Shamino

Character Overview

Shamino is an important NPC in the history of Ultima and Ultima Online. He is, or was, a ranger, associated with the City of Skara Brae and the Virtue of Spirituality.

Shamino in Ultima Prime

Shamino, one of the Avatar's most trusted companions, has lived long in Britannia, and Sosaria before it. Before the time of Mondain, he was a ranger who wandered the forests of Sosaria in search of adventure. It was he who found young British when he arrived through a moongate into our world. It was he who taught and raised our Lord British in the ways of magic and the customs of our land. But eventually Lord British went on to seek his own way, and Shamino went his, again traveling throughout the land.

But with the rise of Mondain, Shamino was forced to stay close to cities, and he found himself at the Castle of the White Dragon. This is where he met Beatrix, princess and daughter of the King of the White Dragon, and fell in love with her. The King was overjoyed and arranged for them to be married. He built Shamino a castle, to the north of his own, and made preparations for the wedding, which was to be a year hence.

But one day, sixth months before his wedding, while Lord Shamino was seeing court, the Hero entered, who had been summoned to the land by Lord British to aid in the fight against Mondain. But as a Lord of the Realm it was his duty to test the Hero, so he sent the Hero into one of the nearby dungeons to slay the vile creatures that had come out of it of late. When the Hero had accomplished this task Shamino put all of he resources of his castle at the Hero's disposal. But when the Hero had gone the vile creatures of Mondain, Orcs, Goblins, and worse, began to attack the settlements even harder than before.

Shamino decided to travel to the lands of his friend Lord British to seek his aid in the fight against then Goblins. He promised to return within the month, with reinforcements to drive the Goblins from the lands. But before he could return, the Hero slew the evil wizard Mondain and shattered the Gem of Immortality, causing the four continents of Sosaria to be sundered, leaving Shamino stranded in the Lands of Lord British, unable to return to his castle and Beatrix.

Here he remained, helping his long-time friend Lord British against the daemons that plagued the land during the Second Age of Darkness in the reign of Minax. But when the Isle of Fire arose out of the sea, and the Hell-Spawn Exodus began his assault, Shamino volunteered to explore the Castle Death, in the hope of finding a weakness in Exodus or his plans. It is not known exactly what transpired within the walls of that castle, only that Shamino barely escaped with his life, and rendered temporarily insane by his horrible experience.

When he regained his sanity at last, he went to West Montor to recuperate with his friend Sentri. There he stayed until the destruction of Exodus, and the great cataclysms that took place afterwards.

When Lord British created the Virtues and established the eight cities of Britannia, Shamino took up the life of a ranger once again. He roamed throughout Spiritwood and the Deep Forest, and when he did settle, it was in Skara Brae, but only for a short time. He was at peace, yet he was restless.

Then Lord British called forth the Hero for a fourth time, this time to become an Avatar, an embodiment of the Eight Virtues. Shamino joined the Hero in his quest, following into deep dungeons, dark forests, high mountains, and to the last Altar of Virtue at the bottom of the Abyss.

After the Avatar returned to his world, and the Codex was raised, Shamino returned to his wandering ways once again, until the disappearance of Lord British, and the emergence of the Shadowlords. When he and the other companions became wanted criminals by order of Blackthorne, Shamino and the others commissioned the royal coin maker to mint a magical coin with which they summoned the Avatar. Shamino was the first to greet him when he arrived, but at that moment the Shadowlords arrived and struck Shamino down. It took Shamino a long time to fully recover, but he accompanied the Avatar on his quest to destroy the Shadowlords and rescue Lord British.

Shamino became more involved with the court after Lord British was rescued and the Avatar returned to Earth, though he still spent much of his time in the wilderness. But when the Avatar was in danger, Shamino, along with his friends Dupre and Iolo, rescued the Avatar from the clutches of the Gargoyles, and accompanied him on his quest to save Britannia, and the Gargoyles as well.

During the two-hundred years of the Avatar's absence, Shamino eventually settled down in Britain, where he fell in love with an actress by the name of Amber. But when the call to adventure sounded, and the Avatar returned, Shamino was quick to join him as they uncovered the devious plots of the Fellowship and the Guardian. During the Guardian's attempted invasion of the land while the Avatar and many others were trapped under the Blackrock Gem that surrounded Castle British, Shamino helped to repel the assault.

In his latest journey, he accompanied the Avatar, Iolo, and Dupre on their quest to find Gwenno and the fiend Batlin. It was here that he was possessed by the Chaos Bane, Anarchy. He was finally exorcised of the Bane by the Avatar, but not before he brought about the destruction of the city of Moonshade, though this was not done of his own free will. He and Iolo were left behind when the Avatar was teleported into the void and captured by the Guardian.

Shamino in UO

Shamino has been seen in UO periodically. He was present at the memorial service for Blackthorn, and he was present during the Gargoyle's Redemption scenario. Also, Shamino's Best Crossbow is named for him. Some sources say he is a member of the Ruling Council.

Notes

Shamino is associated with the city of Skara Brae.

Sources

External Links

Codex of Ultima Wisdom article on Shamino