Mara

Mara
Mara, from Ultima VII
Species:	human
Profession:	miner
Appearances
Ultima VII Location: Vesper

Mara is a miner working in the Vesper mine, in Ultima VII.

Description

An attractive woman whose zest for heavy work and masculine garb flies in the face of what many consider traditional Britannian gender roles, Mara has little but good things to say regarding the other human citizens of Vesper. Obviously proud of her wiry physique, the miner will often flex while speaking and seems wholly oblivious to other women's criticisms of her masculinity, such as Liana's disapproval of her mannerisms or Yvella's jealousy over her friendship with her husband, Cador.

Like virtually all of the human Vesperian populace, Mara feels threatened by the gargish community, whose informal segregation on the western bank of the oasis did little to stem the racial paranoia that integration seemed to have brought to the community. Fearing that the unruly gargoyles will someday attack, Mara, like many men and woman of the east bank, feels that the city would be better off without them.

Lore

“	The mining company began to hire Gargoyles because they lack intelligence and work cheaply. Being so far away, they have no idea how poorly the pitiful beasts work. I am surprised Cador and Mara are willing to continue working with the one that is still there. – from Key to the Black Gate (Ultima VII)

Trivia

• Dialogue in the Ultima VII usecode indicates that Mara and Cador might be killed in a barroom brawl, along with Anmanivas and Foranamo, if the hero claims to be the Avatar, though this is not reproducible in gameplay.
• In the Exult version of the game, Mara, together with Cador attack the Avatar when the hero claims to be one, blaming the hero to be one who brought the gargoyles to Britannia.
• In an earlier draft of the Ultima VII’s plot, Mara was pursued by a miner named Darek who is not present in the final version of the game. In this draft, Darek was convinced by Eldroth to leave Mara anonymous gifts, such as that she likely did not know of his infatuation. Regardless of whether or not she was aware of his feelings, Mara did not want to compromise her masculine demeanor by becoming involved in a relationship. Darek's name appears in the registry of the inn in Minoc.