The World Wakes

First topic message reminder :

This month, we're going to finally see the place where Guthix is said to rest. This Grandmaster doesn't look too hard, from what I see, I've got all the requirements sorted out.

In fact, this looks the first Grandmaster that just simply needs combat, all other requirements are optional if you want to get additional rewards.

How does everyone else think this will go? Will it be canonical or a standalone feature?

I spoiled it for myself. Not like I'm ever going to be able to finish it.

I quit RS, so I just decided to pop in and see what exactly was so earth-shattering about the quest.

Spoiler:

I take it you weren't disappointed Hand?

Spoiler:

I wasn't disappointed, but I think it could have been a bit longer. Also I feel like the 'recommended quests' should have been required. If the quest is spoiled in future content, to bad. We all know about WGS, don't we?

Also I noticed something curious about questlines. They, naturally, increase in difficulty, in both content and quest requirements, from something like Novice to Master. How would the difficulty of a future questline, which has TWW as a requirement, progress? There's a Grandmaster quest as a requirement!

The only thing I disliked was that the 5th age was only 169 years long - compared to the 2000+ years of each other era. The 5th Age should entirely just be absorbed by the 4th age, and have the current year be 2169.

There is an art contest for the World Wakes, what's everyone going to draw?

Seriously, how do people draw? I cannot get it right!

No clue man

A new event was released where players can catch butterflies of Guthix. When five are caught, a memory of Guthix can be unlocked.

Spoiler:

For the record, how many people know the ending?

You can find out the ending just doing the Festival of Guthix, can't you? Or is that chat option only available after the quest?

Not sure. But it doesn't answer my question.

Have you ever noticed something unusual with quests involving the Ancient ways and Zaros? I've noticed something odd about the symbol, can you see it too?



Look carefully, where do you see a symbol very similar to this? I believe I can see something that you always see in the game - it's a compass.

Zaros' symbol best resembles a compass and nearly all of the quests where Zaros is involved seem to pertain around the number four. Not convinced?;

• In order to free Azzanadra, the player needs to acquire diamonds of the four elements - smoke, shadow, blood and ice. Where are they located? Troll country (NORTH) for ice, Morytania (EAST) for blood, The Desert (SOUTH) for smoke and Kandarin (WEST) for Shadow.
  
• Similarly, in order to communicate with Zaros, it requires four parts - Azzanadra from the Pyramid (SOUTH), A relic from Entrana (WEST), a horn from Ghorrok (NORTH) and an artefact from the Barrows (EAST).
  
• When planting the beacons at the Ritual Site, one has to be placed at North, East, South and West.
  
• The Mysteries of the Mahjarrat quest has four quests where Mahjarrat feature (by this, I mean as in the direct chain, not quests like Fight Arena or Desert Treasure that are required, but not part of that series itself.). The series, consists of Tale of the Muspah, Missing My Mummy, Curse of Arrav, Temple at Senntisten and Ritual of the Mahjarrat - four out of five feature Mahjarrat directly.
  
• Zaros is the fourth god to make an in game appearance.
  
• The Rise of Zaros quest series has four quests directly associated with it (Dig Site, Desert Treasure, Temple at Senntisten and the World Wakes).
  

See a pattern? Zaros seems to be strongly associated with the number four and a compass design. It's visible nearly every where Zaros or one of his followers is involved.

• In the God Wars Dungeon, it took four generals to defeat Nex, Zaros' general. There are four generals still in the dungeon, the main floor is arranged like a compass and Nex has four guardians rather than the normal three.
  
• Four ancient elements (a bit trivial, but still important).
  
• Four gods are known to be directly opposed to him.
  
• The Mahjarrat almost appear to be arranged in a compass - Hazeel and Khazard to the West, Sliske and Bilrach is to the East, Akthanakos and Enahkra are to the South, Zemouregal and Kharshai are to the North, whilst Azzanadra is dead centre.
  

If a future quest is due, I reckon it will have something to do with the number four and a compass.

