Fedabiblio

Fedabiblio is a mage in Moonshade, known as the Magister. He acts as headmaster of the Seminarium and is charged with testing infants from all over Serpent Isle for magical ability, such as that children with the capacity for magic do not remain untrained and dangerous.

People throughout Serpent Isle told the Avatar tales of the Magister, painting a picture of a dark and wicked figure who kidnapped children in the night, leaving naught but a white stone in their place. These accounts did not necessarily mesh with the reality of Fedabiblio, who seemed an honest man wishing only to prevent the hardships that would be both suffered and incurred by untrained magelings. They were, however, understandable fables for a populace largely devoid of magical training to create, especially given the reality of grieving parents, bereft of their chilren

The Avatar met Fedabibilio in Ultima VII Part Two, and requested of the mage a replacement spellbook, after losing the Britannian spellbook to the teleport storms. Fedabiblio agreed to construct a new spellbook, telling the Avatar to bring him mandrake roots from Monk Isle, claiming that the freshest roots would be necessary to create the tome. After bringing him the needed reagents, Fedabiblio quizzed the Avatar on material from Erstam's book, Beyond the Serpent Pillars before crafting the item.

Much later, after Shamino the Anarch overtook Moonshade, he turned Fedabiblio into a stone statue. The Avatar was able to use a wand known as the Philanderer's Friend, which was found in the possession of the undead Vasculio, to return Fedabiblio to flesh and blood. Thankful, he gave the Avatar a key which had previously belonged to Captain Hawk, allowing the hero to eventually locate the dead sailor's treasure. He also provided the Avatar with copy of the scroll of serpent, which was needed to decipher what course of action to take in the imminent Imbalance.

Trivia

 * Fedabiblio's questions before getting the spellbook form the second part of the in game copyright protection.
 * According to the original design documents for Serpent Isle, Fedabiblio was transformed to stone by an ill-planned prank by his pupil, Freli. In order to revive Fedabiblio, the Avatar would either have to return the Philanderer’s Friend to Torrissio to obtain the secret from the life mage or would have to have stolen it from his mansion. Instead of the wand breaking the spell, a potion found in Torrissio's home was needed as the antidote.