Isle of Crypts

Isle of Crypts
Location of the Isle of Crypts
Located in:	Serpent Isle
Type:	island
On the Isle of Crypts

The Isle of Crypts is a place dedicated to the Balance on Serpent Isle. It appears in Ultima VII Part Two.

Description

The Isle of Crypts, located in the northwestern waters of the Serpent Isle, is the very heart of Balance, where the Great Earth Serpent was said to dwell before journeying into the Void to bring Balance to the universe. The island is also meant to be the final resting place of all the Great Hierophants and the home of the Acolytes of Balance.

History

In ancient times, one of the signposts, the Grave of the Lost Soul, was located on the Isle of Crypts. However, it did not endure and when the Ophidian civilization rose, the island was dedicated to Balance and became the resting place of all Great Hierophants. When the War of Imbalance broke out after the funeral of the final Great Hierophant, the acolytes trapped the island thoroughly, so that neither Order nor Chaos could defile it in their hatred of Balance.

Isstanar mentioned the Isle of Crypts to the Avatar, and he was astounded that the hero had no knowledge of a place so important to their culture. The hero was incapable of reaching the island due to heavy ice flow until gaining the help of Xenka when she supplied a serpent tooth to teleport to the island. The Avatar travelled there to find one of the Eyes of the Serpent and to speak with Ssithnos, who was buried there. There, the Avatar learned how to restore Balance to the universe for good.

Lore

“

Although the strands from any spider’s web will suffice, it is very trying to find enough silk from any one web. Many mages raise their own spiders, hoping to gather the webs the way a farmer squeezes milk from a cow. However, I have noticed the Isle of Crypts, filled with the dead, is home to more spiders than I could ever have possibly imagined, with plenty of accompanying webs. – from Beyond the Serpent Pillars (Ultima VII Part Two)

“

When I was researching the Dark Path, I also came across this bit of information about a place called the Isle of Crypts. The Isle of Crypts was once hallowed to the Ophidians. It was where the bones of the Great Hierophants of Balance were laid to rest. It was a place of reverence for acolytes, a place of pilgrimage for adherents and a place of study for scholars. When the war between the unbalanced forces of Order and Chaos began , both sides sought to defile the Isle of Crypts, for to them it represented the Balance which had forsaken them. The acolytes of Balance who were still alive tried to protect their sacred isle by setting traps, both magical and mechanical. – from Balancing the Scales (Ultima VII Part Two)

Inhabitants

• Ssithnos: the last Great Hierophant

Trivia

• Erstam mentions the Isle of Crypts as being an excellent source of spider silk. Due to the only way to get there being teleportation, it hints at him knowing the secret of teleportation.

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Geography