Edicts of Guthix

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Guthix establishes the Edicts

The Edicts of Guthix refers primarily to a magical barrier created by Guthix at the end of the Third Age to prevent the gods from physically entering Gielinor. The name "edicts" comes from the assertion that this was comprised of magical "laws". The spell to establish this barrier has also been referred to in the singular as "the Edict". This is believed to have been perhaps the single most powerful spell in the planet's history.

The creation of the barrier did not automatically banish the gods from Gielinor; it only prevented their reentry. Guthix had to personally approach and evict each god by himself. This was a gradual process that took years. Guthix elected to banish every god of sufficient power, regardless of whether they had taken part in the God Wars, starting with the major combatants. Some gods, such as V, swore oaths not to test the edicts. Other deities, such as the demigods Icthlarin and Amascut, and the four lesser gods of the Menaphite Pantheon, were not powerful enough to apply in the first place. Brassica Prime was notably allowed by Guthix to stay despite his power.

Through the barrier, the gods could still observe the world and had a limited ability to communicate with their followers. Being able to see the gods past the barrier required a certain spiritual sensitivity.

Apart from the physical Edicts barrier, the Edicts of Guthix also refers to a readable religious text comprised of actual laws. These laws dictate a "religious balance" for the world; they forbid any action that may lead to a spiritual imbalance, such as any religious faction becoming too powerful or for them all to go to war. Grounding these edicts was the belief that if Guthixians, Zamorakians, and Saradominists were all at war, it would propagate a second god war. The druids were sworn by oath to attempt to uphold the balance, and if that failed, to wake Guthix. Upon seeing a "second god war", Guthix would be so angry, the text claimed, that he'd "remake the world without mercy for the pain of beast or man." Although some Saradominists and Zamorakians doubted whether Guthix's conception of balance was what the Guthixians claimed. In the Fifth age, religious factions had largely adhered to the edicts text, which was believed to have maintained a balance of power and a prolonged period of peace. Guthix's actual relationship to these written laws is unknown.

Mentions

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The Darkness of Hallowvale

During The Darkness of Hallowvale, werewolves from the vampyre kingdom of Morytania were able to cross the blessed River Salve into Misthalin. They were sent by the vampyre Lord Drakan to kidnap humans for blood tithes. When King Roald, king of Misthalin, wanted to start a new war with Morytania, his advisor Aeonisig Raispher reminded him that starting a war would break the Edicts of Guthix. Since then the church of Saradomin began investigating the Edicts. During the Legacy of Seergaze quest, a group of followers of both Zamorak and Saradomin, who are working together to bring down the Edicts of Guthix, are discovered.

Shadow of the Storm

When speaking to Juna the snake, there is a possibility of mentioning the Shadow of the Storm quest. After telling her about it, Juna states that Agrith Naar found a way to get around the Edicts. It was thought that there were other ways to get around the Edicts, as is being looked into in the Myreque quest series.

The Temple at Senntisten

More recently, during the quest The Temple at Senntisten, one helps Azzanadra restore the Altar of Zaros in the Digsite Dungeon, the site of an ancient Zarosian city. Azzanadra then succeeds in contacting Zaros, who apparently inhabits a distant plane. Although Zaros does not come to Gielinor's plane at this time, some of his power is manifested on Gielinor, including damaging a statue of Zamorak at the Chaos Temple. This manifestation was theorised to have violated the Edicts of Guthix. If this was indeed a violation, it is not known whether it was intentional or not, as the Edicts were proclaimed during the God Wars, long after Zaros has disappeared from the plane of Gielinor. Speaking to Juna after having done the quest will reveal that Zaros's return would shift things towards balance as she says that Zamorak is but a pretender god. However in response to the story after telling her of The Firemaker's Curse, she says she cannot look kindly to Zaros's return. This was thought that Zaros was not bound by the Edicts in the same way that other deities were.

2009 Halloween event

In the 2009 Halloween event, the Spider Queen reveals that the Edicts command the Grim Reaper to have the scythe, the bones, the robes and a spooky house decorated by spiderwebs. As the Grim Reaper cleans all the spiderwebs, the Spider Queen puts a spider in his bath. He must be convinced to put all the spiderwebs back, in order to restore the Edicts. This may conclude that the Spider Queen is a Guthixian or she is afraid of violating the Edicts of Guthix.

