Kethsi
Kethsi is a plane first discovered on 14 June 2011. Kethsi features heavily in the quest Ritual of the Mahjarrat as the history of the Stone of Jas and the dragonkin are revealed by exploring Kethsi during the quest. The only part of Kethsi which is currently accessible is the Isle of Sann.
Postbag from the Hedge
On 7 October 2010, the 44th Postbag from the Hedge was released, including hints for Herblore Habitat and Do No Evil. However, the journal included a final hint which read:
- Fourth Age, year 2212N1145E
- Origins lie in ruined Kethsi, but now they return from the stone prison to lay waste . The strong remembers, the weak falls.
The year provided in the journal shares the same format as coordinates used in Gielenor. When treated as a coordinate, "2212N1145E" leads to a point just west of Zemouregal's fort which is located just adjacent to the Wilderness. "The strong" in the post, a singular noun, is a reference to Robert the Strong, a hero from the Fourth Age who fought against the dragonkin. Robert succeeds in imprisoning the dragonkin, but it is revealed in a note that he leaves behind in Kethsi that he was aware of his impending reincarnation as Bob the Jagex Cat. Additionally, in the epilogue of While Guthix Sleeps, the dragonkin reveal that their anger is escalating due to the increased use of the Stone of Jas, heightening their desire to lay waste to the world.
The coordinates location does not point to the Stone of Jas or the ritual site, but it points to a location close to both. The ritual of the Mahjarrat takes place to the east of Zemouregal's fort, and the Stone of Jas is hidden within a cave accessed from an area south of the ritual site.
History
Kethsi was a large, advanced civilization of an unknown age which was mainly inhabited by a Mage Conclave. Late in the summer of the Year of the Babbootang, the Stone of Jas was brought to Kethsi by Elder Mage Etheron after a six-year expedition. The inhabitants of the plane relocated the Stone to the Mage Conclave on Mount Firewake.
The act of bringing the Stone of Jas to the Kethsian plane through the worldgate brought great prosperity to all Kethsians. The inhabitants were able to tap into the power of the Stone in order to work various spells which improved the living conditions of Kethsians and helped repel any enemies. However, prolonged use of the Stone of Jas provoked the dragonkin, leading to the invasion of Kethsi from the east by dragonkin.
The conclave gathered 52 Grand High Mages to fight against the dragonkin, but their most powerful spell backfired and only succeeded in further enraging the assailants. Continued attempts to combat the dragonkin were made, all to no avail. It soon became evident that trying to fend off the dragonkin with the Stone of Jas had no effect as the Stone's power was directly linked to the dragonkin themselves. Renowned philosophers of Kethsi remarked that the dragonkin only appeared after the Stone of Jas was brought to Kethsi. They further speculated that the dragonkin may therefore be some sort of guardians of the Stone, used to prevent unworthy beings from accessing its power.
The efforts of the Kethsians were futile, and soon the headquarters of the Conclave were destroyed. A small remainder of the surviving Kethsians retreated to the Isle of Sann in the hopes of escaping the dragonkin.
In a final effort to stop the dragonkin, attempts were made to create a weapon using bane ore. Weapons made from bane ore may be magically "tuned" to be harmful to certain creatures. Smelting the ore and using the bars on the tempered anvil located on the Isle creates bane bolts and arrows, proven to be able to take down dragonkin. However, the supplies needed to mass produce such weapons were not available, and it is assumed that the dragonkin were eventually able to destroy Kethsi, resulting in its present condition.
The events leading up to the attack on Kethsi and the attack itself are chronicled by Dathana in a message left behind on the Isle of Sann.
Access
Kethsi may be accessed only via the fairy ring system using the code D-I-R immediately followed by A-K-S. This is currently the only method in and out of Kethsi as the worldgate once used by its inhabitants to travel between planes no longer exists.
