Stone of Jas
The Stone of Jas, also referred to as Fist of Guthix and the The Eye of Saradomin, is an incredibly ancient object, one of Gielinor's oldest and most unknown powers, pre-dating even the First Age and the arrival of Guthix.
The Stone of Jas is perhaps the most solid evidence of the Elder Gods and an age prior to what many believe to be the creation of the plane of Gielinor. Its origins are unknown. It is confirmed that one or more Elder Gods (may or may not include Jas) had used it to create the plane of Gielinor. It remains one of RuneScape's most cryptic mysteries. Apparently, the Stone of Jas was used by Guthix to shape Gielinor, including all life and magic upon it. It was the Stone that gave the rune essence its power.
During While Guthix Sleeps, touching the Stone of Jas temporarily boosts all combat stats to level 255.
History of the Stone
Jas is an individual, as Mod Mark had confirmed it and is hinted at by the Oracle and the quest log after completing While Guthix Sleeps.
The Stone was found by Guthix when he arrived in Gielinor at the start of the First Age. Although its exact use for it is unknown, Melzar the Mad believes that Guthix actually needed the Stone to wield many of the godly powers for which it is known. With it, Guthix seems to have created the Anima Mundi, the soul of Gielinor and all who would come to live upon it. It then used it to create life, including many races, creatures, and flora. Other races arrived through Guthix's creations such as the Portal of Life and the World Gate, therefore showing that Guthix did not create all of the world's early inhabitants, for example, the Tokhaar existed on the plane before the Guthix arrival, their origins date back to the age of the Elder Gods.
Guthix would then use the Stone's immense power to create the magic of Gielinor, creating with it runes that allowed certain races to wield magic. When the First Age ended and Guthix descended into the earth to rest, the Stone faded from history for thousands of years. The runes Guthix created would also fade from history, with humans apparently losing any knowledge of them by the late Second Age.
Sometime, before the First Age, the dragonkin became the guardians of the Stone. The power of the dragonkin was linked directly to the Stone. If anyone misused the Stone in anyway, it would enrage the dragonkin until they managed to destroy its user. The more the Stone was used, the stronger their rage would get and the more destructive they would become.
During the Third Age, the stone was kept at the Fist of Guthix by Saradomin . The stone stood in that location for some time and left both a magical and physical impression in the ground. When Guthix woke up at the end of the God Wars, he moved the stone to an unknown location, possibly Lunar Isle as it is the next documented location of the stone on Gielinor.
At some point in the Stone's history, it was located on Mount Firewake, in Kethsi. The Stone allowed the Kethsians to become possibly the most powerful magicians in history. Unfortunately, their use of the Stone enraged the Dragonkin, who destroyed Kethsi.
The Stone of Jas would not resurface until the beginning of the Fifth Age, when it was discovered by a Fremennik Seer in the mountains east of the Fremennik Province. Shortly after its discovery, the Stone was "removed by those who walk a higher astral path", who were probably the Gods or the Moon Clan. It is known that the Stone of Jas created the rune essence by its presence among normal rocks, and that there is a rune essence mine on Lunar Island as well as in the well known cave, which proves that at some point, the Stone of Jas was on Lunar Island.
In the events of While Guthix Sleeps, The Stone of Jas is found by the player in an ancient Guthix temple in the chasm below the Lumbridge Swamp Caves after defeating its guardian. Soon after, it is warped away by the Mahjarrat Lucien.
During Ritual of the Mahjarrat, the Stone is found again, this time near the Mahjarrat Ritual site, where Lucien hid it in preparations for the Ritual. It plays an important part in the proceedings of the Ritual, most notably summoning the Dragonkin to kill the "False User" (Lucien). Once Lucien is defeated, the player, Sir Tiffy Cashien, and Thaerisk Cemphier teleport it deep underground, in such a way that no single one of them knows its location.
Chronological location timeline
- Guthix find the stone through currently unknown means and shape the plane of Gielinor, marking the First Age.
- Members of the Conclave of Elders from Kethsi, gain ownership of the Stone after traveling through the World Gate. (The World Gate was created by Guthix to populate Gielinor and was later closed by him).
- Kethsi prospers, eventually destroyed by the Dragonkin. Unknown if Dragonkin left the stone in Kethsi or took it with them.
- Zamorak finds the Stone and uses it as part of his plan to obtain godhood in the Second age.
- Saradomin confiscates the stone from Zamorak before he is banished.