Destruction of the Edicts

Following the events of The World Wakes, which culminate in the death of Guthix himself at the hands of the Mahjarrat Sliske, the Edicts are destroyed, bringing an end to thousands of years without interference from the gods and allowing them to once again return to Gielinor, essentially ushering in a new Age. Furthermore, it is revealed in a Behind the Scenes video that the Edicts formed an actual physical, magical wall around Gielinor. As it broke, it shattered and dissolved into purely magical energy spreading all around Gielinor. The Gods and their followers were searching to gather the energies, in hope of accessing its power in combination with the Stone of Jas.

Hero's Welcome

In Hero's Welcome, Sigmund the Merchant mentions that the Edicts were not a singular event, but a series of bans as the gods were slowly expelled from Gielinor. The gods who actively fought were the first to be removed. Gods who tried to run away and hide were also dismissed. Gods who were peaceful or agreed to leave, such as V, were given a chance to say a proper goodbye to their followers.

In the quest, as V was injured and losing energy, he did theorise that Guthix may have left a "barb" such that any returning gods would be injured, but he felt that this would not have been probable as Guthix was dead and the Edicts null.

Interference of gods post-Edicts

The gods nonetheless have left imprints and echoes of their terrible power on Gielinor and its plane, such as Saradomin's power remaining strong upon Entrana and blocking even teleporters from carrying armour and weapons to his sacred island, even through intermediate realms as the Abyss. Various objects, some of which are very common and easily attainable throughout Gielinor, such as the Holy symbol of Saradomin's silver star, have been blessed by some of the gods' most pious followers with small portions of their tremendous power, aiding them when they are praying. The River Salve, along with the Salve shards that have absorbed some of the river's holy energies, has been blessed by Saradomin's power to secure the lands of his followers against the immense threat of Morytania (though this is less direct, as the quest River of Blood reveals it was blessed through blood magic by the Seven Priestly Warriors), as well as the god of order himself granting the Gaze of Saradomin to the Temple Knights (watching over them, his loyal followers), enabling them to respawn at Falador.

Additionally, gods can influence events in RuneScape through Prayer to countless followers, mainly human. Zamorak is able to frequently attack humans who attempt to steal his wine with mystical flames, considerably lowering one's stats, albeit inflicting relatively minimal damage. The mid-level spell Divine Storm can be utilised by especially skilled practitioners of Magic, and draw upon the power of the gods themselves. Even seasoned adventurers fear the wrath of the gods, as they dare not use anything on their altars. Seren is still able to power elven magic through items such as the crystal bow, the crystal ward and the crystal chime, as well as communicate with her followers through the Tower of Voices, and all but one of her nine mystic seals upon the Grand Library are still intact. Bandos can imbue certain objects with his power, which can allow him to influence the minds of whomever bears his items and to allow him to bring his avatar into Gielinor.

Any human bearing items dedicated to a different god than the god they are in the waiting room for is automatically forced to assume another shape temporarily, apparently due to the power of the Gielinor deities. According to the Mage of Zamorak, "the magic we have had to use to retain a portal to the abyss open and effective is derived from Lord Zamorak himself. Well, he has his occasional quirks. In this case it means that when you enter this dimension you will be 'skulled' and your prayer will be drained. That makes it somewhat more dangerous than other places you may be used to."

This is confirmed in the first RuneScape novel, Betrayal at Falador. It is mentioned in the novel that when the blood of an innocent person is spilled on a holy barrier (such as the River Salve, the Monastery of Saradomin, and Falador Castle), then the holy barrier is, in most cases, temporarily void. This is limited in its application, however, as more powerful barriers can only be bypassed by one individual for a matter of minutes or seconds, and often this process is unpredictable in its repercussions. This was used by Lord Drakan during what would come to be known as the War of 164, although the violation was not significant enough to invoke the Edicts.

Re-establishing the Edicts

In an effort to stop Zamorak from taking over Gielinor it is suggested by the Shadow Voice that the World Guardian can re-establish the Edicts to eject Zamorak from Gielinor, but in doing so would also permanently remove the other Gods from Gielinor, as well as stripping the World Guardian of their powers.

The World Guardian proceeded with the plan as Zamorak was severely threatening Gielinor's safety. After fighting through a Zamorakian stronghold, they were able to reach Zamorak at the Wilderness Crater and re-established the Edicts, causing the god of chaos to be immediately banished from Gielinor. Even after attempting revenge by dragging them into Infernus, the World Guardian narrowly escaped by running back through the portal. After Zamorak's defeat, the other gods left; Saradomin appointed Adrasteia as his successor and informed the people of Gielinor of the recent events, Armadyl continued on with his plan to help his people, the elves and Crystal Shapeshifters, while Azzanadra was focusing on his agenda of keeping Zaros' legacy alive.