Player Run & Historical

Tazar Discusses the Historical Town of Falling Waters Fortress

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ATLANTIC—West of the city of Umbra, beyond the arid dunes, a small vestige of beauty rests just beyond the clutches of Umbra, defiantly resisting the evil influences of the necromancer city. Flowering water lilies float gingerly atop crystal pools of blue, and groups of pixies shade their wings amid the groves of mighty yews. Nestled safely in this numinous setting, on the coast line of Malas’ Great Lake, lies the peaceful town of Falling Waters Fortress.

Named after a renowned Frank Lloyd Wright design, Falling Waters Fortress was established by owner and overseer Tazar, guild master of The Order of Drunken Elders [ODE] and a leader in The Britannian
Coalition Alliance. Tazar recalls building the first two houses of what is now a nine-building village:

” Surprisingly, for many years I never even owned a home and instead lived the life of a vagabond, and actually camped or stayed at the inn – typical of the town drunk,” said Tazar. “Then came the great Trammel land rush – and I sat back and watched, wondering what the big deal was.
Then came the great Malas land rush – and I finally joined in! The first two houses were placed on February 11th, 2003. Over the years since, the place has slowly grown to what it is today.”

Despite the village’s humble beginnings, it now contains a large rune library, a sprawling meditation garden, a crafting hall tailored to each skill, a warrior sparring arena, a chamber of virtues, a cemetery to honor fallen friends, a town jail, a dragon cave (for the city’s mascot, “Guardian”), an orc den (for the adopted clan), an alliance hall, an alliance council chamber, an auction hall, a summoning chamber, a throne room, an open-air chapel, a tavern, an inn, and a festival room. The village also possesses a functional bridge between two houses – a design that may be one-of-a-kind, according to Tazar.

Falling Waters Fortress is preparing to celebrate its 7th anniversary. “A town like this slowly evolves and (hopefully) improves with age – rather like a fine Scotch-Whiskey,” Tazar said.
Over the past seven years, the village has hosted many visitors, from game masters to simple wanderers and tourists. Perhaps its most notable visitor, however, was Sakkarah.

” I had the pleasure of meeting Sakkara many years ago from a post here on Stratics,” Tazar said. “She was looking for players with houses that she could use as key locations for a player-run event. I quickly volunteered, and following her lead, we pulled of a lot of events over a 3 or 4 year period – many of which centered around the town. The design(s) of the buildings changed regularly to fit the needs of the coming event and often required a full rebuild. Once Sakkarah took over the task of running events from a developer’s position, I finally got serious about a more permanent design.”

Falling Waters Fortress made its most recent acquisition a week ago, when the village added its newest restaurant, placed adjacent to the current tavern and inn. Aside from developing the restaurant and keeping the rune library up to date, the future of the village is highly dependent on
opportunity, according to Tazar.

” Given the long history of the Fortress and the uniqueness of the design, I would like to see it recognized [as an official player town], and also to see it become a more active part of Britannian Society. With the overlapping illusions that merge the houses into one, I am not sure where a banner may fit in, but I am sure a place can be found.”

True to its historical involvement in player-run events, the village is available to all Atlantians for reservation. “The Fortress is open to all at any time,” Tazar said. “In the past, outside groups have borrowed the facilities for weddings, auctions, meetings, and more – anyone is welcome to use
the place for special events.”

Tazar has played Ultima Online since beta in 1997. He founded the village of Falling Waters Fortress nearly seven years ago. The city will celebrate its seventh anniversary on 11 February 2010.

For more information, please see: Falling Waters Fortress