Danger and Despair becomes the Serpent Isle.
• Shortly after Mondain's death, the time doors appear in Sosaria.
• Approximately ten years after the defeat of Mondain, Minax (now grown) achieves the power to avenge her lover, exploiting the time doors to establish her stronghold in the temporally isolated era known as "Time of Legends".
• The Stranger appears in Sosaria again.
• The following events take place outside the normal timeline due to Minax's interference:
  • In 9 000 000 B.C. (Pangea), the Stranger meets time-traveling astronauts from 2112 A.D., who know vital information about Father Antos.
  • In 1423 B.C., the Stranger appears in a savage North America.
  • In 1990 A.D., in New San Antonio, the Stranger purchases Enilno, the quicksword, from Sentri the Swashbuckler. After traveling in time to and from Pangea and 2112 A.D., the Stranger obtains the magical force field ring from an old man in New San Antonio.
  • In 2112 A.D., after obtaining a spaceship from Pirate Harbour, the Stranger visits Father Antos on Planet X.
  • In the place of Legends, outside of time itself, Minax is defeated by the Stranger within her castle, Shadowguard.
• Timeline resumes normal flow.
• Manuscript fragments are found in the wreckage of Shadowguard. These writings hint that Minax and Mondain had been lovers, and produced an offspring, but little more.
• Twenty years after the last appearance of the Stranger, the Isle of Fire rises from the sea as molten lava spewing from underwater volcanoes. Monsters begin attacking Sosarian settlements and a pirate fleet appears at sea, sweeping all other ships of commerce before it.
• Exodus summons the Balance Serpent (also known as the Great Earth Serpent) from its domain in the Ethereal Void, and it is made to guard the harbor entrance of the Isle of Fire.
• On the Serpent Isle, the War of Imbalance breaks out.
• A ship is found sailing abandoned, devoid of crew, with the word "Exodus" scrawled in blood on its deck.
• Lord British commissions "The Great Work", in which many explorers are dispatched to chart the realm in its entirety. Shamino, tasked with mapping the interior of Castle Death on the Isle of Fire, returns from this experience physically and mentally scarred.
• Moongates are observed throughout the realm. The cartographer Hawkwind deduces their functioning, but is attacked and gravely wounded before he can communicate his discovery.
• The Stranger reappears in Sosaria, and recruits three local adventurers for aid.
• The lost island of Ambrosia is rediscovered.
• The Stranger consults with the Time Lord for the first time.
• The Stranger's party destroys Exodus in his castle. This triggers a violent set of cataclysms that rearranges much of the land, destroying several cities in the process.
• The remaining forces of evil are defeated in a vast battle on the Bloody Plains. Thousands of soldiers die on both sides in the conflict.

The Age of Enlightenment

Main article: Age of Enlightenment

• Between 0 BC and 60 BC
  • The city-states of Sosaria band together and form Britannia, electing Lord British as leader.
  • Lord British forms the Great Council.
  • The system of the Eight Virtues is established.
  • Erstam and others protest Lord British's system of virtues, and leave Britannia for the Serpent Isle.
  • Lord British commissions three Shrines of the Principles to be built on the Isle of Fire.
  • The gargoyles summon the spirits of Mondain, Minax and Exodus to inhabit their three Shrines of the Principles. Exodus' summoning causes the Isle of Fire to sink into the sea, not to be seen again for over three centuries.
  • The town of Magincia is destroyed by demons, presumably for the pride of its inhabitants.
  • The Stranger reappears in Britannia.
  • The Stranger retrieves the artifact known as the Skull of Mondain from a deep well in the Great Sea. The well is the original site of the Stranger's battle with Mondain, as evidenced by the three volcanic plumes nearby – caused by the three Shards. The removal of the skull causes two things to happen: a volcanic island arises (on which Blackthorn’s castle was built), and the Shards are knocked loose.
  • The Stranger throws the Skull of Mondain into the Great Stygian Abyss, opening the Abyss permanently and destroying the skull.
  • The Stranger, further known as the Avatar, survives the Abyss, and enters the Chamber of the Codex at the bottom. The Codex of Ultimate Wisdom is found, and the Avatar returns to Earth.
• Circa 60 BC
  • The monks of Empath Abbey begin making wine.
• Between 60 BC and 137 BC
  • The Great Council raises the Codex from the Great Stygian Abyss, and enshrines it on the Isle of the Avatar.
  • Geological instability induced by the raising of the Codex causes the formation of the Underworld. Creatures begin pouring out of the dungeons again.
  • The Great Council seals the eight dungeons.
  • A great drought engulfs the northeastern quadrant of Britannia, destroying Britannia's third largest lake, Lake Generosity, and creating the desert known as the Drylands.
  • The village of Vesper is abandoned.
  • Lord British commissions the writing of The Book of Lore.
  • The knight Seggallion inadvertently leaves his homeland Ashtalarea through a blue moongate, and becomes a sailor and pirate in Britannia.
  • Captain Johne’s ship sinks through a whirlpool and is lost in the Underworld.
  • Captain Johne kills his shipmates, who through the power of the Shards become the Shadowlords.
• 103 BC
  • The monks of Empath Abbey stop taking vows of silence.

