Ssithnos

Ssithnos was the last Great Hierophant of Balance, in the time of the Ophidians on Serpent Isle. He appears in Ultima VII Part Two.

Description
Not much is known about his life, besides the fact that he was the Great Hierophant at the time when the Great Earth Serpent was abducted from the Ethereal Void. This weakened him enough, that he became unable to stop the growing hostilities.

Right before his death, Ssithnos wrote a letter titled Principles of Balance, trying to preserve the philosophy of the Ophidians for the future, and to ask for help in repairing the Imbalance. He also bemoaned the state of the land and named the very people who were about to end his life. (The letter in its entirety can be read in the gallery.) Ssithnos' letter was found by Erstam many years later and he transcribed it into the book Beyond the Serpent Pillars. The Avatar found this letter, too, on their arrival, on a corpse that maybe was Erstam's love, the sorceress Drogeni.

Soon after writing his letter, Order forces stormed his keep and Ssithnos was murdered by them. His death was subsequently blamed on the followers of Chaos, giving the Order forces, commanded by Hierophant Calithiss, an excuse to storm Skullcrusher and murder its inhabitants. This marked the beginning the War of Imbalance. Ssithnos was later entombed on the Isle of Crypts, with Order pretending sorrow, despite them being his murderers.

The Avatar later travelled to the Isle of Crypts after the meaning of Ssithnos' letter was decyphered by Fedabiblio of Moonshade, and it was there that the Avatar spoke with Ssithnos via the Summon Shade spell, to learn what to do to restore Balance. Ssithnos actually had already waited for the Avatar, the Great Earth Serpent having told him to expect the hero. Ssithnos finally explained how the Earth Serpent got abduted by Exodus and how this threw the land into turmoil. He warned that the Banes of Chaos were not evil in themselves, but driven insane by the imbalance. The only way to heal them was, to re-unite them back into the Chaos Serpent. Sadly, Ssithnos did not know how to achieve this feat, as only the Chaos Hierophant knew these secrets. He advised the Avatar to find the resting place of the man and also added that once the deed is done, they would need all insignia of Balance before travelling to the Shrine of Balance.

After that, Ssithnos' soul escaped to the void, finally at peace.

Trivia

 * In order to summon Ssithnos, the Serpent Staff, the Serpent Armour and the Serpent Crown are all needed.