Staff of Armadyl

The Siphon also known as the Staff of Armadyl is one of the twelve ancient Elder Artefacts created by the Elder gods, also known as an Elder Weapon or a God Slayer. It is named after its most famous wielder Armadyl, the young god of freedom and justice.

The staff is able to give mortal wielders the ability to use its tremendous powers and amazingly increases magical and defensive abilities. Being one of the god slayers, it is also one of the few weapons capable of slaying young gods, as well as transferring large amounts of their power to its wielder afterwards. Contrary to popular belief, the orb at the top of the staff, which was added by Armadyl after its creation, is not the source of the staff's power, but rather the shaft.

The staff plays an important role in Gielinor's history, and is known to have played a key-role in many important historical events. The staff heavily features in the quest Temple of Ikov, where the Mahjarrat Lucien tasks players to collect the staff for him. It is also seen during the quests While Guthix Sleeps, Ritual of the Mahjarrat and The World Wakes, and mentioned in Missing, Presumed Death and the miniquest Curse of Zaros.

Early History
The twelve Elder artefacts were originally created by the Elder gods, who used these items as tools in their many attempts to create a perfect world, after they were dissatisfied with the results from using their bare hands alone. The staff of Armadyl is one of these artefacts. Although the staff might be among the majority of the artefacts created by the Elder god Jas, it is unknown which specific Elder God is responsible for its creation. It is also unknown for what exact purpose the staff was created.

After they succeeded in creating the perfect world named Gielinor, the Elder gods abandoned their works for an unknown reason, leaving behind their artefacts on the worlds where they were last used. The staff of Armadyl was among the many artefacts to be left behind on Gielinor, along with the stone of Jas, the Elder Kiln, the horn and possibly others.

After the mysterious departure of the Elder Gods, various mortals searched and managed to obtain some of the artefacts. As possessing an elder artefact causes an increase in power over time, these mortals soon became so powerful they were to be called gods themselves. Some of these 'young gods' continued their search for the remaining artefacts, as being in possession of all twelve artefacts would make an ultimate god. Because of this, many wars erupted on the worlds where some artefacts were supposedly located.

The First and Second Age
After a young god named Guthix arrived at Gielinor at the start of the first age, he discovered the artefacts located there. These artefacts, most notably the stone of Jas, caused a heavy increase in his godly powers. Admiring the perfection of Gielinor, he decided to use his powers and that of the artefacts to share the world with mortal beings. Although he mostly made use of the stone of Jas to shape the world to his desire, he kept the other artefacts, the staff included, well hidden in his fear for their danger. With the use of the World gate, Guthix brought many races like humans, elves and dwarves to Gielinor, so that they could live in peace in the perfect world. After he was finished, Guthix descended into the earth and fell asleep. The staff of Armadyl, along with the other artefacts, remained hidden during and after this event.

Throughout the second age, many young gods like Saradomin arrived on Gielinor in their search for the artefacts. Many races soon started to worship these gods, while other followers came with their god from other worlds. Shortly after their arrival, many territories were created by each god. Zaros, also known as 'The empty lord', soon became the most powerful deity of the second age. At the peak of his power, and with a great kingdom and many followers under his rule, he is believed to be nearly equal to Guthix.

It was during the second age when the god Armadyl managed to obtain the staff by unknown means. As a result of this, the staff of Armadyl received its current name. Armadyl then added an orb to the staff in the shape of his symbol, although the majority of the power continued to come from the shaft. It is known that the staff was not responsible for Armadyl's ascendance to godhood, as he already set foot on Gielinor as a god. At some point the staff was hidden away in an underground temple, which is very likely to be the Temple of Ikov, a known hiding place of the staff for many years.

Into the hands of Zamorak
Close to the end of the Second Age, the staff was found in the temple by a Saradominist's explorer named Valdez. Valdez himself claimed that he stumbled upon the temple accidentally, which appeared to be abandoned. The reason why the temple was seemingly abandoned remains a mystery. Wishing to increase the powers of his lord by granting him the artefact, he set off to Saradomin's hideout on Entrana.

Before Valdez could reach his goal, however, he was robbed by a thief named Rennard, who knocked him out and took the staff from him. Not knowing what it was, but noticing it being a powerful god weapon, he decided to sell it for a high prize. He then hired a messenger named Kharrim to send a message of the staff to an interested buyer.

Kharrim decided to deliver the message to his other employer Zamorak, a Mahjarrat general of Zaros who, at that time, was planning to overthrow his master along with others of his guard, and to ascend to godhood himself. Around this time he somehow already managed to obtain the stone of Jas, the mightiest of the Elder artefacts, which likely caused an increase in his power already. Eventually, he obtained the staff of Armadyl as well after purchasing it from Rennard in a small tavern. And with a god slayer now in his possession, his plans for rebellion against the empty lord could be set in motion.