• 105 BC
  • July 12 – Gendra, shipwright of Trinsic, officially commissions the ship Golden Hinde. This ship is later sailed by Leodon and Lenora of Buccaneer's Den (in Ultima VI).
• 136 BC
  • January 1 – The ghosts of ruined Magincia are finally laid to rest through magical means.
  • March 12 – The town of New Magincia is founded.

• 137 BC
  • November 26 – A female child, perhaps twelve or thirteen, appears in Lord Shalineth’s court. She proceeds to prophesy of an unknown hero, entering a place of great darkness, using three magical artifacts. Near the end of her prophecy, she loses control of the vision and is killed by unknown magical forces.
  • November 27 – Lord British begins his exploration of the Underworld through the waterfall in river Maelstrom, leaving one of his nobles, Lord Blackthorn, in charge during his absence.
  • December 1 – British is captured by the Shadowlords.
• Between December 1, 137 BC and April 4, 139 BC
  • Lord Blackthorn declares martial law, and enacts his repressive Code of Virtue. Blackthorn seizes the Crown of Lord British as a symbol of his new authority.
  • Iolo, Shamino, and the other Companions of the Avatar are declared outlaws.
  • In an attempt to save one of the Crown Jewels, the jester Chuckles has the Sceptre of Lord British transferred by courier to Lord Malone of Serpent's Hold. Unfortunately, the courier passes through Trinsic while a Shadowlord is present (either Astaroth or Nosfentor). The Shadowlord steals the Sceptre and disappears.
  • From his prison, Lord British befriends the daemon (later revealed to be a gargoyle) Sin'Vraal, and convinces him to become a good guy. Sin'Vraal flees the service of Astaroth in the Underworld for the Drylands of Britannia.
  • Iolo and Shamino anonymously commission Sir Arbuthnot, the Royal Coinmaker, to mint a magical coin in the image of the symbol of the Codex, to use in summoning the Avatar.
• 139 BC
  • April 4 – Lord Shalineth, the leader of the Lycaeum, completes the book Paths of Destiny as an aid for the Avatar upon his return.
  • April 5 – The Avatar is called through the moongates by Iolo and Shamino.
• Between 139 BC and 141 BC
  • The Avatar meets with the wizard Sutek, who has divined the nature of the Shadowlords.
  • Using the Flames of Virtue, the Avatar destroys the remaining Shards of Mondain's Gem and the three Shadowlords.
  • Avatar rescues Lord British from the Underworld, before returns to Earth.
  • Blackthorn is banished by Lord British to an unknown land, later revealed to be the Serpent Isle.
  • The Underworld collapses. The realm of the gargoyles begins to disappear, bit by bit.
• c. 150 BC – Captain Hawkins' ship, the Empire, is destroyed when the crew mutinies. Their treasure is buried on the island later known as Spektran, and a map is created and distributed among nine pirates.
  • Sutek is driven mad by his own magical experiments, and begins performing inhuman experiments combining animal forms, reminiscent of Mondain.
• 155 BC – The cyclops Iskander Ironheart is born.
• c. 160 BC – Captain Johne sets out to explore Hythloth, and befriends the gargoyle Beh Lem.
  • In a massive earthquake, the island of Bordermarch sinks beneath the ocean and is lost.
  • Gargoyles begin attacking Britannia. They capture the shrines one by one.
  • Quenton is murdered by Michael, aka Blade.
• 161 BC – The knight Gertan and several others are heavily wounded in an attempt to retake the Shrine of Compassion from the Gargoyles.
  • The Gargoyles divine that the destruction of their world is caused by the removal of the Codex, and that the instigator is the False Prophet – later revealed to be the Avatar.
  • July 4 – The Avatar is called through a red moongate by the Gargoyles, who attempt to ritually sacrifice him, but is saved by Iolo, Shamino and Dupre and escapes via moongate to Lord British's throne room.
• 163 BC – Avatar returns the Codex to the Void, and restores peace between humans and gargoyles. Avatar returns to Earth.
  • Penumbra enters a magical sleep, waiting for the Avatar to reappear and awaken her.
  • Terfin is founded on the island where Blackthorn's castle originally stood as a new home for gargoyle refugees.
• c. 170 BC – Gargoyles that do not wish to live in peace with humans form bands of brigands and terrorize the countryside. One such band, led by Gratagralem is shown the way of honor by Dupre, and he forms them into a group dedicated the virtue, named "The Locusts." (UA Website)
