Gielinor

Gielinor (pronounced Gill-in-or), nicknamed RuneScape by the Humans inhabiting it, is the world in which most of roleplay occurs on. It is the final creation of the Elder Gods, and was later discovered by the god Guthix in the First Age when he was exploring realms with the Elder Sword. Its currently known land (excluding custom content regarding other continents) includes Misthalin, Asgarnia, the Kharidian Desert, Kandarin, Karamja, Troll Country, the Fremennik Province, Tirannwn, Morytania, the Feldip Hills, the Wilderness, The North and the northern and southern seas.

The demonym of Gielinor is Gielinorian.

Location
Little is known about where exactly Gielinor is in relation to the rest of the realm, only that Zanaris which is Gielinor's moon, orbits it. Astromancers have yet to determine Gielinor's location in space relevant to the other worlds of the realm, or even if the said other worlds can be seen from Gielinor.

Geography
Gielinor is a mixture of mountainous, barren, forested, volcanic, snowy and tropical areas. Most of its cities lie in kingdoms, and others on numerous islands. Much of Gielinor is lush with water resources, enabling the existence of vast rivers and seas. There is also a large, destroyed continent to the north called the Wilderness. Known continents of Gielinor are the Wushanko Isles and the Forinthry site, which is today called the Wilderness. Tropical areas lie to the south, while the north is cold and icy. The south-east is largely a barren desert, the far west is a dense taiga forest, and the far east has a humid, marshy climate.

Creation / First Age
Gielinor was created by a quartet of Elder Gods, Jas, Ful, Bik and Wen, very long ago. It was their perfect and last creation. The TokHaar, a race created by them, were tasked to design the mountains of the world. They forged the Xil to dig up the earth and rock, the Mej to blast it into size that the Ket could carry, and the Hur to craft the sediment into cliff-faces and slopes. This race is immortal, powerful, and directly dependent on the Elder Kiln. When Gielinor was completed and deemed to be perfect and thus the last planet in the cycle of the universe, the Elder Gods entered into hibernation far below the planet.

Gielinor was rediscovered by Guthix when he was travelling between realms with the Elder Sword. He found it at the beginning of the First Age and believed it to be perfect, the land containing many Elder Artefacts. Guthix decided the planet had to be shared with mortals so he opened gateways allowing them to enter, reshaping the world in the process. He then entered a long slumber so the mortals could enjoy the land without his presence. Those humans began to form the first civilisations and, after the arrival of Seren, the elves joined them. Guthix also hid runes throughout the land when he found Gielinor. This resulted in mortals calling the world "RuneScape"; a portmanteau of rune and landscape.

Second Age / The Godly Age
"Gielinor is a precious jewel in the looted treasury of the cosmos."

- Saradomin, explaining why Gielinor is so important to him.

The Second Age began with the arrival of other major gods like Armadyl, Saradomin, and Zaros, who sought domination of Gielinor after Guthix entered hibernation far below the surface of the planet. During this time, Armadyl's followers were composed mainly of Humans and Aviantese; Saradomin of Humans and Icyene; Zaros of Mahjarrat, Dragon Riders, demons, Auspah and Humans. Zaros was the most active and powerful god, in every sense of the word. He utilized his personal and military might to wage war with all the other gods, inexorably expanding his empire.

At the peak of his empire, he was betrayed by one of his most prominent generals, Zamorak, using the Staff of Armadyl. Zaros would have been killed had he not abandoned his body, fleeing Gielinor. However, the majority of his powered was siphoned and Zamorak ascended to godhood. For his perceived murdering of a god, Zamorak was banished by the other gods, but soon returned and declared war.



Third Age / The First God Wars
Zamorak returned after a nineteen year expedition throughout the cosmos with a fearsome army recruited from many worlds and declared war, the God Wars. This series of devastating campaigns and intense battles caused the extinction of many races and resulted in a war the likes of which had never been seen on the planet, maybe nowhere else in the cosmos. The last event of the God Wars occurred when Zamorak finally acquired the Stone of Jas, albeit cornered by Armadyl, Bandos, and Saradomin. Almost defeated, they moved to land a killing blow, but Zamorak lashed out with the fully unmoderated power of the Stone and permanently incinerated the entire continent of Forinthry. This killed almost all natural life, the Aviansie, and even the other three gods escaped by the skin of their teeth.

The destruction was so intense that the Anima Mundi, the life force of Gielinor itself, cried out in pain and awoke Guthix. With a short and barely contested campaign he enacted his Edicts against all the major gods, which banished them from Gielinor and prevented them from returning, with the exception of the Elders (that he did not even know were on Gielinor) and Seren whom chose to shatter herself into crystal to spread amongst her people. After solving a few remaining issues such as hiding the Stone of Jas once more, Guthix entered his slumber once more so that mortals could live on Gielinor without gods again.



The Fourth Age / Reconstruction
The Fourth Age was marked by the absence of major gods, the reconstruction of settlements destroyed by the God Wars, the invasion of the Dragonkin, and the creation of many kingdoms. It lasted roughly 2,000 years.

At the very beginning of the Fourth Age, the Dragonkin invaded Gielinor due to the heavy use of the Stone of Jas during the God Wars and revealed themselves to be a true threat to other mortals. Having no gods to protect them, mortals rose and fought them by themselves, the most notable of these being Robert the Strong. He forced the Dragonkin back to their stronghold and became one of the most important heroes in Gielinor's history.

A stone circle was also built in Taverley as both a place of devotion and means to call upon Guthix, as revealed in Druidic Ritual.

