In our previous instalment, we’ve covered one of the biggest activities in Runescape: Treasure Trails. For this special christmas edition, I’m going to cover another fan favourite: boss fights. However, many of Gielinor’s beasts and nightmares are already covered in a lot of quests and are very well known. Therefore, in this instalment, I will cover the more obscure and lesser known lore bosses. Since the author is Shiro Shana, you can already guess that our first topic will be none other than the terrible, the menacing, the one, the only... GIANT MOLE!!!
Giant mole
You know that feeling when you pull an oopsie? For example, something like being Jar Jar and accidentally giving emergency powers to a Sith Lord. Well, something similar happened in this story. Imagine being the head gardener in the great city of Falador. Thousands of travellers come to visit your garden, the children of Falador play in the water and a satisfied Temple Knight sits on a bench watching over your magnificent work. However, your work isn’t easy. You’re dealing with a mole problem. What do you do? Indeed, you go to a sketchy necromancer called Malignius Mortifer and buy one of his Super-Ultra-Flora-Growth potions to make your plants big and strong enough to resist the moles in your garden. Sounds solid right? Yes, that’s what Wyson the head gardener of Falador park thought as well. So, he poured the potion on his flowers and indeed they started to grow. However, he also poured some of the potion on a supposedly pregnant mole. The mole grew larger and larger in size and earned a new and vicious name: The Giant Mole. Now, the Giant Mole resides in her lair underneath the park with her fellow grown children. Ironically, the very flower Wyson grew to resist the moles is now the entrance to her lair.
The origin story of the Giant Mole is a short but interesting one. It shows how one small mistake can grow big problems. But was it a mistake, or was it fated? The scientific name of a giant mole is “Talpidae Wysonian”. The name of the gardener is “Wyson”. Coincidence? Either way, learn your lesson from this story. Never buy potions from a sketchy guy.
Legiones
Next up is another personal favourite: The Legiones. The Legiones are a group of bosses residing in the Monastery of Ascension. The mobs in this Monastery are popular for their keystones, as they’re worth a lot of money. The Legiones themselves are rich with lore, but this is sadly lesser known among players. This makes them perfect for Forgotten Lore.
The story of the Legiones finds its origin in the story of Ocellus, a Virius. Ocellus originally came from Infernus. Here, he was a soldier in one of Hostillius’ legions. One day, Zaros travelled to Infernus and tricked Hostillius in handing over twelve of his legions, Ocellus and his brother Auriculus included. Ocellus and his brother were tasked to guard the empty throne at all times, even when it was indeed empty. During Zamorak’s betrayal Ocellus and his brother fought against Zemouregal in the empty throne room. Poor Zemouregal can never have it easy. Afterwards, little is known of Ocellus. It is known that his brother Auriculus died during the God Wars. This can be confirmed as his skull hangs above the altar in the Order of Dis.
After Guthix’s awakening, Ocellus met with the god. Guthix blessed him and turned him into a very intelligent being. Why Guthix chose to this is unknown to us, however I may have an idea why. The comic below describes my thoughts better than I could explain with words. From that moment on Ocellus was tasked to guard Guthix with his life. Here he learnt Guthix’s nature. Ocellus became one of the few that truly understood Guthix’s wish of not being worshipped. Eventually, another guardian named Cres took over his job of protecting Guthix and Ocellus went out into the world, not spreading the word of Guthix, but spreading how the world should not worship Guthix. This, however, failed. Humans Ocellus created worshipped Guthix and some even worshipped Ocellus. Eventually he gave up and tried to create an entire new species, again without luck. Ocellus didn’t give up. He found runestones and stole tears from Juna, since Juna denied him access. Combining the stones and the tears, Ocellus obtained new crystals. With these crystals he created the Legiones. The Legiones had their minds linked together, resulting into a collective intellect. The Legiones seemed to be successful in Ocellus’ quest to create non-worshipping beings. However, one day Ocellus accidentally caught the Legiones in one of their worshipful prayers. He got mad at them and tried to punish them. The legiones would have none of that, but as Ocellus explained Guthix’s wish, they seemed to understand.
