Obsidian Fortress

The Obsidian Fortress

Located on the world of Pagan, the Obsidian Fortress appears in Ultima VIII.

Description

The Obsidian Fortress in Daemon's Crag is a co-creation of Pyros and Lithos, standing in the middle of boiling lava, connected to the village by a stone bridge. It serves as the main testing ground for ongoing Sorcerers and also is the home of the Master Sorcerer, Malchir. The tests are brutal and produced a high mortality rate among the novices who brave the fortress.

Once a novice enters the fortress, and passes the first couple of rooms, the maze of four spells opens to them, where in each section a different spell has to be used to get a test symbol:

• Test of Extinguish: the Sorcerer has to extinguish a fire.
• Test of Flame Shield: the Sorcerer has to withstand fire attacks.
• Test of Heat Shield: the Sorcerer has to walk through lava.
• Test of Flash: the Sorcerer has to teleport over traps.

Once these symbols are gained, a novice is teleported to Malchir, who will conduct the final test. Should there be no test, the teleporter will always lead to Malchir's sanctum, which is forbidden territory to everyone but the great Sorcerer.

The Avatar also passed these tests in the quest to learn the magic of fire and later returned to speak with Malchir. Malchir however, offended over this intrusion, attacked, and the hero was forced to kill him in self-defense. However, inside the Obsidian Fortress, the Avatar finally discovered the means of how to leave Pagan.

Trivia

• Multiple parts of a complete set of magic armour can be found here.
• The magical sword Flame Sting can also be found here.
• The recall item does not work inside the fortress.
• The illustration to Daemon's Crag in the manual (seen below in the gallery) more specifically shows the bridge leading to the Obsidian Fortress.

Gallery

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  Map of the Obsidian Fortress

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  Illustration showing the bridge to the fortress

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Sightseeing