Shrine of Balance

Shrine of Balance
Location of the Shrine of Balance
Located in:	Serpent Isle
Type:	Ophidian shrine
The Shine of Balance

The Shrine of Balance is located on the Serpent Isle and appears in Ultima VII Part Two.

Description

Deep under the ice-covered Sunrise Isle lies the great Shrine of Balance, also known as the Grand Shrine of Balance, or simply the Grand Shrine. Built by the Ophidians, it was the most important location in their religion. It was here where the Great Hierophant, the only person allowed into the inner sanctum, would counsel with the three serpents by using the Wall of Lights to travel into the void.

At the end of the War of Imbalance, the shrine fell into the darkness of history, until the Avatar entered it to restore balance to the universe. After managing the first test, sorting out six symbols of chaos and order, the Avatar was allowed into the outer complex. There, the hero had to gather cubes of chaos and order to activate a teleporter to a shrine in the void, where the Serpent Artifacts allowed the Avatar to become the next Great Hierophant. In the inner chamber, the Order Serpent tried to stop the Avatar one final time, but failed. Balance was restored by activating the Wall of Lights, placing the Eyes of the Serpent in front of the statue of the Great Earth Serpent, and then destroyed the statue with the Ophidian Sword, thus returning the Great Earth Serpent to the void, thereby restoring Balance and drawing the Avatar into the void.

Lore

“

I saw a place located on a mountain surrounded by water. It was a place of great power and mystery. On this mountain I saw a shrine to each of the Ophidians' orders, as well as a beautiful building that I am sure was the Great Shrine of Balance. This leads me to believe it was the legendary Sunrise Isle I saw. On a path outside the Great Shrine of Balance lay a book. This book holds the answers to many of the puzzle tests within the Great Shrine. These puzzles will deal with fire and ice. – from Balancing the Scales (Ultima VII Part Two)

Trivia

• Once you enter the shrine there will be no return, as the bridge will collapse behind the party.
• There is a secret at the inner chamber of the shrine, where the fire and ice cubes have to be used to create a teleporter. Hidden by the south wall sits a backpack with all the plot-relevant items, in case one is forgotten, which probably was put there by the programmers for making testing less tedious. It can only be seen when being in the small side room to the right (the one with the fire cubes) and can only be reached by using the hackmover.
• Since the puzzle to get the cubes is really complicated, here is a solution: Shrine of Balance room puzzle solution.

Gallery

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  Shrine of Balance, overview

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Geography