| Time Lord | |||||||||||
| File:Timelord.gif Time Lord, from Ultima VII | |||||||||||
| Species: | Unknown | ||||||||||
| Appearances | |||||||||||
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The Time Lord is a powerful being of ambiguous origin who ensures the smooth and orderly flow of time through space, a task—in his words—beyond the comprehension of mortals. He holds dear the well-being of the universe, opposing those who would seek to bring destruction and chaos.
"To aid thee in thy cryptic search, to dungeons thou must fare.
There seek out the Lord of Time to help you if he cares."
- advice from The Oracle, Ultima III
His first appearance was in Ultima III, where he was found at the bottom of the Dungeon of Time and revealed the correct placement of the Four Cards that would destroy Exodus.
The Timelord (U7 SNES)
A major player in Ultima VII, the Time Lord was imprisoned by the Guardian in the Shrine of Spirituality, but was able to summon the moongate that would lure the Avatar back to Britannia. When the hero finally reached him, the Time Lord divulged the whole truth of the forces behind the land's escalating troubles, explaining the Guardian's intentions and the nature of the Cube, Tetrahedron and Sphere generators. The latter, being directly responsible for perpetuating the Time Lord's confinement, had to be destroyed in order to free him. He was further able to advise the Avatar on overcoming each generator's defenses and how to prevent the Guardian's entry through the Black Gate with the aid of Rudyom's Wand.
In Ultima IX, the Time Lord revealed himself to be none other than Hawkwind, the very same seer who first guided the Avatar on the path of Virtue in Ultima IV. While he acted as a mentor during the initial tutorial sections of Ascension, his role thereafter was minimal. However, it was later revealed through a scroll found in the Abyss that the Time Lord was also the one who saved the Avatar from a near-fatal encounter with a dragon upon the hero's return to Britannia, and that he had done so to prevent a foreseen future wherein Blackthorn would rule over the remnants of the land.
Trivia[]
- The Time Lord may be a reference to the BBC series Dr. Who; the Time Machine (which may have been procured for the Stranger by the Time Lord) seen in Ultima I resembles the TARDIS.
- Although he doesn't actually appear in Ultima II (nor is it even hinted at that he is working behind the scenes), it has been speculated that the Time Lord was responsible for rescuing the Stranger from the alterations to Earth's timeline, so that the damage could be repaired.