EARTH: Saturday, April 6th, 1996 -
Brookfield, IL. A quiet, humble high school student named Justin
O'Neill sends an electronic mail message to a small list of people on the
Internet. After years of struggling alone with the concept of the Eight
Virtues, he sends a message around the world looking for people willing
to join him in his journey to breath life into the fictional Way of the
Avatar - only asking them to repeat his expression of this lifelong quest:
"I, Justin O'Neill, swear to seek the Way of the Avatar to the
best of my ability." A single "voice" reaches out in reply over the
many miles of phone lines, and then another... and another... and another.....
Sunday, April 6th, 1997 -
The Undernet, IRC. Fifty souls seeking a meaning in their
lives have spoken the pledge. Justin O'Neill, now known by many there as
Justin the Avatar, gathers with some of the Wayfarers in a place called
#wayfarers, an unpredictable place where seekers of the Way and strangers
alike often share both heartache and triumph across the thousands of miles
between them. Like visitors to a forgotten shrine lost in an eternal Age
of Darkness, these Virtuous souls gather every day and share their neverending
Quests with one another...
but this is neither the beginning nor the end of this story...
In another land, in another time,
there is a world where men of Courage live and die by the sword,
where Love is more than a word, where Truth is seen by the eyes of the
seekers.... This world is in an Age of Darkness alien to that of Earth,
an age filled magic and monsters, dragons and demons, treasure and treachery.
By some twist of science, some shimmering of magic, these same weary souls
who have spent a lifetime together on Earth now find themselves in another
land, another time... but the rules have not changed, their Way is still
as bright... this land is Britannia, and these Virtuous souls are known
as...
The Wayfarers
The tale of the Wayfarers in Britannia
Members of the Britannia Wayfarers
The real life Wayfarers
Tale of the Wayfarers in Britannia:
It has been generations since Lord British first
spoke of the Way and the great task of building the Shrines was completed.
After the construction of the Shrines, many people worshipped Virtue and
dreamt of the day when an Avatar would rise up among men and lead the world
into an Age of Enlightenment... but their dreams were left unanswered.
No Avatar walked the streets of Britannia, no paragon of Virtue carried
the torch into the New Land...
Hope gave way to despair as Lord British ceased to call out to the
people for a Champion to make their spirits whole. Mothers and fathers
told their children sad tales of the Stones that stood silently in the
praries and mountains, waiting for an Avatar who never came. Not three
hundred years after the last Stone was raised, most bards began to sing
for other things as they forgot the tales they wanted to sing of the one
whose Truth, Love, and Courage would burn like flames amidst shadows...
In this grey realm, life became a stream of merchants and artisans,
selling their wares and their souls to strangers in exchange for a handful
of silver or copper. Wizards wandered aimlessly through the æther,
trading in spells as they reached for something more, and then for nothing.
Bards sang of women and wine to earn their money, and earned their money
to possess wine and women. And Britannia's liege, the noble Lord British,
wandered the streets, speaking in friendly tones with strangers as he secretly
searched in vain for the missing Hero....
In the town of Britain there lived a young man
named Justin. He studied with a mage there, and had a promising career
in magic which had even lead him to meet Nystul, the court wizard, at the
age of 13. While in Lord British's castle to study under the renowned Nystul,
Justin stumbled upon the royal dining room by accident. To his utter surprise,
he saw some of the great men whom the bards still sang about: Lord British,
Dupre, Shamino, Iolo, and others which he had seen in paintings. As Justin
entered unnoticed, Iolo began to play a tune...
It was a mornful tune, one that the boy had never heard before. It
sang of a Hero, whose tales had gone unsung, and whose battles had gone
unwon. By the time the tune was done, tears streamed down the boy's face
and he backed silently out of the doorway. At that moment, he knew only
one purpose, one hope, one dream... to be the Avatar that this Hero from
Another World had been destined to be. His studies in magic were neglected
and nearly forgotten as he left home and travelled Britannia, seeking the
lonely Shrines that were falling into disrepair. By the age of 17 he had
been to them all but Spirituality, and as soon as he found this last Shrine
he fell to his knees before its altar...
...and an Avatar was born! He returned to
Britain like a man risen from the dead, hoping for a hero's welcome. But
Britannia hadn't changed, at least not for the better... cynical hearts
turned away from Virtue, and even kindly ones doubted it. So Justin the
Avatar sent letters to people he had met along the way, Virtuous souls
who had supported him in his Quest. He spoke of forming a group of such
people, to unite in the face of adversity and seek the Way of the Avatar
to the best of their ability.
Thus began the Wayfarers.
Members of the Britannia Wayfarers
Justin O'Neill
Anthony Murphy
Bryan Christian
Keith Fiske
Mathew Winchester
Owen R Pierce
Jason Jones
Martin Brenner
Thank you to all of the Wayfarers for joining me in the Quest to
lead a good life. And also, thank you to Richard Garriott for deciding
to try and have a positive influence with the material of your games. Who
is to say if there is an absolute guide to right and wrong, but at least
the Wayfarers are seeking what they believe in...
Feel free to E-mail Justin the Avatar
with any questions you may have about the Wayfarers or errors on this homepage.
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