Taynith
| Taynith | |||||||||||||||||
 Taynith, from Ultima VI | |||||||||||||||||
| Species: | human | ||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Taynith is a gypsy seer who travels in the company of Zoltan.
Description[edit]
Prior to the events of Ultima VI, Taynith forsaw the Avatar's return to Britannia through divinatory tile casting. Hoping to assist the hero, she enlisted the help of the bard, Mandrake, to help her in compiling information that might be of use to the returned champion of the Virtues. The worldly Mandrake drafted a travelogue, describing in detail his experiences throughout the various cities and dungeons of the land. Taynith provided annotations to this, offering up snippets of visions she had had regarding various locales.[1]
Eventually, in her zeal for assisting the hero, Taynith entered a deep trance so profound that she was nearly trapped forever in astral form. During her trance, she recited a prophecy of the most exacting nature, describing in detail all of the actions that the Avatar would take in the oncoming quest. Mandrake recorded these and added them to the records they had set aside. When Taynith regained consciousness, she had forgotten all that she had revealed. Being of the opinion that too much prophetic knowledge could interfere with the fate of those exposed to it, she employed magics to erase Mandrake's memory of the events as well, and cautioned the hero against ever reading the prophecy in full.[2]
In Ultima VI, Taynith was willing to read the Avatar's destiny through tarot cards, not knowing how far she had already glimpsed into the future. Taynith predicted that the Avatar would have to excel at magic, weaponry, and cleverness in order to succeed, and that the course of ending the war with the gargoyles may cross Lord British's wishes. Taynith further predicted that the Avatar would have to descend a great distance before rising to a great height, and that an object made of glass would be very important in the future. When no more visions would come to Taynith, she suggested consulting with the seer Penumbra for further insights.[3]
Taynith was a good friend of Dr. Cat, and she mentioned a wager in which she proposed that he could not catch a duck with his bare hands. Dr. Cat caught the duck and leashed it, giving it to Taynith as a pet.
Lore[edit]
| “ | Be not distracted from the serious nature of your quest by Mandrake's frivolity, for before you scan these pages, I offer you a warning. The prophecy can be a double-edged sword. I have peered deeply into your future to bring you this advice, but it is not wise for anyone to know too much of their own destiny. Read only as far through these pages as you feel you must, for the further you go, the more of your fate will be revealed. Take care, Avatar, and may the moons themselves shine with favor upon your quest. – from The Book of Prophecy (Ultima VI)
|
|---|
Trivia[edit]
- Taynith's counterpart in reality is Monica Knighton,[4][5] a friend of Ultima VI writer David Shapiro (Dr. Cat) and fellow participant in Amtgard's former Grand Duchy of Barad Duin, which provided a source of inspiration for many characters found in the game. In addition to appearing as Taynith, various paintings in Ultima VI that depict a forest-dwelling satyr are attributed directly to Knighton, who currently works as an illustrator in Austin, Texas. As reflected in her Britannian persona, Knighton is a tarot enthusiast.
References[edit]
- ↑ Shapiro, David. The Book of Prophecies. Origin Systems, Inc: 1990. Page 4.
- ↑ Shapiro, David. The Book of Prophecies. Origin Systems, Inc: 1990. Page 55.
- ↑ Taynith. Ultima VI transcript. Ultima VI. "name, job, tayn, true, job, tell, advi, kado, zolt, silv, capt, path, paw, frie, ask, penu, lyca".
- ↑ "Roster of Current Members of Amtgard — The Grand Duchy of Barad Duin". The Palantir of Barad-Duin. May 1989. Page 42.
- ↑ Shapiro, David. “Ultima Dragons Internet Chapter -==UDIC==-”. Facebook. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2018-07-13.