Alagner

Alagner is a scholar living in New Magincia during Ultima VII.

Description
Alagner was a man disillusioned with the times. To escape the corruption he saw on the Britannian mainland, he moved to remote New Magincia, hoping that he could continue his studies in peace on the rural island. Of particular interest to him was the new philosophical society known as the Fellowship, which was gaining followers throughout the realm. Suspecting that they we're playing a role in the degeneration of Britannian society, he sent his apprentice, Anton, to travel in search of information regarding them.

Eventually, through his own observations and Anton's espionage, the scholar began to discern the true nature of the Fellowship, realizing that the seemingly benign society was under the control of a malevolent entity known as the Guardian. Connecting this being to the decline of magic and the growing instability of the moongates, the sage carefully recorded his theories about the Guardian and his followers in his notebook, hoping when he had sufficient evidence that he could present his compiled notes to Lord British and have the monarch take action. Wary of such damning writings falling into the wrong hands, Alagner concealed the notebook within an elaborate storehouse.

Eventually, the Avatar would come to New Magincia, seeking his notebook on behalf of the wisps, who wished to broker a trade for the information contained therein on behalf of a nebulous government known as the Undrian Council. Alagner agreed to surrender the book, but first demanded that the hero prove their devotion to the pursuit of knowledge by traveling to devastated Skara Brae and asking the spirit of the "Tortured One" who dwelt there what the answers to the questions of life and death were. Only when the champion returned with knowledge of these things would Alagner give the Avatar the key to his storehouse.

One the hero accomplished this task and received the notebook, however, Alagner rapidly became a target of the Fellowship assassins. The information within the book, once possessed by the wisps, had come into the hands of the Guardian, and the Red Titan wasted little time in silencing his adversary. When the Avatar came again to New Magincia to return the notebook, the hero found the sage's dismembered body, which had been left ritualistically mutilated by his killers. Through the use of a magical crystal ball which Alagner had prepared to record events in his workshop, the Avatar was able to witness the moment of the scholar's death, and could clearly see Hook, Forskis, Elizabeth and Abraham as they disposed of their quarry.

Trivia

 * Alagner's real world counterpart is Ultima VII associate producer, Alan Gardner.
 * Should the Avatar be wearing a Fellowship medallion when speaking to Alagner, the sage will caution the hero about the society, and will congratulate them should he learn that they are using membership as an undercover means of gathering information.
 * Alagner is the author of Alagner's Book of Marvelous and Astonishing Things, which gives a comprehensive overview of some of the strange and powerful artifacts which might be found in Britannia. By bizarre coincidence, this volume contains significant portios of text which are identical to those found in Briggio's Book of Marvelous and Astonishing Things - a tome found on the distant Serpent Isle.
 * Alagner's death was foretold to Anton by the Time Lord, although it is not known if the young adventurer was ever able to inform his master of this eventuality.
 * In the SNES Port of Ultima VII, Alagner places his notebook in the Dungeon Sagatious rather than locking it in his own private storehouse. In this version of the game, he is also merely kidnapped by the Fellowship, instead of being murdered.