Lil'alure

When the Gem of Immortality was shattered by the Stranger, three big shards of it went missing. Each of the shards opposed one of the Principles. The shards ended up in the Underworld, but they were safe there, until the ship The Ararat, under Captain Johne, was sucked into the Underworld by a whirlpool. Johne found the shards, and they drove him to temporary madness. He slew his three companions with them, and their blood fell on the shards. And from it, the Shadowlords were born:

Astaroth, the Shadowlord of Hatred.
Faulinei, the Shadowlord of Falsehood.
Nosfentor, the Shadowlord of Cowardice.

They wasted no time in spreading their evil. Scattering the three shards in the Underworld, they attacked Lord British in the Underworld below Dungeon Destard during an expedition and captured him, imprisoning him in the dungeon Doom. On the surface of Britannia they established their keep: Stonegate, with the daemon Balinor as a doorwarden.

They corrupted Lord Blackthorn, making him cruel and twisting his perceptions of the Virtues. They themselves haunted the cities, and their mere presence would infect the peoples' personalities like a disease. It was a dark time for Britannia.

While many tried to stand up to the Shadowlords, none prevailed. Those who weren't killed outright suffered the lingering agony of being pierced by the Shadowlords' Black Arrows. Notable examples of this are Shamino, Mariah and Kindor.

The Shadowlords hunted specifically for members of the Great Council, as they knew the Words of Power that could unseal the dungeons, perhaps allowing someone to find the shards. They also hunted for the companions of the Avatar so they would not be able to summon him/her.

The Avatar returned once more to Britannia to fight the forces of Evil. Travelling deep into a part of the Underworld, Dungeon Doom, he found Lord British was magically imprisoned. Freeing him with the Orbs of the Moons, he then tried to find out how to defeat the Shadowlords, who had proved impervious to conventional magic and steel. The Avatar then learned of their natures, and cast the shards of Hatred, Falsehood and Cowardice into the Eternal Flames of Love, Truth and Courage. Lord British then exiled Blackthorn, or Blackthorn left willingly, depending on whose account, only to return later.

But true evil can't be destroyed, as the Shadowlords were only physical manifestations of the darkness in men's hearts, and have now returned to wreak havoc on Britannia...

Shadowlords - The Codex of Editable Wisdom, a Wikia wiki for Ultima and Ultima Online

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