Isle of Sann
Entrance hall
The only entrance to Kethsi is a Fairy ring located to the very south-east corner of the area. Just north of it, there are some ruins, with a wall in the middle with a mural on it. It shows dragonkin, as you can see by the legs and feet, destroying a city. It is unknown whether this has been drawn on the wall before or after Kethsi was destroyed, which makes it impossible to know whether the mural is about Kethsi or another city.
On the opposite side of the mural is some rubble, and upon searching it a Tetrahedron 4 can be found and is used to gain the coordinates to find a key used in Ritual of the Mahjarrat.
First floor
On the first floor to the north, a wall design can be seen. When investigated, it shows four different columns which do not seem to fit together without intermediate pieces. One of the symbols on the columns look like an upside-down Dorgeshuun goblin insignia. There is a statue next to the wall design, which when examined says "It doesn't look like it's meant to be human."
At the southernmost part of the first floor there is a ledge which can be jumped across at level 77 Agility. This will reward 2xp in Agility. Players must have 77 Agility and it cannot be boosted. To the other side of the ledge is another statue, similar to the one at the first side of the ledge, but with its left arm missing. A little to the north, there is a wooden plank which seems to partially cut through at height of the first floor's ground. During the quest Ritual of the Majharrat, this plank is knocked down to gain access across the gap to the anvil to the north.
To the north of this separated area, behind the plank, is a small platform with an "Kethsian anvil", with the examine "I may be able to make Kethsian items on it.". This anvil is in fact used after the Ritual of the Majharrat to fashion items made from bane ore.
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The Kethsian anvil, as seen on the first floor of the main hall and further along the islands.
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One of the statues found on the second floor on the first island, missing an arm.
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The wall design with the intact statue and a collapsed statue next to it.
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An birds-eye view of the main hall of Kethsi.
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A closeup of one of the statues
Agility course
There is a ladder which leads to the first island north of the main hall, which leads to a rope swing, behind which is a much bigger area. To the east of this is a pickaxe stuck in a rock, next to a mineable rock close to it. Behind there is a pipe which has an option to crawl through. The mineable rocks also have an "Investigate" option. Behind this rock mass is an enclosed, seemingly empty area only about 13 squares big.
There have also been discovered sections of the upper Kethsi floors which attribute even more to the agility course theory. By stretching the Runescape window and using an Orb of Oculus you are able to see obstacles similar to the horizontal pole swing of the Advanced Gnome Agility Course.
If you continue further to the North with the Orb of Oculus you can also see a pole setup similar to the one used to drop to the ramp and end the Advanced Barbarian Course.
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The crawling pipe and the pickaxe in the rock.
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Some agility obstacles seen just north of the accessible area: left are rope swings, right is a pipe crawl and in the centre are some ladders.
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A dropdown bar similar to that found on the Advanced Barbarian Agility Course.
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Swingbars similar to those found in the Advanced Gnome Course.
Further areas
To the west of the rope swing there is another anvil looking identical to the Unusual anvil on the first floor of the main hall. A fairly long distance to the west is another building of two floors high, with two ladders in it. There seem to be either parts of a ledge or hand grips at this building. Because of the limited view, it is not known what these are attached to. South of this building is another which is also two floors high. South of this is a staircase which goes underground, and south of that is something which seems to be a ledge leading to a small island which is empty other than some ruins, a tree and another searchable rubble.
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The other Unusual anvil in the inaccessible area of Kethsi.
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The westernmost building, which is partially cut out due to horizon limitations.
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The stairs leading down, as seen on the far west side of the area. Behind it is something that seems to be an agility obstacle similar to balance logs.
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Inaccessible island west of the main area. There is searchable rubble there, likely with another Tetrahedron.
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Run up wall jump.
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The "wall safe" with a place for a necklace or "collar" beneath it. Note the "hinges" on the left and the "handle" on the "door".
Trivia
- Kethsi was discovered exactly 3 months before the release date (14 September) of the quest Ritual of the Mahjarrat.