Lennissa, a spy of Saradomin, got ear of the purchase. Fearing the danger of the staff falling in Zaros' hands, making him all-powerful, and the change of being uncovered as a spy by the Zarosians, she decided to send a message about the purchase to her comrade Dhalak instead of sending it to Saradomin herself. She trusted Dhalak to inform Saradomin about the theft of the staff, so that he could easily resolve the issue.

Dhalak had other plans, however. Zaros was at that time known to be an enemy of Saradomin. Seeing Zamorak's rebellion as an opportunity to make the rival of his lord fall from his throne, he decided to secretly aid Zamorak in his attempt to overthrow his master. Without anyone noticing, he cast a magical spell on the staff which prevented Zaros from sensing its great power when it got close to him. Because of this, Zamorak would be able to get close enough to Zaros without being stopped.

The rebellion
The plans of rebellion were soon put into action. Zamorak and his followers, which included other Mahjarrat such as Hazeel and Zemouregal, Elder Demon, set off to Zaros' fortress under the pretence of discussing war plans against Saradomin and other deities. However, once they arrived, they launched their attack on the empty lord and his followers. While Zamorak's men distracted Zaros' bodyguards, Zamorak unsheathed the staff and plunged it into Zaros' back. Despite this however, Zaros continued to fight. After a huge battle between the god and the mahjarrat, Zaros put his hands around Zamorak's throat while he plunged towards him, stumbled, and fell in such a way that Zamorak was impaled with the staff as well. At this moment, much of Zaros' power was transferred through the staff into Zamorak.

This was not the end of Zaros, however. As he managed to obtain much power and knowledge during his reign. This allowed him to abandon his corporeal form to avoid being killed. While his spirit was cast away to a distant plane, casting a curse on those responsible for his fall, Zamorak became more powerful than ever before.

Shortly after the betrayal, the other deities appeared and immediately banished Zamorak from Gielinor for what he did. This did not stop him, however, as he returned to Gielinor soon after as a fully-fledged god himself. Knowing that Saradomin claimed the stone of Jas as his own, he declared war on him. This was the cause of the infamous God Wars, which lasted for around 4000 years.

Afterwards
Practically nothing is known about the whereabouts of the staff of Armadyl during the God Wars, but it was possibly taken from Zamorak after his banishment, much like the Stone of Jas. It is also possible Zamorak maintained his hold over the staff during his exile. However, there is no record of Zamorak being in possession of the staff after the end of the second age. The apparent extinction of the Aviantese, a race who served Armadyl, and the loss of the staff, greatly grieved Armadyl, causing him to abandon Gielinor in sadness. This indicates that Armadyl did not regain possession of the staff after Zamorak's banishment. The god wars eventually ended when Guthix woke from his slumber, banished the gods from Gielinor, assigned the Guardians of Guthix and established the edicts of Guthix.

At an unknown time, the staff was placed back in the Temple of Ikov, closely guarded by an Armadyllian order known as guardians of Armadyl. This is where the staff remained for many years until the fifth age, hidden and protected from the outside world.

Into the hands of Lucien
In the Fifth age, the Mahjarrat Lucien started to desire to follow in Zamorak's footsteps and attain godhood himself. Similar to Zamorak, he required both the staff of Armadyl and the stone of Jas to achieve this. However, being on his weakest state during this time, he found himself unable to bypass the obstacles of the temple and claim the staff. He then asked for the aid of an adventurer to obtain the staff for him. After providing the adventurer advice and a pendant necessary to enter the temple, the adventurer set off to seek the staff. After overcoming numerous obstacles in the temple, the adventurer discovered the hidden hideout of the guardians of Armadyl. Here, they found the staff itself located on a table. In this hideout they were given the choice to either take the staff, killing all guardians standing in their way and grant it to Lucien, or to aid the guardians of Armadyl in protecting the staff and defeating Lucien. In the end the choice of the adventurer made no difference, as even if Lucien was defeated, he soon reappeared in the North before hiring the treasure hunter Movario to seek the staff instead. Shortly after, Movario succeeds in stealing the staff from the temple. After granting the artefact to his employer, Lucien's powers were increased immensely, becoming the strongest Mahjarrat in Gielinor. An Armadyl communique is sent to inform the adventurer of the event.

The hunt for the stone
With the god slayer now in his possession, Lucien only required the Stone of Jas to reach his goal. He commanded Movario to seek the stone before setting up a large network of assassins and spies across Gielinor and was soon joined by Zamorakian orders such as the Kinshra, the Dagon'hai and the Dark warriors. With the staff in his possession and many allies at his side, Lucien came closer to dominating Gielinor than ever before.