- During the God Wars, Saradomin uses the Stone and it is located at the Fist of Guthix site.
- Unknown what happened to Stone after Guthix awoke, presumbably hidden by Guthix followers.
- The stone is found on Lunar Isle/rune essence mine by a Fremennik, who then created the Moonclan.
- Currently unspecified how many times the stone was moved in the Fourth age or where exactly the stone was found.
- The stone is hidden away in the Ancient Guthix Temple.
- Lucien steals it and takes it with him to The North, specifically the Glacor Cave.
- After being briefly used during The Ritual of Rejuvenation, it is teleported away to an unknown location.
References to the Stone
The Stone of Jas has been hinted at for some time, although information regarding it is often cryptic and difficult to find. Since the Stone's significance was realised, a search for possible references has been made. The references to the stone appeared in following places:
The Basics of Magic
The Stone is mentioned most prominently in the Moonclan Manual purchased from Baba Yaga on Lunar Isle. The book details the discovery of the first rune essence at the start of the Fifth Age by a Fremennik, whose name has been omitted from the text. Brundt the Chieftain of Rellekka comments that this Fremennik was a Seer of their tribe.
According to the book, a Fremennik, whose name appears as "V-------", stumbled upon a cave in which the Stone was found. The Stone's name has also been omitted and is referred to as J--. The Stone was later taken, but not before affecting the smaller stones (rune essence) around it. They could be mentally changed into elements, essentially the art of Runecrafting. The Rune Essence Minehasplenty of digging and building equipment, possibly implying that there was an excavation for any clues concerning the Stone of Jas; perhaps the center of the mine was the Stone's original location.
The book reads:
| “ | As we all know, from the tales told to us in the Secret Tongue, 'magic' was first discovered in these lands by V------- when he accidentally stumbled upon the Stone of J--.
The stone was clearly not of this world, and the mere touch of it unlocked something within the mind of V-------. As we know, the stone was instantly removed by those powers who walk a higher Astral Path than ourselves, but its very existence showed V------- possibilities that had never occurred to our kind before. His lifelong search for the stone did reveal its eventual fate, and the myths suggest that the stone may yet still lie somewhere within this world, but he did discover something of great importance in the caves where first he found the stone; the very rocks that had surrounded it had been subtly changed by its presence. The rocks in their contact with the Stone of J-- had gained a yearning to be something they were not, and V------- discovered that by focusing thought upon them he could transform them entirely for short periods of time into the very elements of the universe. This is a mere parlour trick, as many of our young have done the same thing with essence as children, making the cold-burning fire in their hands on summer nights, and V------- knew that should be able to effect a permanent change upon these stones, he could have access to the very powers of the gods themselves! |
” |
— Basics of Magic, from Lunar Isle
|
A cutscene near the end of the While Guthix Sleeps quest shows a human discovering the Stone embedded in a stalagmite in a cave. The name of the human differs for each player, for unknown reasons. Some variations include Vasador, Valator, Vanjute, Verisad, Vistola, and Vonjuta. The notable pattern is the name starting with "V" and being seven letters long.
The Writings of Melzar the Mad
The scattered pages that fill the bookcases in Melzar's Maze reveal much about his descent into madness following his escape from the island of Crandor. One of these pages mentions the "Cabbage of Jas", from which the gods created all life and magic.
The page reads:
| “ | ...Had dream last night of great cabbage. Cabbage of Jas. Used by gods to create all life and magic. All runes have part of its power. So with runes I can control power above magic...! | ” |
— The Writings of Melzar the Mad
|
The cabbage could be a connection to Guthix, since Juna said that the cabbage is his vegetable. It can also be observed that in the Meeting History quest, the depiction of the Stone of Jas does seem to resemble a cabbage (see the picture at the top right hand corner of the article).
But Melzar is mad and during the quest Dragon Slayer when the player encounters him he summons many cabbages, so more likely his insanity has replaced the word "stone" with the word "cabbage".
The Oracle
The Oracle that lives on Ice Mountain will often speak in riddles, and sometimes amongst the ramblings she makes a clear reference to the Stone of Jas. She will state simply: "Jas left a stone behind."
This suggests that "Jas" was an actual individual that existed even before Guthix found the empty plane he would make into Gielinor.
