The following text is taken from Origin’s Official guide to Ulitima Online. In the guide, it is presented as columns in a newspaper.

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New Grandmaster mage announced

The Guild of Arcane Arts today announced that another mage had achieved Grandmaster status in the city of Britain. Known only as Relvinian, the new initiate into the highest level of the arts has been called an “incredible natural” and “extremely talented.” Still, there are some that accuse him of being “just wierd.”

“He’s … disturbing,” according to Kandace the Lovely, another gandmaster mage. “He’s really into all of the summoning spells. He dabbles too much with the darker magics. I don’t know He’s earned his position, cerainly, I just don’t want to be in the same room with him.”

Relvinian’s tutor, Grandmaster Luthior, agreed with Kandace. “Yes, Relvinian does tend to deal more with lesser used or altogether forgotten spells, but he means well. He’s trying to find ways to help Britannia as a whole, not just on a one-to-one basis. I think he’ll be a very positive addition to our community, and I believe Britannia will be hearing more from him.”

A small reception will be held in Relvinian’s honor at the mage’s guildhall in northern Britain.

Relvinian: Daemons can do our work

The eccentric mage known only as Relvinian has announced that his current project will free mankind forever from menial labor. From the steps of his laboratory, he described to a good-sized gathering what daemons can do for the human race. “With daemons doing the manial labor that takes up so much of everyone’s day, people will be free to follow more cerebral paths,” Relvinian said. “We will be able to better educate our society. Who knows what new heights we might attain!”

Daemons are usually associated with dark magic and other evil intentions. This would be the first attempt on record to bring them into a more positive light. Some experts are concerned about the implications of a creaure borne of evil working daily with the citizens of Britannia. “I’m worried about our children. Our family values. What kind of a role model will these things be to our kids?” asked brother Andrew of Empath Abbey. “I mean kids will suddenly want to summon their own daemon to get out of making their beds, or going to the market. Children won’t learn responsibility because here’s this guardian of evil at their command. The next thing you know, they’ll be hexing each other, or sending their daemon out to exact revenge on Little Willian for pulling a dog’s tail.”

Relvinian says that the fears brother Andrew and the others like him are completely unfounded. “I’ve created a spell that will summon and totally control a daemon and all its actions, but it can only be cast by a Grandmaster Mage such as myself. We will then assign the daemon to a household and place a schedule in its mind. The creature will have no choice but to perform the assigned tasks.” In response to questions about no-so-wellintentioned mages who get possession of the spell, Relvinian replied, “The spell drains the caster a great deal. If one were to summon a daemon and charger it with malevolent tasks, it owuld be a simpe thing to discover who the offending mage was and bring him or her to answer for the deed.”

Other concerns were brought to light by a group calling themselves Britannia Species United. “Why must one group, in the case the humans, control the minds or actions of another? We already have enough warring between the species of Britannia, must we have slavery, too?” asked a BSU spokeperson. “No creature should be able to control the minds of another, be they men, gargoyles or daemones. It just isn’t right.”

Relvinian goes Monday to further explain and demonstrate his theories to Lord British, who seems cautiously optimistic about the idea. “I think the potential is immense,” The Ruler of Britannia said in a conversation with Your Correspondent. “As you know, I have been actively promoting eight Virtues throughout Britannia, and freedom from menial labor would be a great step toward the education of the populace as a whole, both in the Virtues and in more standard curriculum of reading, writing and mathematics. I think Relvinian’s ideas could possibly benefit the citizens of Britannia as much as the consolidation of the city-states, and this the ending of their petty wars, did at the beginning of our current Enlightened Age. Sure there are a few bumps to smooth out, and I won’t allow the plan to be adopted until the time that those problems are addressed, but I see promising things ahead.”

Daemons loose in Castle Britannia. Fifteen missing, presumed dead

Disaster struck Castle Britannia yesterday as several daemons, summoned by the mage Relvinian, went on a killing rampage throughout the great fortress. Relvinian had been invited to the castle to discuss with Lord British his theories of a daemon workforce for Britannia and to demonstrate his improved summoning spell. He claimed that the spell would bring a daemon under the complete control of the caster, wiping its mind and preparing it for instructions which would compel it to any assigned task. When he cast the spell in the Great Hall, however, his theories went up in smoke.

“I don’t know what happened,” one incredilous bystander exclaimed. “I saw a daemon appear, it looked around at us, and then more showed up out of nowhere! They just started throwing fire at everyone.”

A Britannia noble added, “All I remember is that huge daemon, looking down on us. Oh, and a cat. There was a cat hissing at it, I don’t remember where the cat came from. Then everyone started running.”

