The Fellowship (Ultima)
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The Fellowship is a fictional religious organization found in Ultima series of computer games.
The Fellowship mostly appears in Ultima VII. In Ultima VII: The Black Gate, it plays a very major role in the plot. The new faith has followers everywhere, and they are working for better living conditions in Britannia. The player also gets to join the church early in the game.
In Ultima VII: Serpent Isle, a small group of Fellowship members can be found in Serpent Isle, outside the city gates of Fawn. They try to reform the church, but have not been particularly successful, due to Beauty worshippers declaring them harmful and driving them out of the city. Virtually no mention of The Fellowship is found in Ultima IX, which some consider a serious plot hole in the game.
The Fellowship was mostly inspired by The Church of Scientology and, to smaller extent, other "new age" religions and cults in the early 1990s. The game also parodies the complex "technical" language of these groups. Fellowship's appearance in Serpent Isle, on the other hand, resembles the Free Zone movement, practicing the religion while renouncing the unpleasant sides of the original church.
The Fellowship's background is described in Batlin's The Book of Fellowship, a complete copy of which is supplied with Ultima VII.
Contents |
[edit] Foundation
The Fellowship was founded by three people, Batlin, Elizabeth and Abraham, after each of them had travelled around the world of Britannia and seen how unhappy and purposeless people seemed.
[edit] The Triad of Inner Strength
The Fellowship is founded upon three major principles, known as The Triad of Inner Strength. The principles are:
- Strive For Unity
- Trust Thy Brother
- Worthiness Precedes Reward
The whole of Fellowship's philosophy is called the philosophy of sanguine cognition ("cheerful knowledge").
The true goal of the Fellowship was unknown to most of the worshippers. The ultimate goal was to construct a Black Gate, through which The Guardian was to enter to Britannia.
[edit] References
- Ultima VII: The Black Gate
- The Book of Fellowship (Ultima VII: The Black Gate documentation)
- Ultima VII Part Two: The Serpent Isle