  • Michael aka Blade is sentenced to death by the High Court of Yew for the murder of Quenton.
• 172 BC – Iskander Ironheart slays the seven gazer princes that stole the eye from the cyclops tribal leader. After this, he is known embarrassingly as "Wonder Boy."
• 173 BC – Sir Cabirus obtains permission from Lord British and founds a new Town of Virtue on the Isle of the Avatar. He sends out a call to the land to join him.
• c. 175 BC – Mordra crosses from Pagan to Britannia
  • Horance, already half-mad from isolation, casts spells to give himself immortality, but in the process turns into a liche and becomes completely insane.
  • Horance builds his Dark Tower on the main island of Skara Brae
  • Horance sends his minions to capture Trent’s wife, Rowena, killing her in the process
  • Caine attempts to mix a potion which can trap Horance. Due to Mayor Forsythe’s ineptitude, the formula explodes, destroying the entire town, killing all inhabitants instantly.
• 178 BC – The Abyssal colony is well-established.
• 181 BC – Baron Almric’s fortress completed.
• 193 BC – Stonegate is occupied by a small colony of wingless gargoyles.
• 195 BC – Lord Vemelon, mayor of Jhelom, and a party of warriors invade Stonegate, slaughter the occupying gargoyles and claim the keep as Vemelon's private estate. Years later the castle is occupied by trolls and then by an evil wizard, before collapsing into a swamp.
• 199 BC
  • January 17 – Alluria, shipwright of New Magincia, officially commissions the ship "Anne's Revenge."
• c. 207 BC – An infamous peeping-tom case leads to the outlawing of white X-ray potions. Eventually, an even whiter "Light" potion takes its place among the popular stock.
• c. 210 BC
  • Sir Cabirus dies in the abyss of natural causes, presumably from old age.
  • The Abyssal colony begins to quarrel and fall apart.
  • Baron Almric seals the doors to the Stygian Abyss.
• 227 BC
  • February 29 – Denyel, husband of Mythra, enters a cave on an exploring expedition and never returns.
• c. 250 BC – Byman of Serpent Isle writes the book The Dwellers of Serpent Isle about the Sosarian settlers of Serpent Isle.
• c. 270 BC
  • The wizard Tyball allows the demon known as the Slasher of Veils to kill Garamon, accidentally trapping it within the Great Stygian Abyss's Chamber of Virtue.
  • Baron Almric's daughter, Arial, is kidnapped.
  • The Avatar is summoned by Garamon, and appears in Arial's bedroom during the kidnapping. Being accused of the deed, the Avatar is sent into the Abyss to either rescue Arial or die trying.
  • Deep within the Stygian Abyss, The Avatar kills the wizard Tyball, and rescues Arial.
  • With the help of Garamon, the Avatar releases enough power to open a dimensional gate at the base of the Abyss, which the Avatar uses to banish the Slasher of Veils from Britannia.
  • The volcano within the Stygian Abyss erupts, destroying the remnants of the settlement. The inhabitants escape with Garamon's help, and resettle in dungeon Destard.
  • With its reason for existence (and most of its settlements) gone, Baron Almric's town abandons the Isle of the Avatar.
• 320 BC – Several "minor wars" among feuding nobles break out. A young Batlin fights in these as a soldier after training in Minoc.
• 329 BC – The "minor wars" of Britannia end. Batlin moves to Britain and becomes a bard for a while.
• 331 BC – Batlin meets and quickly forges a friendship with twins Elizabeth and Abraham, fellow adventure seekers, in Britain. They resolve to separately seek their destinies throughout the realm and reunite at the Blue Boar Tavern upon the passing of ten years.
• 335 BC – Felcrodon, a theoretical meta-paraphilosopher, proposes his theory that there are not rays of undetectable, invisible energy bombarding Britannia. The populace breathes easier.
• 339 BC – Batlin visits the haunted ruins of Skara Brae, where he has an epiphanous encounter with Caine, before settling for much of the following two years in New Magincia.
• 340 BC – Burnside becomes mayor of Minoc. He would remain so for more than twenty years.
  • The Guardian materializes three great blackrock generators, in the form of a cube, sphere, and tetrahedron, deep within the mountains of Fellowship Isle, Dungeon Despise, and Dungeon Deceit, respectively. Through their malevolent influence, the functioning of magic and moongates begins to falter, progressively worsening over the next two decades.

