RuneScape Forum Archive | The Golden Compendium

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Theory VII – The Heart of the Sun

This theory is on the subject of the Kharid-ib, which I consider to effectively be the ninth Menaphite God.

It has two parts. Firstly, it seems like the Kharid-ib serves, in part, as the divine right to rule of whoever guards it. It’s a big, VERY important, and somewhat divine gem, and having it would signify that you effectively have the right to rule over the Desert second only to the Gods themselves. We have no idea why the Mirzas have it (I assume their spy ring stole it for them), but Menaphos has wanted it ever since.

But secondly (and more importantly), the Kharid-ib appears to actually be the heart of Tumeken. It is also sentient (which probably has numerous implications, but I don’t fully know what they would be), and it definitely does NOT want to fall into the hands of Amascut (woops).

I made a theory earlier that Tumeken was mummified, which means that one of the most important parts that would have had to be removed was his heart. To the Ancient Egyptians, the heart contained one of the five parts of the soul - the part known as the Ib (Kharid-ib). The other four parts are the Ren (name) Sheut (personality), Ka (vital spark) and Akh which can best be only vaguely described as “essence”. These other four parts were possibly channeled into the lesser deities.

In order to restore him, much like Senliten, his heart (and the other four lesser deities) will need to return, and his tomb would need to be restored. Even if my mummification theory IS wrong, it is very fair to assume that to restore Tumeken, we would need his heart.

We don’t know of the other powers the Heart possesses (besides being the noisiest gem in existence), but if it is the soul of Tumeken, it’s fair to assume there’d be more.

According to RuneFest 2016, Tumeken may be buried in Menaphos! Perhaps this confirms the Tumeken Burial theory?! ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:54:20 - Last edited on 18-Sep-2016 17:06:30 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Personae VI – The Pharaoh in Menaphos, and the High Priest in Sophanem

Name: ‘The Pharaoh’
Affiliation: Menaphos
Status: Under Lockdown

The Pharaoh of Menaphos is the unseen antagonist of the Desert series. We have never seen him in the series, and yet we still get some idea of what he’s like. He is described as greedy, bitter, and arrogant. Osman calls him unworthy, and implies that he is not truly of the royal blood. We view him as little more than a pawn of Amascut (and since she apparently has the power to toss out any Pharaoh that doesn’t bow to her demands, it’s likely he is one).

But perhaps he’s more complex than that. He doesn’t appear to be stupid, and he attempts to weasel his way into ruling over Al-Kharid. We don’t even know if he truly worships Amascut – he’s described to worship Het! I feel as though the Pharaoh is being forced by Amascut into her demands, but still wants war with Al-Kharid, so that he may rule. But without a doubt, he is her puppet, willing or unwilling.

He is described as a superior by Jex, so the Pharaoh has a great deal of control over the Menaphite priesthood.

Name: High Priest of Sophanem
Affiliation: Sophanem
Status: Active, plagued

The High Priest has a smaller role in the Desert series, but I thought I’d mention him as he does tie back to the Pharaoh.

The interesting thing about the High Priest is that, well… he’s new. He was put into the office just the week before the plague broke out (‘coincidence’). He struggles with decisions, is very informal, and seems indecisive. He’s pretty much the *last* possible person you’d want as a High Priest. So* why is he High Priest?

As I said earlier, the Pharaoh may have installed this man as High Priest, to ensure that nobody would argue with his decision to close off Sophanem, and to serve as a fall guy. Someone so easily manipulated is also good to have in order to slander more Gods. ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:55:02 - Last edited on 18-Sep-2016 17:07:08 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Theory VIII – A Sinister Machination

Here’s another awkward tidbit of something that could be influential, but unfortunately we simply don’t know enough about it yet: The Strange Machine below Pollnivneach.

The Machine is located in an unusually smokey slayer dungeon, and had to have been around since long before the fall of Ullek. It actually was filled to the brim with powerful slayer monsters, even back then – Catolax, an ancient Menaphite Slayer Master that lived in Ullek during its prime, was killed while on a mission there. But what’s really important about the place is the strange machine there.

The machine is an enigma – it’s covered in unusual crystals, strange symbols, and mangled chains. It’s possibly damaged, but definitely inert. It has all sorts of influences that point to what it could be, but not really tell us what it is. Its crystals are reminiscent of Zaros, but it doesn’t look like something a Zarosian would build. The symbols don’t have any apparent meaning, and match no other known script in the game, but could vaguely be related to Tumeken in some way though they don't seem to be Menaphite Heiroglyphs. It’s near the Smokey dungeon from Desert Treasure, which we know to be built by Zamorakians, but the timing isn’t quite right and neither is the machine. Finally, the chains make it look like something was restrained there against its will, but that’s not much to go on either.

