Exodus

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This article is about the antagonist from Ultima III. For the game, see Ultima III: Exodus.

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Exodus
Exodus, from Ultima III
Species:	unknown
Appearances
Ultima III Location: Castle of Fire Ultima VI Exodus, from Ultima VI Location: Shrine of Diligence Transcript: Exodus The Ultima 6 Project Exodus, from The Ultima 6 Project Location: Shrine of Diligence

Exodus, the eponymous villain to be vanquished in Ultima III: Exodus, is a malevolent entity created by Mondain the wizard and his lover Minax.

The offspring of Mondain's and Minax's union, Exodus' exact nature has long remained ambiguous, as it is a construct clearly comprised of both organic and synthetic parts. The Ultima III game box art seems to suggest Exodus is a demon, but the game's conclusion depicts it as a machine that has to be deactivated through inserting the Four Cards, implying Exodus to be a demonic artificial intelligence existing in a computer.

In later years, it was revealed that the creature's two primary components were the "Psyche," which contained Exodus' consciousness and desires, and the "Dark Core" which contained the sum of the hellspawn's accumulated knowledge. The exact interface which allowed these two parts to interact and to co-exist as a sapient individual, however, has never fully been explained, having been destroyed in the course of the Stranger's questings during Ultima III.

History

It is unclear as to exactly when the being which would become known as Exodus was first formed, as scant record exists of the hellspawn's creation, which was chronicled only in fragmentary writings found in the ruins of Shadowguard. Whatever its origins, the nascent entity appears to have found itself orphaned soon after its creation, as both its makers were slain by the Stranger. Determined to avenge the memory of those who had forged it, the daemon-machine waited patiently as it accumulated information – slowly learning about everything in the world around it, from the color of the sky on a cloudy day to the secrets of manipulating the fabric of Sosaria itself.

When it was ready, Exodus began its campaign of revenge, raising for itself a dark citadel as it birthed the Isle of Fire from deep under the oceans. Powerful enough to snatch the Great Earth Serpent from the Void to serve as his protector, the evil being turned the creatures of the land to violence, summoning hordes of monsters to plague the realm which had once seen its parents' fall. In this third Age of Darkness, Sosaria saw the destruction of the mercantile fleets by pirates, the regrouping of orcish raiders against humanity, and ill omens in both the skies and seas.

Eventually, Lord British sent his trusted friend Shamino Sallé Dacil on an errand of discovery to Exodus' newly arisen island, hoping to glean the meaning of all of this auspices – however, while the ranger eventually returned from his mission, the contact he had endured with the hellspawn rendered him temporarily insane, unable to fully communicate the horrors he had seen. In the days before the Stranger's eventual appearance, a derelict ship was towed into a sea port, bearing no evidence of its crew save for the letters of Exodus' name written in human blood. In desperation, the young monarch of the realm invoked the powers of his amulet, summoning once more the champion who had laid low the evils of the past two ages.

The Stranger, once more tasked with Sosaria's salvation, undertook the quest of Exodus' undoing with three companions. This company, with the aid of the Time Lord, eventually was able to penetrate the daemon-machine's stronghold that they might destroy the interface connecting its component parts – tricking it into enacting its own destruction with Four Cards representing the concepts of Sol, Moons, Love and Death. Once thus confounded, Exodus' psyche broke from its core, unable to sustain the link between them. The Stranger and company never spoke again of what they had witnessed.

Existence After Death

After this separation, the Gargish race managed to remove Exodus’ psyche from its place in the Void, and placed its consciousness it into their Shrine of Diligence, convinced that its existence of ongoing exploration and striving made it a fitting representation of the Principle. It was here, upon the gargoyle homelands that the Avatar found it in Ultima VI. In this meeting, it explained to the hero that it now regretted its actions, having had time to comprehend their full weight. It explained that while operational, its diligence in enacting its revenge had eventually become a more pressing part of its being than the goal of vengeance itself – leaving it purposeless and adrift. It cautioned its former adversary to always keep sight of consequences, so as to not be lost in diligence without focus.