Circa 700-800, a new hero named Arrav was gaining popularity in in the newly-founded Avarrocka. He defended Avarrocka from the invasion of a very dangerous Mahjarrat named Zemouregal, who was seeking a very powerful shield known as the Shield of Arrav. Exposed when destroying the invading army, Arrav was promptly killed by Zemouregal. Zemouregal disappeared with Arrav's corpse and shield, planning to later revive him.

In the middle of this age, Seven Priestly Warriors drove back the evil creatures coming from Morytania and blessed the River Salve with the power of Saradomin, creating a protective barrier for the west.

At the end of the Fourth Age, in the year 1937, settlers established a town on the River Lum. Across the river, they built a bridge and hence the town was called Lumbridge.

The Fifth Age / The Enlightenment Age
The Fifth Age is the shortest age of history; lasting only 169 years but with many important changes in the context of Gielinor, mainly consisting of the growing dominance of the humans.

In the first years of the Fifth Age, mainland human mages discovered rune essence and Runecrafting, but kept their locations a closely guarded secret between a select few of them, so as not to let the information fall into enemy hands. Due to the power of the runes, humans started to become more significant within the world, and the human kingdoms of Misthalin and Asgarnia quickly grew to become some of Gielinor's most important kingdoms. The mages who discovered the runes created a great tower in southern Misthalin, which became known as Wizards' Tower. The first Wizards' Tower was destroyed as a result of magical experimentation and runecrafting lost; However, Saradominist mages used the accident to marshal support against Zamorakians by blaming them. Later, a second Wizards' Tower would be built upon the ruins of the first, primarily by Saradominists suspicious of the followers of other gods. The knowledge of Runecrafting wouldn't be rediscovered until the end of the Fifth Age.

After many accidents involving magic, in year 9 of the Fifth Age, the Mage Training Arena was built to properly guide the mages, who had just discovered magic and runecrafting, preventing further disasters.

During the twelfth year of the Fifth Age, Scorpius, an astrologer of the Fourth Age, built a gigantic telescope in the west to track the stars and predict the future, gaining dark knowledge. After some time, still in the early Fifth Age, his ways were rediscovered and the Observatory was restored.

In the year 47, the Fremennik, a tribe discontent with mortals practicing magic and runecrafting, destroyed the Mage Training Arena. The Mage Training Arena was later rebuilt, but significant magical knowledge was lost. During the campaign, the Imcando Dwarves were left devastated and the Runecrafting Altars left in ruins, albeit still functional. The settlement of Gunnarsgrunn was also founded by the end of the campaign, because the invaders needed time to regroup; It is unknown why they stayed, or were allowed to.

In the year 129, Crandor was annihilated when an adventurer awoke a sleeping dragon named Elvarg, who, after killing the adventurer, emerged from ground and razed the island kingdom to ash. Some refugees escaped via fishing boats, landing on the shores of Rimmington, but Elvarg followed and massacred them. Only three mages are known to have survived the destruction. Thirty years later, an adventurer slayed Elvarg, avenging the people of Crandor.

By the end of the Fifth Age, the God Wars Dungeon thawed and many powerful beings were rediscovered. Azzanadra, being freed from his prison by an adventurer, managed to re-establish contact with Zaros.

The Sixth Age / The Second God Wars
The Sixth Age is the current age and began with Guthix's assassination at the hands of Sliske, a powerful Zarosian Mahjarrat. This marked the end of the Edicts of Guthix, and thus the gods' return to Gielinor. This event also marked the naming of a new World Guardian and Guardian of Guthix, a human adventurer immune to divine influence tasked with defending Gielinor.

Although Guthix has died, his powers can still be seen: They are reflected in the nature of Gielinor, causing strange events such as glowing trees crying at his demise and butterflies propagating his power and memories.

After the Edicts' undoing, Saradomin was the first god to return, followed closely by Zamorak - Resulting in a small battle near Lumbridge.

Sometime after, Icthlarin discovered that Death had been kidnapped by the Mahjarrat Sliske, who then sent the World Guardian and Icthlarin invitations to Sliske's ascension ceremony where he claimed he'd been able to asecend to godhood. Icthlarin had no choice but to accept the invitation and teleported to the Empyrean Citadel, where he was greeted by Saradomin, Zamorak, Bandos, and Armadyl; Brassica Prime was present but silent, and mysterious purple energy floated above the podium intended for Zaros. The World Guardian, however, was forced to run a gauntlet of challenges set up by Sliske to enter.

Sliske showed up and revealed that he had captured both Death and Strisath, one of the Dragonkin. Sliske then revealed that there was no ascension, and explained how he found the Stone of Jas using the Staff of Armadyl after trapping Strisath in the Shadow Realm. Sliske then made a proposal: Whoever kills the most gods would receive the Stone of Jas as a reward. Both Strisath and Death are later freed.

Both Armadyl and Bandos utilized Divination in their plans to create powerful weapons, respectively the Divine Focus and Scarecrow To gather energy, they sent out caravans while followers and adventurers fought a hit-and-run ground war across Asgarnia and Misthalin. Bandos lost the battle and became the first victim of Sliske's grand scheme.

Notable to include is the arrival of a new race on Gielinor called the Airut and the growing knowledge collected by seasoned adventurers and Slayer Masters of the approaching arrival of a new war god named Tuska.

Zaros returned to Gielinor with the aid of the World Guardian. He revealed his history and aspirations before assigning his most faithful followers to individual missions. Zaros, in corporeal form, is currently observing world events from the Shadow Realm after having excommunicated Sliske from his following. The World Guardian also obtained an Elder Artefact called The Measure and can see into the Shadow Realm; The latter a gift from Sliske, who has grown even more powerful.

Zamorak and the World Guardian navigated a labyrinth of Sliske's defenses to attempt a heist on the Stone of Jas in Dishonour Among Thieves. However, Sliske escapes to the shadow realm and continues plotting.