Humble Ruins
Keelhaul!
At this point, all roads point to New Magincia, but how do we get there. Oh hey, its right over there, the Avatar should be able swim that…
Okay! Then how about we get our good friend Raven to drop us off.
There are actually several ways to get to New Magincia. First, you are highly encouraged to return to Raven after meeting Samhayne. She directs us to explore the town and learn about another way. We don’t even need to talk to Raven to get the dialog option to seek a route to New Magincia, you can talk with bartender Aneassa to set that flag. Eventually, we learn about the tunnel from Keagan as well as that the Guild controls it by way of a password – and a magical face thing. What is up with that? I guess they have mage pirates given what we learn about Aria. So, we know we need to find the password. You can get that by randomly searching the pirate huts or ask Raven, who gives us the password easily enough.
This talkie route is not required if you decide to just explore the island. Eventually you will come upon the lighthouse and encounter the obvious cave entrance. Going into the cave presents us the issue of needing the password. Fortunately, we found a password written on a random note already when raiding… I mean exploring the town. Actually, you are encouraged to go looking for scrolls/notes by Katie, so finding the password is not unlikely. Unfortunately, you can’t ask Raven about the password until you talk to Keagan, so the scroll (or memory) is your only way.
There is another way you can get to New Magincia: build a bridge! Actually, I seem to recall there being a marginally passable path to get to New Magincia by swimming, but that possibility would be more of an oversight than a legitimate route.
The tunnel includes spike traps, rats, a bit of gold, and some nice pirate decoratives. If you ever wanted to explore the Pirates ride from the Big Mouse by walking through it, this tunnel and the town beforehand gives a little taste. The spikes themselves aren’t very dangerous despite their appearance. The tunnel is long but easy to traverse. Interestingly, it does get its own theme. I actually learned a good bit about how U9’s music script through examining New Magincia and this tunnel.
Soon enough, we exit unto the curious beauty of … utter, total darkness …
I’ll never forget how on my first playthrough, I entered New Magincia only to find it pitch black outside with just a flaming sphere hovering over my head to light the way. The heavy patter of a storm was passing over the ruined landscape and filling the Avatar’s ears. I couldn’t see the ruined towers nor the transparent scattered domes. With my mana draining by the minute, I sought out a path to get to what remained of this once humble village. Slowly I made my way up a nearby winding path with a switchback grade. Not easy to traverse. Finally at the top, I could faintly see that I was surrounded by cliffs with no way forward. With no bridge in sight, I had to wait the storm out… the hard way.
Dude! Where’s my bedroll!?!?!
Architecture of Ruin
Speaking of sights, dang does this town have some weird architecture. There are two types of structures in New Magincia in various states of ruin: domes and towers. Based on what remains, there appears to have been 4 domes on this island along with two maybe even 3 towers. Both structure types have this beautiful green glass over them, which is quite pleasant to look up through during day or night.
Using Katrina’s dome as an example, these would each have a fireplace built into them along with whatever furniture was needed. Most likely some or all of the domes were used as residences. The towers are far less clear in terms of their use. Extrapolating from what survives, these towers had a winding spiral stairway to the top, but there is little obvious space for much at the upper level. They seem too small for residences or bedding. Storage is a possibility, but they certainly seem poorly designed for handling various forms of cargo and supplies. It is also hard to image these structures being any type of silo since the tower would be accessed from the bottom.
The design philosophy behind the buildings is a mystery and I dare say a mystery they will remain. Maybe these buildings were intended to be built as prideful, fanciful structures, but that still seems odd. The see-through nature of the residences makes them rather immodest. Further, these buildings would have been built before earthquakes hit them. There is no evidence that the island was ripped asunder at a different time point to the column rising, which is implied to have spawned the cataclysm. The backstory timeline is a bit janky in Ultima IX, unfortunately. We will see these issues again with Cove and Minoc.
Another possibility is that these towers/domes were originally built for another purpose. Possibly another island altogether like Sutek’s Isle. With the rushed development, maybe the structures and even the island itself was repurposed for New Magincia. There is little way to know at this point, unless an original developer familiar with the backstory for New Magincia’s final design happens to remember the details.
