Welcome, reader, to Kenneth Whitten's Guardian Trilogy Theory, a possible explanation of the Guardian's motives from Ultima VII forward.
The Guardian Trilogy Theory
One day, the Guardian decided to take control of Britannia. It was a nice little land that had not known war or any other world-threatening crisis in over 200 years. In essence, a land of sheep just waiting for a wolf like Big Red to step in. At least, that's the way he saw it. So he developed this nice, perfect, flawless plan: via the Fellowship, he will subvert Brittania without attracting undue suspicion. Meanwhile, this selfsame Fellowship will prepare a blackrock gate to facilitate the Guardian's entry into their world on the upcoming Astronomical Alignment.
Then the Avatar showed up. And at some point, he learned of the Guardian's plan. Since the Avatar did not relish the thought of having to kowtow to our local disembodied head, he decided to thwart the Guardian's nice, perfect, flawless plan. And so it was that, just as the Guardian was coming through, the Avatar blew the Gate to smithereens.
The Guardian was not very happy about this. So, after nursing a grudge against the Avatar for a full year, he saw the perfect chance to get even. It seems that Lord British was going to hold a party to celebrate the Avatar's triumph. Or, as the Pagan Lord saw things, his own defeat. This party presented an enormous opportunity to the Guardian. Most of the important personages in Britannia will be attending, including both the head and heart of Britannia -- Lord British and the Avatar. So, the Guardian encased the entire Castle Britannia within an enormous Blackrock Sphere, cutting Britannia off from its King and its savior. Unfortunately (for the Guardian), the Avatar managed to solve the mystery of how the spell worked. And how to undo it. So he set forth and did just that. In doing this, he restored Castle Britannia to the people, and yet again managed to be a thorn in the thick red hide of the Guardian.
By this point, the Guardian was pretty ticked at the Avatar for thwarting his plan to enter Britannia, and for escaping his fate in Castle Britannia. So, he devised plan B -- distract the Avatar. If the Avatar is not *in* Britannia, there is little he can do to defend it. So, he sends Batlin to the Serpent Isle, and Dupre ever-so-conveniently finds the scroll and the map to the Pillars. Methinks that the big G intended them to be found; how else could the Avatar learn of it and thus be lured away?
So the Avatar is in this world in imminent danger of self-destruction. This is ideal for the Guardian's plan: if the Avatar fails, he will die with the Isle. If he succeeds, he will be out of the Guardian's hair (or lack thereof) long enough for our friendly neighborhood conqueror to find another entry into Britannia. A "back door" if you will. The fact that his number one lackey (Batlin) will also be killed is of no consequence; he can get a new one. (Did you think the Guardian actually *cared* about his underlings? They only need to live long enough to serve his purposes.) Of course, when ol' Redface found out that Batlin planned to -betray- him, he took action PERSONALLY.
And when the Avatar managed to restore Balance to the Serpent Isle sooner than the Guardian had anticipated (i.e., he wasn't in Britannia yet), he decided to give the Avatar a hand. Alright, that's a seriously bad pun. Yes, G-man needs more of a delay, so he sends his Big Red Hand to grab the Avatar and then thrust him into yet another world: Pagan. The Guardian figures that the Avatar just couldn't resist the thought of liberating another world from oppression. And, as this was a world ALREADY under the Guardian's control, such a liberation would be difficult indeed.
By the time the Avatar frees Pagan and returns to Britannia, the Big Red Titan has already arrived. The Guardian's thoughts on losing one of his worlds? "Well, it kept the Avatar from coming HERE. And it gives me *one more grudge* against him." Of course, the Guardian probably didn't need that world anymore; otherwise, he likely wouldn't have risked losing it. And, since he cares only for himself and accomplishing his current goal, he won't lose any sleep over the loss of Pagan. Assuming Guardians need sleep.
Of course, now the Guardian is in control of Britannia. However, he has a slight problem: the Avatar is back. Normally, that would be NO problem; no matter how strong the Avatar is, he is only human. His Imperial Redness could squash him like a bug, now that he has finally manifested in Britannia. But things are not quite that simple: the Avatar is no longer *merely* human. He's still human, don't get me wrong; but now he is MORE than an 'ordinary' human. He is now the Titan of Ether, and that would be something to give the Guardian pause.
The Crimson Death knows that a final confrontation is soon to come. The Avatar knows this as well. So both sides must prepare for said confrontation. And that is what will be happening in Ultima 9.
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