Shrine of Balance

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

The Shrine of Balance (also known as the Grand Shrine of Balance, the Temple of Balance, or simply the Grand Shrine) is a significant Ophidian structure located on the Serpent Isle and appears in Ultima VII Part Two. It serves the principle of Balance in the Ophidian Virtues, which mediates between Chaos and Order. One of its main functions involved its Wall of Lights, through which the Great Hierophant would commune with the Great Earth Serpent in the Ethereal Void. Due to the profound cosmic imbalance afflicting Serpent Isle, the Shrine had largely ceased to function as intended until the Avatar quested in this remnant land of Old Sosaria, performing a ceremony here to restore the Serpent to the Void and Balance to the universe.

Description

The Shrine is found deep under the ice-covered Sunrise Isle. Built by the Ophidians, it was the most important location in their religion. It was here that 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, which resulted from the Great Earth Serpent's abduction by Exodus and the fragmentation of the Serpents of Chaos and Order, the Shrine fell into the darkness of history, remaining inert until the Avatar entered it to restore Balance.

Upon entering the Shrine, the Avatar undertook various trials. After managing the first test, which involved sorting out six symbols of Chaos and Order, the Avatar was allowed into the outer complex. Here, the hero gathered cubes of Chaos and Order to activate a teleporter to a small shrine located within the Void. It was in this Void-shrine that, by possessing the Serpent Artifacts, the Avatar was able to become the next Great Hierophant.

Following this, the Avatar returned from the Void, reappearing back within the Shrine of Balance. This was a crucial step in the Avatar's larger quest to reunite the fragmented Chaos Serpent, a task that required journeying to other significant locations before the ultimate ritual at the Grand Shrine could be performed.

Returning to the Shrine of Balance's inner chamber for the final ritual, the Order Serpent tried to stop the Avatar one final time, but failed. Balance was finally restored when the Avatar activated the Wall of Lights, placed the Eyes of the Serpent in front of the statue of the Great Earth Serpent, and then destroyed the statue with the Ophidian Sword. This sequence of actions returned the Great Earth Serpent to the Void, thereby restoring Balance to the universe 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 the player enters the Shrine there is 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 are 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 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