The Age of Armageddon

Main article: Age of Armageddon

• 341 BC – Batlin, Elizabeth, and Abraham fulfill their pact to reunite in Britain. They gain permission from Lord British to found a new philosophical society, the Fellowship, and the first branch hall is established in the capital.
  • The Britannian Mining Company (BMC) is founded. The town of Vesper is reformed as a small colony of miners for the Mining Company.
  • The BMC petitions Lord British for permission to reopen the entrance to Dungeon Covetous.
  • The BMC begins supplying blackrock ore to Batlin.
  • Construction of the Black Gate begins.
• 342 BC
  • May 23 – Rohdon, shipwright of Britain, officially commissions the ship The Dragon’s Breath. This ship was formerly the Constellation, until it was almost entirely destroyed by its captain and later rebuilt.
  • Kalideth, a mage progressively losing his faculties to the Tetrahedron Generator, is killed by cyclops Iskander Ironheart in self-defense while attempting to investigate the recent ethereal dissonance.
• 347 BC – Spark is born.
• c. 350 BC – The Seven Year Drought begins.
• 355 BC – The House of Games opens for business on Buccaneer's Den.
  • August 2 – Gargan, shipwright of Trinsic, officially commissions the ship The Scaly Eel.
• 356 BC – The Fellowship branch in Moonglow is founded by Rankin.
• 357 BC – Finster, an outspoken candidate for political office in Britain, is ritualistically murdered.
  • The Seven Year Drought ends.
• 358 BC – Finnigan is elected mayor of Trinsic.
  • January 3 – Russell, shipwright of New Magincia, officially commissions the ship Nymphet.
  • March 19 – Clint, shipwright of Britain, officially commissions the ship The Beast.
  • Several ships built by Owen of Minoc sink, including one with Korl's brother on board.
• 359 BC – Patterson is elected mayor of Britain, defeating the farmer Brownie in a landslide.
  • June 24 – Kethron, shipwright of Moonglow, officially commissions the ship Lusty Wench.
• 361 BC – The Time Lord is trapped by the Guardian in the Shrine of Spirituality.
  • Inamo emigrates from Terfin to Trinsic.
  • In late autumn, Trinsic blacksmith Christopher argues with his Fellowship branch leader, Klog, and attempts to leave the movement. One week later, Christopher is brutally murdered just before sunrise. The Avatar returns to Britannia after a two-century absence at 6 a.m. the same morning, coinciding with the Isle of Fire's reemergence from the Great Sea due to Erethian’s magical interference. This major geological event causes a violent tremor to be felt across the realm.
  • Gwenno, as yet unaware of the Fellowship's insidious nature, accompanies several of Batlin's recruits on a journey to Serpent Isle.
  • The Avatar meets the cyclops Iskander Ironheart and saves him from Eiko and her sister, the daughters of the mage Kalideth.
  • The Avatar sails to the Isle of Fire and spends a time within the ruins of Exodus' former stronghold. Here, the Avatar forges a mighty sword of blackrock and bonds within it the daemon Arcadion. After completing a series of three moral tests (installed on the island at the behest of Lord British prior to its sinking), the hero also banishes the last physical remains of Exodus, the Dark Core, to the Ethereal Void by using the same two lenses with which the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom was similarly delivered.
  • After uncovering the inner Fellowship's plots to extinguish their detractors and facilitate the Guardian's conquest of Britannia, the Avatar's party penetrates the Black Gate chamber hidden within the confines of Dungeon Hythloth and kills Fellowship assassin Hook, his gargoyle accomplice Forskis, Elizabeth, and Abraham. While Batlin is also present, he manages to escape via teleportation. The Avatar then destroys the Black Gate itself at the moment of the astronomical alignment, just as the Guardian is attempting to gain entry.
• c. 362–363 BC
  • Exactly one year after the destruction of the Black Gate, Lord British holds a celebration at Castle Britannia to mark the occasion. During the festivities, the Guardian invokes a great enchantment to imprison the castle and all within beneath a shell of blackrock.
  • Over the course of eight days, the Avatar explores eight worlds in order to break the imprisonment of Castle Britannia.