Members of the Guild of Mages stayed in the Great Hall and attempted to dispel the daemons, but only managed to spread them throughout the castle. “One ran into the kitchen. I saw a magic-wielder charge in after it, and then I heard a lot of noise. I don’t know what happened after that, but they’re still looking for the kitchen staff, the mage, and the daemon,” said Torrie Flynn, a valet to Lord British

The castle guards were mobilized and sent throughout the maze of halls in teams of finve with one accompanying mage for each group. As of this writing, no recent word has been reported as to the current status of the daemons or the guards. The castle, however, has been evecuated of all non-defensive personnel, and fifteen, including the kitchen staff, are currently unnacounted for.

“It’s a travesty,” according to brother Andrew of Empath Abbey. “I was afraid something terrible would come of Relvinian’s tamperings, but I never imagined it would be like this. This things have been loose in the castle for more than twelve hours now. I can only hope that the creation has cost its creator as much as it has cost the citizens of Britain.”

Tyrnius, guildmaster for the Guild of Arcane Arts, said he will be calling a special hearing of the guild to look into the revocation of Relvinian’s status in that organisation. ÉThis was just irresponsible and reprehensible! We cannot have this kind of thing going unchecked. Someone should have been reviewing Relvinian’s researchg, and it’s now my job to figure out who failed to do so and what we can do about it.”

Lord British was safely escorted from the Great Hall and is directing rescue missions with his personal guard from the old keep, where he can better view the ongoing situation.

Britain guards still searching for rogue mage

The Britain guard will be sweeping through the city tonight, searching for the mage known as Relvinian. The Grandmaster Mage has been missing since the disaster at Castle Britannia in which he failed to adequately control several daemons he had summoned. The daemons then went on a murderous spree throughout the castle, killing at least five, with ten more missing and presumed dead.

Lord British’s guards fought their wayu through Castle Britannia in an effort to end destruction and locate the instigator of this tragedy, but found no sign of Relvinian. His residence in Britain was then searched, uncovering no clue as to his whereabouts. A house-to-house search of Britain and the outlying farms has begun.

“He has to be around somewhere,” said Martin, a town guard. “People don’t just disappear for good. Not even mages.”

Relvinian has not been seen since the killings bagan, but Lord British is sure he will return to take responsability for his actions.

“He misjudged his powers, that’s all. He’s not a killer. Relvinian is a visionnary who attached himself to a more or less dangerous idea. I still think his plan might have merit, but it certainly must be closely analysed before any further harm is done.”

Relvinian believed he could summon daemons to undertake labor-intensive jobs for the citizens of Britannia. He claimed that a spell that he had created could control the daemon’s thoughts, making it possible to place a schedule of labor activities in their heads.

Some, such as brother Andrew of Empath Abbey, warned Lord British about the inherent dangers of summoning creatures of the dark for “fun and profit.” But the monarch chose to ignore the warnings. “Given what’s occured, I would hate to say I told you so,” Andrew told reporters. “You can never trust creatures born of evil. My two-year-old niece could tell you that. Relvinian should have known better. I want the Guild of Arcane Arts to ensure he never practices magic in Britannia again.”

If anyone knows of Relvinian’s whereabouts, please contact the guild or the town guard.

Relvinian thought responsible for maze

The guild of Arcane Arts has focused oa considerable amount of attention on the mysterious maze that appeared south of Britain two days ago, and they are finding more and more evidence pointing to Relvinian as the one responsible for its creation. “Relvinian is the only one who is both capable of the power needed to make this thing and whose whereabouts are currently unkown,” said Turnius, guildmaster for the Guild. “And as it sprang up whitin a week of the disaster in Castle Britannia, I suspect that he’s sequestered himself in the middle of it and doesn’t want to come out.”

The maze appeared three days ago, replacing valuable farmland hand hunting habitat with what appears to be bits and pieces taken from all parts of Britannia. Creatures from all over the land seem attracted to the maze and wander about aimlessly inside it, according to sources who have briefly entered the place. “There were all kinds of monsters, and a bunch of brigands seem to have taken to it pretty quickly too. I guess they’re counting on being safe from the law.”

Relvinian was the mage responsible for the daemon attack inside Castle Britannia, and is, therefore, ultimately to blame for the fourteen deaths that occured that night. Virgil Hassenm the lone survivor of the kitchen staff, who was crippled and seriously burned in the attack, said, “An  army needs to storm that maze and hang that mage on a short rope from a tall tree.” When asked if he thought Relvinian had planned the attack inside the castle, Virgil replied, “I don’t know. Sure. And don’t say that name in my presence again.”

An official scouring party is being formed by Lord British to try and map the maze, and to find out if Relvinian is, literally, at the center of it.