Gielinor

Gielinor (pronounced Gill-in-or), nicknamed RuneScape by the humans inhabiting it, is the world in which most of RuneScape takes place. 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. Gielinor's most notable areas include 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.

"Yes, he's created countless numbers of them, storing them all over the place; so, soon after their discovery, this world was dubbed RuneScape. We were initially calling it Gielinor but, like many things of importance, different people call it by different names."

- Jack

Astronomical location
Gielinor is orbited by a moon which is the realm of Zanaris, being the last place that Guthix visited before arriving in Gielinor. Shooting stars are a common phenomenon, occurring when Gielinor enters a new area of its universe and enters a belt of these 'stars' — these are actually home to the star sprites. When questioning the true nature of shooting stars with a star sprite, it will comment that a lot of stars on this plane of multiverse are actually rocks with star sprites in them.

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
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.

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. During Meeting History it was discovered that Guthix 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 Second Age began after Guthix entered his slumber, with the arrival of other major gods like Armadyl, Saradomin, and Zaros, who sought domination of Gielinor. 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. For his perceived murdering of a god, Zamorak was banished by the other gods, but soon returned and declared war.

Third Age
Zamorak finally returned nineteen years later and declared the God Wars. The series of devastating campaigns and intense battles collectively known as the God Wars caused the extinction of many races and resulted in a war the likes of which had never been seen on the planet. The last event of the God Wars occurred when Zamorak finally had the Stone of Jas under his control. With its support, his powers were enhanced and he incinerated the entire continent of Forinthry. The destruction was so intense that the Anima Mundi, the life force of Gielinor itself, cried out in pain and awoke Guthix. Guthix created the Edicts of Guthix, which banished all the major gods from Gielinor and prevented them from returning. After solving some matters like hiding the Stone of Jas again, Guthix entered his slumber once more so that mortals could enjoy Gielinor without gods, but not before weeping at the destruction and creating the Tears of Guthix.

Fourth Age
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.

Fifth 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.

Sixth Age
The Sixth Age is the current and ongoing age in Gielinor. The Sixth Age 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 dispersing 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.

In the midst of the aforementioned battle, Saradomin commissioned the World Guardian, alongside the devout Temple Knight Sir Owen Sonde, to aid him in the retrieval of an ancient artefact, the Wand of Resurrection, from a Kinshran catacomb. The Wand could resurrect the dead, but it would only work properly in the hands of one with noble intent. After a series of skirmishes, the duo were able to retrieve the Wand but Owen was struck dead by a powerful blast from a hidden necromancer. The World Guardian fought and killed this necromancer and intended to attempt to resurrect Owen with the Wand, but Saradomin intervened. It is unclear what exact disagreement led to it, but Saradomin forcefully commandeered the Wand and used it himself. While Owen was indeed revived, he was corrupted in the process, thus showing that Saradomin was not of noble intent.

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 ascend 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 in order 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: whomever kills the most gods would receive the Stone of Jas as a reward. Both Strisath and Death were later freed.

Both Armadyl and Bandos utilised 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.

During this battle, another part of Gielinor saw the arrival of a new race, called the Airut. These were the first harbingers of the goddess Tuska, and seasoned adventurers and Slayer Masters slowly became aware of her approach and impending arrival on Gielinor.

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. Zaros also excommunicated Sliske, due to his untrustworthy behaviour and his attempts to persuade the World Guardian not to assist Zaros.

Zamorak and the World Guardian navigated a labyrinth of Sliske's defenses to attempt the theft of the Stone of Jas in Dishonour Among Thieves. Zamorak revealed he would not play Sliske's game, but rather steal the Stone, wherever it may be. The World Guardian travelled the globe to retrieve Zamorak's faithful: Moia, Hazeel, Jerrod, Nomad, Khazard, Daquarius, Zemouregal, and Enakhra. Days of planning culminated in the nearly successful heist of the Stone. Zamorak laid hands upon it and regained the power he lost from the Battle of Lumbridge, but Sliske arrived minutes afterwards and in the confusion of the argument, Sliske teleported away with the Stone of Jas.

The next godly battle occurred when the boar goddess Tuska arrived in near space and presented a dire issue. Although a non-sentient animal and void of tactics, the amount of Anima it had consumed from other planets created a shield around it which was not unlike the Edicts of Guthix, preventing any god, or other powerful being such as Vorago, from attacking her directly. Zaros took no part in this event, and placed his trust in the mortal champions of the factions that had chosen to defend the planet. He tasked his emissary Soran to observe the event for him, and would only intervene if needed. Fortunately for everyone involved, Tuska's Anima shield was deactivated with little time to spare. Vorago launched itself into space and delivered the killing blows to Tuska. The lifeless corpse plunged into the southern ocean near the desert with almost no collateral damage. These events came to be known as the Tuskan War. After this, the artefact atop the now dead Tuska's back activated and for reasons unclear turned into a world gate, attuned to the planet of Mazcab, a planet formerly ravaged by Tuska and oppressed by Airuts.

Trivia

 * "Gielinor" is an anagram of "religion".
 * It takes approximately 15 minutes to run from Port Phasmatys in the east to Port Tyras in the west and 30 minutes to walk from Mobilising Armies to Port Phasmatys.