[OOC] Ophidians and the Lost Lands

[sablestorm]

I began writing a story about my guild and the Bane/Ophidian war today and so I pulled out my map from UO:Second Age. I wanted the proper names of landmarks to use in my story and it struck me that what is commonly known as the Ophidian Temple is actually called Reb'Gab Haras. The volcano north of Papua is labeled Sak Teb and the central desert area seems to be called Y'Nah Teb. The northern arctic regions of the Lost Lands are called Kos Heb. There is also an label between Wyvern Isle and the Lighthouse which is called Sok' Gah.

Does anyone know the root of these names? Are they Ophidian? Are they Papuan names? I know the Ophidians have their own alphabet, but thus far I haven't found their own vocabulary, like the Gargoyles have.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

I began writing a story about my guild and the Bane/Ophidian war today and so I pulled out my map from UO:Second Age. I wanted the proper names of landmarks to use in my story and it struck me that what is commonly known as the Ophidian Temple is actually called Reb'Gab Haras. The volcano north of Papua is labeled Sak Teb and the central desert area seems to be called Y'Nah Teb. The northern arctic regions of the Lost Lands are called Kos Heb. There is also an label between Wyvern Isle and the Lighthouse which is called Sok' Gah.

Does anyone know the root of these names? Are they Ophidian? Are they Papuan names? I know the Ophidians have their own alphabet, but thus far I haven't found their own vocabulary, like the Gargoyles have.

The journal of the discovery of the Lost Lands:

http://uo.stratics.com/secrets/misc/NewLands.shtml

I see no reference to the place names. It's pretty clear, though, that the Ophidians and Terathan races were named by "the villagers," meaning the people of the unnamed village that is obviously Delucia. However, it's also clear that those are the actual names, not some human-assigned nicknames.

My distinct impression has always been that the place names came from the residents of the Lost Lands; meaning the Delucians and Papuans. I doubt they are Ophidian names; communication between the humans and the Ophidians, other than combat, seems to be pretty scarce. Remember, they are quite likely evil. And, certainly, are considered as such by most of the characters, including Queen Dawn herself.

-Galen's player

 

[WarderDragon]

I searched but could find none of the place names in relation to Ultima Prime.

I'd like to think that there is a correlation between the Lost Lands and Eodon of Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire. One was based upon the Lost World. The other appears to be an underground world named the Lost Lands. One has a war between the Myrmidex (Ants) and Sakkhra (Lizardmen). The other has a war between the Terathans (Spiders) and the Ophidians (Snakes). But other than that I've found nothing similar in the place names of Eodon and the Lost Lands.

The closest thing I could find would be 'Sak Teb' and 'Sakkhra.' And there is nothing to correlate the two.

 

[sablestorm]

Remember, they are quite likely evil. And, certainly, are considered as such by most of the characters, including Queen Dawn herself.

I would actually argue that they are not evil but just different. Of course, in the eyes of many, that amounts to the same thing. This storyline with Ophidians calls to mind the saga of Ultima 6, but replacing the Gargoyles with Ophidian Snake Men. The Gargoyles brutally invaded Britannia and there was plenty of hate against them and Britannian warriors suffering from severe wounds in the healer huts. In the end, the Gargoyles revealed themselves to be a virtuous and honorable race.

Prior to their invasion of Britannia, the Ophidians took part in the war with the Terathans but they never moved against Papua or Delucia. Yes, they'd attack humans who encroached onto their lands, but is it any different than what humans do with trolls and ogres who wander near Britannian holdings?

At any rate, I'll work on this more when I have time. I have company visiting this week, so I'll be doing more entertaining than working on UO related projects.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

I would actually argue that they are not evil but just different. Of course, in the eyes of many, that amounts to the same thing. This storyline with Ophidians calls to mind the saga of Ultima 6, but replacing the Gargoyles with Ophidian Snake Men. The Gargoyles brutally invaded Britannia and there was plenty of hate against them and Britannian warriors suffering from severe wounds in the healer huts. In the end, the Gargoyles revealed themselves to be a virtuous and honorable race.

Prior to their invasion of Britannia, the Ophidians took part in the war with the Terathans but they never moved against Papua or Delucia. Yes, they'd attack humans who encroached onto their lands, but is it any different than what humans do with trolls and ogres who wander near Britannian holdings?

At any rate, I'll work on this more when I have time. I have company visiting this week, so I'll be doing more entertaining than working on UO related projects.

The case I build for them being Evil is extremely thin, I recognize this.

But it starts with the following basic fact: You gain Karma from killing them. Karma isn't a perfect determinant of good/evil. (In an EM event, Galen lost Karma from killing NPC Paladins who were, at the time, working for Casca.) But it's a starting point.

The case continues with Queen Dawn considering the Ophidians evil, and stating as such to Queen Zhah, who wasn't familiar with them. Again, your monarch's moral determinations aren't a perfect indicator of objective good/evil. (Especially when she, as a young lady, considered Dasha and the Meer "monsters," in the good/evil sense, on the basis of her appearance, before finally becoming friends with Dasha.) But, after the starting point of the Reputation/Notoriety system, it's another stone on the path.

-Galen's player