Penumbra

Penumbra, also known as the "Daughter of the Eclipse," is a powerful mage and seer of gypsy descent. She lived in Moonglow for over two hundred years - appearing in both Ultima VII and Ultima VI.

Age of Enlightenment
Little is known of Penumbra's youth, although Karina, daughter of Zoltan, claimed her as a sister, and would ask the Avatar for news of her during their conversations. Whatever her past life among the Britannian gypsies, however, the magician eventually abandoned the itinerant life of her people and settled in the towne of Honesty, where she became romantically involved with Beyvin, the keeper of the city's Rune.

In the year before the events of Ultima VI Beyvin was fatally stabbed in an altercation, and Penumbra buried her dead partner with the Rune he had sworn to protect. When the Avatar journeyed to Moonglow in the course of their adventures during the Gargoyle wars, the fortune-teller revealed this to the hero, and further offered to discover the mantra of Honesty for them and to perform a more general divination of things to come - albeit all for a price.

Fellow gypsy and mystic, Taynith, would nevertheless push the Avatar to consult her, and should the hero indeed hire Penumbra's services, the mage would fall into a trance, intermittently asking for additional gold to assist her as she attempted to scry into the future. While such a performance could end up costing the Avatar a fair amount of money, the visions she claimed to see in her crystal ball eventually gave genuine insight into the hero's imminent venture to the gargoyle homeland and their subsequent quest for the two lenses.

Age of Armageddon
Years later, following eventual end of the war, Penumbra secured her house with a cryptic enchantment and cast herself into a deep magical stasis, predicting her future reawakening by the Avatar when the hero would again need her aid.

In Ultima VII, the Avatar was tasked with solving a puzzle locking Penumbra's house, which required the hero to place a variety of items before her door. When the sleeping mage at last revived from her two-hundred-year slumber, the effects of the damaged ether overwhelmed and debilitated her, necessitating the use of four Blackrock pieces as a protective filter to keep her from falling into the same madness that was plaguing other magicians of the realm. Once shielded from the ethereal waves, Penumbra revealed the existence and location of the Tetrahedron Generator at the heart of the ethereal disruption and directed the Avatar to obtain the Ether Ring from Lord Draxinusom, citing it as a prerequisite in breaking the Generator's defense. Upon its retrieval, Penumbra enchanted the ring, enabling the Avatar to exploit its power in their efforts to restore the ethereal flow.

After offering her aid, Penumbra resumed her former business in Moonglow as a practicing mage, selling reagents and spells.

Trivia

 * Penumbra's counterpart in reality is 'Manda Dee, an artist and writer for Ultima VI, Savage Empire and Martian Dreams. More recently she has gone by the name "Talzhemir."
 * Penumbra claims to be the "daughter of the eclipse." This fits well with her name, which is a Latin word meaning "half shadow."
 * In Runes of Virtue, Penumbra could be found in the Lycaeum and would proffer help to the hero. She would later be found in the city of Moonglow in Runes of Virtue II, where she would tell the hero to seek out the Amulet of Lightning in the Cavern of Deceit, and offer various magical restoratives for sale.
 * In the SNES Port of Ultima VII, Penumbra's home has no magical defenses, although the potion of awakening is needed to rouse her is quite expensive, and may be purchased from  Sarah for one thousand pieces of gold. Once Penumbra is awakened she will require the Blackrock Talisman from the Vesper Mines in order to stave off the ill effects of the ether.