Guthix

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This article is about the god. For other uses, see Guthix (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Deity Guthix (pronounced "Guh-thicks"<ref>Jagex. "God Letter 27 - Saradomin Enlightens, Letter 1." RuneScape god letters. *</ref>) is the god of balance. Guthix lacks any form of gender (and therefore shall be referred to as a capitalised 'It'). 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 an/the Equilibrium. It holds no other goal. Though, this does not demand "maintaining the status quo", it does make it more complicated, as with many things in Its teachings. Often, Guthix is referred to as a "he", whether they be Its friends or enemies. This is simply for 'convenience', but this does cause some confusion nonetheless. On top of this, it demonstrates a male bias, since Guthix is genderless.

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.

File:LargeGuthixStatue.png
A statue of Guthix shown in a house chapel. Although genderless it appears to be in a male form.

Description and powers

Guthix, as seen in the God Letters.

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, since Its creations must live lest Its source of prayer energy is interrupted and It would then have to search for a new source. This is the reason It cares for the life It created with the Stone of Jas.

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".

“ One full year of this planet is the equivalent of one heart beat for myself, although the parallel is flawed for I hath no heart and do not breathe.

Mine is the scale of planets, dancing and circling the cosmos, of continents rising and falling, and of mountains growing. As thou may imagine, I find it hard to accurately measure time upon a smaller scale than this.

”
 
— Guthix
“ Thy assumption is mostly correct noble philosopher; most gods mayst not stay long on a plane where their existence is not demanded by followers. Just speaking the name of a god canst give them power enough to enter this plane, and with followers then they mayst remain.

I am not most gods however; mine power is drawn from the land, from the seas, from the plants and trees, from the very essences of life that dwell here. This is why I neither seek nor demand loyalty from mine followers, for my power is not that of belief, but of life.

The only thing that could disrupt mine energies wouldst be the extinction of all life upon this realm, in which case I wouldst be forced from this realm to find another.

I would never allow such an abomination against balance to occur here.

”
 
— Guthix
“ I know for many mortals sleep doth exist only as periods of inactivity, but this is not true of myself.

Mayhap the word slumber was an inexactitude of mine; as thou may know of me, I find the language of mortals problematic, just as understanding the message of the wind, or the songs of sand wouldst be difficult for you. My slumber was the slumber of the caterpillar as it becomes the butterfly, or the slumber of acorns as they dream of oaks.

It consumed my attention wholly, for I was gathering and focusing mine power in preparation. Mine rest was not a case of lack of consciousness, rather it was a focus of concentration so great as to exclude all other activity by myself.

”
 
— Guthix, God Letters

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.

File:MimeGods2.png
Saradomin, Guthix, and Zamorak are audience members in the Mime Random Event.

Religion

File:Guthixnose.png
Guthix (green cloak on the right) as seen during Meeting history.

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."

Followers of Guthix

Groups and races

Notable individuals

Animals associated with Guthix

Affiliated items

Guthix Prayer items

Guthix Magic items

Guthix melee items

Guthix Ranging items

Fist of Guthix items

Note that technically, all items from the Fist of Guthix minigame are Guthix affiliated items. These include:

Guthix miscellaneous items

Guthix's relation(ships) 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.

Trivia

  • The lava lake next to the Mage Arena looks similar to Guthix's symbol.
File:Guthix lava lake.png
Lava shaped like Guthix's symbol next to the Mage Arena.
  • The pillars inside the Fist of Guthix minigame cave are engraved with the Saradomin symbol. This was done by Saradominist Knights who were trying to claim the area as a temple from the Zamorakians who held it earlier.
  • Even though Guthix is a shape shifter, it is the only one of the three gods who has not had their avatar been changed in the god letter photos.
  • If you attempt to enter a team with more players in Castle Wars, a message will appear saying "The Saradomin/Zamorak team is powerful enough already! Guthix demands balance in the forces - join the Zamorak/Saradomin team instead!"
  • Based on the knowledge from Meeting History, Guthix was possibly the first non-elder god to come to Gielinor.
  • 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)
  • There is a Guthix altar at the Phoenix rebirthing area as seen from the trailer.
  • Despite often being referred to as 'he', in other words, male, Guthix is actually genderless. This, of course, is to maintain balance in Its identity.
  • Guthix seems to know of Earth according to the God Letters. It also knows of the Sun.<ref>http://services.runescape.com/m=rswiki/en/God_Letters_Issue_19</ref>
  • Despite being the most popular god amongst Player Characters, as per the Odd Gods poll, Guthix's many pieces of apparel generally cost less than those of other gods, this is most likely due to the aggressiveness-negating effects of other God Armour/items in the God Wars Dungeon, which makes the other God's armour/items in higher demand, and therefore of a higher price.
  • During the quest Meeting history, it is possible to left click Guthix at a certain angle, consequently having his left click menu name comes up as "Water trough".
  • The Guthix Mage Arena statue's examine title is "I wonder how accurate a representation this is?"
  • Guthix is responsible for blessing Silverlight, because Guthix wants to prevent Delrith from destroying even a part of a world.
  • As seen in Armies of Gielinor, Guthix is immensely powerful, able to defeat all the gods such as Zamorak and Saradomin at the end of the God Wars and create many races such as Sheep and Cats.
  • Guthix's gender is questioned in the god letters and replies: "I am Guthix. I am neither, and I am both. Thou canst not define a god as thou wouldst define a mortal."
  • There must have been life on Gielinor before Guthix arrived and moulded it into what it is now, since "the extinction of all life upon this realm" would have "forced (him) from this realm to find another". Since it is widely accepted that the Stone of Jas was already found on Gielinor, and that the Dragonkin are guardians of it, it's possible the Dragonkin were the first race to inhabit 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.
  • 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.

See also

References

<references />


Major gods

Guthix • Saradomin • Zamorak • Armadyl • Bandos • Zaros

Lesser-known gods

Seren • Marimbo

Menaphite Pantheon

Tumeken • Elidinis • Icthlarin • Amascut • Apmeken • Crondis • Het • Scabaras

Elder Gods

Jas

Other deities

The Kendal • Karamjan gods • Freneskae Creator-God • Camel God • Brassica Prime

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