Runes

The eight runes are a series of symbolic artifacts which allow their bearer access to the Britannian Shrines of Virtue that they might meditate and learn there. They appear in  Ultima IV,  VI,  Runes of Virtue,  VII, and  IX.

Description
Each stone rune corresponds to one of the Eight Virtues and its accompanying shrine. One side is carved with a symbol evoking the virtue connected to the rune, whilst the other bears one of eight runic letter. When placed side by side, these engravings spell out the word "infinity," referencing the singular axiom which binds together both the Principles and the Virtues.

Throughout Britannian history, the runes have been depicted as being of different sizes - being small enough to hold in the palm of one's hand in Ultima IV and as large as a small shield in Ultima VII and Ultima IX - indicated that more than one set of runes may have been used from age to age.

Age of Enlightenment
The runes were first introduced at the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, around the same time as the establishment of the shrines. It seems likely that they were crafted by Britannian hands, given the existence of professional rune carvers such as Azure of Minoc. Whatever their exact origins, they eventually became hidden from much of the populace, and would require much seeking on the part of the Stranger before the hero would obtain all them.

Eventually, the Stranger would recover and make use of all eight runes in their pilgrimage toward Avatarhood. After the hero's attainment of the wisdom of the Codex, however, these artifacts were not be seen again until the days of the  Gargoyle War, and were notably absent from the realm during the reign of Lord Blackthorn (although the shrines continued to function without them).

When the runes resurfaced, it was claimed that Lord British had previously managed to secure them when the Great Council retrieved the Codex from the Abyss. The sovereign eventually sent the eight artifacts to the leaders of each of the eight cities, although through happenstance or misfortune, many of them were eventually lost or bequeathed to other guardians. The returning Avatar would once more need to gather the scattered runes, as their power was necessary to dissipate the magical barriers which the invading gargoyles had placed upon the moonstones in their seizure of the shrines.

Age of Armageddon
In the centuries following Lord British and Lord Draxinusom's eventual accord, the runes faded from prominence as public belief in the Virtues waned. They were eventually gathered and placed in the Royal Museum as artifacts of a past age, where they could be found resting at the time of the Avatar's return at the beginning of the Age of Armageddon.

Twenty years before the hero's last visitation to the realm, the runes would be stolen by agents of the Guardian, and were corrupted by the Destroyer of Worlds such as that they became sources of power for his dark columns. These bewitched runes, known as glyphs, spread an aura of wickedness and immorality throughout the realm, twisting the souls of the Britannian populace and turning them to evil. In their last quest before their reunification with the Guardian and subsequent apotheosis, it fell to the Avatar to retrieve and purify the runes, such as that they might be used to cut off the Red Titan's lines of power in the land and render him vulnerable in their final confrontation. As the hero journeyed to Terfin to undergo this last trial, their eight companions installed the eight runes in the columns which had once housed them as glyphs, transforming the structures into beacons of virtue and thwarting the Guardian's schemes.

Runes of Virtue
In Ultima: Runes of Virtue, the runes were stolen by the Black Knight, and hidden within their corresponding dungeon. The hero had to delve into all eight dungeons of Britannia in order to retrieve the pilfered runes, and then return them to Lord British, thus foiling the Black Knight's plan.

Ultima VII
During  Ultima VII, the eight runes all lay within Britain's Royal Museum. They serve no function in the course of the game, and taking them from their resting place is entirely optional.

Ultima IX
During  Ultima IX, the eight runes had all been transformed into glyps and each had been installed into the column nearest to the dungeon which opposed the virtue it represented. The Avatar could restore them to their original state by taking them to their corresponding shrine along with an appropriate sigil. After reciting the correct mantra, the glyph would be transformed back into a rune.

Trivia

 * Each rune retrieved in Ultima IV grants (only) the player's character 100 XP.
 * In  Ultima VII, Mayor Finnigan of Trinsic can relate to the Avatar how the Rune of Honor was stolen from the pedestal on which Whitsaber had placed it and was never returned - later finding its way to the Royal Museum. A  modification for the Exult utility adds an optional quest in which the hero may restore the rune to the city.
 * The Keyring Mod for Exult gives the Avatar the option to meditate at the various shrines in Ultima VII using the runes - and should the hero complete all of the quests ordained by the shrines, they will be able to teleport to the Shrine of Spirituality without contacting the wisps, thereby circumventing Alagner's demise.
 * Despite the letters spelling INFINITY being placed on the reverse side of the runes, The Avatar had to consult the shrines in  Ultima IV to receive a vision of each letter.