Geoffrey

Geoffrey, a strong and capable fighter, is a recurring character and one of the companions of the Avatar. Possessing a longevity typical of many Terrans dwelling in Britannia, Geoffrey has spent centuries in service to the realm, many of them as the commander of Lord British's personal guard.

According to his description from his dialogue in Ultima IV, he is a 6' 5" tall great warrior.

Age of Darkness
It is not known precisely when Geoffrey first came to Sosaria/Britannia, and there are, in fact, some legends which claim the fighter as a native to the world. Whatever the case, the first record of Geoffrey can be found in Lord British's Great Work - a tome of commissioned exploratory writings which set to chart the boundaries of the young king's realms. In this volume, Geoffrey (known then by the title of "the Giant" - likely in reference to his imposing stature ) explored and mapped the Perinian Depths, a dungeon northeast of Britain.

Age of Enlightenment
Later, after the eventual defeat of the Triad of Evil, Lord British sent out a call for an individual to champion his new system of virtues, hoping to move his kingdom out of the brutality of the  dark ages it had endured and into an enlightened era of philosophy, scholarship and art. In this age, Geoffrey took residence in Jhelom, a city dedicated to the concept of Valor, where he eventually met the aspirant Stranger. Speaking of his own of longing for battle, the fighter offered his services as a combatant, and joined with the hero in their quest to obtain Avatarhood, following them into the depths of the  Abyss as they sought and eventually attained enlightenment. .

This association with the Avatar of legend, however, would ultimately prove a burden to the warrior. Geoffrey, along with the other who had accompanied the hero in their divine undertaking, became a target during the time of the regent Blackthorn's regime and was marked as an outlaw during the rule of the Oppression. Fleeing the society that persecuted him, the gallant came to dwell in Buccaneer's Den, where he awaited the Avatar's return, hoping to fight alongside them again with the aim of toppling Blackthorn's tyrannical regime. Should the hero approach him during the course of their adventures in Ultima V, the fighter would prove eager to proffer what assistance he could.

Eventually, Blackthorn was deposed and British restored, and the following years saw Geoffrey rise to the post of captain of the royal guard under the returned sovereign. Years later, during the gargish wars, Geoffrey was charged with launching a counterattack to attempt to reclaim the occupied Shrine of Compassion, dispatching several members of the town guard to combat the invaders. This campaign ended with calamitous results, and the surviving men were all severely injured. The Avatar could later speak their leader, Gertan, to hear tales of the bloody affair.

With such martial engagements seeming to occupy the bulk of Geoffrey's days, the warrior was unable to accompany the hero in their efforts to end the conflict during Ultima VI, and had little to speak of aside the war. Eventually, the hero managed to resolve the conflict peaceably, and Geoffrey presumably returned to the peacetime routines of a civil servant.

Age of Armageddon
Over the next two-hundred years, Geoffrey maintained his post by British's side, aging only slightly throughout the ages of relative tranquility which the kingdom enjoyed. By the time of the Avatar's return in Ultima VII, the fighter claimed that he had grown too old for adventuring, and that his responsibilities demanded he remain in Britain. These long years of relative inaction had given the warrior a slightly contemplative outlook on life, and he had taken to the study of philosophy in the comparatively tame world of the early Age of Armageddon.

Later, in Ultima Underworld II, he was among those in attendance at the ill-fated fete in which the revelers were imprisoned inside of a great blackrock dome of the Guardian's artifice. In these close quarters, the aging soldier took up a challenge to spar with the comparatively young Master Syria of Jhelom's Library of Scars - a duel which he lost with embarrassing rapidity. Realizing that the long years of quiet had dulled his fighting edge, the shamed captain rededicated himself to the art of war - vowing to reacquire his gift with weaponry, if only to better protect Lord British.

After weathering the years of the Imbalance and the eventual incursion of the Guardian onto Britannian soil, Geoffrey, like many of the Avatar's other companions, was seduced by the power of the columns, taking on the name Yerffoeg and the mantle of the Wyrmguard. When the hero encountered him in Ultima IX, the transformed man denounced his liege, Lord British, and could be found guarding the Guadian's work near the Dungeon Destard. Should the Avatar have chosen to play upon the cowardice of his corrupt state and frighten him off with threats, the fighter would not come to blows with the champion, and could later be found in Valoria, after the Shrine of Valor had been restored. He reported that he intended to go and beg for Lord British's forgiveness for his actions.

Later, Geoffrey would aid in the final defeat of the Guardian, journeying to the Destard again to cleanse the corrupting column linked to it, helping to cut off the Guardian's power and to divert the catastrophic collision of Trammel and Felucca.

The Tale of Geoffrey and the Dragon: A Parable of Valor
''Of old, in the days when the great Dragons still flew freely about the skies, there was a dragon called Ignus. Now dragons are subtle and dangerous creatures, but as a whole they are not truly evil, for they have their own way to follow, and honor after their own fashion. Ignus, however, was an exception, and in fact I believe he was the source of many of the popular libels which are spoken about his race. For Ignus was a mischievous and rapacious beast, and he took great delight in plundering and ruining the habitations of humanity. He even had a taste for the flesh of human youths, particularly females, which habit I am sure his fellow Dragons found very nearly as distasteful as we do.''

''So it came to pass one day that Ignus woke to find himself both hungry and bored, and he bestirred himself and off he flew, in search of amusement and sustenance among the habitations of men. ''

See the complete tale at: The Tale of Geoffrey and the Dragon: a Parable of Valor



Ultima V: Lazarus
In Ultima V: Lazarus, Geoffrey served the Resistance from Buccaneer's Den while in exile from Blackthorn. He told the hero how he had fought with the regent in Jhelom, but had been defeated despite wounding Blackthorn's face. The knight was also willing to grant Lord Dalgrin legal protection for his various crimes should Lord British return, in exchange for the pirate helping to resupply Serpent's Hold.

Trivia

 * Geoffrey's counterpart in reality is Jeff Hillhouse, the first outside employee of Origin in 1983, who served as the Head of Operations.
 * In the NES port of Ultima IV, Geoffrey's name has been shortened to "Geoff," although he still functions as the same character within the game.
 * In Ultima VII, Geoffrey indicates that he is originally from Earth in his dialogue with the Avatar. In The Tale of Geoffrey and the Dragon, the budding warrior is described to have already established himself, along with his father and sister, in Lord British's realm at the age of 14.
 * In Ultima IX, the Avatar may opt to slay Geoffrey when encountering him as a Wyrmguard. If this happens, Geoffrey will later appear as a ghost, thanking the hero for releasing him from his bondage to the Guardian. He will later be restored to life along with Dupre and any other slain companions once the Shrine of Spirituality is cleansed.
 * In early drafts of Ultima IX from Bob White's tenure as lead designer, Geoffrey was to have remained uncorrupted in his post as Captain of the Guard and acted as the principal aide to an ailing Lord British. In this telling of the series' concluding chapter, Geoffrey was also to have had a daughter named Mistral, a monk serving in the Cathedral of Love who would have cooperated with the Avatar in the hero's effort to awaken Shamino from his self-imposed magical stasis within the convent.