Magincia
Contents
Magincia is one of the Cities & Towns of Ultima Online.
Depending on whom you ask, Magincia represents the Virtue of Humility or the Sin of Pride (Humility's evil opposite).
During the Fall of 2007, it was attacked by demons (see Magincia Invasion) as part of the Warriors of Destiny event cycle. This follows traditional Ultima lore which holds that the city is to be destroyed for its Pride.
On most of the major populated shards, the invasion was defeated the week of December 2, 2007, though the city was largely laid waste and ruined almost entirely. Pieces of it are available as items called rubble and are used by some as decoration.
Magincia is on an island, and is accessible via Moongate or boat travel. Moongate travel to Magincia is a one-way trip as the gate is now corrupted and cannot be used to depart the island following the invasion. On shards that "won" the invasion, there is a ferry from Trinsic. On shards that lost, such as Siege Perilous, Magincia is only accessible by boat.
Ultima lore calls for the city to be eventually replaced by New Magincia, a city based on Humility rather than Pride.
Lore
(This lore applies to Magincia prior to the 2007 Demon attacks.)
On the central island between Buccaneers Den and Moonglow, Magincia is a natural target for plunder and magical side-effects. Ironically, it is the latter that tends to reduce the frequency of the former.
Perhaps the best way to describe Magincia is "bright", but perhaps that is too kind. "Gaudy" might be more appropriate. Home to the largest diamond mine in the realm, the residents of Magincia have experience the sensation of too much money. One of the many ways in which they have found to address this problem involves constructing ridiculously ornate buildings. Structurally sound shops will often have additional columns and supports solely to provide additional places in which to inlay gemstones and gold. The street signs are lettered in real silver, while the local watch wear badges that use precious metals to indicate rank.
After the Fire
Traditional Ultima lore, from the single-player games, called for this city to be destroyed by demons as a kind of punishment for its pride, with a demon lord named Virtuebane leading the unholy charge.
On the "shards" of UO, however, the city avoided this fate, until Fall of 2007.
"Yet...," stated UO.com, "history cannot be denied. It may be diverted, delayed - even altered to a degree - but never denied. Shadows have begun moving in an undercurrent as vast as the ethereal void itself, a darkness that once set upon a Britannia many of us have never known . . . Yes, Magincia will burn."
And so it did.
Following these attacks, which sadly saw Players helping the attacks along in order to maximize the spawn of special loot known as Rubble, Magincia on most shards is a burnt-out wasteland, a shadow of its former self.
On shards that "won" the invasion, at first the use of transportation spells into the city remained disabled, but a ferry from Trinsic still existed, and there was the implication that there is hope for the city's future. (See New Magincia.) On the shards that lost, the city looked about the same, but the sense of hope did not exist, and there was no ferry from Trinsic.
However, early in 2008, transportation spells (including Gate) were re-enabled to and from Magincia, and a teleporter was put in place near the Trinsic docks. On shards that won the invasion, the ferry service is also still available, though is largely supplanted by the teleporter and the use of transportation magics.
The Magincia Invasion was later revealed to be part of the Warriors of Destiny event cycle, heralding the coming of the Shadowlords.
General Facts
- Theme: City of Humility, or City of Pride
- Associated Virtue: Humility (or the Sin of Pride)
- Common Professions: Merchants (for Pride and wealth) or Shepards (for Humility)
- Location: an island
- Government (Trammel): Ruled by the Britannian Council
- Government (Felucca): Ruled by Factions
Landmarks
- Magincia Parliament building: Southeast portion of the City, in Felucca home to the Council of Mages, one of the 4 Factions that vie for control of that facet.
- Old High Council building: Northwest portion of the City.