Really, we have no idea what the machine is, or why Amascut hangs around it. However, I personally can't shake the feeling that someone was tied to that inner circle. Maybe it was used to create the Aberrant Spectres surrounding it? Or maybe it was used to break apart Tumeken (it is near the centre of the peninsula, after all...)?

Honestly, nobody has any idea about this device at all. Theorize away! ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:55:22 - Last edited on 10-Sep-2016 22:17:14 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Personae VII – The Stone Giant

So here’s the Gamechanger – Jas. Jas very likely makes up the Ullek Cliffs (which is really awkward, but also may explain why the city of Ullek was founded where it was founded). Even if it ISN’T Jas, there is something weird and Jas-related in the region. We know this from the Elder Measure, but also from the fact that the Heart is nearby. All in all, there is not an insignificant amount of Anima running around the Desert (And the fact that the entrance to the Heart could have had Tumeken’s Seal on it is a big deal).

This leads to the single most incontrovertible truth about the Desert series: Whatever happens in the end, the second that Jas wakes up, if she wakes up, EVERYTHING changes.

She is the foremost of the elders in power. She also gets front row seats to one of the most devastated of areas. What she would have once remembered as a verdant forest, a perfect artistic masterpiece, is now a lifeless Desert. How does one explain that? Even worse, all sorts of mortal beings are running around it.

Jas stirs, even now. Her mouthpiece says as much. After Heart of Stone, the flow of Anima near all the elders is quite disrupted. The Heart of Gielinor may have been unearthed in an earthquake, perhaps from the Cliffs of Ullek moving slightly. There is no hard evidence of this, but it is a grim thought.

If Jas wakes up, she could destroy everything. She seems to be the Elder most likely to be reasoned with – but that assumes that someone would be there to reason with her. As it stands, the Desert has uncertain leadership, is being ravaged by the strange plans of an insane Goddess of destruction, and hasn’t got a shred of evidence that Gielinor deserves to remain. This will need to be rectified before the series is over, and we haven’t got much time left.

As of RuneFest 2016, the Elder Gods (starting with Bik) may be awakening. This is a problem. ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:55:48 - Last edited on 18-Sep-2016 17:07:40 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Annals V – The Tribes of the West

So along with the various cities across the desert, there are also some nomadic tribes roaming around the western half of the desert. These guys could have been here since the beginning, or may have come over in the Zarosian Diaspora, or they might have come around at any point or another. Saradomin references the Mekhmets in the God Letters, which could very well be a tribe.

The ones that we are most familiar with are the Exiled Zarosians (who fled the North several thousand years before, and are probably of Kharidian ethnicity in everything but name at this point), and also the Bedabins. Both seem to be quite isolationist, to varying degrees, but they both also seem to be traders that prefer a hardy life in the desert to life in a city. They also seem to turn to banditry or mercenarism.

These Nomadic Tribes each seem to be lead by a tribe chief. For the Bedabin, this chief is known as Al Shabim.

Finally, the Bedabin appear to be great at growing a very special and tasty pineapple. Go figure. ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:56:04 - Last edited on 09-Sep-2016 21:03:58 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Annals VI – Defrosting Leftovers

I don’t know everything.

If I convinced you that I did know everything (at least about the Desert and its lore), I’m flattered. A lot of research went into this thread, and there were a lot of resources that were used as I formulated and reformulated my study of this land. While I like to think that I’ve garnered more knowledge about this place than the average Lorehound, there are a lot of things I don’t know.

I don’t know Amascut’s plan (or frankly anyone’s), and I don’t know what the machine under Pollnivneach is. I don’t know how, if ever, Tumeken will return to us. I don’t know what was going on with the Third Age, Second Age, or First Age in Kharidia. But the worst part of all of this are the spare parts. This is what this post is dedicated to – the monkey wrenches and spares that I have no idea where they fit.

There’s the machine under Pollnivneach, and the Kharid-Ib that really threw curveballs at me. Ozan’s future in the quest series is also completely unknown to me, or how the Kalphites were made. It can’t be that Scabaras bled on some Scarabs…

I can’t pretend to know what exactly Kharid-et. It’s quite strange: was it once Menaphite, or founded from the get go as Zarosian? How significant was the Shantay Pass back then? How much influence did Wushanko have in the Desert?

Another very major question was the state of Menaphite Magicks. We don’t know a thing about what they used, if they even used mages. Perhaps they were always suspicious of it? Maybe the extent of their magic was mummification, and golemancy. It would be interesting to know.

