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| - Under the auspices of Lord British, studies of the properties of the Moon gates are beginning to yield a clearer understanding of the Gates' mystical workings. People forecast that future citizens will use these gates as a normal means of distant travel. The destinations of the gates appear to be rigidly bound to the phases of the twin moons Trammel and Felucca. The appearance and disappearance of the gates are represented on most maps of the realm as phases of the moons. The gate active is indicated by the phase of the moon Trammel. Once a gate is entered, thy destination is indicated by the phase of the moon Felucca.
- Red gates, generated by the powerful Orb of the Moons, can send the traveler anywhere in Britannia. In fact, the holder of this black stone can teleport to worlds other than his own. I, Lord British, have used the red gates often, but there is, no doubt, much more to be learned about these gates.
- Many tales are told of knights traveling from towne to towne, even across water, merely by stepping into a wall of light. There are few verifiable reports of moongate travel. However, sifting through those reports that are verifiable, it has become clear that they operate as follows.
- Each night at the apex of the first moon, Trammel, the eight moongates appear, rectangles of shimmering blue light rising from the ground. They remain until Felucca reaches her apex. While the moongates are open, a traveler entering one will be instantly transported to another moongate in a different locale. The traveler's destination is determined by the phase of the moon closest to midheaven. Moongate travel is said to be fast and safe; however, there have been confusing and conflicting reports of what transpires when the moons are equidistant in the midheaven. Moongate travelers should exercise caution.
- From a bed of dry leaves, the glint of metal caught his eye. It was a silver medallion in the shape of a great serpent. In his hand, the medallion felt unusually warm. Suddenly a line of blue light rose from the leaves, expanding into a door of shimmering light. The youth stared, astonished, then stepped through. The door disappeared and autumn with it. Green fields now surrounded the youth.
- A new, much larger Siege Perilous has been discovered. The gateway will now hold four adventurers instead of just one... Total concentration among the party is necessary for the gateway of the Siege Perilous to open. A moment of transition is experienced, then... After the darkness of transition clears from thine eyes, a sample view of Sosaria appears.
- There exists an extraordinary cosmic association between the gravity of the moons and the delicate fabric of time and space. As though pulling the strings of some cosmic marionette, the moons cause radiant moongates to appear on the land below. Step through one of these shimmering corridors of light and you will be transported to a new time or place. Moongates generally appear at locations where fragments of extraterrestrial rocks called "moonstones" have been buried. There are at least two types of moongates - blue and red.
- Blue moongates, generated by moonstones, generally focus on destinations in but a single world - the world in which they appear. Their power, awesome though it may seem, is limited, allowing the traveler to teleport only from the location of one moonstone to that of another. The moonstone the user travels to is determined by the phase of the moon that appears directly overhead in the sky. Through experimentation and observation, the moongate traveler can correlate the phases of the highest moon with the destination the gate will select.
- Little is known about these gates, but like magic spells, Moongates no longer function as they once did. Use of Moongates today cannot be discouraged strongly enough. They are dangerous and their use in this less-than-reliable state has resulted in numerous fatalities.
- Red Moongates are generated by the powerful artifact known as the Orb of the Moons. A red Moongate can take a traveller anywhere in Britannia. It has even been said that it can also be used to travel to other worlds. There have only been two red Moongates in all of known existence - one used by Lord British, and the other by the Avatar.
- The greatest transport are the hidden Moon gates. They are similar, but less powerful, to the Siege Perilous that hast brought thy Party hither. Passing through a Moon Gate when it is active will teleport thy Party to hidden powers. Access to many glens of the old knowledge are restricted by the Moon Gates. No creature of the Dark can ever break through the wards that protect them. The coming and going of the Moon Gates is somehow related to the twin Moons, Trammel and Felucaa, that grace out skies. The cartographer, Hawkwind, was supposedly greatly excited about a discovery concerning the true nature of the Moon Gates, when he was attacked. The success of thy quest may well hinge on thou solving this ancient mystery.
- During this time of magic, a strange form of travel existed, through doorways of light that were often called "Moongates." There were at least two types of Moongates - blue and red. Blue Moongates sprang up wherever fragments of extraterrestrial rocks called "moonstones" were buried. These gates allowed magical travel from one gate to another.
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| abstract
| - A Blue Moongate was mentioned in The Book of Lore as being the way that Lord British used to arrive to Sosaria. It appeared shortly after an amulet appeared on a rock-bordered clearing on Earth, and it transported British to Sosaria. Another, similar Blue Moongate was the gateway used by the Avatar to get to Britannia in Ultima IV and Ultima V. This one also appeared in a rock-bordered clearing. In the first game, the Moongate left an ankh amulet in its place. In the second, the Avatar summoned the gate by placing the amulet and the Codex Coin (which had been magically sent from Britannia) in the clearing. Image:U3-gate-locations-FINAL.gif Image:Moongate-u3.gif Only in Ultima III, the gates appeared in the following locations (note that most versions of Ultima III used the numerical representation of the moon phase listed below):
* File:Image001.gif New Moon (0): Just NE of Moon
* File:Image002.gif Crescent Waxing (1): Just outside the Snake Dungeon
* File:Image003.gif First Quarter (2): Tiny mountain enclosure by towne Devil Guard
* File:Image004.gif Gibbous Waxing (3): S edge of map, S of the Hidden City of Dawn
* File:Image005.gif Full Moon (4): Tiny mountain enclosure by towne Devil Guard (S of (2))
* File:Image006.gif Gibbous Waning (5): On the Isle of Fire (location shown, but not Isle itself)
* File:Image007.gif Last Quarter (6): Just E of the towne Devil Guard
* File:Image008.gif Crescent Waning (7): Just S of the Dungeon of Time Image:Brimon U4.GIF Image:Moongate-u4.gif Starting with Ultima IV, each Moon Phase is bound to one of these specific city gates:
* File:Image001.gif New Moon: Moonglow
* File:Image002.gif Crescent Waxing: Britain
* File:Image003.gif First Quarter: Jhelom
* File:Image004.gif Gibbous Waxing: Yew
* File:Image005.gif Full Moon: Minoc
* File:Image006.gif Gibbous Waning: Trinsic
* File:Image007.gif Last Quarter: Skara Brae
* File:Image008.gif Crescent Waning: New Magincia
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)