Erebus

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Raksha threatens to drag the World Guardian into Erebus.

Erebus is a universe separate from the one Gielinor exists in, found beyond the Shadow Breaches.[1] It was believed by the Zarosians to be their afterlife as explained by Azzanadra[2] and souls can be found there. Seren describes it as a realm of entropy, where concepts such as life and death are meaningless.[3] It is the source of all shadow anima and a place where the Chthonian beings originate from, although they no longer remember it.[4][5] According to Zaros there are beings in Erebus that rule it.[6]

Erebus is briefly visited in Extinction, where it is accessed through a breach on Freneskae. It was first mentioned by Raksha when it threatened to drag the World Guardian into it.[7] It is later revealed during the Battle for the Monolith that Erebus is a universe of shadows, distinct from the universe Gielinor is located in. It is full of shadow anima that would quickly kill anyone that lacks the correct protection; the World Guardian remarked that it was nearly impossible for them to remain there for long and Zaros, a divine creation of Mah who could withstand some shadow anima, needed other sources to survive there for a prolonged period of time.

Several beings from the Gielinor's universe ended up in Erebus: Jas, Zaros, Kerapac, Char and the Guildmaster Tony; additionally at least two Elder artefacts, the Elder Crown and the Staff of Armadyl were also taken there. There is also the possibility that The Mirror had been brought there as well. Their current status is unknown.

Geography[edit | edit source]

Erebus is visited for the first time during the quest Extinction, when the World Guardian is tasked with finding some form of solution for Jas' onslaught. The area of Erebus explored appears barren and rugged, with levitating boulders and chunks of terrain suspended in a maelstrom of lightning and pure shadow. There are numerous rifts which lead to other areas, rocks containing shadow animica, and motes of shadow anima littered throughout the terrain. Additionally, one can see structures resembling the hand-like stone formations that line Kranon's ritual site at the bottom of The Shadow Reef embedded into the various rocks that make up parts the explored region's terrain. There also exist fragments of souls that are capable of moving boulders and opening inactive rifts.

In addition to the seemingly natural features, there are structures within that appear to have been built or sculpted to fulfill specific purposes, such as timeworn lodestones which can provide transportation, relics that can move boulders into specific configurations, and idols which can summon shadow leviathans.

Mentions and nature[edit | edit source]

Death is unaware of the existence of Erebus[8], while Icthlarin himself has yet to guide a Zarosian follower there.[9] Azzanadra claims that Erebus is where Zaros' faithful go upon death. However, the author of Scions of Erebus, who is implied to be a Chthonian demon, believes that this is not its true purpose, comparing souls entering Erebus to sewage polluting a reservoir.[10] The realm itself is virtually unknown, as no one has returned from Erebus; however, those attuned to the current of magic are able to sense the soul depart, but not know of its end location, so they simply called the destination Erebus.[11] Funerary urns of miasma were used during rituals to help guide the soul of the deceased to Erebus.

Chthonian demons originate from Erebus, but were exiled from it and subsequently invaded Infernus.[12] The moon Ocularis also appears to be aware of its existence, but because those who attempt to speak with it become insane, it cannot be used as a source of information about Erebus or any other topic.[13] Hostilius may have consumed knowledge related to Erebus, although various chthonian demons' attempts to find it by consuming his flesh have proved unsuccessful.[14] The Infernals do not appear to have any knowledge about it despite speaking about the previous incarnation of the universe before The Great Revision.[15]

The Chthonian demon Veilinius mentions Erebus when asking Trindine of her whereabouts for the past several millennia.[16]

One known entity residing in Erebus is Vos, a mysterious being that spoke through the slightly-opened Monolith and attempted to convince Aurelius and Kolton to open it further.[17]

Erebus's known inhabitants include shadow cacklers, shadow leviathans and shadow behemoths.[18]

The Ambassador summoned energy portals from Erebus to attack the World Guardian with. This energy was highly explosive and damaging.[19]

The Ancient Magicks originated from Erebus.[20]

Erebus shares some similarities with the Shadow Realm, and whatever connections that exist between them are currently unknown aside from shadow leviathans existing in both as shown when one emerged from Erebus in Extinction.

