Julia

Julia is one of the Companions of the Avatar.

She is based on a girl Richard Garriott once dated in the past.

She is a native of Earth, and friend of Lord British. In Britannia Julia is a Tinker, and made her home in the poor town of Minoc. As often cited, her temper is quite legendary. In Ultima IV she gladly joined the future Avatar in his/her quest to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.

She was declared an outlaw in Ultima V, and had to flee Minoc. Hiding in Empath Abbey, she was glad when the Avatar arrived, joining the party on the quest to topple Blackthorn's tyrannic regime. After these events, she returned to Minoc, where the Avatar found her in Ultima VI. She again joined the party to help, and made a panpipe for the Avatar, so that he/she could obtain the Rune of Sacrifice.

200 years went by after the gargoyle war, and Julia became bored with the quiet life of a tinker. Then, by Ultima VII, a horrible double-murder happened in Minoc. Horrified by these events, Julia joined the Avatar, who arrived at the morning to inspect the murder scene, to find the murderers. She also helped to expose Owen the shipwright as incompetent by studying his plans.

One year later, she joined the big feast in Lord British's castle, and was trapped with the others inside in Ultima Underworld II. Wounded by Mors Gotha, she nonetheless survived, and in the end was freed from the trapped castle.

Prior to the events of Ultima IX, Julia was sent by Lord British to investigate the Column that a spawned near Minoc. She was gradually seduced by the corruption influence of the column, and ended up serving the Guardian as a Wyrmguard, guarding the Glyph at the base of the Column. When the Avatar faced he managed to bring back to her senses, and she confessed to him the love she had been harboring for many years. She later helps the Avatar in his quest against the Guardian by putting the Rune of Sacrifice back in the Column in order to revert their effects.

Trivia

 * In the First Age of Darkness, there was a Princess Julia imprisoned in The Castle of Lord British (in fact, each of the 8 kings had imprisoned a princess for untold reason). She was rescued by the Stranger who would later defeat the powerful archmage Mondain. But no one seems to have ever questioned whether this princess is the famous tinker Julia of Minoc.
 * It is never good to anger Julia, because she can get REALLY angry. In Ultima VI, she even rejects offers to join the party, after she had to leave one time. Her comments about Patterson in Ultima Underworld II also are quite feisty (she thought about feeding Patterson to the Lurkers).
 * While many companions end up falling under the influence of the Guardian's Columns in Ultima IX - Julia is the only character of which we can witness her gradual change through her journal we can find behind a waterfall in Minoc.
 * While Julia has traditionally been red-haired, in two occurrences did her hair changed colour without any reason : In Ultima Underworld II she suddenly had brown hair, while in Ultima IX, she became blond !
 * In Ultima IX Julia suddenly ended with a thick Gypsy accent instead of her traditional scottish manners. This is obviously a mistake by either the designers or the voice director who must have assumed she was meant to have the same accent as the other characters from Minoc.