Lycaeum

Description
Situated on the northwestern part of Verity Isle, the Lycaeum has long been symbolic of the Principle of Truth, and acts as the major repository of Brittanian knowledge and scholarly research. At various times in its history is has housed a vast library, an observatory and even a magical oracle, and it regularly attracts scholars and magicians seeking to decipher the mysteries of the world surrounding them. It has also housed both the Flame and Book of Truth: two magically imbued emblems of the Principle it seeks to foster.

Age of Enlightenment
The Lycaeum was established at some point after the defeat of Exodus, as part of Lord British's campaign to unite the newly christened Britannia under the banner of the Eight Virtues. Originally constructed in a manner similar to a military fortress, the Keep of Truth had the trappings of a medieval castle, and sported fortifications and a small company of guards. Ruled jointly by the Lord Robert Frasier and his Lady Beth, the Lycaeum was home to both a modest library and a small observatory. During the Stranger's days as a pilgrim on the road to Avatarhood, the hero came here to learn a part of the the tripartite Word of Passage and to claim the mystic Book of Truth from amidst the castle's numerous tomes.

Years after the raising of the Codex from the Abyss the Lycaeum was visited by a shrouded girl, carrying a glass scrying ball. Seeking an audience with Lord Shalineth, then lord of the keep, the child gave a series of ominous prophecies regarding the coming conflict between a hero and  abominations of unliving Evil, which the nobleman recorded. After her augury was complete, the girl's bauble, which had served to illustrate her visions, exploded, killing her in the process. Shalineth recorded her disturbing visions, and such documents may have proven useful in the Avatar's eventual quest against  Blackthorn and the Shadowlords.

During the reign of the dark lord which did indeed follow the girl's prophecies, the keep stood alongside Empath Abbey and Serpent's Hold as a bastion of resistance against the Oppression, with the Flame of Truth serving to ward off the intrusions of the Shadowlords. Mariah, a prior companion of the Avatar, was granted sanctuary here after she was wounded by one of the dark wraiths' magical bolts, and despite her injuries would gladly accompany the returned hero should they seek her. Eventually, it was within the Lycaeum that Faulinei, the lord of Falsehood, met its end, being dispelled as the Avatar cast the shard of Mondain's gem which birthed it into the fires of Truth.

In the decades which followed Lord British's return and Blackthorn's exile, the Lycaeum's fortifications were dismantled and the buildings housing the institution's collections slowly came to merge into the city of Moonglow. By the time of the Gargoyle Wars, the Keep of Truth had no formal ruler, and appeared to have its affairs managed by a loosely defined council of wizards, with the scholar Thariand acting as the head of its libraries. Mariah, now a new initiate of the Council, could still be found in the area, and proved crucial in the Avatar's quest, being able to decipher the silver tablet which held the key to the Gargish language.

Age of Armageddon
Over the next two hundred years, Moonglow and the Lyceaum continued to grow around one another. The Observatory, which had long been housed within the Lycaeum's environs, eventually came to occupy a separate building from the Lycaeum proper, which now consisted almost entirely of a library. By the time of the Avatar's adventures concerning the Black Gate, the institution was headed by Nelson, whose twin brother, Brion saw to the operations of the Observatory. Tragically, however, Nelson was slain during the Guardian's assault on Castle Britannia a year later, leaving the operations of the Lycaeum in unknown hands.

Whatever course the Lycaeum took in the interim years, by the time of the Avatar's last visitation to Britannia, it had changed drastically. Having been refashioned into a small floating chamber above the city of Moonglow, its once grand holdings had diminished to a small handful of volumes. Within it rested an enigmatic construct known as the Oracle, which returned the Book of Truth to the re-arrived hero, but only once they confessed to their responsibility for the ravages of the Guardian.

Lore




Ultima IV




Ultima V: Lazarus


Ultima VI



 * Mariah: scholar
 * Thariand: librarian

Ultima VII

 * Jillian: scholar
 * Mariah: mage and friend
 * Nelson: scholar
 * Zelda: scholar

Also, Frank the Fox resides just outside the Lycaeum.

Runes of Virtue II

 * Croyel Dauphin: sage



Ultima IV

 * The Truth Healer: healer

Ultima V

 * The Folley Tap: taven
 * The Sharper Mage: apothecary
 * The Shield of Truth: armoury/weapon shop

Trivia



 * The name "Lycaeum" in an old, Latin spelling of the word "Lyceum". The Lyceum was originally a place of learning in Ancient Greece, most famous for its association with Aristotle, and is said to have been an important early milestone in the development of Western science and philosophy.
 * In a fan-made dialogue patch for Ultima IX, the Lycaeum of Moonglow is renamed, given how dissimilar it is from other iterations of the building.
 * The Lycaeum appears in Yoko Tanaka's manga re-telling of Ultima IV, where it resembles a mountain temple. It is here that  Deane, consults Father Antos, looking for information about his lost brother  Shiva and hearing tell of the Skull of Mondain, which is needed in the comic to enter the Abyss.
 * The name of the arcane stronghold is consistently misspelled as "Lyceum" in Lynn Abbey's Ultima Saga.
 * In The Forge of Virtue, a common greeting between mages at the Lycaeum is "Vas Wis?", which is answered "Kal Wis."

Digital Lycaeum on Ultima Aiera
The Digital Lycaeum is a sister site to this Codex of Ultima Wisdom, established by Withstand the Fury Dragon as a repository for Ultima fan project developers. The Lycaeum is a place for hosting assets, including art, models and music, as well as reviews of existing projects, articles about game development, and discussion.


 * The Digital Lycaeum, an Ultima Aiera project