The Ancient Page
Some believe the Stone of Jas was mentioned in the Ancient Pages, old scraps of paper found in the dangerous Ancient Cavern. The eleventh piece of parchment reads the following:
| “ | ...is the stone here?...was the stone here?...will the stone be here?...would that my sanity were firm enough that I knew what my questions meant. Then I might seek an answer. | ” |
— The Eleventh Ancient Page, Author Unknown
|
Daeyalt ore
In the Official RuneScape Lore Q&A Livestream from 4 November 2012, Mod Osbourne revealed that Daeyalt ore was created by the presence of the Stone of Jas, when it was currently being hidden in the Meiyerditch mine.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQg_xYVKQJY&feature=plcp</ref>
The Fist of Guthix
The Fist of Guthix is an ancient religious site said to have been created following the end of the God Wars. The druids which guard it have many theories regarding its creation, but its Guardian of Guthix, a massive creature known as Fiara, will not reveal its origins.
The Fist of Guthix, found at the centre of the site, appears very similar to the Stone of Jas. The meaning of this is unknown. It is possible that Fiara does not reveal information about the Fist's origins in order to protect its power, assuming it is the Stone of Jas or something connected to it. There aren't a lot of characters who talk about the Fist of Guthix, implying that the secrecy given to it was a success. However, the cracks netting the cavern and the magical imprint in its centre, supports the theory that Guthix smashed the stone into the ground with its fist.
The Fist of Guthix was the actual site where the Stone of Jas resided. Seeing as the Fist has a lot of power, it is most likely the Stone passed such power to the ground, creating the Fist. How and when the Stone was moved is still not known but in Postbag from the Hedge 36, Fiara lends support to this theory by implying that it was moved by Crux Eqal some time after Saradominist forces tried to take the Fist of Guthix. In The Ritual of the Mahjarrat it is revealed that the stone of Jas indeed rested in the cavern that is the modern day Fist of Guthix. It was used by Saradomin to heal his most faithful servant, Commander Zilyana , after injuries sustained from fighting K'ril Tsutsaroth.
| “ | ...I recall when Saradomin's knights came to claim the Fist, and to make the caves their temple. Their efforts were frustrated, of course, and, as Saradominists often do, scrawled the symbols on the walls as they left.
I have been guarding this cave for mortal lifetimes and have encountered many who seek the power of the Fist. Thankfully, in His wisdom, Guthix deemed it necessary to further safeguard the Fist, tasking Crux Eqal with its protection. As such, those who pass me are still far from acquiring it. |
” |
— Fiara, Postbag from the Hedge 36
|
From reading Movario's notes, it is also possible that the Fist of Guthix was really an imprint left behind by the Stone of Jas which could be interpreted as Guthix's fist as it looks like the stone. Movario's notes state that the Stone of Jas can be interpreted as a body part of a god (For example, instead of saying Stone of Jas, the Saradomists call it 'The Eye of Saradomin'). Therefore, the Fist of Guthix could be an imprint printed into the ground by Guthix's 'fist' (Stone of Jas).
Movario and Darve
In Dorgesh-Kaan South Dungeon, two men can be found wandering the cavern's upper levels. These men are minions of Lucien, a Mahjarrat and personal ally of Zamorak. Although they are hesitant to share their knowledge, a Ring of Charos and/or Pendant of Lucien will convince them to talk.
According to Movario and Darve, they have been sent by Lucien to find artefacts that give off a "specific type of energy". Using a magical detector, they have been searching the world for years, and only now do they believe they may be getting close. From While Guthix Sleeps it is revealed that this artefact is the Stone of Jas. Movario comes to the conclusion that the names "Fist of Guthix" and "Eye of Saradomin" are merely alternate names that have been given to the Stone of Jas in the past. If true, this leaves unanswered the question of exactly what the power at the Fist of Guthix activity is. Movario's notes support the idea that the Stone once resided there and left residual energies. He detected similar energies on the Lunar Isles where the Fremennik first discovered the Stone. He also mentions discovering the same energies in Morytania, suggesting it resided there at one time as well. Once the quest is complete, the quest journal mentions the stone was owned by Jas, and protected by creatures he enslaved for the purpose - the Dragonkin. As the Dragonkin did not make their presence felt on the world until the Fourth Age, immediately after the end of the God Wars, it remains unknown whether Jas had possession of the Stone before or after Guthix did.
Wizard Elriss
Wizard Elriss, a prominent member of the Runecrafting Guild, claims to have many theories regarding the nature of magic. A Ring of Charos will convince her to further explain her theories.
