River Salve

OS

The River Salve marks the border between Misthalin and Kharidian Desert with Morytania. Completion of the Priest in Peril quest is no longer required to gain access to the Morytania side of the river.

The River Salve is a river about the length of the River Lum. It is generally the same width all the way down into the south-eastern seas. In the centre there is a large lake with a small island in the south part of it. There is a Fairy ring on the island, accessible with code BIP. The River Salve is a barrier between Misthalin and Morytania, nearly entirely surrounding Morytania by water. According to legend, the river will not allow any evil of Morytania to cross the banks.

History

A map of the River Salve

The river was blessed by the Seven Priestly Warriors in the year 1200 of the Fourth Age. Though the official account is that Saradomin powered the blessing, it was actually accomplished using forbidden blood magic, a fact which was concealed until near the end of the Fifth Age. The blessing keeps any creatures of Zamorak from crossing. This, however, has somehow been broken, as discovered in the Darkness of Hallowvale quest. During the Priest in Peril quest, rune essence is used to absorb the impurity of the river, caused by the Monks of Zamorak that came to Paterdomus and captured Drezel. Count Victor Draynor Drakan, brother of Lord Drakan, was an active participant in the Misthalin - Morytania War but, while fighting in Silvarea, was denied re-entry by Drakan, leaving him weak and stranded beyond the Salve.

Despite its immense power, various entities from Morytania have managed to cross the Salve at various points in time. Evidently this number has been sizeable enough to prompt some humans to become vampyre slayers, such as Dr. Randulf Harlow. Many vampyres were trapped beyond the Salve after its initial blessing, forcing them into a hiding that, for some, may continue to this day. In the Year 164, a young werewolf named Gar'rth hoping to escape his race's violent lifestyle managed to cross the Salve, and was pursued shortly after by his uncle Jerrod. Drakan managed to visit Jerrod in a non-corporeal form during his time beyond the Salve, although he did not physically cross. The werewolf Shanty Claws managed to escape Morytania by unknown means, although he, like many other escapees, has forsaken violence. A "Mystery Figure" representing the werewolf race currently resides in the Champions' Challenge dungeon beneath Varrock, apparently without conflict. Recently, a vampyre known only as a "Sinister Stranger" has been sighted in Hemenster, although he also seems to have suppressed his race's inherent violence. Gus, a non-violent ghoul with above-average brain function for his race, is known to cross the Salve regularly in his work for Numinous Witchery Supplies Ltd. More significantly, though, a number of violent werewolves have recently been sighted near Paterdomus, where they have regularly abducted travellers in an effort to appease Lord Drakan's Blood Tithes.

During River of Blood, Vanescula and her army arrived outside the Paterdomus temple where they waited for Misthalin's surrender. An adventurer told Vanescula that they refused to surrender, so she sent several Vampyre juvinates. However, the adventurer reinforced the Salve with a Super Guthix balance, which turned them feral. Vanescula and the army later returned; believing that her vyrewatch would be more resistant, sent four of them into the river. However, the adventurer had further reinforced it with an Extreme Guthix balance, which resulted in the vyrewatch turning back into humans again.

Transportation

• The only crossing of the River Salve is the temple of Paterdomus.
• A broken statue shortcut is available at 65 Agility and allows players to get to the bridge without going through the whole temple.

Trivia

• Salve means "be healthy" or "be well" in Latin, and is used as a greeting in both Latin and several romanic languages such as Italian and Portuguese.
• Salve nettles may be named after the River Salve, although how and why they appear solely in Daemonheim is unknown.
• On the eastern side of the Kharidian Desert there is a swampland containing Mort Myre plants mixed with desert cacti, which used to be inaccessible before it became a divination training spot.
• The island in the River Salve between the Mort Myre Swamp and the Mage Training Arena is swampy just like Mort Myre, but it cannot be accessed from the swamp. Instead, there is a bridge to it from the Mage Training Arena side of the river. There is a cave entrance to the Polypore Dungeon on the island.
• One possible conversation with Xenia suggests that either the Salve is not as impenetrable a barrier as suggested, or that more vampyres than just Count Draynor were left on the Misthalin side of the river after its consecration, as she claims to have hunted and slain vampyres west of the Salve.