Rune guardian

A Rune guardian is a pet(familiar) that can be received after completing the quest Rune Mechanics. The original purpose of the Rune guardian was to protect the Mage Training Arena. Players may refuse the opportunity to own a Rune guardian.

Unlike most pets, Rune guardians need to be "revitalised" rather than fed. Revitalisation takes place when the Rune guardian is near a Runecrafting altar. It can be placed in the Player-owned house menagerie, where it can also be revitalised. The Rune guardian has only one stage of growth and is fully grown once you get it.

If you don't revitalise the pet for long enough, so that its hunger reaches 100%, it will run away. A new Rune guardian can be obtained from Apprentice Clerval in the Mage Training Arena.

Currently the only way to deliberately get rid of your Rune guardian is to use the right-click "dismiss" option on your summoning icon below the logout button.

One very efficient way to revitalise a Rune guardian is to use the Ring of duelling and travel to the Fire altar, which is only one to two clicks away, also if the player has a menagerie with a pet feeder it can be revitalised there.

Colours
As of 23 March, 2010, you can change the Rune guardian's colour by visiting any altar with exception of the Ourania Altar, and using the Rune guardian on the altar. It will change colour to a colour related to that altar. To change back to a 'normal coloured' guardian, you should first put it in your Menagerie or dismiss it and then talk to Apprentice Clerval. Players can use this to display their achievement of getting all the requirements to visit an altar - for example, black rune guardians require completion of Mourning's Ends Part II. It is possible to change the colour multiple times.

Note: Dialogue does not change with the colours

Trivia

 * When asked for help with combat, the Rune guardian says, "You must lash out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the bongos." This is a reference to a line said by The Sphinx in the movie "Mystery Men" - "You must lash out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the drums."
 * When the above quote is said, you reply "I thought it was penguins that played bongos." This is a reference to Ping & Pong.
 * Another of the Rune guardian's responses, "He who questions training only trains himself in asking questions", is a direct quote from The Sphinx in "Mystery Men".
 * The quote above may be/may not be reference to the NPC's in the warrior's guild who will randomly say the same phrase.
 * When using the "Talk-to" option, the Rune guardian sometimes says "Have you ever thought that, whenever you examine an item, that item is also examining you?" This is a possible reference to a the reverse-symmetry philosophies of The Sphinx as described above, or may be a reference to Nietzsche's famous quote about gazing into the abyss ("When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you").
 * You may have an unlimited amount of these pets if you have them coloured. To obtain a new blank one after your original has been coloured, speak to Apprentice Clerval, and choose the option rune guardian, and he will give you a new, blank guardain
 * It is possible to store one of every kind of rune guardian inside a POH menagerie by coloring one, storing it, and then returning to clerval for a new one.
 * If you talk to the Entrance Guardian with the Rune guardian out, it will comment on your success in making one and speak to it.
 * When used on a runecrafting altar, it will float above it and the player will get the message "You hold the rune guardian to the altar and feel the magic changing its essence."
 * If you feed your pets at your Menagerie, it also feeds the Rune guardian, which is supposed to be required to be fed at a Rune altar.
 * If you use the Rune guardian on any mysterious ruin, a message will come up that uses the word "run altar" instead of "rune altar".
 * The Rune guardian sometimes says that wisdom can come in the form of a baguette. This may be a reference to the Sandwich Lady. Before she was updated, she used to hit players with a baguette if they failed to respond after a certain period of time.
 * Although the rune guardian is revitalized by being near a rune alter, it will still get hungry if you stand near one.
 * Even though the Rune Guardian changes colour at every single other runecrafting altar there is, if you use on the Ourania(ZMI) altar, nothing happens.
 * There is currently a glitch where if you talk to the pet store owner in Yanille and ask about missing pets with your Rune Guardian in the bank you will receive a new one along with the one in your bank.