According to Elriss, she is searching for an ancient artefact that she believes is the origin of runes and the magic they create. She claims that several texts that survived the burning of the Wizards' Tower in the year 70 of the Fifth Age speak of such an artefact, referring to a legendary "Eye of Saradomin". She says that it should give off a very specific type of energy, much like Movario and Darve claim.
Letters to the Chaos Elemental
In the fifth issue of Postbag from the Hedge, the Chaos Elemental responded to a letter with a series of seemingly random phrases that were soon discovered to foreshadow future updates. One of these statements was "Chaos, soahc, Jas." This is the earliest known reference to the Stone by name.
"A True and Concise History of the Discovery of the Runes"
An entry in the "Lores and Histories" section of the Official RuneScape Website known as "A True and Concise History of the Discovery of the Runes" makes an unclear reference to the stone. The story, which is said to have been an extract from the book "Conversations With a Mage" by Samael Leynes, was added to the website more than five years ago.
In the interview, an elderly mage discusses the significance of the discovery of magic. He speaks of the way in which the runes were found, but hesitates when he discusses what else was found. This may refer to the Stone of Jas.
News Article
On the 15 of August, 2008, Jagex released an article about future PvP updates. At the very bottom of this article was the following line:
| “ | We're adding secret hints and references all the time about this one, so if you need to know more, just look around! Leave no stone unturned.... | ” |
— Jagex
|
The article also mentioned a quest which could possibly include the Stone as part of its main storyline. Since this hint was contained inside an article about the future of PvP, it was overlooked and ignored by a large majority of players.
Spirit Realm
In the Spirit Realm on the other side of the weak portal located in Level 47 Wilderness (in the unnamed ruins south of the north-eastern volcano and east of the Demonic Ruins), the Dragonkin symbol can be seen on the crumbling walls. The left half of it is meant to be the stone of Jas, with the other half being a compass rose.
Lucien
During the Defender of Varrock quest, Zemouregal's gargoyle servant, Sharathteerk, states that "I'm telling you, he's close to finding it." to which Zemouregal replies "Enough! I don't have time to worry about fairytales." The artefact which Lucien was close to finding is the Stone of Jas (which he found during the While Guthix Sleeps quest), and many Mahjarrat consider it nothing but a myth.
Before the events of the Ritual of the Mahjarrat, Lucien was the possessor of the Stone of Jas, and he apparently came close to achieving godhood as he claimed that possession of such an object, combined with the magic of the Staff of Armadyl and his vast Mahjarrat mystical abilities, would promote him to Gielinor god status, thus mirroring the feat he had once helped Zamorak perform millennia past. He teleported the Stone away in While Guthix Sleeps.
In Ritual of the Mahjarrat, the Dragonkin arrive at the Ritual site, before being confronted and attacked by the 'False User' Lucien, whose misuse of the Stone enraged the three powerful creatures. The Dragonkin proceed to overpower and kill Lucien by stabbing him through the chest with the staff of Armadyl. They then depart, and the stone is subsequently teleported away to an unknown location by Thaerisk, Sir Tiffy and an adventurer using a mathematical spell.
| “ | Beware False User, your power is taken from the stone, our power IS the Stone. | ” |
— Strisath
|
Song From the Depths
During Song From the Depths, there were a pair of rooms where the player had to find specific seals on laying invisible on the ground, these seals had the same symbol as shown in the spirit realm.
The symbol is related to the Queen Black Dragon who was created by the Dragonkin, who were cursed by Jas to feel pain whenever False users used the Stone.
Combat bonus
After completion of Ritual of the Mahjarrat, players may enter the Glacor Cave in order to give combat benefits. Four hours after visiting the cave, the effects will wear off. It gives a 3-6% bonus in areas surrounding the Stone, including the God Wars Dungeon, Chaos Tunnels, Fremennik Slayer Dungeon and Forinthry Dungeon. Summoning is not affected after an update. One may re-enter the cave to restart the four hours any time.
Trivia
- The Stone of Jas boosts player's stats to 255, which is the maximum value of the Byte data type.
- The name of the Stone may be an in-joke, since it is a real-life acronym for "Java Application Server" - which did, indeed, give the world of RuneScape life.
- The Stone of Jas features in Jagex's 2010 April Fools's joke by being placed in their map for their "Wet 'n' Wildy" park.
- The stone's first appearance is actually in the Meeting History quest, during a cutscene depicting Guthix creating the first runes.
See also
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