Armadyl

Armadyl (pronounced /ɑ:mədɪl/ ARM-uh-dill) is the avian god of justice, freedom, law and the sky. He is described by his emissary, Taw'Paak, as "the god of justice: noble, yet humble, putting his people first." Armadyl is the patron god of the aviantese, a near-extinct race of birdlike creatures to which he belonged before ascending to godhood, although beings of other races worship him as well. In addition, Armadyl is commonly associated with birds, as well as the skies and Clan Citadels.

He is known as the namesake of the Staff of Armadyl, an Elder Artefact that he once wielded. The Staff has been stolen from Armadyl's followers on at least two occasions, resulting in the defeat of both Zaros and Guthix, as well as the Mahjarrat Lucien. The design atop the Staff of Armadyl would come to be associated with Armadyl himself, and it became his symbol. When Armadyl found Gielinor, his aviantese inhabited the skies, living in fortresses on floating rocks. He loved them so much that he entrusted them to guard the staff during the God Wars, although it was stolen from them - eventually, the Guardians of Armadyl came to protect it.

Armadyl was one of the major participants in the Gielinorian God Wars. Though the God Wars destroyed most of the aviantese, some of their warriors can still be found within the God Wars Dungeon, led by Armadyl's aviansie general, Kree'arra. Armadyl left Gielinor at the end of the God Wars to roam the cosmos, mourning his lost kin; as a consequence, he has had relatively little activity in Gielinor since the end of the God Wars, and he is not as well-known as other gods, nor does he have as substantial a following. Recently, with the death of Guthix and the coming of the Sixth Age, Armadyl has been preparing to return to Gielinor. He desires global safety and justice for his following.

Beliefs


Officially, Armadyl is the god of justice, though he is often associated with law as well. Saradomin, the god of order, said that he and Armadyl are "noble brethren," implying that he and Armadyl hold many of the same beliefs. However, Saradomin also notes that he and Armadyl "differ on minor points" and that "[Armadyl's] interests lie elsewhere" from his own. The core of this is that Armadyl will always strive for justice rather than order, whereas Saradomin will take any path to achieve order, be it considered ethically 'good' or 'bad', as was evident in his involvement in the Naragi God Wars. Armadyl ideally desires peace to an extent and wishes for all gods and mortals to live together in peace, making him in a way naive, since this is largely impossible.

According to Taw'Paak, Armadyl believes that Gielinor can be a place in which gods and mortals coexist peacefully and cooperatively. This is in contrast to the belief of The Godless, and the late Guthix, that Gielinor must be entirely free of godly influence in order to protect the mortals that call Gielinor home. Armadyl wishes to act as a guardian for those under his wings, though he also believes that his followers can achieve strength if they work together. Taw'Paak states that Armadyl opposes tyranny and chaos.

Armadyl is a pacifist, albeit one who is willing to do battle when he has no other choice. This belief is codified in Armadyl's book of law, which states "Thou shalt avoid war; but, if thou must fight, Believe, and thou shalt strike true." Additionally, during the hunt for Guthix, Kree'arra expressed reluctance to engage in combat unless absolutely necessary, particularly against those who have not wronged him - an act that embodies the spirit of his god. This is one of the ways in which Armadyl and Saradomin differ, for Saradomin is willing to exercise violence in order to enforce his beliefs.

According to Armacus, a Guardian of Armadyl, the Armadylians are split into two factions: the Incorporealists and Corporealists. The first group believe that Armadyl left the world after the God Wars, which is indeed what happened. The Corporealists, however, believe Armadyl is still on Gielinor, his tears mourning the Aviantese being the morning dew and the sun burning with rage about their death.

Second Age
Armadyl was originally a mortal aviansie. Like many other gods, he ascended to godhood from his mortal form, although this happened before his arrival to Gielinor, meaning the staff of Armadyl was not involved in his ascension. Armadyl and the aviantese most likely came to Gielinor during the Second Age, a time during which many of the younger gods and their followers arrived.

Little is known of Armadyl's activities in Gielinor following his arrival. A group of humans came to worship him at some point, possibly in the Third or Fourth age, and he appointed them the Guardians of Armadyl, entrusting them with the care of his Staff in the Temple of Ikov. Before this, the Aviantese guarded it. At the end of the Second Age, a Saradomist man named Valdez came across the Temple, which was, according to him, abandoned. Valdez took the Staff of Armadyl, intending to deliver it to Saradomin, but instead through a series of unfortunate events, it found its way into the hands of the Mahjarrat Zamorak. Wielding the Staff of Armadyl and tapping power from the Stone of Jas, Zamorak was able to overthrow his master, the god Zaros, and ascend to godhood. The Staff was returned to the Guardians' possession following these events, while Saradomin took the stone for himself. Zamorak was banished by the other gods, but returned and declared war on Saradomin and the others in an attempt to reclaim it.

