Varlamore

Varlamore
Released		20 March 2024 (Update)
Also called		Shining Kingdom
Members		Yes
Capital		Civitas illa Fortis
League region		Varlamore✓
Inhabitants		Humans, Dwarves (Imcando-descendant), Quetzals
Map
Advanced data
Type		region

The Kingdom of Varlamore, also known as the Shining Kingdom, is a kingdom found in the continent of Zeah, found far west of the mainland across the Western Sea. It is one of the three regions that make up the continent, the other two being the Kingdom of Great Kourend and the Kebos Lowlands. Like Great Kourend, it stands as one of the largest kingdoms in Gielinor, and one of the most distinct, given its isolation from the rest of the mainland.

The kingdom is ruled by a monarchy, with Zyanyi Arkan currently reigning as the Sun Queen. To the distinction of other human kingdoms, who primarily worship Saradomin, the Varlamorians practice a religion officially named as Losanium, which involves the worship of the sun god Ralos, and the moon god Ranul; however, most people focus their worship to one of the two. Varlamore is also littered with ruins of the Old Ones, an ancient race that went extinct sometime during the beginning of the God Wars.

Varlamore can only be accessed upon completion of Children of the Sun, after which the player is directed outside the east Varrock gate to talk to Regulus Cento, who will take the player to the kingdom's capital, Civitas illa Fortis, via quetzal - a large species of bird native to the region that act as mounts. Players must first travel to Varlamore via Regulus before other methods of accessing it are allowed.

History

Early history

Traces of the Old Ones can be found in ruins across the kingdom.

The region that would later become known as Varlamore was first inhabited by an ancient race known as the Old Ones, who were strong worshippers of Ralos and Ranul, building structures such as Neypotzli and Tapoyauik. However, during the early Third Age, they began to face extinction, and devised a ritual to attempt soul transference. While successful in doing so for a new body, the attempt to do so for themselves went horribly wrong, resulting in the creation of the Strangler - a parasite presumably intended to play a role in their transference rituals that instead hastened their extinction.

Hundreds of years later, the continent would begin to be settled by refugees, eventually founding Great Kourend thousands of years later. It was not until 1,030 years ago that refugees, fleeing from Xeric's reign during Kourend's Age of Strife, would flee southwards over the previously unexplored Custodia Mountains. Among the refugees, there were three notable groups: The Imcando dwarves, the Talkasti, and the Pericans.

The Imcando dwarves, who lived in Lovakengj, were the first to flee Kourend and founded Cam Torum, an underground city beneath Ralos' Rise. The Talkasti, who initially lived nomadic lives, settled in the Tlati Rainforest before establishing permanent settlements like Tal Teklan. Lastly, the Pericans founded the town of Fortis, and eventually became known as Civitas illa Fortis when the three groups united to found Varlamore.

Founding of Varlamore

The temple, known today as the Forthos Dungeon, is believed to be the origin of Losanium worship by the Talkasti.

Though the dwarves of Cam Torum mostly kept themselves isolated from the affairs of the Talkasti and Pericans, the latter two groups regularly found themselves in conflict. The Talkasti, who secretly practised Losanium in the Temple to Ranul and Ralos, were able to openly practice their religion, and was eventually adopted by the Pericans as well.

This caused the two groups to come together, rapidly expanding the region and their populations. 100 years after Fortis was founded, it was decreed that a second settlement be built to address the issues that came with population growth. One of the candidates for a new settlement was the islands of Tempest Bay, but was not a strong contender due to the unstable ground and the presence of hill giants led by the Cloud Titan. However, with their defeat, presumably with a united force of Pericans and Talkasti, the construction of Tempestus began, and with it the founding of Varlamore. The River Varla, previously the border between the two groups, was used as the name and symbol for the now-unified kingdom.

Monstrous Threats

Though internal conflicts between Varlamore appear to be nonexistent, there were some threats to the kingdom in the form of monsters 200 years ago, all of which were defeated in the span of 20 years with the help of an adventurer from Hosidius, who travelled to Varlamore to escape the War of the Five Houses as he refused to kill people, preferring to use his skills in monster slaying.

One of these was a weather demon who terrorised the Avium Savannah with torrential rainstorms. Recognising the potential threat to Cam Torum, the Imcando dwarves requested the adventurer to deal with the demon, giving him an enchanted sword forged from an alloy of silver and some mystical metal tuned to harm demons. With the demonbane sword in hand, the demon was promptly slain.

