(RP) Bane Chosen vs. the Ophidians

[WarderDragon]

Ultima Online Herald - In the Shadow of Virtue: Good Neighbors

Another war is about to begin; this one having the potential to impact the battles being fought and the alliances being formed throughout the Britannias and the Abyssal Continent. Which side will your character choose and why?

Will you choose to side with the Bane Chosen; Dragoons who claim to be avenging the innocent Britannian's slaughtered during the Ophidian War? Or will you take pity on the serpentine Ophidians and protect them from a genocide wrought by yet another seemingly fanatical human faction?

Will the Britannian Purity League attempt to curry the favor of a faction with similar views? What will the Counterstrike do? Choose the lesser of the two evils?

I thought this would be an interesting question to pose to folks considering our current storyline and how it relates to the above. It calls into question a characters morals and beliefs.

 

[SuperKen]

I've been giving it some thought, but I'm currently undecided.

The way you have it worded seems to suggest that the Bane Chosen are the aggressors here but there seems to be precious little information on the motivations of each side.

 

[BajaElladan]

Hail Citizens and Friends,

I have seen my share of warfare. Less than some yet far more than prudence, wisdom and Justice ever required. If war comes once more to my door, or to that of Friend, or Queen, then I shall again answer the Call of Duty, Valor, and Honor!

However, open warfare has not yet engulfed our lands. Is there not still a chance for Peace? Ought we not send Emissaries to these Bane Chosen and Ophidians for the purpose of proposing Peace?? Let us petition our Queens, Rulers, and Leaders to prepare for War, but also petition them to press for Peace!!!

Should all efforts to promote Peace fail, must we choose sides??? Or ought we not to maintain Neutrality using our Blood and Resources to defend ourselves, our property, and our Realms while continuing to urge Peace upon the waring peoples????

Time may well be short. Haste in deciding what course we shall set may smooth our path and may yet avert or lessen loss of lives and property.

I shall send word immediately to Queen Dawn echoing these sentiments. I urge you all do likewise!

Elladan of Baja
Paladin of Trinsic and Britannia

 

[WarderDragon]

The way you have it worded seems to suggest that the Bane Chosen are the aggressors here but there seems to be precious little information on the motivations of each side.

The Bane Chosen appear to be the ones instigating what I will call (for the sake of identification) the Second Ophidian War. And the Bane Chosen are also (at least on the surface) arguably the most justified; striking back at a people who (brutally) slaughtered the inhabitants of Papua and Vesper.

I actually had the thought to start this thread and prompt some RP-Lore Discussion when I visited the Republic of Vesper Boards; an RP-PvP Guild on Europa. The Republic has chosen to side with the Bane Chosen because of the First Ophidian War. This is their opportunity for revenge against them. I suspect Nicholas shall side with the Bane Chosen as well but for entirely different reasons.

But does that make them the Good Guys? No. And that is because I suspect something that my characters presently do not.

Ricardo was responsible for the First Ophidian War. The Indiana Jones Wannabe stole from the serpentine race a precious religious heirloom and had fled back to Britannia. The Ophidians wanted revenge. And so the Ophidian Queen sent her armies to invade Papua and Vesper; indiscriminantly killing men, women, and children. We found Ricardo. We made him return the relic. And the Ophidians left.

Ricardo went to prison but was pardoned (along with Avery) by Queen Dawn. He goes to the Abyss. And a couple weeks later emerges from the Abyss covered in blood and raving like a lunatic. We also have reason to believe the Bane Chosen have some association with the Abyss.

I suspect the Bane Chosen captured Ricardo and tortured him. Ricardo revealed something to them - perhaps something they desperately want - and are now using this Crusade against the Ophidians as a ruse to disguise their true intentions (which is to capture the artifact).

It almost sounds like the modern day conspiracy theories regarding the Knights Templar and the Temple Mount; that the Templars used the Crusade to disguise their quest for the Ark of the Covenant on the Temple Mount.

What do you think?

 

[SuperKen]

Elladan,

The war, however misguided it might be, is happening in the Lost Lands, which is not technically in the jurisdiction of Queen Dawn. Technically, the fighting in the desert robs no one of any resources or lives except those involved in the fighting. Dawn has also indicated that she is undecided on which side to support at this time. Perhaps your petition might alert her to be quicker in a final decision.

WarderDragon,

I read up on Ricardo but I saw no mention of the Abyss, only that he went mad. Where did you find that information?