  • During the imprisonment, Mayor Patterson betrays Lord British by murdering Lady Tory and the scholar Nelson, before being killed himself while trying to assassinate the Avatar.
  • The Avatar, aided by the incantations of Nystul, shatters the blackrock dome by sounding the Horn of Praecor Loth.
• c. 363–364 BC
  • Approximately six months after the imprisonment of Castle Britannia, an enchanted message scroll from the Guardian is discovered among Batlin's belongings, directing the sage to Serpent Isle in the event of the Black Gate's destruction. In response, Lord British dispatches the Avatar, accompanied by Dupre, Iolo, and Shamino, to the distant land by way of the Serpent Pillars.
  • Teleport storms, a manifestation of the Imbalance, begin to wreak havoc on Serpent Isle and Britannia alike. In one such incident, Britain's Royal Mint is transposed with a lighthouse from Serpent Isle.
  • The gargoyles fall prey to a sleeping sickness, while the emps are so afflicted as to be threatened with extinction.
  • Lord Marsten and treasurer Spektor are revealed to be traitors to the city of Monitor, having sold strategic secrets to the goblins.
  • Dupre, after making an ill-judged remark, is tried for sedition in Fawn. While investigating the case, the Avatar discovers the Oracle of Fawn is being manipulated by the high priestess Kylista and the captains of Fawn. With this scheme brought to light, Dupre is exonerated of all charges.
  • The Avatar is sentenced to imprisonment in the Mountains of Freedom after being discovered by the MageLord of Moonshade in the private chambers of his mistress, Frigidazzi. However, with the aid of a fellow prisoner, Stefano, the Avatar is able to retrieve the Black Sword and agrees to release Arcadion in return for smiting the dark mage Lorthondo, thereby escaping the dungeon.
  • Shamino, once king of the Lands of Danger and Despair, returns to his decrepit castle on the Serpent Isle and makes peace with the tormented spirit of his former fiancée.
  • Batlin's quest for achieving immortality comes to an abrupt end as he attempts to open the Wall of Lights in Serpent Isle's subterranean city of Spinebreaker, but makes a crucial error in performing the ritual to do so. The sage is fatally struck down as the Guardian idly observes, displeased with his betrayal. The three Banes of Chaos, improperly contained by Batlin, break free of their captor to inhabit Dupre, Iolo, and Shamino.
  • The Banes each descend upon one of Serpent Isle's three major settlements and almost entirely annihilate their citizens in a series of murderous atrocities. The Avatar pursues the triad to the Castle of the White Dragon, where they are recaptured in Soul Prisms.
  • Dupre, racked with guilt over his actions while possessed, sacrifices himself in Monitor's crematorium and is thereafter bonded with the Chaos Serpent in a restoration ritual.
  • Returning the Great Earth Serpent to the Ethereal Void, the Avatar restores Balance on Serpent Isle and prevents a catastrophic collapse of the multiverse. Momentarily vulnerable, however, the hero is seized from the Void by the Guardian and deposited into the oceans of Pagan.
• Between 365 and 545 BC
  • Skara Brae is resettled, and a giant stone Sentinel is built to protect the town from any further evil.
  • Iolo, Gwenno and Shamino return from the Serpent Isle. They carry with them Dupre's ashes.
  • Dupre's ashes are entombed in a magnificent crypt just outside Trinsic.
  • The Guardian brings the former Lord Blackthorn under his thrall, and he returns to Britannia secretly.
  • Raven, daughter of the pirate Samhayne is born in Buccaneer's Den.
• 545 BC
  • Eight skyscraping columns erupt from within each of Britannia's eight major dungeons, unleashing a worldwide geographic upheaval known as the Great Cataclysm. The cities of Jhelom, Trinsic, Cove, Minoc and Vesper are destroyed, as are Empath Abbey and Serpent’s Hold.
  • The Runes of Virtue are stolen from the Royal Museum, magically twisted into antithetic Glyphs, and placed within their corresponding columns.
  • The eight Shrines of Virtue are corrupted; as a consequence, no spells more powerful than linear magic can be cast any longer.
