Hear The Guardian speak (guardian.mp3, 75k)

It took ten years of Ultima role-playing games for the Avatar to finally meet his match, an enemy far more dangerous and persevering than anything he'd ever faced before. And that enemy is the Guardian, a hulking red being with burning eyes and an unnerving sense of humor. Where the Guardian came from or what he is truly after is uncertain. What seems obvious, though, is that he is bent on tearing the land of Britannia apart from the inside out. Since Ultima VII, this sinister godlike creature has closely monitored every step the Avatar has taken. Between the Guardian's snide taunts (delivered in a booming baritone provided by Ben Johnson) and his more overt attacks against his foe, he has proven to be one of the strongest personalities ever seen in the Ultima series' rich history.

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The Avatar had faced his fair share of villains before the Guardian ever showed up. The first three games in the series had him squaring off against the wizard Mondain, his mistress Minax, and their hellspawn child Exodus respectively. Ultima V introduced the impostor King Blackthorne, who was being manipulated by the three Shadowlords that embodied the anti-virtues of hatred, cowardice, and falsehood. But even the Shadowlords were defeated by the cunning Avatar, although they returned to haunt him in the Worlds of Ultima spin-off, Martian Dreams. In Ultima VI, the terrifying gargoyles that seemed bent on destroying Britannia turned out to be a sophisticated culture not unlike Britannia's and sought only to reclaim a long-lost relic rather than to wage war.

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The difference between the Guardian and the Avatar's other antagonists is twofold: The Guardian has managed to survive his encounters with the Avatar thus far, and unlike the others, he is omnipresent in the games in which he appears, posing a constant threat. He seems to be watching the Avatar at all times, which lends the overhead perspective of the games a fearsome implication, as if you are witnessing the events from the Guardian's own eyes. Rare is the villain that is as undeniably evil, as manipulative, and as persistent as the Guardian is. That his motivations and the extent of his powers remain a mystery makes this creature as bizarre as he is dangerous.
 

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