Guthix

Guthix (pronounced "Guh-thicks") is the God of Balance. While "Guthix" is not Its real name, it is the name most commonly associated with It. "The way of Guthix" entails as much as acquiring balance, resulting in Equilibrium. It holds no other goal. However, this does not demand "maintaining the status quo", it does make it more complicated, as with many things in Its teachings.

It is good, evil, or neutral, determined by which side is unbalanced and the situation. According to Guthix, "I canst speak not for other deities of this land, but from me thou receive only the self satisfaction that thy cause is true, and that balance will be served by thine decision." which at least heavily implies that It grants Its worshipers no special Prayers or powers in exchange for following It, unlike some of the other deities, such as Saradomin (e.g. regular prayers), Seren (e.g. Crystal equipment), and Zaros (e.g. Ancient Magicks and Ancient Curses).

In the statue of Guthix, It appears to be male. A misconception about Guthix is that It is the god of peace and/or tranquility. This is false, however, as It is only the god of balance. And balance does not necessarily mean peace - as may be evidenced by the Void Knights. A case can even be made It is merely pro-status quo.



Description and powers
Guthix appears mostly as a floating, hairy skull, as portrayed in the Postbag. However, Guthix is a shapeshifter, and is able to take the form of anything It desires. It was in the form of a butterfly when It came to Gielinor, and when the first humans arrived, Guthix appeared to them in human form. Guthix has no real god symbol (as stated in the Postbag). However, the emblem most commonly associated with him is the Tear of Guthix, originally devised by the snake Juna and later adapted by other followers of Guthix.

A seemingly more primal power than most other known gods, Guthix has claimed once that, "I exist because I must exist; if I did not, then I would be created again, for the universe requires balance in all things." Guthix is also capable of opening permanent inter-dimensional gateways between two separate planes of existence for entire races to travel through, enchant steel blades to become specially effective weapons against demonic entities (as It did with Silverlight), and Its tears were able to resurrect the slain cave goblin Zanik. However, though responsible for the arrival of humans upon Gielinor, Laura claims that it was "keen to point out" that It didn't create them.

Guthix has claimed in the God Letters to be capable of affecting future events themselves should It wish it, but also adds It does not do so because such an act would disrupt the natural balance.

Guthix sleeps in the middle of the world of Gielinor, absorbing power from Its creations as they live. This is a different way to gain prayer energy, meaning that, like all the other deities, It needs to have such energy as well. This proves It is not an independent god unlike It claims to be. This is the reason why It cares for the life of Gielinor.

Its motto is: "Balance is Power". A good example of how this motto plays into the game is in Castle Wars and Soul Wars, when a player picks the Guthix Portal. When this happens, the player sides with the side with the least players and effectively equals the teams, hence the saying, "Balance is Power".

History


Guthix discovered a "blank plane" along with the Stone of Jas which were the results of the Elder Gods. This marked the beginning of the First Age. Guthix then started to shape the land and used the Stone of Jas to produce Runestones. It also created some of the species like myriad while bringing in other species from other realms like humans. At some time It also created the plane of the eternally wintry Land of Snow, which can be accessed through portals from other worlds, one of which is Gielinor.

After shaping what is now Gielinor to Its liking, as other races had already inhabited this land, Guthix went into a deep "sleep" after hiding the mythical Stone of Jas, marking the beginning of the Second Age. It left someone to protect It, choosing a human and empowering them greatly. This empowered human was the Balance Elemental, who is fought in the quest While Guthix Sleeps, as the real final boss. After its death it is freed of this mission. The Balance Elemental kept Lucien away for centuries, but when it was killed he reappeared. The knowledge of the existence of Guthix had somehow disappeared, with presumably none of the other gods knowing that It existed. According to Saradomin in his God Letters, none of the Gielinorian deities knew of Guthix's existence prior to Its banishing of them. Even Seren, who was present already in the First Age, did not mention Guthix to other gods.

When Guthix awoke, Saradomin and Zamorak were causing utter destruction of the lands Guthix had formed in their God Wars, along with at least twenty other deities having entered the Gielinorian plane while It slumbered. To stop the wars, Guthix forbade the other gods from interfering in the world of RuneScape (as "Gielinor" was replaced by RuneScape as a name) except through their followers, through the powerfully binding Edicts of Guthix, and that all wars must only be fought in the God Realm. Guthix, feeling great sorrow for the world It had shaped and loved so, descended again to slumber, but paused to survey Gielinor's ravaged state, and wept. Upon realising its tears had imbued the stone nearby with magical properties, It assigned Juna to guard them and to judge who would be worthy to pass.