In attempt to prevent Lucien from reaching this goal, an alliance was formed between the Temple Knights of Saradomin, the Guardians of Armadyl, the ancient Guthixian order Crux Eqal and the adventurer. After several attempts to stop the Mahjarrat, which had proven to be largely unsuccessful, the Stone of Jas was discovered by the adventurer and Movario in Ancient Guthix Temple before being taken away by Lucien. The theft of the stone released its guardians, the Dragonkin, from their stronghold, who soon started to destroy human settlements and hunt down the Mahjarrat.

Now having both Elder artefacts needed to achieve godhood, Lucien prepared himself for the 18th Mahjarrat ritual of rejuvenation, which gave him a large change of becoming even stronger.

The 18th ritual of rejuvenation
After learning of the upcoming threat that is the Dragonkin, the alliance was faced with the other problem that is the ritual. They decided to attempt stopping Lucien during the ritual, and after the adventurer made several preparations on the ritual site, an army of temple knights, allied with the Zarosian Mahjarrat Wahisietel, arrived on the scene. After Lucien made his appearance, holding the staff in his hand, the guardians of Armadyl are summoned and a battle erupted between the parties. During the battle Lucien easily held back Wahisietel and the two orders, and the fight further escalated once the other Mahjarrat appeared as well.

After being rejuvenated, Lucien summoned the stone of Jas to destroy the Zarosian faction of the Mahjarrat. However, in his attempt to absorb more power from the stone, he accidentally summons three of the Dragonkin, Strisath, Sithaph and Sakirth, who immediately start a fight with Lucien. Although Lucien managed to last a few seconds in the battle, he was soon knocked down by Strisath who, after smashing the staff against Luciens head, shattering its orb in the process, impaled him with the staff, instantly killing him. The dragonkin then departed the site, taking the staff with them. After the other Mahjarrat abandoned the area as well, the stone of Jas was teleported away to an unknown location by the adventurer, Thaerisk Cemphier and Sir Tiffy Cashien. Shards of the staff's orb were then collected by dangerous ice elementals known as Glacors, summoned by Lucien and enhanced with the power of the stone of Jas.

Into the hands of Sliske
The dragonkin maintained their hold over the staff for not long, however, as the Dragonkin Strisath, tasked with guarding the staff, was soon lured and trapped into the shadow realm by the Zarosian Mahjarrat Sliske. After taking the staff from the Dragonkin, he easily created and added a replacement orb on the artefact. He then used the staff to reveal the connection between the Dragonkin and the stone of Jas, leading him to its new location.

The assassination of Guthix
It was around this time that the resting place of Guthix was discovered by Orlando Smith and the adventurer, which caused many of the gods' strongest followers to set off to the hideout to attempt destroying Guthix, break the edicts and bring their gods back to Gielinor. The adventurer then teamed up with the Guardians of Guthix, several high druids and other Guthixians, battling together against the invaders to protect Guthix. After the Saradominists and Zarosians managed to break through, a choice was given to the adventurer to either help slay Guthix, wake him or protect him. Once again, the choice of the adventurer had no result, as an unknown individual broke into Guthix' chamber before anyone else could do so. The adventurer alone then entered the chamber and after they beheld Guthix himself, Sliske appeared with the staff of Armadyl in his hands and, after smiling viciously at the adventurer, struck Guthix with a massive blast from the staff.

In his last breath, Guthix explained his ways to the adventurer, asking them to protect Gielinor in his stead as guardian of the world. After appointing his world guardian, Guthix died. This marked the beginning of the Sixth Age, where the gods are once again able to continue their long time struggle on Gielinor without the interference of Guthix, and leaving the world guardian to decide on how to lead Gielinor into its future.

Current whereabouts
Although the staff was last seen during the assassination of Guthix, Sliske remains in possession of the staff to this day, according to his claim, using it for his own goals.

A replica of the staff can be found on display at the Varrock Museum after players speak to Historian Minas on the first floor and explain to him what it looked like during the Temple of Ikov quest.

Shards of Armadyl
Shards of the shattered orb that originally adorned the staff can be recovered by killing Glacors, created by Lucien in his last stand. 100 of these shards can then be reassembled into the orb of Armadyl and ultimately into the Armadyl battlestaff. The shards can also be ground to dust of Armadyl to enhance air runes into Armadyl runes, which can be used to cast the storm of Armadyl spell.

Trivia

 * In RuneScape Classic, the staff was wieldable, but looked no different from a normal staff.
 * Before the release of While Guthix Sleeps, the staff of Armadyl resembled a regular elemental staff at the time, but with an orange orb.
 * In the FAQ for The World Wakes, it is revealed that Armadyl found this staff and claimed it as his own, with his followers adopting the symbol on it as Armadyl's. However, later this idea had been repealed, the symbol on top of the staff has been added later by Armadyl or his followers.
 * The staff also has a symbol similar to that of Saradomin's on the bottom. This is unsurprising, as Saradomin's symbol originally was adopted from the Crown Archival, another Elder Artefact.