All are interesting questions. If any of you have any thoughts about them, please post. I want to hear them. ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:56:43 - Last edited on 09-Sep-2016 21:04:07 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Sources & Citations

1. The RuneScape Wiki, for many examine texts, pictures, and above all, Quest Transcripts. I’ve really needed to rely on this to make sure everything got squared away right.

2. Mods Rowl*y and Osborne, for answering questions (a couple at the very least!) about my favorite area of RuneScape Lore.

3. Missing My Mummy and Senliten’s dialogue were really useful for mummification and Second-age Menaphite History. Also some description on Osman and Leela, and sparking the several plots.

4. Do No Evil really changed up how I viewed the Fifth Age political situation.

5. Jex’s dialogue was REALLY helpful for descriptions of the minor Gods, particularly some parts of the misinformation surrounding Scabaras and giving some focus for what we can see in the future of the Desert series.

6. Of course, Tumeken’s dream (while taken with a grain of salt) gives great groundwork.

7. Stolen Hearts and Diamond in the Rough also provided lots of information about modern Kharidian politics and some hints at the nature of Tumeken.

8. Spirits of the Elid was very helpful for Golemtronics and Third Age history, as well as being the only reference in the game to the Saradominist-Menaphite Alliance.

9. The Golem was also helpful with Golemtronics, the Third Age, and the Battle of Uzer.

10. Smoking Kills was at least marginally helpful.

11. Dealing with Scabaras was good for more tidbits about Scabaras, while Contact! was also good with the Osman Spy Ring and the Scabarites.

12. Icthlarin’s dialogue in many quests and places also helped with fleshing out the nature of Tumeken’s mystery.

13. I tried my best to source everything either here or in the thread, but if it’s not anywhere, just ask. I swear I got most of my information from *somewhere*.

14. RuneFest 2016 was a MAJOR source, with the announcement of the Golden City of Menaphos Expansion in June of 2017! ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:57:03 - Last edited on 18-Sep-2016 17:08:12 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Acknowledgements

There are so many people I’d like to thank in addition to the sources for making this very extensive thread.

Thanks to my friends in The Scrying Pool clan for helping me with some of the finer details of my theories and giving me encouragement to keep going. Many thanks also go to my friends in the Seercast Podcast (the one player-made Runescape Lores/Future updates podcast!) for additional encouragement and editing. Speaking of, HUGE thanks go to Awalterskong, who edited practically all of this over the course of the month that it was written in. Additional special thanks goes to Crondis and Awowogei (AKA Siroki) for helping me edit this.

Additionally, I’d like to thank Fangride (who is known as Amascut) for helping introduce me to Desert lore way back when, as well as tirelessly pushing for the continuation of the Desert Series. I’d especially like to thank the developers for putting so much time into making the Desert Series as spectacular as it is. I’d also like to thank those guys over at the RuneScape Wiki, who are remarkably thorough in their documentation!

Most of all, I’d like to thank everyone who put in any time and thought into making and influencing this whole thread. That includes you, the reader. THANK YOU!

I guess I’ll see you all next time on whatever thread I make next. I’m not sure what I’ll do now* someone suggested I do a thread on the Arc, but honestly I’d need some time and area to work with that I simply don’t have right now. Maybe I’ll do some stuff on Saradomin, or the Human Diaspora.

Anyways, whatever I end up doing, I’ll see you guys next time! ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:57:48 - Last edited on 09-Sep-2016 20:36:28 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

A Compendium of Compendiums!

1.

The Golden Compendium

- Everything you ever wanted to know about the desert, and some things you really didn't.

YOU ARE HERE.

Coming soon!:

1.

The Witchwood Compendium

- Are ye ready fer affairs with corsairs, landlubber? Are ye ready fer this tome o' darkness? Do ye fear death?

2.

The Stone Compendium

- Hail, brave Fremennik Heroes! There are still challenges to overcome, and foes to best!

3.

The Cobalt Compendium

- The story and theories on the single most controversial figure who ever walked Gielinor.

4.

The Alaea Compendium

- To the Arc!

5.

The Steel Compendium

- Asgarnia: A Kingdom clinging to stability on a sword's edge. Can they keep up the balancing act? Probably not. ^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:58:00 - Last edited on 09-Sep-2016 20:59:09 by Captain Lime

May

2019

Captain Lime

Posts: 6,940 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

And now, since we have gotten all the way through ALL OF THAT, I can proudly say this:

You may now post! Woop woop woop woop woop woop woop~!

^ "Some of those words were

STUPID.

" - Mod Raven

13-Apr-2016 01:58:34 - Last edited on 13-Jun-2016 17:55:04 by Captain Lime

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