Lithos
| Lithos | |||||
 Lithos, from Ultima VIII | |||||
| Species: | Elemental Titan | ||||
| Appearances | |||||
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Lithos (also known as the Mountain King) is one of the four Titans of Pagan, and personifies the element of earth. He appears in Ultima VIII.
History[edit]
The Rise of the Titans[edit]
Lithos and the other Titans rose to power when the people of Pagan were persuaded to abandon their belief in the gods of the Zealans and worship the elements of nature. This shift in belief occurred thanks to the ministrations of the Guardian, who convinced the Pagans that a great evil known as the "Destroyer" would soon come to ravage their world.
In reality, the Guardian and the "Destroyer" were one and the same, and this entity appeared to be allied with the four Titans, helping them manifest their power at the height of a ceremony in the Great Temple atop Mount Morgaelin. After the newly loosed elemental gods seemingly defeated the "Destroyer," they went on to eradicate the followers the old deities. During this time of disaster, Lithos caused the earth to quake and sealed the few Zealans who had retreated in a valley which came to be known as the Lost Vale, cutting them off from Hydros’ waters that they might die of thirst.[1][2]
The Pact of Moriens[edit]
Lithos would continue to plague Pagan with earthquakes for years after the final defeat of the Zealan people, as the Earth Titan hungered for the flesh of the human dead, and took sustenance from the continual bloodshed wrought by the unstable ground. Seeing the suffering that these tremors brought, a mortal man named Moriens ventured into the earth and sought an audience with Lithos, offering the Titan a bargain in which the people of Pagan would willingly inter their dead that they might pass into the Mountain King's domain.
Satisfied with this proposal, Lithos ceased his shaking of the earth, and made Moriens the first Necromancer, granting him magical powers through which he could assist humanity in honoring their pact to him. He thereafter taught his disciple the Ceremony of Eternity – a ritual which would allow Moriens to pass on his title and powers to a willing apprentice when his life should come to an end, that a line of Necromancers might continue to placate the Earth Elemental in the centuries to come.[3][4][5]
Defeat by the Avatar[edit]
When the Avatar of Britannia was exiled to Pagan, the hero encountered the Necromancer Lothian, who lay dying. After assisting her Scion, Vividos to enact the rites necessary for him to inherit her mantle and commend her to the earth, the Avatar was made an apprentice in the arts of Necromancy. They would eventually be appointed as Vividos' own successor, and would use the tools of their craft to rob Lithos of a blackrock artifact known as the Heart of Earth, which carried within it some part of the Titan's power.
Later, after traveling to the Ethereal Plane, the hero would hunt down Lithos within his own dimension and use the Heart of Earth to rob him of his power, subduing the Titan as he cursed the Avatar’s treachery. The hero would thereafter use the stolen powers of the four Titans to ascend to Titanhood, becoming the Titan of Ether.[6]
Lore[edit]
| “ | The elder Pagans knew it would be impossible to overcome the might of the Titans, so they sought to bargain instead. They sent a champion, Moriens, to the Hall of the Mountain King to plead with Lithos, begging him to cease his destructive quakes. In return, Lithos demanded the service of the people, even beyond life. Upon their deaths the people were to be interred, and thus conveyed to his realm for eternal slavery. In addition, ordered the hungry Mountain King, several Pagans must be given to him immediately. With this pact Lithos would not only quiet the land, but also instill within Moriens the magical powers necessary to perform rituals required to satisfy the Titan of Earth, including minor manipulation of the earth. The elders accepted the terrible price and the covenant was formed. – from The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII)
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Trivia[edit]
- Lithos (λίθος) is Greek for "stone."
- The usecode for Ultima VIII reveals that Lithos was originally supposed to have loosed an army of the undead upon Tenebrae following the theft of the Heart of Earth. See Plot cuts in Ultima VIII.
- Lithos is voiced by John King. In the French and German translations, the character is played by Cristian Hiltenbrand and Gerhard W. Schoen, respectively.
External Links[edit]
- Ultima VIII – Meeting Lithos (YouTube)
References[edit]
- ↑ Morris, Andrew P.. "History". The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII). Origin Systems Pages 4–5.
- ↑ Nadayr of Tenebrae. The Destruction of the Temple (Ultima VIII – in-game).
- ↑ Morris, Andrew P.. "History". The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII). Origin Systems Page 6.
- ↑ Moriens: Necromancer, Prophet, Hero (Ultima VIII – in-game).
- ↑ Galious. The History of Necromancy (Ultima VIII – in-game).
- ↑ Lithos. Ethereal Software’s Ultima VIII transcript. Ultima VIII.