The Colossal Wyrm Remains, now a famous landmark in Varlamore.

Though the Cloud Titan was believed to have been slain during the attack on Tempest Bay 900 years ago, its armour was never recovered until the adventurer brought it to the Grand Museum and donated it to the staff. Though he discovered that the Cloud Titan survived the attack and defeated it by himself, historians considered this unlikely.

The last of these threats was the Colossal Wyrm. Presumably created by a dragonkin named Karuulm, the wyrm was believed to have come from deep within the Hailstorm Mountains before settling in the Avium Savannah for unknown reasons. Warriors from across the kingdom, including the adventurer, banded together to defeat it at the southern end of the savannah, where its skeleton remains today as a famous landmark; one of its fangs is on display on the top floor of the Grand Museum.

War of Betrayal

A beheaded statue of Emperor Imafore.

Though the kingdom managed to keep a stable relationship with Great Kourend since their founding, this changed approximately 100 years ago when Imafore Tullus ascended the throne and reorganised the kingdom into the Varlamorian Empire.

Public opinion of Emperor Imafore was mixed, with his policies being controversial at best. As part of a celebration of his 30th birthday, he invited the Kourend royal family to Varlamore, giving them a grand tour of the kingdom. However, during the grand feast at the Sunrise Palace in Civitas illa Fortis, he killed the royal family by poisoning their drinks, prompting Great Kourend to declare war on Varlamore. His reasons for doing so remain unknown, as he took the secret to his grave.

The War of Betrayal, as it would become known, was deeply unpopular amongst the Varlamorian people. Despite this, the war lasted six years, ending at Battle of the Proudspire when Imafore and his forces were captured by freedom fighters led by his cousin, Mezpah Arkan. Imafore was promptly executed, ending the Tullus dynasty and the war.

The Arkan Dynasty

Now the Sun King, one of Mezpah Arkan's first acts was to behead every statue of his cousin, and declaring it a crime to remove them as a warning not to repeat the mistakes of the past. King Kharedst III, in the hope of repairing Kourend's relations with Varlamore, ordered an envoy be sent to transport the Royal Accord of Twill to be displayed in the Grand Museum, despite the protests of his people. However, the Accord became lost at sea, and remained so until it was recently recovered by Artur Hosidius, and remains safely stored in the Library Historical Archive in Arceuus. As both kingdoms have not requested the other for the Accord, a replica of the original is displayed in the Grand Museum instead.

Even years later, the betrayal of Emperor Imafore remains fresh in the minds of Kourend's people, and the trust has yet to be regained, although it appears that Zyanyi Arkan, Mezpah's great-granddaughter, is eager to ease tensions between the two kingdoms during her visit to Great Kourend.

Contact with the mainland

Since the kingdom's founding, travel outside Varlamore was heavily restricted; members of the College of Bards in Tempestus were among the only people allowed to do so, and even then lots of paperwork were required to be filled out.

The Varlamorian delegation arrives in Varrock.

In time, just as the Kourend Council established trade routes between them the mainland, opening up the kingdom for safe travel and trade, Queen Zyanyi Arkan was interested in doing the same for Varlamore, which was one of the goals of her ambitious great-grandfather.

Varlamore first began establishing diplomatic ties with the rest of the kingdoms by sending a delegation to Misthalin. This delegation, led by Prince Itzla Arkan, was also accompanied by Servius, the Teokan (priest) of Ralos, Ennius Tullus, and Furia Tullus, along with six Knights of Varlamore. After a plot to assassinate the Teokan was foiled by an adventurer, who stumbled upon the plotters by chance after learning of the delegation's arrival, a treaty was signed between the two kingdoms, opening up Varlamore to the mainland for the first time.

The Twilight Emissaries

Itzla would later arrange a meeting with the adventurer, revealing to them that Servius was his father. Due to various policies, the only people who were aware of the overseas visit would have to be one of the delegation and thus tasked them with finding the suspect. The adventurer eventually discovered evidence pointing to Velam, who was promptly slain by Ennius Tullus. This concerned the adventurer, as Velam was not given a chance to explain his reasoning or motive as to why he would do so and they informed Itzla of it, who promised to keep an eye on the twins. He then began to explain to them about the Twilight Emissaries, a cult dedicated to the Old Ones' "Final Dawn" - bringing about an end to the world. Suddenly, cultists stormed the palace, but were repelled by the adventurer and the guards. To their surprise, despite none of them having made it inside, Servius was gravely wounded and Metzli was missing, indicating that the plot was much deeper than expected.