At the dawn of the Sixth age, the Mahjarrat Sliske assassinated Guthix. Once the Legiones heard of this, they felt heartbroken. Not being able to live in a world without Guthix, they found a new purpose: creating a new artificial Guthix. Ocellus learnt of this and understood their ambition. However he confronted them nonetheless. The Legiones bested Ocellus, thus he sealed off the Monastery. Now he stands guard to keep the Legiones from leaving.
Unable to leave, the Legiones aren’t able to succeed in their plan to create a new god. This was until Legio Septimus was able to leave with a huge chunk of its followers. They splintered from the main Legiones and with the help of Nomad they left. The reason of this collaboration is that Septimus was tired of the other Legiones’ laziness. Furthermore, Nomad had a plan to create a new artificial god himself. Having a shared goal, they collaborated and created “Gielinor”. Septimus’ army’s fought against the world guardian and their helpers. Eventually bested, Septimus was interrogated by the world guardian. Here, Septimus called his splintered faction the True Order: a true order to create a true ascended god. This plan however eventually failed due to the combined help of the World Guardian, Death, Icthlarin and other friends of the World Guardian.
It is unknown how many Legiones actually exist. However, there are seven currently known to us. The Order of Ascension still resides with their six leaders in the Monastery, guarded by Ocellus. Ocellus has given up on stopping mortals from worshipping gods. Should you enter this monastery to face the Legiones one day, I ironically advice you to use a lot of devotion.
Mazcab Raids
While Mazcab Raids is not unpopular, I honestly doubt many players are familiar with its lore. This, with Shauny’s favourite Goebie-filled plane, is plagued by Tuska and her Airut. However, the Airut are not Tuska’s natural allies. They used to be enemies. So, before I’ll cover the raids itself, it’s probably a good idea to start with some good old Tuska lore.
After Tuska’s ascension to godhood she maintained her wild boar instincts and attacked other planets. One of these planets was the homeworld of the Airut. In awe of her strength, many of the Airut decided to join her on her rampage. In order to scare enemies, the Airut branded their victims. Planet after planet they raided, until they met with the god Skargaroth. Skargaroth sought to destroy Tuska as she was a formidable opponent. Tuska, however, fled. Later, during the Naragi wars, Tuska attacked Naragun, Guthix’s home planet. Here, she fought Saradomin until Saradomin was forced to retreat. Tuska assumed victory, but Skargaroth caught up to her. Using the Elder Blade, he stabbed Tuska’s eye. In anger, Tuska pushed over Skargaroth and his giant behind destroyed Guthix’s house, killing his daughter in the process. Guthix avenged his daughter by grabbing the Elder Blade, killing Skargaroth and stabbing Tuska in her other eye, making her completely blind. This didn’t stop her from raiding and destroying other planets. One of these planets was Mazcab.
Before Tuska’s arrival on Mazcab, the planet was already dying. The Goebies practised spirit magic. This special kind of magic made them able to channel their ancestors' powers. These powers made them able to do incredible things. However, like every story about power, greed kicked in. One of the Goebies sought more power. In its quest for more power it learnt elemental magics. He drew the magic from the plane, but the Goebie too made an oopsie like Wyson. He damaged the planet and its anima poured out. The Goebie built sacred temples to avoid the anima from further leaking out of the planet. In these temples they made use of pipes and vents to cycle back the anima into its core. Eventually these temples were neglected and the anima depleted from the planet, leading to the almost complete collapse of the planet.