I'm also starting to think that it's a bit unfair for the Bane Chosen to "retaliate" against the Ophidians for what was essentiallly Ricardo's error of taking their artificed scion in the first place. Though the loss of lives in Pupua and Vesper were great, perhaps none of this would have happened if the Ophidians were not provoked in the first place. Furthermore, the war was fought long ago and I don't see what reason the Bane Chosen have for reigniting this conflict although your theory is certainly very plausible.

I should point out that fairness is usually not the deciding factor for the decisions made by the Cartel. If this were a simple question of which side has more to offer, then the Cartel's support would definitely be in the Bane Chosen's favor. But I too suspect that they have a hidden agenda and perhaps a sinister one at that.

 

[WarderDragon]

Dawn seemed annoyed, again. “No, it is not common. That is why we ended up putting him in Yew prison; we don’t really have a better facility for those who go mad. He left the castle one morning saying that he was going to visit some old friends. A few weeks later he turned up on Fire Island completely out of his mind and covered in blood… not his own blood… and nothing else. To make a long story short, we are holding him in Yew prison because it was determined that he was a danger to himself and possibly others. I think something happened to him, possibly an enchantment, and we are hoping he can be cured.”

There is my mistake.

I have a bad habit of poetical and scriptural exegesis; that is I tend to read more into a piece of literature or an epic than sometimes is really there. I tend to read between the lines. Therefore I assumed the reason he would be on Fire Island would have been to visit the Abyss (thus linking him to the Bane Chosen); and two days later I remember it reading Abyss even though it really said Fire Island.

I suspect that is still the reason. Ricardo is involved with the Ophidians. It would make sense that he encountered the Bane Chosen on Fire Island or within the Underworld and was forced to reveal things about the Ophidians; but that is my Out of Character theory. I also believe that the Bane Chosen are not directly associated with Chaos but cannot prove it. (Lord Blackthorne advocated on behalf of all intellegent races. Order and Virtue may have been Good and the ideal state of Human Society; but it also could be used to justify a number of ills. It made the story interesting.)

As for the purpose of this thread? I'm interested in knowing who is supporting whom and why; if nothing else because I find it interesting and wouldn't mind seeing what folks have to say on the matter. I went off on a tangent with the OOC speculation. But my hope is to see folks thinking about whom they will support. On Baja that is especially complex but that could lead to an interesting tale.

 

[SuperKen]

I see how you made the connection now. I don't have the expansion myself (or leave Fel much) so I never really noticed the entrance to the Abyss is on Fire Island. You're right, it does make sense.

The fiction very obviously points out that the Bane Chosen may be linked to the Chaos faction, but I also found it interesting that Queen Dawn referred to the Ophidians as an an evil snake race that was always at war with someone or another. Odd that she would distrust the Meer and the Ophidians, and yet so willingly accept the Gargish race.

 

[Brytt]

Ricardo is involved with the Ophidians.

You're the only guy I know that, to date, could link the entire Star Trek universe together without as much as a single plot flaw.

Take that as a compliment.

Ricardo, to me, is that guy who left a book locked down at the Cats Eye that I don't understand.

/gin.

 

[WarderDragon]

I just know where to look.

Ricardo, to me, is that guy who left a book locked down at the Cats Eye that I don't understand.

The note is a leftover from the beginning stages of the Warriors of Destiny Event Chain; the collective name for the three year arc spanning everything from the Magincian Invasion and the Ophidian War to the War of Shadows and the Overthrow of Casca.

Inu the Crone had been captured and hidden in a dungeon beneath the Temple of the Ethereal Warriors. (I forget the Gargish name.) The door to her chamber was locked and barred and we needed a legendary rogue to break open the latch and free her. So the players search Britannia and eventually are led to the conclusion that the best man for the job is a thief named Ricardo. One problem. He had gone missing in the Lost Lands. Oh joy.

We searched again and found him held in the depths of Terathan Keep. Freed him. And lo and behold, he has in his possession the ritual heirloom I spoke of.

It is interesting how Inu the Crone, who prophecied the Ophidian War and the entire War of Shadows, had indirectly been involved in its cause when her rescuers helped free Ricardo.

 

[Zanthes[EcZ]]

'Officially' the EcZ has not taken a stand for either side. There is simply not enough information to make a decision as to who is doing what and for what reason.

We remain neutral for the moment. (but we know how well THAT did in the Gargolyes vs. BPL conflict!)

Elevere Zanthes

 

[WarderDragon]

This is an incomplete and very limited summary of the events that occured over the past three years. But it should help some of our returning roleplayers (the Golden Knights, the Rangers of the Realm, Killusion of Ravenshire) fill in some of the gaps and understand how those events relate to the current storyline; "In the Shadow of Virtue."

UOGuide - The Warriors of Destiny Event Arc