After this encounter, the gargoyle's lands were eventually destroyed, leaving Exodus' psyche to wander the Void again. Eventually, through the intervention of the mage Erethian, the Isle of Fire rearose from the sea into which it had long ago sunk, bringing Exodus' Dark Core once more to the world's above. This dangerous chain of events gave rise to the possibility that the psyche might reunite with its mechanical core, allowing the daemonic construct to recreate itself. The Avatar, eager to guard against such a cataclysmic possibility, eventually contrived to banish the core into the Void using the Talisman of Infinity such as that the two halves of the creature could not reunite on the material plane.

Lore

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Lord British sent his most trusted and talented advisor out to uncover the facts behind these wild rumors. Weeks passed, then a shattered man was found wandering in the groves outside the castle. Some terrible sight had blasted his reasoning. He just kept repeating, “From the depth of Hell...He comes for vengeance.” What he/she/it was, remained unclear. The spread of its evil powers, however, was very clear. Lord British sent out a Call for all of the Heroes of the People to rally. That is why thou are here today. Thou heard the Call and answered it. Thy task before thee is not easy. Evil walks the land openly, attacking all travelers. Thou and thy companions will need to grow stronger rapidly if thy Party is to survive. Seek among the ancient paths for long forgotten Truths and Powers. One possible clue as to the identity of thy nemesis has been discovered. A derelict merchant ship was recently towed into port. No crewmen were aboard, alive or dead. Everyone has vanished, as if plucked by some evil force off the boat. The only thing found was a word written in blood on the deck: E X O D U S. – from The Book of Play (Ultima III)

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Twenty years of well-earned tranquility ensued and prosperity favored the land. Then disturbing omens appeared, followed by the mysterious appearance of a fiery island. The tale of the Third Era of the Dark Ages is told by Iolo the Bard in Ultima III — wherein Lord British, sovereign of an incipient empire in the land of Sosaria, called forth through time and space for Heroes of the People to assemble. Four diverse adventurers answered the clarion call. To them fell the geas of the Doom of Exodus. Long they labored on the trail of the mysterious Exodus, through many a deep dungeon which seared their souls. To this day, each member of that team bears the marks of their journey. With the air of the mystical Time Lord they were successful in bypassing the Great Earth Serpent and gaining access to Exodus’ island fortress. The very bricks of the fortress rose up against them, and great is the Bard’s tale of their struggle to reach their mortal foe. Of the final confrontation not one of them will speak, save to say that the evil is gone from this plane. So passed the third member of the Triad of Evil and with this death, so passed the Dark Ages of Britannia. – from The History of Britannia (Ultima IV)

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Decades passed in relative peace. Good leaders of the city states turned more and more to Lord British for guidance, and Sosaria became a united land under his rule. Then, one day, a sailor reported to Lord British the appearance of a hitherto unknown island, fiery and emanating terrifying evil. Scouts began reporting malevolent occurrences that seemed to be the work of a great evil mind. Once more, Lord British sent out the call. This time, four strangers appeared. They survived the horrors of great dungeons and, with the help of the mystical timelord, the heroes found the secret island fortress of Exodus, the only progeny of Mondain and Minax, and annihilated it. The Triad of Evil was destroyed, and great celebration ensued. In honor of the day, they called the new world Britannia. – from The Book of Lore (Ultima V)

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Once Minax was gone, peace reigned for twenty years. And then the last of Mondain's legacy became known. For he and Minax had together produced an unholy creation known only as Exodus. For many years it had stayed hidden, patiently gathering information to heighten its powers. Finally it chose to exploit the results of its diligence. Creating a mighty castle to reside in, Exodus brought forth a third plague of monsters, and nowhere in Britannia was safe from its relentless evil. This was the greatest challenge yet for our hero from another world; yet once again the Avatar proved triumphant. And with the defeat of Exodus, a new era of prosperity began. – from Compendium (Ultima VI)

Appearances in Manga

In the manga written by Seiji Tanaka which embellishes the narrative of Ultima III, Exodus' origins are different, with the character being an archaic god of destruction which was sealed away by the other deities native to Sosaria. Tanaka's artistic rendering of Exodus have a decidedly Lovecraftian slant, showing the daemonic entity as a mass of teeth and eyes.

Trivia

• In the plot of Ultima Online 2, Exodus is a remnant of an Overlord technology from the future of Britannia which had been sent back in time following the magical cataclysm that created New Britannia.

Gallery

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  Exodus

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  Exodus, as seen in the manual of the SNES-port of Ultima VII

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  Exodus in the Exodus manga

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  Exodus, as depicted in The Book of Fellowship