Io

Io [イオ] is a fourteen year old bard who features in Yoko Tanaka's 1989 Ultima-inspired manga, Ultima: The Quest of the Avatar. She replaces the character of Iolo from the original Ultima IV.

Description
Io was a klutzy teen who had clear romantic aims toward the protagonist, Deane. She first met the youth after falling out of a sacred tree which she had climbed - landing rather indecorously in the paladin's lap. Bossy and domineering, Io was the first companion to join Deane in his quest for Avatarhood, attaching herself to him despite his protestations as he left the city of Yew.

Emotionally volatile andoften capricious, Io often served as a counterpoint to Deane's quiet and gentle personality - objecting to his impractical use of money and his relentless selflessness. Despite her often mercenary attitude, Io seems to learn something of virtue from the young paladin through the course of the story, and is deeply affected by the hero's eventual sacrifice in the Abyss.

At the end of the manga, it is revealed that Io has been the narrator of the tale. Now a grown woman, the bard sit beneath the sacred tree where she first met Deane, laughing with her son - who is implied to be the young Avatar's reincarnated self.