The Teokan of Ranul, Metzli, is revealed to be leading the Twilight Emissaries as its Augur.

Despite the Queen's protests, Prince Itzla insisted on going undercover with the adventurer in an infiltration mission into the cult, where both were tasked with passing the cult's trials in the Tower of Ascension to join their ranks. At the Twilight Temple, where the cult resides, they discover that Metzli is indeed the Augur, or leader of the cult. During the initiation ceremony, she reveals that she had dedicated herself to leading the group in service of the Tullus twins, whom she believes to be the mortal forms of Ralos and Ranul, and that the cult's goal is to find a route to Mokhaiotl - a location said to be at the centre of the world where Ralos and Ranul will reach and unite to bring about the Final Dawn.

During the infiltration, Prince Itzla and the adventurer are tasked to explore Tapoyauik, a ruined fortress of the Old Ones beneath the Twilight Temple, as the cult believes they left behind secrets needed to reach Mokhaiotl. Upon reaching the bottom of the fortress, they discover its guardian - a powerful frost nagua named Amoxliatl. She claims Mokhaiotl, the Tlati archive, is not a place for humans, deeming them unworthy. As this happens, Prince Itzla is teleported away, revealing that Metzli and the Tullus twins have been following him and the adventurer, before leaving themselves to avoid the wrath of Amoxliatl. The adventurer is forced to face her, and upon her defeat is banished from the fortress. As the adventurer heads to Sunrise Palace to inform Servius of the new developments, he claims that Mokhaiotl is not a place that can be reached and that he will inform the Queen, assuring the adventurer that they will be involved in dealing with the cult when the time comes.

Culture

Like Great Kourend, it too spent a long period of time isolated from the mainland, and as a result has a unique cultural identity among the other kingdoms.

Language

Although the people of Varlamore can communicate with other inhabitants of Gielinor in the common tongue, they also have their own language and insert phrases from it into their colloquial speech. Their vocabulary is loosely based on the real-world Nahuatl language spoken in present-day Mexico.

Though official translations do not exist, context clues are used to infer their meaning:

• Iknami - a term of endearment; equivalent to "my friend" (Nahuatl: icniuhtli 'brother, friend')
• Kuani - a positive exclamation; equivalent to "excellent" (Nahuatl: cualli 'good')
• Nilsal - a greeting; equivalent to "hello" or "greetings" (Nahuatl: niltze 'greetings')
• Tetamo - an expression of frustration, disappointment, or disbelief; equivalent to "oh no" or an expletive like "damn it"
• Timoiva - a parting phrase; equivalent to "goodbye", "best wishes", or "see you around" (Nahuatl: timo-itazque 'we will see one another later')

Religion

Main article: Losanium

Losanium is the primary religion of Varlamore, involving the worship of the sun god Ralos and the moon god Ranul. While the people of Varlamore are aware of other gods acknowledged on the mainland, Losanium remains overwhelmingly dominant.

Of the two gods, worship of Ralos is considered the more popular of the two, as Ranul is associated with death. However, Ranul is also a god of learning and knowledge, and thus is worshipped more often by academics.

Transportation

There are several ways to reach Varlamore, but all require the player to first travel via Regulus Cento, located near the east Varrock gates, after completing Children of the Sun before other transportation methods become usable.

• The Quetzal Transport System is a system of quetzals that fly players to various destinations. Requires completion of Twilight's Promise.
• A fairy ring (code AJP) will take players to the centre of the Avium Savannah, south of Civitas illa Fortis.
• Another fairy ring (code CKQ) will take players to Aldarin, an island south-west of mainland Varlamore.
• Charter ships can take players to Civitas illa Fortis, the Sunset Coast, or Aldarin.
• The Civitas illa Fortis Teleport spell on the standard spellbook takes players to the Sunrise Palace. Requires completion of Twilight's Promise, as well as level 54 Magic.
• Players can teleport into the Fortis Colosseum via ring of dueling after having unlocked the ability to do so at 12,000 glory.
• Players who've completed at least ten Hunters' Rumours can make quetzal whistles to fly to the guild entrance.
• Players can speak to Guildmaster Apatura at the Hunter Guild to add the ability to teleport directly to the Hunter Guild to a player's hunter cape or Max cape.

Locations and activities

Varlamore has a number of cities and notable areas, some of which are not yet accessible, but mentioned in-game by NPCs.

Civitas illa Fortis

Sunrise Palace, the residence of the Royal Family of Varlamore.

