Some of you may wonder why I post directly from your e-mails.... Well, quite frankly, you often say it better than I could, besides which, copying and pasting what you've said saves me time paraphrasing, and it's easier on me as I dont have to worry about misquoting you :P

From Stormhaft (Baja)

The killings you referred to in previous Ultima's come from Ultima 7 The Black Gate.

Basically, The religious sect Batlin was head of was responsible for the Ritualistic Killings performed at different towns. Part of the main story. The sect was called "The Fellowship". Sounds familiar does'nt it. The other two involved were Abraham and Elizabeth. Hook was the killers name who surprise, surprise came from Bucaneers Den.

All the murders involved pentagrams, candles, etc. Looked very much like Sir Duquelle's murder scene. A gargoyle was also killed in Trinsic at the start of U7 with Christopher the blacksmith. A murder was performed at each city from memory.

His name first appeared, to me, in Ultima 7. Although you never meet Hook personally until the end of the adventure, he and an associate, a gargoyle, were Batlins henchmen, and of whom carried out the sentance imposed on members of the Fellowship, who either wished to leave or were a threat to them.

Most of this information can be gleaned from a Prima book entitled Ultima VII and Underworld:More Avatar Adventures, but as is appears, those who were killed by Hook, were done so in a ritualistic manner. Each body was cut up, just as they are in UO, but with each section placed just as they would appear if connected, with the sum of it drawn in a pentagram made from their own blood. Candles were placed at each hand and foot, to me all were found lit. However no evidence was ever found leading one to determine whether or not a casting was performed over them.

Only later in Ultima 8, as one was exposed to the practices of the Cabal of Pagan, was it possible to deduce that pershaps in the world of Britannia, at least for the main world in which the Avatar exists, our beloved brethern are the components of some deadly purpose of the Guardians.

It is my belief that He may be the driving force behind Mondain, but only time will tell with this. Your insights that Mondain, and Minax are thoughts well placed. True, though there be no hard evidence to the fact, other than the theft of his body parts, it hast the ring of something most foul brewing in the hearts of the 'designers' of this world. Truely an epic story in the telling... and in the guessing. <grin>.

If Mondain does exist, in some undead form, then he too will be a force to be reconned with. If the shards follow a tenious thread to the main world, then all shards are at risk to The Guardian. After seeing his handiwork in Pagan, finding the existenance of the reagents, amoungst the shards, and watching the story enfold here with Crawworth, the FOA and all that has happened, the months to come will be indeed most interesting.

From Ashur Greytower

In the beginning of Ultima VII, the Avatar arrived in Trinsic where he had to investigate the murder of the local blacksmith. The blacksmith, who was found dismembered in a similar fashion as was Sir Duquelle, had been murdered by Hook. Later on in the quest several other similar murders were found. Hook was actually the lackey of Batlin, the Guardian's tool on Britannia. What is interesting is that Batlin, who formed a philosophical group known as the Fellowship, was secretly under the Guardian's command and devoted to building a Black Gate made out of substance called "blackrock". If completed the Black Gate would have given the Guardian entrance into the world. As a side note, the only way to actually destroy blackrock was through a special wand made by the mage Rudyom.

This leaves open the possibility that the FoA are just dupes of the Guardian in his attempts to conquer the shards, as he did to the UO Beta shards.

From Tam Al'Thor (catskills)

In the game Ultima 7 The Black Gate, the trinsic blacksmith was killed by hook and his sidekick gargoyle (whose name escapes me at the moment) in a similar way as Sir Duquelle. Also killed was a gargoyle who seems to have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was killed with a pitchfork through the stomach that pinned him to the wall. Hook was a pirate/assassin who was in actuality a high member of the Fellowship. Following the trail of clues and missions eventually lead the Avatar to Minoc, where a gypsy and his gypsy wife were executed also in a similar manner, at that crime scene was found a candalabra and a serpent dagger. One other was killed in a similar way during the game but much later in the story line. His name was Alagner i believe his name was. He was said to have been the wisest man in Britannia. The wisps wanted a notebook he possessed before they gave the avatar a message from the Time Lord. After retrieving the book and giving it to the wisps Alagner is killed by Hook, his sidekick, and i believe 2 of the founding members of the Fellowship (Elizebeth and Abraham). It would appear the Guardian wanted to know what Alagner had written in his notebook concerning the Fellowship, once gaining that he had Alagner killed. Found in Bucs Den in Hooks rooms were a hit list of sorts. On that list of people to be killed was Lord British, and the Avatar, the only 2 who had not been killed as i remember.

FromAziraphale, of Lake Superior

In Ultima VII, a malignant creature known as the Guardian began his subtle assault on the good land of Britannia by spreading a vile cult known as "The Fellowship." These people were swayed when the Guardian began talking to them through their minds, and ordered them to begin gathering followers. They were known as Batlin, Elizabeth, and Abraham. These three, over the course of twenty years, formed an alliance that spanned nearly all over the world of Britannia. Indeed, there was a Fellowship chapel within every town, including Britain! Soon after the Fellowship gained power, strange murders began occuring... People were mutilated, their bodies spread out in a ritualistic manner with candles placed at each of the five points that make the human body... Two hands, two legs, and the head. The ones who were murdered knew too much about the Fellowship's true intentions, and so were eliminated by the Fellowship's handyman, Hook. The Avatar arrived in Trinsic shortly after the murders, apparently to track down the killer. During his investigations, it was he who first discovered about the Guardian and Batlin's treachery. The Fellowship was making an immense gateway out of Black Rock, to be used to transport the Guardian across time and space, to the Isle of the Avatar... That is where he built his palace, and that was where his gate was eventually destroyed by the Avatar.

The proceedings in our timeframe match those that occured in the chronicles of Ultima VII very closely, and I believe that we can expect a visit from the Guardian very soon. His power is nearly absolute... That could be why several of the villians have been referring to a "Powerful Ally..."

I find all of this to be extremely fascinating... with the possibilitiy of FAR-reaching effects. If this association with Ultima 7 was intended, then parhaps we've all been thinking a little too small for this storyline... perhaps the evil we're dealing with is the Guardian himself, and our only questions should be, who is under the Guardian's influence? Yes, dire events indeed....