  • In Skara Brae, the Sentinel topples to the ground, though the town continues to thrive.
  • Iolo and Gwenno’s home in Yew is also destroyed, and the couple move back to Britain.
  • Jaana returns to Yew.
• Between 545 and 565 BC
  • The Codex of Ultimate wisdom is removed from the Void and ultimately ends up in the possession of the pirate guild leader Samhayne.
  • The citizens of Cove and Minoc rebuild their towns on Dagger Isle, north of Moonglow.
  • Trinsic is rebuilt on the ruins of the old.
  • The surviving knights of Jhelom and Serpent’s Hold found Valoria within the caldera of the very volcano that destroyed the Valorian Isles. Sir Geoffrey, captain of Lord British’s guard, retires from his post at Castle Britannia to become their new commander.
  • Their pride growing with the raising of the column near Hythloth, nearly all the gargoyles leave Terfin as their chief architect Wislem constructs a magnificent magical dome beneath the sea, which they name Ambrosia. The gargoyles build a life away from humans, and take with them the Gargoyle Lens from the Royal Museum, blaming humans for the disappearance of the Codex.
  • The shepherds and farmers of New Magincia are also affected by the columns, and leave their flocks and fields in search of grander dreams elsewhere. Only Katrina, companion to the Avatar, remains.
  • Shamino undertakes an adventure to uncover the secret behind the columns, but becomes trapped in the Spirit Realm by the Guardian.
  • Riots in Cove destroy much of the town and leave many inhabitants dead.
  • Blackthorn allies with the remaining gargoyles in Terfin, as well as evil humans, and begins to construct a massive fortress on the island, in addition to another Black Gate for the Guardian to enter Britannia.
  • Blackthorn forms the Wyrmguard.
  • Lord British separately sends Iolo, Jaana, Mariah, Geoffrey, and Julia to investigate the columns. None of them return, and are instead corrupted by the Guardian and forced to serve him in the Wyrmguard.
  • The dungeon Wrong is reopened to serve as a prison for those found guilty by the court of Yew.
• c. 565 BC
  • Mayor Aidon of Britain begins the popular policy of exiling the sick and poor to the squalor of Paws.
  • Vasagrelem, king of the gargoyles, is exiled from Ambrosia, along with his servant Desbet, for wanting to maintain contact with humans.
  • The mage Nico, currently residing in Britain, leaves to rescue his brother from the people of Cove. Lord British gives the mage his Orb of the Moons.
  • The Guardian successfully enters Britannia, and begins preparations for his final conquest of the world.
  • The Avatar reappears in Britannia upon the mountains of Terfin and is quickly discovered by a dragon-riding Wyrmguard. The Time Lord intervenes and teleports the hero to safety in Stonegate.
  • The domed city of Ambrosia is destroyed through the pride of the gargoyles. Their entire race is almost wiped out.
  • The rebuilt city of Skara Brae is destroyed by the Guardian.
  • In the ensuing months the Avatar neutralizes the columns of the Guardian and restores the Shrines, assisted by companion Raven. With the eight original companions assisting, the Avatar journeys to Terfin and casts the Armageddon spell to vanquish the Guardian. The potentially catastrophic effects of the spell are safely contained within the confines of the Barrier of Life, and the two foes are joined in essence as one as they ascend beyond the mortal realm.

Pagan Timeline

The timeline of Ultima VIII is distinct and incongruent with the timeline of Britannia. The events that happen during the game did not happen at the same rate of time in Britannia. When the Avatar escapes Pagan at the end of the game, an indeterminate amount of time has passed in Britannia since the Guardian delivered the Avatar to Pagan.

• The Avatar is dropped into Pagan by the Guardian. The Avatar is rescued by a fisherman named Devon.

• The Avatar undergoes the traditional rituals to becoming a Necromancer.

• The Avatar becomes a Theurgist.

• The Avatar joins the Sorcerers’ cabal.

• The Avatar enters the Ethereal Void and defeats the four elemental Titans of Pagan; Stratos, Hydros, Lithos and Pyros. The Avatar becomes the Titan of Ether.

• The Avatar returns to Britannia.

External links

• Timeline on which this one was based