Main article: Civitas illa Fortis

The capital and largest settlement in Varlamore, Civitas illa Fortis is a large port city on Varlamore's north-east coast. It is the location of the Fortis Colosseum, where players can participate in a gladiator-style, wave-based minigame. The south-west side of the city also hosts a Thieving activity in which players can steal valuables from the houses of wealthy citizens.

Notable features of Civitas illa Fortis include:

• Fortis Colosseum, where players can fight for glory
• Sunrise Palace, the residence of the royal family
• Grand Museum, a museum containing artefacts from the kingdom's history
• The bazaar, a marketplace containing various shops
• Fortis Cothon, the city's port which hosts a charter ship
• Kualti Headquarters, the headquarters of the Kualti, the Sun Queen's elite guard
• Temple of Ralos, one of multiple temples in Varlamore

Avium Savannah

The vast plains of the Avium Savannah.

Main article: Avium Savannah

A large open plain south of the capital, the Avium Savannah is home to the Hunter Guild, as well as a large amount of hunter creatures native to the region. Notable features of the Avium Savannah include:

• Hunter Guild, a guild requiring level 46 Hunter to access.
• The Colossal Wyrm Remains
• Sunset Coast, which hosts a charter ship
• Locus Oasis, a small oasis with a grove of teak trees
• Stonecutter Outpost, a mining site
• A fairy ring with code AJP

Hailstorm Mountains

The Hailstorm Mountains, separating the Avium Savannah and Civitas illa Fortis from other major settlements of the kingdom.

The Hailstorm Mountains is a mountain range flanking the capital. It comprises of various peaks and settlements:

• Ralos' Rise, where the Teomat is found. It is the centre of the Losanium religion.
• Cam Torum, the city of the Imcando-descendant dwarves beneath Ralos' Rise
• Neypotzli, an underground prison containing the Moons of Peril
• Quetzacalli Gorge, a small settlement surrounded by the mountains.
• The Darkfrost, home to the Hueycoatl, a large draconic creature whose body coils around the mountain itself.
• The Proudspire, the tallest peak in Varlamore.
• Salvager Overlook, an outpost whose settlers dive in Shipwreck Cove to salvage goods from shipwrecks.
• Twilight Temple, the home of the Twilight Emissaries
• Ruins of Tapoyauik, the Old Ones' fortress beneath Twilight Temple

Aldarin

The centre of the island of Aldarin.

Main article: Aldarin

Aldarin is a lush island off the south-west coast of Varlamore known for its luxurious villas. Most known for the famous Moonrise Brewery and Winery, the oldest producer of alcohol in Varlamore. It is also home to the main facility of the Alchemical Society.

Notable features of Aldarin include:

• The Alchemical Society's main facility. Their basement contains a laboratory that serves as the setting for the Mastering Mixology minigame.
• The Moonrise Brewery and Winery serves an unmatchable variety of wines that are sold at Moonrise Wines, and also provide a fermenting vat that is usable by players.
• Villa Lucens is the largest villa on the island, owned by Constantinius. It serves as the setting for the quest Death on the Isle.
• Mistrock is a mining outpost inhabited by descendents of the Imcando dwarves, whose operations are overseen by Overseer Khougo.

Quests

There are several quests associated with Varlamore:

• Children of the Sun is started by speaking to Noah or Alina in Varrock Square.
• Twilight's Promise is started by speaking to Ennius or Furia Tullus found south of the Sunrise Palace.
• Perilous Moons is started by speaking to Zuma at the Cam Torum entrance.
• At First Light is started by speaking to Guildmaster Apatura in the Hunter Guild.
• The Ribbiting Tale of a Lily Pad Labour Dispute is started by speaking to Marcellus at his house south of the Locus Oasis.
• The Heart of Darkness is started by speaking to Prince Itzla Arkan at the Teomat.
• Ethically Acquired Antiquities is started by inspecting an empty display case in the north-east corner of the Grand Museum in Civitas illa Fortis.
• Death on the Isle is started by speaking to Patzi in the center of Aldarin.
• Meat and Greet is started by speaking to Emelio at his home in Outer Fortis.

Development history

The first concept of Varlamore was from a Reddit post on 26 April 2016 by a user named GentleTractor, titled Zeah Redesigned, which addressed the design issues that players had with Great Kourend since its release three months earlier. When the rework to the Great Kourend, which was done by Mod West, was released on 17 November 2016, he included a Knight of Varlamore in Kourend Castle, signifying GentleTractor's contributions as canon; many of the locations from that viral post would also make its way into the game's canon, such as Civitas illa Fortis, the Avium Savannah, and Tempest Bay.