Since it was built over the fallen city of Pride: Magincia, New Magincia has been an ever-unchanging village of humble people performing their daily chores and living the simple life. Our return once more to this town is different. Yet again has pride filled this island and yet again does it now lay in ruins. We are told the place is “withering away” much like the rest of Britannia. For some time, the town has been little more than a haven for “shepherds”, but recently over the past “few years”, its citizens have been abandoning the place. It is now boring, filled with goats, nearly empty, and fallen into ruin. It would seem that the Domes at least were likely destroyed due to abandonment, but their level of ruin sure looks fast for a “few years”. Maybe the island suffers regular storms that breaks the glass, and every shepherd/goatherd was a master glassblower maintaining their homes. Despite what we are told, the island’s appearance implies the Cataclysm split the island, toppled the towers, and also damaged the domes.
Perhaps, we can say that the island was split during the Cataclysm, and the townspeople rebuilt New Magincia with a greater or total focus on the domed buildings and possibly even the towers. Eventually, thanks to pride from the nearby column, the townspeople left for their own various reasons: too taxing to maintain the domed buildings, too boring to live there, or just too problematic to keep the wolves and vultures and maybe other beasts from attacking the herds. We do see evidence that not everyone left New Magincia. Multiple skeletons are present throughout the village with a grand total of 1 gnarled staff and 3 shepherd’s crooks scattered about. Perhaps, in their pride, the New Magincians did not ask for help nor help each other resulting in their deaths. Even those that left would meet grisly ends as we will find more of these staffs and skeletons nearby groups of goats in other parts of Britannia.
Left with so much uncertainty, I took to the Ultima Dragon community for their thoughts. Some of the answers included sheep sheds, greenhouses, and even a reference to the saying: those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Then, the answer came from the Art Director for the game, himself: Scott Jones.
In Ultima VII, the Avatar had need to consult Alagner, the sage who spoke out against the Fellowship, to obtain his notes for the Xorinite wisps. This ill-fated exchange of information, however, brought about the sage’s brutal assassination at the hands of the organization he had critiqued, disturbing the quiet of the parochial town of New Magincia with an unexpected act of violence. As peace returned to the village and throughout much of the following two centuries, the town design changed to focus on crystalline homes and towers (somewhat hinting at the return of its prideful ways, since Pride “commeth before the fall” according to the old saying).
Little else changed in that time and the world moved on and left the island isolated.
When the Guardian plagued Britannia with his columns, their effect eventually stripped the inhabitants of New Magincia of what little was left of their much vaunted humility, and droves of citizens left the isle. Ironically, the end of New Maginica proved much the same as the end of the Old Maginica, with the settlement left an abandoned (albeit beautiful) ruin – and none save Katrina living on the isle by the age of Ultima IX.
To summarize, these homes weren’t made of glass but crystal; and these designs had become more common in New Magincia over two centuries as the town slowly lost it way even before the influence of the columns. Mr. Scott also confirmed that the final plot of Ultima IX included in its world development a 2-century break between Ultima VII and Ultima IX. As Magincia before, New Magincia suffered the same decay and fall, but this time around, it was the inner demons that would be the dagger to the heart of the town once devoted to Humility.
Katrina
Speaking of inhabitants, there is one shepherdess who still draws breathe against the hordes of beasts. Why has Katrina remained, lingering in an empty town with naught but goats for company? Why has she chosen not to help out greater Britannia with the columns? Was she never called by Lord British to seek answers? Did she feel herself too weak to delve nearby Hythloth or aid with a different dungeon or perhaps in her pride she saw her goatherding and her time as more important. Mayhap, in being the holder of the Sigil of Humility, she thought it dangerous to leave the Sigil unprotected. It will be clear as we progress that Katrina is affected by the column and is suffering from pride in her own way.
Perhaps in Katrina’s pride, she sees herself as being integral to New Magincia; that she is New Magincia and must always remain there. When others leave or die, she remains the heart and soul of the town from Magincia’s death to New Magincia’s fall. Further, she always did struggle in her humility. She thought herself the humblest, but to say so would be prideful. It is what is in the heart and not what you say that truly matters.
