Tetrahedron Generator

The Tetrahedron Generator is one of the three colossal blackrock structures utilized by the Guardian to prepare Britannia for his coming in Ultima VII.

Description
Appearing sometime after the founding of the Fellowship approximately twenty years prior to the Astronomical Alignment, the Tetrahedron Generator served the function of disrupting the ethereal waves of Britannia, causing them to become sharp instead of smooth, thus making the arcane arts unreliable and driving many mages and wizards to madness as their natural attunement to the ether was corrupted.

Situated within the Dungeon Deceit, this blackrock construct could only be entered by a party possessing and wearing the enchanted Ethereal Ring - all others would fall into a deep slumber upon approaching it, only to wake up to find themselves elsewhere. Guided by the Time Lord and the seer Penumbra, the Avatar located this artifact and stepped inside the Tetrahedron, where they were forced to combat its spectral guardian. Once the hero slew the beast, the generator too was destroyed, and the Avatar was able to lay claim to the miniature Blackrock Prism which lay within it.

With its destruction, magic in Britannia returned to normal and mages regained their sanity.

Trivia

 * According to the Time Lord, the three blackrock generators were sent to Britannia from the Guardian's home-world; indeed, while developing, Richard Garriott envisaged Britannia's would-be conqueror to have originated from a race of omniscient, godlike entities that might themselves eventually become antagonists in the series. This, however, would later be superseded by Ultima IX: Ascension, in which it is stated the Guardian coalesced out of darkness purged from the Avatar in the final moments of Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar.


 * The shapes of the three generators (a cube, sphere, and tetrahedron) form the logo used by Electronic Arts from 1982 to 1999. Richard Garriott has since given conflicting statements, both denial and confirmation, as to whether this was conceived as intentional symbolism.


 * A lightning trap lies directly at the entrance of the Tetrahedron, although it can be disarmed using a standard Destroy Trap spell.


 * It is possible to short-circuit the plot by squeezing your way past the moongate at the Sphere Generator, meaning that the Tetrahedron Generator isn't destroyed first. However, in order to destroy the Cube Generator, it still has to be destroyed.


 * In the SNES Port of Ultima VII, the Ethereal Monster lies in the chamber directly before the Tetrahedron, although the Ethereal Ring is required to slay it. In addition to this, the Tetrahedron features no internal defenses, and will self destruct the moment the Avatar moves its corresponding prism from a nearby pedestal.