Religion
Guthix is the god of balance, meaning that It does not favour one god's opinions more than another, although many player followers of Guthix tend to favour the path of chaos and destruction (Zamorak) or order and wisdom (Saradomin). Guthix prefers the land to be shared and the other Gods to roam free. Saradomin strongly disagrees though, as It does not wish Zamorak to roam free. Although Guthix states It has no religious symbol, modern worshipers use the Tear of Guthix as his symbol. In issue 25 of the God Letters, Guthix also mentions It has an ancient symbol which is yet to be rediscovered: "It is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that some day my ancient symbol may be rediscovered, but I hold no desire that it should be so."

Groups and races

 * Druids - Followers of the God of Balance found in Taverley and in the Fist of Guthix minigame.
 * Seers - A group of humans who are often considered prophets.
 * Fremenniks(Barbarians) - A group of human barbarians.
 * Moon Clan - A group of magically and telepathically gifted humans.
 * Void Knights - Protectors of Gielinor, found at the Void Knight Outpost.
 * Gnomes- A small humanoid race that deal closely with nature.
 * Dwarves - Another small humanoid race of miners.
 * Imcando dwarfs - Special race of dwarves, the only known survivors being Ramarno and Thurgo.
 * Crux Eqal - Underground group of Druids, fighting the Mahjarrat threat.
 * Fairies - Small flying humanoids
 * Giant Ents, Familiars used in the Summoning Skill.
 * Moss Giants, species of Giant which are shown to support Guthix in the God Statues Distraction and Diversion.

Notable individuals

 * Filliman Tarlock - Nature Spirit in Morytania
 * Queen of Snow - an NPC from the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Christmas events who was created by Guthix
 * Juna - Juna is a serpent Guardian of Guthix who guards the Tears of Guthix in the Lumbridge Swamp Caves
 * Fiara - a Guardian of Guthix who overlooks the Fist of Guthix minigame.
 * Balance Elemental - a Guardian of Guthix, appointed by Guthix to guard Stone of Jas.
 * Valluta - a Guardian of Guthix, She was appointed by Guthix to guard the veil between worlds and protect Gielinor from otherworldly threats, especially The Void.
 * Thaerisk Cemphier - leader of Crux Eqal.
 * Spider Queen - Queen of Spiders, from the 2009 Halloween Event, she says that it is against the laws of Guthix for the Grim Reaper to clean up cobwebs at Halloween.
 * Hazelmere - legendary gnome who was a key political and military figure in the early days of the Gnome Stronghold.
 * Sanfew - leader of the druids in Taverley.
 * Jack - founder of the Wizard's Guild. Met during Meeting History.
 * Sarah - founder of the Herblore skill. Met during Meeting History.
 * Phoenix - a firebird.
 * Kaqemeex - chairman of CARE and seller of the Herblore cape.
 * Grim Reaper - the main character of the Hallowe'en events. His robes, scythe, bones and cobwebbed-house are all stated to be mandatory in the Edicts of Guthix.
 * Brassica Prime - the god of cabbage
 * Chaeldar - a Slayer Master and one of the Guardians of Guthix

Animals associated with Guthix
 * Sheep (Guthix's first creation)
 * Cat (Guthix's second creation)
 * Guthix raptor
 * Wolves (except Dire Wolves which are associated with Seren)
 * Snakes
 * Bears

Guthix Prayer items

 * Book of balance
 * Illuminated Book of Balance
 * Guthix vestments
 * Guthix crozier
 * Guthix mitre
 * Guthix stole
 * Guthix cloak
 * Druid robes
 * Guthix halo
 * Third-age druidic equipment

Guthix Magic items

 * Guthix staff
 * Guthix cape
 * Druidic mage robes
 * Void Knight equipment
 * Void knight mace
 * Third-age magic equipment

Guthix melee items

 * Guthix mjolnir
 * Silver sickle (b)
 * Guthix full helm
 * Guthix platebody
 * Guthix plateskirt
 * Guthix platelegs
 * Guthix kiteshield
 * Ivandis flail
 * Void knight mace
 * Silverlight/Darklight
 * Korasi's sword
 * Third-age melee equipment

Guthix Ranged items

 * Guthix coif
 * Guthix body
 * Guthix chaps
 * Guthix vambraces
 * Guthix arrows
 * Guthix bow
 * Third-age ranged equipment

Fist of Guthix items
Note that technically, all items from the Fist of Guthix minigame are Guthix affiliated items. These include:
 * Combat robes
 * Adamant berserker shield
 * Adamant spikeshield
 * Rune berserker shield
 * Rune spikeshield
 * Gauntlets

