Gielinor

Gielinor is the world in which RuneScape takes place. It was moulded by the god Guthix in the First Age when he found an "empty plane" and shaped it into what is now RuneScape, by some accounts aided by the other gods after he departed to enter a millennia-long slumber. It is often believed that Jas came even before Guthix and created the realm known as Runescape. It is mostly based on Europe in the Middle Ages (feudalism, kingdoms, etc.) combined with the folklore of that time (vampires, elves, leprechauns). Gielinor's regions include Misthalin, Asgarnia, the Kharidian Desert, Kandarin, Karamja, Troll Country, Fremennik Province, Tirannwn, Morytania, the Wilderness, The North and the northern and southern seas.

It takes approximately 30 minutes to walk from Port Phasmatys in the east to Mobilising Armies in the west.

"This realm's name is in truth Gielinor, yet is called RuneScape in the common tongue by it's inhabitants."

- Guthix

"Gielenor is the 'true' name of this land, yet it doth not roll from the tongue so easily, and hath been superceded in popularity by the more common 'RuneScape'. It is similar to the way that there is a planet I know of whose real name is 'Terra', orbiting a star named 'Sol', yet to it's inhabitants it be more commonly referred to as 'Earth' and orbits the unoriginally named 'Sun'."

- Guthix

"Yes, he's created countless numbers of them, storing them all over the place; so, soon after their discovery, this world was dubbed RuneScape. We were initially calling it Gielinor but, like many things of importance, different people call it by different names."

"Yes, I have made some travels through RuneScape since being freed from my incarceration and I can but concur with you on the poor condition of this world, though I know not why you call it Gielinor."

- Azzandra

The term Gielinorian is used to describe something from or pertaining to Gielinor. It was a fan based term, until Jagex used it in a recent Poll on June 29 2010.

Astronomical Location
Astronomers have deduced that Gielinor is not alone in its world, and that beyond it exist many planets, stars, and solar systems. However, technological limitations make information on the subject of astronomy limited, but we know there is another planet in Gielinor's solar system. Gielinor also has at least one moon, as revealed by Melana Moonlander on Lunar Isle when a player asks how she is able to read his/hers mind. Shooting stars are also a relatively common phenomenon, occurring when Gielinor enters a new area of its particular universe and also enters a belt of these 'stars' -- these are actually home to the star sprites. When talking to a star sprite and questioning the true nature of shooting stars, it will comment that its form is due to its existence upon "this plane of the multiverse".

Geography


Gielinor is a mixture of mountainous, barren, forested, volcanic, and tropical areas. Most of its cities lie in kingdoms, and others in numerous islands. Much of Gielinor is lushed with large amounts of water resources, enabling vast rivers and seas to exist. There is also a large, unclaimed area to the north called the Wilderness. At least two other continents exist in Gielinor as hinted on the globe in the Wise Old Man's house, one is known as the Eastern Lands, the other hasn't yet been named. They are both inaccessible to players at the moment. The entirety of Gielinor's known landmass lies in its Northern hemisphere; the tropical areas lie to the south, while the North is cold and icy. The East is largely a barren desert, the West is a dangerous forest, and the temperate regions form most of the continent.

Unknown Locations
When speaking to some of the various peoples of Gielinor, there will be mentioning of some places that have been lost or are currently hidden. Among these places include the Shadow Realm, and Freneskae.

Creation
Gielinor was created roughly 12,000 years ago by the Elder Gods. Gielinor was then formed by the god Guthix which took about 4,000 years to complete, and afterwards, Guthix went into a state of hibernation. Eventually, mortals began to form the first civilisations, such as the elves and the humans, beginning the Second Age of Gielinor. During the Meeting History quest, it was discovered that when Guthix created the world, he hid runes around the world, resulting in this world being dubbed RuneScape, a portmanteau of rune and landscape.

The God Wars


Near the end of the Second Age, Zaros, the god who controlled the Ancient Magicks, who had taken almost complete power of Gielinor, was betrayed and banished by the Mahjarrat general Zamorak. Zaros was gone, but other gods wanted his lost power for themselves.

A war broke out, beginning the Third Age of Gielinor. The gods' great power created destruction everywhere in RuneScape. However, 4000 years later, the god Guthix, who had gone into a great slumber since the end of the First Age, awoke, and ended the war immediately. After the war ended, the gods were banished from Gielinor by the Edicts of Guthix.

Modern History
Over the 2,000 years following the God Wars, Gielinor's inhabitants slowly became more technologically advanced. The surviving Humans in Gielinor began as Nomadic tribes but eventually began to establish feudal civilisations, while Goblins, Ogres, and Trolls remained primitive and tribal. The other intelligent races of Dwarves, Gnomes and Dorgeshuun Goblins had hidden underground during the God Wars, although the Gnomes began to emerge and settle on the ground.

The Elves, who came to Gielinor in the First age through the World Gate, have not been seen by any mortal for many centuries, and have passed out of common knowledge. It was believed (and proven during the Regicide Quest) that they now inhabit a strange forest in the West, over impassable mountains. It is also known to a few scholars that their society has been torn by a civil war, and their great works are all but forgotten.



At the start of the fifth age, Rune essence was discovered by humans. This enabled them to learn and use magic easily, leading to the dominance of humans across most of mapped Gielinor. Modern humans are relatively safe and peaceful, and cultural development has begun. Human civilisation is centred on the three kingdoms of (from east to west) Misthalin, Asgarnia and Kandarin. The Dwarves are believed to be the most advanced race, having invented many industrial technologies such as steam power (most Dwarves stopped using magic a long time ago), and they built a prosperous city underground during the Third and Fourth ages.