Ventryn
Ventryn (pronounced "Ven-trin") is a fictional Seer controlled character on the Catskills shard from the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Ultima Online. Ventryn's full name is Ventryn Pythos.
History
Ventryn first appeared as a black lich, residing in the Yew Crypts. Although Ventryn's motives were unclear, he had complete command of the undead and was able to summon a large army within seconds.
Shortly after Ventryn's appearance, it was determined that Ventryn was targeting the Kingdom of Winterfell, a player-run community. Ventryn apparently targeted that area because it was built atop the ruins of the lost city of Stormguard. Ventryn acted as a member of the city's council before it was destroyed in the Battle of Stormguard. Ventryn's apparent goal was to locate the lost Stormguard relics - enchanted items which would allow him to amass an unlimited power. Through deception and the use of an alter ego named Sylan, Ventryn was able to recover the majority of the relics and utilized them to enhance his already impressive power.
When the shards of Ultima Online were split into the Trammel and Felucca facets, the population of Winterfell relocated to a location that was deemed as Stark's Keep in the Trammel facet. By utilizing the power of the Stormguard relics, Ventryn was able to return his body to human form and cross over to the Trammel facet. This allowed Ventryn to continue his assault on the people of Winterfell and their allies.
After constructing their new city, the people of Winterfell relocated their population into their new homes. Ventryn continued his frequent undead assaults, spawning unique undead creatures which had never before been seen in the world of Britannia.
The people of Winterfell were eventually able to determine that Ventryn's rage was caused by the grief he had suffered over the loss of his daughter, Alexandria. Alexandria had served as a member of the Stormguard military and died in the battle that destroyed the majority of the city. Alexandria served under the command of Ventryn's brother, Ardian Pythos. Ventryn's misguided anger was directed towards his brother and subsequently evolved into an intense hatred for anyone associated with the lost city of Stormguard.
With the aid of Ardian Pythos' spirit and a descendant of Stormguard named Thain Fallshorn, the people of Winterfell were able to defeat Ventryn in an epic confrontation in his mountain lair. The allied force against Ventryn was also able to locate the spirit of his lost daughter and reunited her with her father. As a result, Ventryn was apparently redeemed of his evil ways. As such, the controversial decision was made to spare Ventryn's life. Many argued that Ventryn would return to his murderous ways, while others were convinced that he was truly a redeemed man.
Chapters
The Ventryn storyline was created by Seer Cylus and was originally intended to consist of three separate chapters, the first of which ended with the redemption of Ventryn. The second began a short time later and focused on the mage Artarion and the elementalist Qua'Tel. The story focused on Artarion's use of Conversion Crystals which gave the mage the ability to dispatch armies of fire and ice creatures to five different locations in Sosaria. It was also during this time period that Ventryn's lair was converted into a fire and ice laboratory by Artarion. The plot line came to an abrupt end when the Interest Volunteer Program was ended on May 9th, 2001.
Current existence
The character of Ventryn apparently still exists and can be found on rare occasions inside of his mountain lair in the Felucca facet. The entrance to his lair is in the mountains west of Trinsic. Inside of one of the caves is a magical seal which one must stand on top of and utter "Frostflame" to gain entry. Although powerless, Ventryn still possesses a great deal of knowledge and will converse with those willing to seek him out.