Hythloth

Hythloth [hith-loth] is a dungeon located on the southern shores of the Isle of the Avatar, near the Shrine of the Codex. One of the eight famed Britannian dungeons, Hythloth opposes the virtue of Spirituality.

Ultima IV
Hythloth was formed around the time of the christening of Britannia, and in its earliest incarnation, managed to span a large portion of the globe - having entrances on both the Isle of the Abyss and in the environs of Castle Britannia itself. During the Stranger's pilgrimage toward Avatarhood, the hero would have occasion to traverse Hythloth, entering the secret passages within Lord British's castle that led to the dungeon's deepest reaches that they might later emerge to find the lighter-than air device.

For reasons never made clear, the White Stone of Spirituality was missing from its altar within Hythloth during this age, have come instead to rest within Lord British's treasury. Within Hythloth, however, an adventurer could still find numerous magical orbs which gifted those who touched them with supernaturally enhanced strength, intelligence and dexterity. At its lowest level Hythloth was connected to the Altar Rooms of Truth, Love and Courage, which interlinked it with the dungeons Deceit, Despise, Destard, Wrong, Covetous and Shame.

Ultima V
After the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom was taken from it's seat in the Abyss, the Great Council placed a seal over the great dungeons, including Hythloth, in the hopes that they could confine the beasts that lay within beneath the soil. This, however, had the unforeseen outcome of creating a vast and expansive Underworld beneath the earth, creating a vast haven for the monsters which the council had sought to banish.

After Blackthorn's rise to power, however, the members of the council were named outlaws, and suffered grievously at the hands of the Oppression. As such, the returned Avatar had to search out the imprisoned Hassad, who lay captive in Blackthorn's dungeons, that they might learn the Word of Power which would reopen Hythloth: "IGNAVUS." Once armed with this knowledge, the hero could use the dungeon as a means to reaching the Underworld below it, where they would find it now opened on lands near to the Shard of Cowardice which had birthed the Shadowlord Nosfentor.

Ultima VI


As the collapse of the Underworld instigated the subsequent destruction of the Gargish homelands, Hythloth alone remained open to the lands that existed below, and by the time of the gargoyles' war on humanity, it had become the sole means of reaching their crumbling homeworld. During this time, the scholar, Captain Johne had taken residence in Hythloth's tunnels, where he had been making a study of the Gargish language through his friend, Beh Lem. The Avatar would eventually have cause to pass through here and to seek Johne out, as understanding the words of the gargoyles would be crucial in forming a lasting peace with them.

Ultima VII
During the Fellowship's rise to power, the group saw fit to outfit Hythloth as a base of their operations, filling its passages with a hidden compound which housed numerous followers of the Guardian. Within its deepest recesses, they erected a chamber to house the Black Gate, through which their master was intended to pass into the world of Britannia.

As the Avatar came to understand the Destroyer of World's intentions for the realm, the hero was driven to confront the Fellowship elite deep within their fortress in Hythloth, where they killed numerous members of the group's inner circle, before eventually shattering the dark moongate which was about to activate, and thereby barring the Guardian's entry into the world.

Ultima IX
During the Avatar's last journey in Britannia, a dungeon known as "Hythloth" could be found near the waters of New Magincia, rather than upon the Isle of the Avatar, perhaps having been some reemerged remnant of the tunnels which once connected Hythloth to Castle Britannia. The returned hero would have to navigate this sewer-like maze (which now appeared to be opposed to the virtue of Humility) that they might at last enter the Gargish underwater city of Ambrosia.

Ultima VII

 * Abraham: Fellowship inner circle member
 * Elizabeth: Fellowship inner circle member
 * Forskis: assassin
 * Hook: assassin

Ultima IX

 * Damon: Wyrmguard

Trivia

 * In the first appearance of Hythloth on the Apple II version of Ultima IV it is spelled "Hylothe". In every port of Ultima IV it was changed to Hythloth and the change was maintained in every subsequent Ultima.
 * Skara Brae is the city of Spirituality, the Virtue opposing Hythloth. This creates an apparent discrepancy in Ultima V, as the councilor Hassad, which had Hythloth's Word of Power, was kidnapped from New Magincia and not from Skara Brae. However, it is made clear that he actually represents Skara Brae in the Great Council, thus establishing consistency.
 * In Runes of Virtue, the Cavern of Pride also served as an underwater trans-oceanic tunnel leading to the Isle of the Avatar. Delving into its dark recesses, the hero located the Rune of Spirituality, as well the famed Mystic Sword.  Further adventuring would also reveal the magic Troll Ring, which would disguise the hero as a troll so monsters would not attack.
 * In Runes of Virtue II, the Cavern of Pride was located in the village of Cove, which had been overrun by a powerful liche. The dungeon could be reached upon the liche's destruction.  Within these depths, the hero would find powerful magic armour, a magic sword, a ping pong paddle, as well as the powerful star wand, which granted access to the Great Stygian Abyss.  At the bottommost level, Quenton, the mayor of Skara Brae could be rescued.
 * The reason why Hythloth in Ultima IX looks like a sewer is because this dungeon wasn't actually supposed to be Hythloth; instead, these were meant to be the sewers running under Britain, as seen in earlier games. However, when the plot of Ultima IX was altered, the sewers ended up being one of the many things cut from the game. Apparently not wanting the work to go to waste, Origin simply recycled the sewers' assets to create the new Hythloth.
 * An entire section of Hythloth in Ultima IX was deemed too difficult by play-testers and the dungeon was truncated. Curiously, however, that section was left in the finished game instead of being deleted or sealed off; there is only an optional transporter disc that allows the player to bypass the final areas.