Revenge of the Explorer
The isle… wait… isles of New Magincia consists of one large isle and two smaller major isles to the east and south. The beach on the eastern small isle is where we exit from the Guild tunnels. We can see the devastation already with a partially covered foundation for one of those domed huts nearby. Curiously, there is a mage’s binding circle within this former home. A pair of sulfurous ash is present here.
The ruins of several towers are present on this isle as well. The base of one in the water contains a chest with an amethyst and some money. A dead shepherd (note the shepherd’s crook) lies near this tower ruin. More of a tower lies leaning against the cliff to the north of the cave we exited. Pillars and statues are already starting to appear quite commonplace, giving us some clues as to the lack of humility of the denizens … before they left. Britannian’s must have been willing to pay a pretty gold coin for some goat’s wool for New Magincia to start growing its wealth.
As we climb the switchback to the top of this isle, the New Magincia or what’s left of it, becomes easier to preview. The Moongate (unlike in previous Ultimas) now lies to North on the coast of the main isle. The islands of New Magincia have been fractured and almost certainly raised from the sea. The Cataclysm would have been quite the devasting Earthquake for this left of damage. A small isle close to the sea level lies to the south, while the main island lies across a fallen tower acting a fortuitus bridge.
The main island has a pillar-like cliff with a large vulture nest – the vulture’s I mean not the nest. Up this pillar is a leather armor chest and some coins potentially pre-eaten before ending up in the nest. Hmm… maybe the various beasts we slay drop gold because it lies in their literal guts. Dang, I don’t know what’s worse, Britannians being regularly eaten by giant rats and vultures or the Avatar being greedy enough to butcher every beast just for a few coins.
As we look around, we see the ruins of a tower and one of those domed homes. Only one home appears to be intact with its resident nearby – Katrina. She has a shepherd’s crook in her home along with an amethyst and some gold and few books. North of her “humble” crystal abode lies a set of platforms in-laid into the sides of the cliff. If you use these platforms, the Shrine of Humility lying under the water just off the north coast to arise and become communicative.
As Katrina wishes us to clear out the wolf pack through slaying the literal Alpha wolf, we must make our way to the small southern isle. This isle can be travelled to via the water between the isles, though care must be taken as some spots are a little deep. You can also take advantage of the limited fall damage to jump off from the main island to get closer to the Southern isle.
On this isle, we find another domed home in ruins. This one is quite a bit more intact, and it even has a resident – the Alpha wolf. The former owners are also present, though a little less intact. One of them was clearly a shepherd as noted by the crook. There are some chain gauntlets (a rather common loot object in the region) and some arrows and even more sulfurous ash. There is even some serpentwyne on the tiny islet just south of this isle. In fact, a cure potion and another serpentwyne lies on the tiny islets northeast of the Moongate. Quite the nice finds for such a “humble” island chain.
After dealing with the wolves, we can return continue to explore. There are two towers partially in-tact. One has fallen into the waters between the two smaller isles, and the Avatar must swim to reach into it. Present here are some platforms into the sides of the tower, and a chest containing yet more chain gauntlets, some gold, and even two healing potions. The other tower on the main isle has another dead shepherd on a platform at the top – though this individual had a gnarled staff. There is a chest here as well containing gold and a create reagents scroll. An excellent find as it does allow us to complete the first circle of spell binding… assuming we brought a few reagents with us. Unfortunately, the spell is bugged, so we cannot expect to use it to actually create many of the useful reagents we need – unless you like black pearl.
Time for some invisibility potions!
As we have been exploring the isles, we can see some ledges along the sides of the main island’s inner cliffs. On these are many additional reagents we could use. There are 3 garlics, 3 blood mosses, and even 7 nightshades – though you probably need some Ethereal sight to be able to properly see them. Another shepherd with crook is also visible on the cliffs. It would appear not all of the residents left, but of those that remained, only heroic, humble, adventurer Katrina could survive the vulturous and canine assault. The vultures aren’t particularly strange to find on an island, but I am not sure where those wolves came from. The Guild may have sought to take over the island for their own purposes or they simply wanted to remove any knowledge of their tunnel.
As we engage with the Shrine of Humility, the Crook of Humility in hand, the shrine decides to use one of those whirlpools to send the Avatar down… down… far down, to the underwater city of Ambrosia. New home to the Gargoyles.
