Lady Janell

Lady Janell is a mage of the Lycaeum in the time of Ultima V.

She identifies herself as "Queen of the Magi of Britannia", and tells the Avatar that even though Blackthorn's reign is a dark time for Britannia, there are many who still seek the light of Truth. She instructs the Avatar how to reach the Shrine of Spirituality, and to speak to Ava and Leona in Cove about finding the Shard of Falsehood.

Ultima V: Lazarus
In Ultima V: Lazarus, Janell was born in Moonglow and moved to the Lycaeum when she was old enough to leave home to study magic more extensively. She became the student of Meridin, who was Britannia's archmage at the time. Janell's lovely nature made her very popular amongst the Lycaeum's mages, and her calm wisdom earned her high respect even among those many years her senior. She accompanied her mentor on several journeys to Britannia's mainland on matters both magical and political. One such trip led them to the Shrine of Spirituality, which is how she learned how to reach the shrine by entering a Moongate at midnight. Another took them to Cove, where the sisters Ava and Leona told of a strange prophetic vision. When Meridin left for the Underworld with Lord British's expedition, both he and Lord Shalineth asked Janell to assume Meridin's duties until he returned. She proved more than able, and when word came that Meridin had been killed in the Underworld, she was asked to become the new Archmage.

As Archmage, Lady Janell was responsible for following all the mages who had passed through the Lycaeum, ensuring they kept to the path of Truth and did not stray into the Dark Arts, a task which Janell noted had become increasingly difficult. With the loss of Lord British, many mages at the Lycaeum had begun to study the Dark Arts fervently, creating spells of unimaginable destruction. Fearing this research would result in deaths or worse, Lady Janell had felt compelled to place a ban on such studies, which had angered many of those within the keep, causing them to leave. The Archmage noted that many of them had been of good moral character, but some who joined the Oppression were more interested in power than the pursuit of Truth.

With this ban in place, Lord Blackthorn had stripped Janell of her position as Archmage, electing Flain to the new position. The former Archmage feared that eventually Flain would return to reclaim his position at the Lycaeum with his followers, including Elistaria. Lady Janell asked the hero to speak with Arkandor for more information regarding Elistaria, noting the some mages still sought to return to the light of Truth.