The leaking anima fabricated the spirit guardians of Mazcab. One of these guardians is actually the great water serpent Yakamaru. The spirit guardians kept Mazcab alive, as they could use the Goebie Temples to return to the core of the planet. This cycle of life kept the planet alive. Sadly the tears in the planet drew in a hungry goddess. Tuska and her army of Airut attacked Mazcab. She devoured almost all anima that was left. When done, Tuska left the planet, but part of her army stayed behind, including her general Beastmaster Durzag. Beastmaster Durzag is a massive Airut way stronger than its brothers and sisters. He’s a Tuska general that stayed behind after Tuska left. He still plagues the remaining Goebies and kills them for sport. His title as Beastmaster is not unexpected, as he has three giant pets Krar, Cormes and Tuz as well as countless chargers. During the fight, he likes to watch as a team of people try their best to defend Goebies in an arena fighting against hordes of Airut. Eventually he sends his pet Cormes, but he'll also be beaten. He, himself, and his other two pets will join the fight. During this fight it’s obvious that his strength is no joke. It makes me frightened how strong a certain other Airut would be, who is said to be evenly matched, if not stronger than Durzag.
The Airut Shaman, another of Tuska’s general,s is rumoured to have stayed behind on Mazcab. This Shaman took on the spirit guardian Yakamaru. During their battle, the Shaman corrupted Yakamaru, forcing it to serve the Shaman. From that day forth Yakamaru became a threat to the inhabitants of Mazcab and thus the second Raids Boss. During the fight you can see Yakamaru using its cycling powers, as it dives back into the planet to appear in another pool later. This feat makes me believe that Yakamaru is near immortal, as it seems to be able to revive itself when bested. However, a smart team of ten World Guardians could come up with a smart plan to defeat the corrupted serpent. When Yakamaru cycles back to the core, the team closes the pools, making Yakamaru unable to return to that pool. Eventually after some Sharknados, stun shenanigans and some drifting sand attacks, Yakamaru is defeated and thus set free from the Shaman’s corruption.
It's uncertain when the Mazcab Raids story will be continued, but it’s likely that Shaman will make an appearance in the next battle. The Shaman is said to use a combination of powerful corruption magic and melee, wielding a cleavesword in one hand and a staff in the other. Besides spreading corruption, it is also capable of creating illusions and misdirection. These powers, combined with a melee strength that matches Durzag, makes the Shaman a feared opponent: one we may see against us in the future.
This concludes the story of the (current) Mazcab Raids bosses. However, the Goebie story is not yet finished, nor is Tuska’s. The Goebies actually believe they’re not from Mazcab. They originate from the planet Chantli. While this is true, they are wrong about their belief of not originating from Mazcab. That is because Chantli and Mazcab are one and the same. This is confirmed by another Spirit Guardian, Xinachto. The guardian is bound to a temple and eventually set free by a Goebie called Lunch.
As for Tuska, she invaded Gielinor after Guthix’s death. Here, she found her match as the inhabitants of Gielinor were quite inventive. A wizard called Chambers launched the monkey Apollo into space carrying a lodestone. The heroic monkey crashed the lodestone in the back of Tuska and died in the process. However, due to this lodestone, a combined army of Zamorak, Saradomin, Armadyl and Godless soldiers were able to get on top of Tuska, stabbing and siphoning it at least over 9000 times so that eventually the Godless champion Vorago could finish her off. Tuska’s dead body still lies in the ocean next to the desert. On top of her is now a world portal to Mazcab (Chantli). With Tuska dead, Gielinor was saved once again.
That wraps up this month's instalment of Forgotten Lore. I hope you enjoyed it and learnt a valuable lesson from this edition: Don’t do an oopsie. Because who knows, it may destroy an entire planet.
Direct Relief
As part of this advent calendar, we are running a fundraising campaign to raise money for Direct Relief. Direct Relief is a humanitarian organization that improves the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergency situations by mobilizing and providing essential medial resources needed for their care without regard to politics, religion, race, or gender identities. Direct Relief has earned a perfect 100 on Charity Navigator, which evaluates charitable organizations. We humbly ask that you support our campaign. Every small amount helps. Alternatively, use the button below to be taken to the donation page directly.
