|
The Wayfarers is a movement of people who embrace the Way of the Avatar. This philosophy was originally created for Ultima IV and subsequent episodes of the Ultima computer role-playing game series. However, its Virtues and Principles have been quite an inspiration to many of the people who have played these games. Some of us have chosen to examine and pursue this philosophy in the context of "real life." |
I came across Ultima at a time in my life when I was searching for answers. I was in my early teens, and just starting to realize that there was a world beyond my little bubble of home life and school life. All of my "teen angst" made me turn outside of myself to search for comfort -- but looking into the broader adult world, my anxiety and despair simply deepened.
Then, I came across Ultima.
I had always been a big fan of computer games, along with both science fiction and fantasy. So, when my brother brought home Ultima V one day, our whole family was hooked simply by virtue of the gameplay alone. As time went on though, and we played all of the Ultimas, the spiritual philosophy truly captivated me.
It all made so much sense. It was the first encounter I'd had with any sort of well-developed spiritual path that made any sense to me. Three foundational Principles -- Truth, Love, and Courage. By combining these Principles, we discover the Virtues that embody them in our lives -- Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, Humility. Pretty soon, the Way of the Avatar became more than the plot of some game to me. It became a life philosphy that I sought to follow with every fiber of my being.
I knew from the start that some people wouldn't understand this. How can anyone find a sense of spiritual inspiration from a computer game? But people who say such things obviously haven't played Ultima! As time went on, I became more confident in my appreciation of the Virtues. After all, computer role-playing games were a form of storytelling. Isn't that just a modern version of the ancient myths that used to inspire people in their ethics and spiritual living?
So, I turned to the only place where I had social contacts at that point in my life: the online community. In the fall of 1995, I sent out a mass e-mail saying that I was starting the Wayfarers, a group of people who follow the Virtues in real life. At first, the response was a bit slow. But soon enough, one person after the other emailed me, signing their name to the "Wayfarer's Pledge" and pursuing the Virtues in their own way in their real lives.
For a while, we had our own website and our own chatroom on Internet Relay Chat (IRC). A half dozen or so of us even met each other offline on several occassions, despite the fact that we were scattered across the globe. I only got to meet the ones who lived in other parts of the U.S., but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Canadian and European members ended up meeting each other eventually too.
For better or worse, though, times change. The Wayfarers had a long list of people who took the pledge, but only a handful of us ever stayed in direct contact on a regular basis online. As we grew older, we started to go our separate ways. I found other sources of spiritual inspiration in life, and many of the other core members also turned their attention elsewhere. The Virtues are still a part of who I am, and I still keep in touch with one or two of the other Wayfarers occassionally. But for the time being, we who have been inspired by the Virtues as a real-life philosophy are once again left to contemplate the Way of the Avatar in solitude.
If you are a former or current Wayfarer and have any input about the future development of this site and the Wayfarers movement, please contact me and I will be happy to speak with you. At this point in my life, I've discovered other spiritual principles and practices that far exceed my commitment to the Virtues. However, I'm not the sort of person who forgets his roots, and I still find the Way of the Avatar to be an outstanding philosophy. Therefore, I encourage anyone to get in contact with me if they would like to see this website become the new online home of the Wayfarers. In the meantime, thank you for reading, and good luck on your Quest!
Thanks to Bryan [aka Brimstar, aka Arknstone Dragon], one of the original Wayfarers, I discovered that The Wayback Machine, an archive of old Internet sites, had an archived copy of the long-lost original Wayfarers website! They didn't have a copy of the second edition of this website, but I'm happy to have any edition of the site at all, which I thought was lost in the mists of time.
You can visit the restored version of this website at ultimasociety.org/wayfarers/original/ . There were a couple of images and MIDI files that didn't make it into the archive, but I am replacing these as time goes on. You can view the HTML source of any of the pages to see my notes on the restoration.
The old Wayfarers website had an official oath for anyone who wanted to become a Wayfarer. However, it's up to you to decide you would like to dedicate yourself to the pursuit of the Way of the Avatar! The commitment you carry in your heart is more precious than any spoken oath can ever be.
If you would like to join an official Wayfarers roster in order to meet and talk to other Wayfarers, please contact me for more details. You can also use the old pledge form, but until I create a new form, I'd rather hear from you over email. In the near future, I'll set up an official Wayfarers roster that will list all known past and present Wayfarers. In the meantime, feel free to visit our forums to see if there's any good conversation going on. I'm always willing to chat about my thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to the Virtues. So, if you find all of this interesting, you have at least one other Wayfarer to talk to!
The original Wayfarers Roster lists the names and contact information for over 50 original Wayfarers. However, since this is a list from the 1990s, most if not all of the contact information is probably obsolete.
The original Wayfarers Roster will be preserved in its current form. However, I will be making a new Roster soon. If you would like to be added to the Roster, or if you would like to update your contact information, please contact me. In the meantime, the forums are probably your best bet for finding other Wayfarers.
The Wayfarers used to have a registered IRC channel on Undernet. If we can find 10 people who are willing to give their email addresses to register the channel, then we can do it again. Contact me for more information.