Mummification



Mummification is a process by which corpses can be preserved for long periods of time. In RuneScape, mummification has been practiced by the Menaphite people of the Kharidian Desert since the early Second Age, when the Kharidian Empire flourished under the rule of the Menaphite Pantheon. The process of mummification is complex, and is intended to preserve both the physical body of the deceased as well as their spirit so that they can inhabit the afterlife.

According to the religion of the Menaphites, humans may only enter the afterlife if their corpse is preserved through mummification. Historically, most of those to undergo the mummification process have been of great importance, due to both the cost and complexity of the process as well as the Menaphites' belief that only those considered "worthy" may enter the afterlife.

Because the process of mummification is so important to the people of the Kharidian Desert, it has played a major role in the region's development. The Kharidian Desert's religion, economies, politics, and architecture have all been influenced by the process's significance.

History
Mummification has been practiced in the Kharidian Desert since the early Second Age, when, according to the story of Tumeken's Dream in the Book of Light and Day, the deities Tumeken and Elidinis had a child named Icthlarin.