According to GentleTractor, "Varlamore" was constructed out of base word sounds, rather than coming from a word with meaning; he had looked through a list of region names and tried to pick out the most "RuneScapey" qualities of them to create a fitting name, and settled on a three-syllable word that started with "V", as it was a less common letter. "Var" was taken from "Varrock" for a subtle familiarity, "la" was added as a syllable that rolled off the tongue nicely, and "more" was added as he needed one "more" syllable to create the name.

For "Auburnvale", the name came from GentleTractor's personal love of the autumn/fall season and a desire to create an autumn-themed location for the game. "Auburn" was taken from "autumn" and the associated colour, and adding a suffix that made it sound "more medieval-fantasy". Lastly, "Avium Savannah" came about from his desire to put Civitas illa Fortis into a unique biome that hadn't been explored in game (a vast savannah). With the capital city having Latin roots to its name, "Avium" was chosen from the Latin word "āvĭum", which he believed to mean either a pathless region/wilderness/desert or a lonely/solitary place.

Though additional aspects of the kingdom would make its way into the game, such as the books Varlamore envoy and Imafore's betrayal, as well as the appearance of Queen Zyanyi Arkan and her Kualti during A Kingdom Divided, development of Varlamore did not begin in earnest until at least 2022, when Mod Ed revealed that a pitch to develop the kingdom was in the works.

After the release of Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire, Varlamore was discovered to be included the world map with datamining tools, leading players to believe Varlamore was planned to be released in the near future. However, only the rough shape of the kingdom was visible; what little that has been mapped down were inspired from a number of player-made maps of Varlamore:

• Varlamore Reinterpreted by Zigzagzigal
• Auburnvale by GentleTractor
• Tempestus by GentleTractor

The logo used in the announcement, as well as in marketing materials.

During the Summer Summit 2023, it was officially revealed that Varlamore is due to be released in early 2024, showing the first draft of the official map of Varlamore, which was made in collaboration with GentleTractor and commissioned by Jagex. Throughout the rest of the year, multiple blogs on specifics of the proposed content would be released to iron out the reward space.

The first part of Varlamore would be released on 20 March 2024, granting access to Civitas illa Fortis, the Avium Savannah, and Ralos' Rise, as well as four new quests. The Colossal Wyrm Remains were planned to have an agility training activity involved, but was delayed in order to ensure a timely release for the rest of part one.

The second part - titled "The Rising Darkness" - was released on the 25 September 2024. With it came the island of Aldarin and the rest of the mountain range north of Civitas illa Fortis, which includes the Hueycoatl group boss, as well as four additional quests, one of which continued the Twilight Emissaries storyline.

The third and final part - titled The Final Dawn - is slated for release in late spring 2025. It is planned to release a heavily-forested northern area of the kingdom which hosts a fletching activity, the Custodia Pass which serves as the connection to the rest of the continent and home to a new slayer dungeon, and the Tlati Rainforest which comes with two new bosses: The Doom of the Mokhaiotl, an enrage boss, and a low-intensity crab boss aimed at early to mid game players.

Gallery

• 
  A map of Varlamore viewed with datamining tools after the release of Desert Treasure II.
• 
  A draft of the first official map of Varlamore, made by the player GentleTractor and commissioned by Jagex. Note that this is just a draft, and it is likely to end up looking quite different from the proper release.
• Error creating thumbnail: File with dimensions greater than 12.5 MP
  A map of the entire continent, with the draft map of Varlamore overlaid onto the existing areas.
• 
  An updated map of Varlamore released with The Rising Darkness. The greyed-out portions are part of the original GentleTractor map.

Trivia

• The two founding refugee groups of Varlamore, the Pericans and the Talkasti, seem to take inspiration from ancient Rome and various Mesoamerican civilizations. Perican names seem to be based on Latin while Talkasti names seem to be based on the Nahuatl language.
• Varlamore's geography and ecology are largely based on South and Central America. It shares several real world animals from that part of the world, such as the quetzal and capybara. Their language is loosely based on Nahuatl, a Nahuan (Aztecan) language spoken in parts of central Mexico.
• If Children of the Sun was completed prior to the release of Varlamore, a messenger will appear and give the player a Varlamore invitation. Now when a player completes the quest, Prince Itzla Arkan will simply tell you how to access Varlamore himself while noting that you no longer require any invitation or permission.