| abstract
| - The origins of the Codex are unknown. It was first found floating in the Ethereal Void by the Gargish seer Naxatilor. He managed to draw it from the Void with the aid of the Concave Lens, Convex Lens and Vortex Cube. The gargoyles kept it in the Shrine of Singularity at the bottom of the Abyss. The Codex was protected by several wards to anyone who wanted to access it. Besides having to transverse the Abyss to get to the Codex when coming from Britannia, someone trying to access it had to fulfill the following requirements:
* Be an eight-part Avatar.
* Have the Key of Three Parts.
* Know the Word of Passage.
* Complete a series of tests about the eight Virtues and three Principles. In Ultima IV, the Codex was reached by the Stranger during the Quest of the Avatar. After the Stranger passed all the tests presented by the otherworldly tome, the Codex stated the hero had proven to have attained Avatarhood. Upon this final proclamation, the Codex sent the Avatar back to Earth. Following these events, the Great Council managed to draw the Codex into Britannia. Although later, Ultima VI and onwards, this act was attributed to the Avatar. This action unwittingly caused massive destruction to the Gargoyle race and collapsed much of the Underworld in the end. The Shrine of the Codex was built over the entrance of the Abyss, the new home of the Codex. Two giant, enchanted stone statues called the Stone Guardians stand athwart the path leading into the shrine, which from Ultima V to Ultima VI would only allow people on sacred quests to pass and read the Codex. The origins of these statues are never stated, but it's possible they were created by the Great Council. The Codex became a symbol of conflict in Ultima VI. Humans and gargoyles alike claimed it for themselves. Thus, the Avatar used two special lenses and the Vortex Cube, to return the Codex to the Void. Each side could still read the Codex with their lens, but none could claim it as their possession anymore. By the time of Ultima IX, the Codex had been returned to Britannia. While no explanation is given for this return, it is suggested from the Journal that it was back sitting on the Isle of the Avatar before the Great Cataclysm. The working of the lenses had also been altered as the even on Britannia, the Codex could only be read by using the two lenses in the Shrine of the Codex. It later found its way into the hands of Samhayne who tried to use it as a bargaining chip with the Avatar, in order to force him to cleanse the Column of New Magincia which was causing massive whirlpools at seas. But Blackthorn seized the Codex after Samhayne sold the Avatar to him, and focused on trying to find the lenses. Lord British eventually obtained the Codex after killing Blackthorn and gave it to the Avatar who brought it back to its Shrine in order to learn the ritual that would allow him to merge with the Guardian.
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