Guthix miscellaneous items

 * Guthix rest
 * Guthix's gift

Guthix's relationships with other gods

 * In general, the relationship that the gods have with each other might be seen as conflicting. They might wage God wars against each-other. While unanimously defending each-other, putting aside their differences, when one of them is threatened or actually robbed from their godhood (as was the case with Zaros, by Zamorak and Bandos, by the player) this includes Guthix - though It might not be as strongly, this is known through the dialogue with Juna after the completion of The Chosen Commander.
 * Bandos describes Guthix as "evil", but as with all gods, the nature of the subjectively perceived "good" and "evil" lies in their alignment. Bandos might well consider Guthix evil since It has obstructed Bandos' capability of waging war on/in Gielinor - with the implementation of the Edicts of Guthix, banning many gods.
 * Saradomin calls It foolish, since It lets Zamorak keep his influence on the inhabitants of Gielinor. In Saradomin's reasoning, this is foolish because the chaos that Zamorak is after will not only create the aforementioned chaos itself, but also a form of un-balance, thus Guthix will undermine Its own purpose.
 * Zamorak in his turn sees Guthix (and Saradomin for that matter) as cowards that dislike battle, who are also dull. Moreover, he thinks Guthix (and Its herblore) is pathetic. Lastly, he thinks that It is weird, since It can shapeshift into every form It pleases, and (probably) does not choose the most appealing forms, like a multicoloured butterfly or a rock.
 * The nature of Its relationship with Zaros, can be indirecly 'known' through the dialogue with Juna where she says that the return of Zaros might well aid the Equilibrium - after the completion of The Temple at Senntisten quest. Though, Guthix said Itself not knowing the existence of Zaros, this forementioned relationship might thus well be Juna's interpretation of Guthix's will.
 * There is some debate (see the Talk:Guthix) about the nature of the relationship between Guthix and Seren. However, since there is no real conclusive evidence given in any specific direction, it would seem best to wait if any may arise.
 * It appears that the Desert pantheon or Menaphite Pantheon is not affected by the Edicts of Guthix, they might not even pose a threat to the Equilibrium, since their individual power has only little effect on Gielinor's arrow of time.

Disputed alignment
In the "Lore Live Stream with Mods Mark and Osborne", see here, a question was asked about the alignment of Zaros. While introducing this question, the questioner said that the alignments for Guthix, Zamorak and Saradomin were: Balance, Chaos and Order - respectively. Before answering the question about Zaros, Mod Mark said that they are not necessarily agreeing with the ascribed alignments of Guthix, Zamorak and Saradomin - saying nothing further about the topic.

Trivia

 * The idea that Fremenniks and the Moon clan are Guthixian are supported by the Official RuneScape Channel's Video on God statues in which the Fremmennik lands, Lunar Isle and the Gnome Kingdoms were highlighted on the World Map in green to represent Guthixians, whereas the Zamorakians were represented in red etc.
 * The lava lake next to the Mage Arena looks similar to Guthix's symbol.
 * Entering the word "murder" or "redrum" in the notes section results in the message "All rest and no play makes Guthix a dull boy." This is a reference to a famous line used in the movie "The Shining", based on the novel by Stephen King; "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
 * It has a definition, the phrase means that all time working and not playing makes the world useless. This implies that Gielinor is an empty world if it weren't for the players.
 * Guthix's symbol resembles a limpwurt root or a tear. (the Tear of Guthix)
 * Guthix seems to know of Earth according to the God Letters. It also knows of the Sun.
 * Guthix is responsible for blessing Silverlight, because Guthix wants to prevent Delrith from destroying even a part of a world.
 * There was life on Gielinor before Guthix's arrival, an example being the TokHaar that the Elder Gods forged to shape the mountains, hills and cliffs of the world. The Dragonkin are another possible example, being bound to the Stone of Jas which was left behind on Gielinor.
 * Although Guthix states that they have no symbol, in the cutscene in Meeting History It clearly has the Tear of Guthix on Its back. This is interesting because this symbol was given to It after the God Wars and the quest takes place mainly in the First Age.
 * In the video The Origins of Gielinor Guthix resembles a Gorajo.
 * During the Meeting History quest when It is seen creating runes, if you have very low quality graphics you can see through Its hood and It appears to have the face of a man with a short beard.
 * This is because at the time of the quest's creation this was the default head (and body) for a player character and so Guthix was given this head because Its head was not meant to be seen anyway. Of course as Guthix is a shapeshifter, the matter is arbitrary.