When the World Guardian first entered Erebus, they found it very difficult to move around and could only withstand being within Erebus for a minute before being forced to leave. However, as they captured and absorbed shadow anima, their soul become more attuned to the universe, allowing them to traverse Erebus more easily and remain within it for longer.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • In 2016, Mod Osborne revealed that prior to the release of The World Wakes, Jagex had plans for a quest called "In the Mouth of Madness", regarding a Guardian of Guthix named Erebus, who was a floating, sentient prison where Guthix put those who unbalanced the world in.[21]
  • In Greek mythology, Erebus was often conceived as a primordial deity, representing the personification of darkness.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ^ Zaros, "Battle of the Monolith", RuneScape. "On the other side of the breach is another reality. A very different reality."
  2. ^ Azzanadra, "Azzanadra's Quest", RuneScape. "Player: Are you saying Zarosians do have an afterlife?
    Azzanadra: Of course. Every stabilising religion needs to answer that question. We call it Erebus."
  3. ^ Seren, "Extinction", RuneScape. "Such a word means nothing to the forces of Erebus. It is a realm of entropy, not life, and it will do nothing but consume and destroy. It mindlessly seeks power, nothing more. It can feel the eggs - that must be why its mouth opened now, right above us all. There's something on the other side, searching for them."
  4. ^ Kerapac, the Bound, "Extinction", RuneScape. "The portal. It goes to the source of all shadow anima - I can tell."
  5. ^ Scions of Erebus, RuneScape. "It is we who are the scions of Erebus. Heirs to its majesty. Granted, there are none of us now who still remember it, save perhaps for Ocularis. [...] Even Hostilius itself was born on Infernus, long after our exile and subsequent invasion of the world of smoke."
  6. ^ Zaros, "Battle of the Monolith", RuneScape. "What I seek cannot be found in this universe, and so I go in search of another. I have the apparatus I require - the material to shield myself, a tool to guide me in that place, and an offering for those who rule there."
  7. ^ Raksha, the Shadow Colossus, RuneScape. "I WILL DRAG YOU INTO EREBUS."
  8. ^ Death, "Nomad's Elegy", RuneScape. "Given that most of Zaros's remaining followers are either still alive or are denied an afterlife themselves this afterlife is unknown to me. I do vaguely remember something to do with an empire that extended even beyond death, but that memory is faded and fleeting."
  9. ^ Icthlarin, "Nomad's Elegy", RuneScape.
    • Player: Where do the followers of Zaros go?
    • Icthlarin: Of that I do not know. I have yet to take one to the Underworld. It is something that vexes me greatly.
  10. ^ Scions of Erebus, RuneScape. "Erebus. A resting place for the dead? How quaint. When the sewer cracks and the disgusting human excretions leak into the reservoir, is the reservoir now a store for their manure? Of course not. The excretions pollute it. They do not define it."
  11. ^ Azzanadra, "Azzanadra's Quest", RuneScape. "But when a mortal of the faithful dies, their soul passes on from this world to another. Those attuned to the currents of magic can sense its passing, but we do not know the destination. We call that unknown place 'Erebus'."
  12. ^ Scions of Erebus, RuneScape. "Even Hostilius itself was born on Infernus, long after our exile and subsequent invasion of the world of smoke."
  13. ^ Scions of Erebus, RuneScape. "Granted, there are none of us now who still remember it, save perhaps for Ocularis. Long has it been since any could speak with that gibbering harbinger without being driven themselves to utter derangement. Whatever secrets it may still possess remain inaccessible."
  14. ^ Scions of Erebus, RuneScape. "Even Hostilius itself was born on Infernus, long after our exile and subsequent invasion of the world of smoke. During the Autocrat's long road to total domination, each of its elders were devoured in turn, and perhaps some vestige of their memory lingers on within its twitching corpse. If that is so, then none of us who dwell aboard that fleshy palace have been able to recover it, no matter how much of its mass we devour."
  15. ^ Scions of Erebus, RuneScape. "As for the various kinds of Infernal that we've become so acquainted with... They seem to know even less than our kind. They speak as if they remember the previous incarnation of this universe, but have next to no knowledge of our native reality. Some of them inhabit the stolen bodies of Avernic, but this intimacy with the Erebal element of smoke doesn't seem to lend them any insight."
  16. ^ Veilinius, "Azzanadra's Quest", RuneScape. "Where in Erebus have you been for all of history?"
  17. ^ Inquisitior's Memoirs (page 9), written by Aurelius, "Secrets of the Inquisition", RuneScape. "At the centre of the monolith there seemed to be a swirling vortex of some kind and from it came the whispering voice... It promised me everything I wanted... all I had to do were to touch the monolith and to open that crack in the world just a fraction more."
  18. ^ Jagex. "Update:Battle Report, Pentember 12th." "Update:Battle Report, Pentember 12th."] RuneScape Lores and Histories. *
  19. ^ Beasts, RuneScape. "The Ambassador will occasionally conjure unstable energy portals from Erebus."
  20. ^ Scions of Erebus, RuneScape. "Some of them inhabit the stolen bodies of Avernic, but this intimacy with the Erebal element of smoke doesn't seem to lend them any insight."
  21. ^ Mod Osborne. RuneScape Podcast #87 - Free Love And Sheep. 17 May 2016. (Archived from the original on 2 June 2021.) "We put together a quest brief for something called "In the Mouth of Madness", which was about a Guardian of Guthix called Erebus, who was a floating prison. Like, Guthix used to put those who'd unbalance the world in."