Shrine of Humility

The Shrine of Humility is one of the eight holy sites established by the Council of Wizards during the days of Lord British's philosophical renaissance of the early Age of Enlightenment.

Description
This shrine in Britannia is dedicated to the virtue of Humility. Standing far from civilization nestled between the mountains of the Isle of the Avatar, only those truly devoted can make the long journey to the shrine. During Ultima VII, a chalice lay on its altar. Strangely enough, in much later ages, the shrine stood on New Magincia itself. Those who meditate at the shrine gain insight into the virtue of Humility, which is is independent of the principles and the opposite of pride, thus being the root of all virtue. Entrance to the shrine at various points in history has required the use of an appropriate rune, and in order for a pilgrim to achieve wisdom from their ministrations there, they must intone the mantra "LUM".

Age of Enlightenment
The Shrine of Humility was erected around the time of Britannia's christening, and it would figure into the spiritual quest of the Stranger in their pursuit of Avatarhood. However, after the fall of Magincia, daemon hordes would guard the shrine, not wanting anyone to become this virtuous. The hero, needing to sojourn there after proving themselves to be humble despite the great quest they were on, and attain ascendance in ways of Humility, used a Silver Horn to temporarily repel the daemons. After meditating on the virtue for three cycles, the shrine granted partial Avatarhood.

Later, in the dark days of Lord Blackthorn and the Oppression, the Avatar would travel again to this sacred place, and would be directed by the powers within it to quest after the knowledge of Humility contained in the enshrined Codex of Ultimate Wisdom. By that time, the demonic hords had been scattered, thus the shrine again was freely available. In the struggle to restore Lord British to his throne, the hero realized that this shrine couldn't be destroyed by Lord Blackthorn's lackeys, as no Word of Power existed which could destroy the shrine.

After the beginning of the Gargish conflict, this shrine and the other seven would all be seized by gargoyle warriors seeking to thwart the prophecy of the False Prophet. In time, however, the Avatar would liberate it from Draxinusom's troops, and could again meditate there on the mysteries of Humility. With proper experience, the Avatar could draw on the shrine to advance, but stay humble and gain no physical advantages.

Age of Armageddon
Over the next two centuries, the Shrine of Humility would fall into disuse, as the seductive philosophies of the Fellowship eventually came to supplant widespread adherence to the Eight Virtues. By the time of the Avatar's eventual return near the time of the Astronomical Alignment, the hero would find the shrine still standing on its remote isle, although none appeared to have made the pilgrimage to it for many years.

Later, during the hero's exile on Pagan, the Guardian and his forces would corrupt the shrine. In doing so, the corresponding rune was twisted into an artifact known as a glyph. During their last journeys in Britannia, the Avatar would be able to cleanse the Shrine of Humility of such evils, using the powers of the Crook of Humility to undo the damage wrought by the Destroyer of Worlds. It was found submerged beneath the waves near New Magincia instead of its traditional location on the Isle of the Avatar. While Katrina mentioned that there had been some geographic upheaval since the Avatar's last visit to Britannia, there was no real explanation as to why it had moved or been reconstructed there.

Alternate Appearance

 * In Lord of Ultima, a Shrine of Humility can randomly be located in Caledonia.
 * In the cancelled Ultima Online 2 and the Technocrat War trilogy, the Shrine of Humility was to be included on the eastern continent of Jukaran.

Trivia

 * The locations of the Shrine of Humility and the Shrine of the Codex were inverted in Ultima VI. They later reverted to their original locations in Ultima VII.
 * While there is no explanation in-game for the sudden appearance of the Shrine of Humility on the isle of New Magincia in Ultima IX, this was most likely a design decision in order to have all the related elements of each region of the game close to one another.
 * The Keyring Mod for the Ultima VII utility, Exult, gives the Avatar the option to meditate at the Shrine of Humility using its corresponding rune. It will issue a quest for the hero to seek knowledge of Humility from the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, as it had in previous games.
 * In Ultima VI, the Shrine of Humility adds no bonuses when advancing a character's level.