Third Age
While Armadyl was one of the four major participants of the Gielinorian God Wars that soon followed Zamorak's ascension, very little is known of the extent of his participation. No records have yet been discovered that cite the involvement of Armadyl or his aviantese in any of the battles of the God Wars. It is said, however, that he frequently allied with Saradomin.

At one point, Armadyl sent a quill to Juna, which she can use to write later. Lucien, the Mahjarrat, also obtained such a quill, althogh it is likely he took it from Armadyl's body with force.

Near the end of the God Wars, Armadyl worked together with fellow gods Saradomin and Bandos to forge the godsword, a blade created to be so powerful as to put an end to the threat of Zamorak. A group of aviantese were tasked to deliver the godsword to Saradomin's army, but they were waylaid in the mountains to the north by Zamorakian troops. The aviantese retreated into a large temple and, with reinforcements from the armies of Saradomin and Bandos, battled the Zamorakians. However, the alliance eventually fragmented, then shattered, and the forces of the four gods turned upon one another, each seeking to claim the godsword for their own.

Shortly afterwards, Zamorak destroyed Forinthry using the Stone of Jas. The god Guthix awoke from his slumber beneath Gielinor's surface and ended the God Wars, banishing all other gods, including Armadyl, from Gielinor as punishment for the destruction the Wars had wrought upon the world.

Fourth Age - Present
The God Wars saw the virtual extinction of the aviantese race. Believing the entire race to have been destroyed, Armadyl set to wandering the cosmos, alone, grieving for his lost kin and the loss of his Staff. In his mourning, he visited many different planets, including a lifeless ball of dust, an aquatic world covered in ocean, and a molten, noxious planet. He kept a journal during his wanderings, writing descriptions of each world he came to as well as records of his own thoughts. The final world he visited was a gas giant, one that supported airborne life in its upper atmosphere. Armadyl flew with these creatures and noted how they mimicked his movements in flight, much as the aviantese had once done. This planet marked the final stop in his solitary pilgrimage, as he felt that his old strength had returned. Armadyl set off for his home, to "shelter the faithful beneath [his] wings once more."

It is not known whether the home referred to in The Book of Armadyl is Gielinor, or another planet from which the aviantese originated. Regardless, with the death of Guthix at the hands of the Mahjarrat Sliske and the breaking of the Edicts of Guthix, Armadyl is currently making plans to return to Gielinor. The few surviving aviantese, such as Taw'Paak the emissary, are likewise preparing for their god's return.

Aviantese
Before ascending to godhood, Armadyl was a member of the aviansie race. After his ascension, he remained with his people. No record exists of any aviantese denouncing or rebelling against Armadyl, suggesting that the entire race followed him faithfully. Armadyl cared greatly for the aviantese, enough that when he thought them all destroyed in the God Wars, he wandered the universe for thousands of years grieving for them. Though the surviving aviantese are few, a handful of distinguished ones remain alive, including Taw'Paak, Emissary of Armadyl and Kree'arra, as well as his bodyguards Wingman Skree, Flight Kilisa, and Flockleader Geerin.

There are multiple classes of aviantese. Currently, only two are known; the military aviantese, such as Kree, and the otherwise unnamed class Taw'Paak belongs to.

Others
A small number of humans worship Armadyl, most notably the Guardians of Armadyl. Known among this organisation is Ikov, a high-ranking Armadyl follower who constructed the temple that would serve as the Guardians' headquarters and the home of the Staff of Armadyl. In the Fifth Age, Idria served as the leader of the Guardians, playing roles in events such as Crux Eqal's resistance against Lucien, and the eighteenth Ritual of Rejuvenation; the latter sees her death at the hands of the dragonkin. Larrissa, a woman living in the Lighthouse, also worships Armadyl. A handful of warband tribes operating in the Wilderness worship Armadyl and fight under his name, although their allegiance is more of a reason to fight and a potential way to acquire power rather than true worshipping.

Trivia

 * Armadyl's name bears a striking resemblance to the word "Almadel" a wax tablet which according to is used to summon angels. The Almadel is supposed to bear a strong connection to the skies, and Armadyl himself is often associated with the skies of Gielinor as well as having winged followers (aviantese) that can resemble angels.
 * Armadyl's symbol resembles a pair of conjoined wings, which is a standard Heralidic Charge. The exact phrasing of the charge may differentiate across the various languages of the Heralidic . Conjoined wings are found in many coats of arms and badges, including fictitious entities and the armed services of various countries.
 * There is a gravestone which bears Armadyl's symbol. This type can only be purchased from Blasidar in Keldagrim, the dwarven capital city.
 * In Botany Bay, the symbols that surround an accused bot during the 'Deity' punishment bear a striking resemblance to the symbol of Armadyl -- a fitting gesture, as Armadyl is the god of justice.
 * Armadyl's association with Clan Citadels was first revealed during the Cryptic Clue Fest III, in which Avalani stated that Armadyl had floating citadels high in the sky. Avalani would eventually devise a ritual that idolises Armadyl and allows clans of players to claim the citadels for their own use.