That is an interesting observation...especially with Jagex implying that Zaros is the god of control, the choice of a compass as a symbol has further implications

I wouldn't be surprised too much if Zaros ends up reforging the edicts.

Since uploading my notes, the article on Zaros on the Runescape Wikia has vanished. Completely blank.

The wiki database breaks sometimes and pages return blank. Either that, or it's been vandalized.

Some of your connotations with "four" are a bit incidental/far fetched... such as the number of quests in the series, particularly since you've had to make special rules about what constitutions a required quest just to make "four" apply.

I think the compass is a good observation. The fact they chose four elements is probably a coincidence, and many of the other "fours" relate directly to his four elements (such as Nex's guardians).

Also, who is the fourth god? In fact, other than Saradomin and Zamorak, no other gods are known to oppose him (well, the Menaphite pantheon... but they're never really been true gods -- or, at least not all of them. Tumeken maybe. His freaky clown is probably an elder artefact that allows his dreams to manifest, Elidnis was probably a human, and Amascut and Icthlarin are just demigods). Armadyl and Bandos aren't know to oppose him?

And yes, reforging the Edicts is likely.

Four Gods - Armadyl, Saradomin, Zamorak and Bandos. Guthix knows not of Zaros.

I have wondered, what defines a god exactly? Sometimes height, intelligence, power or longevity and invulnerabilty - if that is how RuneScape defines a god, surely a god needn't be living, perhaps even a machine! Could one of the RuneScape gods who arrived during the war be a machine rather than a living creature?

Also, my observations were based on summaries from RuneScape wiki (at the bottom, they have a list of quests within certain series)

Guthix does not remember where he knows of Zaros. Armadyl and Bandos have never explicitly opposed Zaros, so I don't think "four gods" is a valid statement. Even if there were - again, coincidental.

The only known ways to become a god shown involve an Elder Artifact and an existing god. Guthix killed Skargoth (sp?), whereas Zamorak only drained Zaros. Saradomin possesses an Elder Artifact; and Armadyl once did. However, Sliske isn't known to be a god - despite killing Guthix with the staff of Armadyl. Maybe Sliske is now a god? Or maybe Guthix gave us his "god essence" prior to dying - which denied it from Sliske.

Perhaps the originals were the Elder Gods, and each was slain for their power. Being a god has since been curse/gift that is passed from one god to another. Perhaps it's possible to share the power, else is Zaros even a god anymore? Maybe once a god, always a god (basically sharing).

Maybe you have to want to be a god to inherit it?

I don't know if anyone has noticed or cares, but in the remake of the Slayer Tower they added Zarosian symbols everywhere.

Sliske might not be a god. The weapons that killed Gods all made contact with the god for the wielder of the weapon to acquire the power. Sliske didn't embed the Staff of Armadyl into Guthix, so he gained no power.

Even if four is a pure coincidence and relies on a lot of circumstance, the compass doesn't appear to be.

Fair point.

Still possible Guthix made us a god. Be a shame to waste his godliness.

I think Guthix wants only to discontinue godhood.

Ever played Okami? It's one of my favourite games.

In a nutshell, you play as Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess from Japan. 100 years prior to the game, she fought Orochi and died from her wounds afterwards. Her godly power left her body and it is found over the course of the game by speaking to other gods who restore your powers when you find their constellations and restore the stars. She had the ability to make plants bloom, control the wind, water, fire, lightning and ice along with turning day into night and vice versa.

Perhaps this is what has happened to Guthix's power? Hiding away in the land of mortals, in places the Gods wouldn't think to look. It's much safer to hide the power away, scattered, than to give it to one human, a target for all zealots.

His power shattered, spread among a select few who guard the separate elements, waiting for a worthy carrier. What might these people be called. Guarding the remnants of ... the god Guthix's powers.

Oh.

That's what the Guardians of Guthix are...

It would appear Sliske did take more than Guthix's life in the World Wakes. He has an emissary.