Banes of Chaos

The Banes of Chaos are incarnations of the Virtues of Chaos left untamed without their counterparts in Order. They are essentially perversions of their corresponding Forces. These "Anti-Forces" manifest themselves as a kind of malevolent spiritual being, ergo, the Banes. Their rampant freedom results in a chaotic Imbalance that grows worse with every moment they are left to their own devices. The Banes possess horrible powers but are themselves not innately evil.

The Banes of Chaos came into being as a direct result of the Order forces splintering the Chaos Serpent at the height of the Imbalance War. The followers of Order ensnared them in specialised prisons housed in the counterposing Temples of Discipline, Ethicality and Logic before departing Serpent Isle. Therein the Banes remained until the interference of Batlin in the events shortly preceding Ultima VII Part Two.

The Bane of Wantonness


The Bane of Wantonness represents acting without self-restraint and was imprisoned in the Temple of Discipline. It was the first Bane to be ultimately trapped by Batlin and his men.

After its initial release from its Temple confines, it had possessed Gwenno and driven her to ambush an encampment of Hazard's men in the frozen north, slaughtering most of them before they were finally able to kill her. Following this, the Bane was captured by Batlin in association with slaying a "Beast of Ice."

When Batlin was later killed by the Banes' further escape, Dupre fell to possession and transformed into the Wantonness Bane. At first he led the Goblins against Monitor, opening the gates and enabling them to enter the city and slaughter the inhabitants. He then set upon the Inn of the Sleeping Bull and massacred all occupants in a fit of rage before taking up residence in the Castle of the White Dragon with the two other Banes.

The Bane of Anarchy
The Bane of Anarchy represents a lack of standards of conduct and was imprisoned into the Temple of Ethicality. Anarchy was captured second by Batlin's men.

It would seem a possession by the Bane of Angus of the Inn of the Sleeping Bull came to light while Batlin and his gargoyle servant Palos were lodging there. After a commotion, they pursued him far north to the ancient city of Skullcrusher, where they were able to kill him and catch the Bane.

When Batlin was later overpowered and killed by the Banes, Shamino was possessed and became the ruthless Shamino the Anarch. He preyed upon the city of Moonshade, usurping the position of the Mage Lord. Abolishing any kind of law, he watched with glee as mages killed each other, while slaughtering the inhabitants without magic and turning the Magister Fedabiblio to stone. With virtually none left alive, he, like his two counterparts, retreated to the Castle of the White Dragon.

The Bane of Insanity


The Bane of Insanity represents an inability to overcome emotional impulses with rational thoughts and was imprisoned in the Temple of Logic. Insanity was the last to be captured by Batlin, having possessed Cantra well after the Avatar's arrival on Serpent Isle. The sage cornered her in Shamino's Castle, where he managed to kill her and catch the Bane.

When Batlin fell to the Banes' subsequent escape, Insanity possessed Iolo and he became Mad Iolo. He appeared in the city of Fawn, gloating over its citizens' idealistic worship of Beauty. He unleashed plague and vermin, while massacring all inhabitants with the exceptions of the hitherto estranged, disfigured Ruggs and Lady Yelinda, who he skinned and left alive with the taunt that only the Avatar could prove whether beauty was skin-deep. Finally, he retreated to the Castle of the White Dragon to reunite with his Chaotic brethren.

End of the Banes
The end of the Banes came when the Avatar destroyed their vessels with the Black Sword, temporarily trapping them within the Ether Gem before transferring them into Soul Prisms. The Banes ceased to exist when they were once again unified in completeness as the Chaos Serpent.

Trivia

 * The incantation the Avatar uses to re-unite the Banes to the Chaos Serpent is: “In pri kli ort ailem, Priin ort inten mani!”
 * Originally the Banes did something very different than simply killing off everyone, see Plot Cuts in Serpent Isle.
 * It is very interesting, that the three cities the Banes destroy represent the anti-forces of Order: Monitor was apathetic toward the Goblin threat (the knights largely cared about their own pride), Fawn was prejudiced against the ugly and those who challenged the Temple's rule, and the mages of Moonshade were ruthless in their rivalries.