Old Ones

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This article is about the race. For the music track, see The Old Ones.
Concept art of the Old Ones, by Mod Grub.

The Old Ones are an ancient race of humanoids who once inhabited modern-day Varlamore. They were a fairly advanced race, having their own language, were capable of drawing intricate illustrations on wood carvings, and possessed knowledge of runes (though it is unlikely that they possessed the means to craft them) and herblore.[1] Additionally, they were able to build large structures such as Neypotzli and Tapoyauik, and practiced a type of nature magic known as naguanil,[2] part of which involves summoning spirits known as nagua.[3]

Ruins of the Old Ones are plentiful within the kingdom,[4] reaching as far north as the Kebos Swamp, and their architectural style appears to have been adopted by the lizardmen.[5] Additionally, some of their beliefs have been incorporated into the religion of Varlamore, such as Ximoua, which refers to an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth of the world;[6] the Twilight Emissaries believe that the Old Ones were "willingly" wiped out by the last cycle of Ximoua.[7]

Sometime during the God Wars,[8] the Old Ones began to face extinction for unknown reasons, and they began to experiment with soul transference to overcome this. While they appeared to be successful in devising a method to transfer souls to a new body, the attempt to do so for themselves at a ritual site south-west of Mount Quidamortem resulted in the creation of the Strangler[9] - a parasite presumably intended to play a role in their transference rituals that instead hastened their extinction.[10] Evidence suggests that this occured soon after refugees arrived to the continent,[11] with emphasis on Zamorakian interference playing a role.[12] The area around the site would later become known as the Stranglewood, where the parasite remains today.

Language

The Old Ones' language is partially explored during The Garden of Death, in which a handful of words were transcribed in a list. A number of words are also translated by Prince Itzla during The Heart of Darkness.

Most words are generic and often have multiple meanings, depending on the context. For example, the word "miki" can mean "time" or "death".

Translated

  • Achi = Poison
  • Ami = No/Failure/Wrong/Incorrect
  • Amok = Little/Small/Few
  • Antil = Home
  • Ates = Lake/Pond/Water
  • Ayak = Animal/Creature
  • Chua = Create/Build/Make
  • Ehke = Air/Wind
  • Ikam = Island
  • Kamat = Method/Process
  • Kemo = Yes/Success/Right/Correct
  • Kualt = Feed/Food/Eat
  • Lini = Move/Transfer/Send/Deliver
  • Makt = North
  • Miki = Time/Death/Die/Kill
  • Moki = Need/Require
  • Naui = Four
  • Olkat = Body
  • Oma = Two
  • Osto = Below/Under/Beneath
  • Ralo = Light/Sun
  • Rani = Dark/Moon
  • Silam = West
  • Siua = Big/Many/Lots/Plenty
  • Takam = East
  • Tal = Life/Soul
  • Tasol = Structure/Building
  • Tepat = Fire/Destroy/Break
  • Tlane = Garden/Plant/Tree/Forest/Wood
  • Toka = Vessel/Container/Holder
  • Uitt = South
  • Xali = Earth/Land/Ground
  • Xita = Arrive/Here
  • Yeya = Three
  • Yoka = Knowledge/Mind
  • Zema = One/People/Together

Untranslated

  • Chaki
  • Euat
  • Huka
  • Iknil
  • Koma
  • Kuhu
  • Lini
  • Makti
  • Naui
  • Nela
  • Ueai

Gallery

  • A detailed illustration on a wood carving, crafted by the Old Ones.
    A detailed illustration on a wood carving, crafted by the Old Ones.
  • The Stranglewood, where the Old Ones met their end.
    The Stranglewood, where the Old Ones met their end.
  • Remains of a statue built by the Old Ones at the Grand Museum.
    Remains of a statue built by the Old Ones at the Grand Museum.

References

  1. ^ Clanila. Old School RuneScape. "This is the main facility of the Alchemical Society. We're an organisation who fuse the forgotten teachings of the Old Ones with traditional Gielinorian Herblore practices."
  2. ^ Eyatlalli. Old School RuneScape. "For centuries, the magic used to seal the Moons has been woven into Neypotzli and the creatures that inhabit it. Naguanil is the magic of nature."
  3. ^ "Old One Statue". Old School RuneScape. "...This statue is believed to depict a spirit called a nagua. It is said that the Old Ones summoned these spirits for various reasons via a magical art called naguanil."
  4. ^ "Kasonde's journal". Old School RuneScape. "...the kingdom [Varlamore] is littered with ruins from this ancient race."
  5. ^ "Kasonde's journal". Old School RuneScape. "...this [lizardmen] architecture bears more than a few similarities to the Old One ruins found in Varlamore. While there are no known Old One ruins in Kourend or Kebos, the lizardmen must have adopted this architectural style from somewhere."
  6. ^ Metzli, Teokan of Ranul. Old School RuneScape. "This knowledge is a gift. One that was passed down to us from the Old Ones."
  7. ^ Forebearer Fides. Old School RuneScape. "This temple was built atop Tapoyauik, a ruined fortress of the Old Ones. They walked the world during the last cycle, and when the time came for their cycle to end, they embraced their destiny willingly."
  8. ^ "Tatty page". Old School RuneScape. "The most exciting of my discoveries is the fact that these ruins belonged to a previously unknown race. Also of interest is the fact that the extinction of this race seems to have been fairly recent."
  9. ^ Kasonde. Old School RuneScape. "It [soul tranference] was their final attempt to overcome their extinction, but they failed. What you see around you is the result of their failure. It's known as the Strangler."
  10. ^ Kasonde. Old School RuneScape. "It's some sort of parasite. It was presumably meant to play a role in their transference rituals, but instead it destroyed them. It has remained here ever since."
  11. ^ "Tatty page". Old School RuneScape. "The first thing to note is that this land is not as uninhabited as originally believed. Alongside the dwarves we are pursuing, there's also a small band of humans. More interestingly, there is what appears to be a Zamorakian presence here."
  12. ^ "Tatty page". Old School RuneScape. "In fact, there's some evidence to suggest the Zamorakian presence we encountered before might be partially to blame, though further investigation will be needed to be sure. [...] it seems that while the Zamorakians played a role, the extinction of this race was actually caused by themselves. They attempted something. It's not clear what exactly, but whatever it was, it didn't go well."
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