Long ago, when the Gods were able to directly interact with mortal life, a catastrophic conflict erupted that threatened to plunge the entire world into complete darkness. At the end of Gielinor’s Second Age, the world saw the collapse of the herculean Zarosian Empire—which held territories in Misthalin, Kandarin, Asgarnia, Forinthry and Morytania—triggered by the assassination of the God Zaros at the hands of his trusted general Zamorak. Immediately after, the rest of the Gods, along with their loyal followers, began to wage a violent power struggle for control of the land once held by the mighty empire; these events would mark the beginning of the Third Age of Gielinor. The battles eventually spread throughout the world. In what has become known as the God Wars, every race and civilization was forced to pick a side. Some races went underground or made radical changes in their ways of life in order to survive. Some humans fled the mainland to escape forced conscription and death. Gielinor would never be the same again.

Six mighty Brothers—Ahrim, Verac, Guthan, Dharok, Karil and Torag—were chosen to lead the forces of Saradomin across the River Salve into the destitute lands of what used to be Hallowvale, once a Saradomin stronghold. Morytania, as it was now called, had been taken over by the bloodthirsty Vampyres with the help of their fearless leader Lord Drakan. The citizens, trapped within the murky swamps and ruins of their former city, longed for liberation. The Brothers were approached by a powerful Zarosian Mahjarrat who introduced himself as Sliske. Sliske offered to give the Brothers inhuman strength to conquer the Vampyre invaders of the once-thriving Hallowvale. However, Sliske told the Brothers that should they accept his offer, they must give him something in return. He made sure to keep his end of the bargain a secret. Despite this, the Brothers agreed, and Sliske made them powerful beyond their imagination. They were ready to take back Morytania. The Morytania campaign at first proved to be successful, with the brave Brothers leading the mercenaries of Saradomin to crush the Vampyres. At the end of the campaign, the Brothers found themselves outside the walls of Lord Drakan’s castle. Sliske appeared before them to ‘collect’ his side of the bargain: The Brothers must die and give their souls to Zaros for all eternity. As Drakan’s forces advanced, the Brothers felt themselves become physically weak. Within minutes, the Brothers had fallen. Their comrades buried their bodies in their final resting place near the castle walls. As the Saradominists retreated back to Misthalin, several priests gathered to bless the River Salve to thwart a potential invasion from the unholy inhabitants of Morytania.

Other than major plots of land, the God Wars were also fought over several ancient and powerful artefacts. One of these artefacts was the legendary Stone of Jas. Predating the First Age, it is not entirely known what exact powers the Stone possesses. The Stone, however, was used to create other ancient Elder artefacts that many factions fought over. Saradomin was in possession of the Stone for a vast chunk of the Third Age. Aware of the powers contained within, the God of Order & Wisdom did what He could to keep the Stone from slipping into the wrong hands. Near the end of the God Wars, the Stone was swiped from Saradomin by none other than Zamorak, the God of Dark Fire and whose foolish actions (assassinating Zaros) started the wars. Saradomin quickly formed a united front with Bandos and Armadyl, two other deities who had hands in the God Wars. The three Gods cornered Zamorak and, in a last-ditch attempt to save His own skin, Zamorak unleashed the powers of the Stone in order to kill His fellow Gods. The Stone instead destroyed all of Forinthry and turned it into a dark and desolate Wilderness, killing all life that had settled within its confines. It was at this moment that Guthix, the God of Balance who breathed life into Gielinor thousands of years ago, awoke from a deep slumber beneath the surface of the world.

At the conclusion of the First Age many thousands of years ago, Guthix, the all-powerful God of Balance who first discovered Gielinor, descended below the surface of the world to slumber. The God Wars had become so out of control that Guthix was awakened. He awoke to find his perfect world in ruins. The beautiful sun and blue skies were blotted out by thousands of miles of raging fires and smoke. No longer did the lush green meadows of Forinthry breathe life; it stands now as an impoverished Wilderness haunted by the souls of its former inhabitants. Enraged beyond words, Guthix instantly stopped the fighting and banished the Gods from Gielinor. Slamming a giant blade into the center of the Wilderness volcano, He then established the Edicts of Guthix, a series of decrees that kept the other Gods out of Gielinor, allowing them to hold influence only through preachers and followers. Should these terms be violated, Guthix would reawaken and ‘remake’ the world, even at the cost of billions of lives. The Edicts of Guthix was a decision the God of Balance did not take lightly

With the Gods banished and the Edicts established, Guthix took it upon Himself to wander the plains of Gielinor. Guthix observed unfathomable loss of life and destruction so far and wide that He almost didn’t recognize the world He sought to perfect many millennia ago. Having seen enough, Guthix descended back below the surface of the world. So shook and dismayed Guthix was that He began to weep and mourn. Guthix couldn’t help but notice that even the cavern walls around Him began shedding tears. His world felt much more pain than He ever could. After more than 4,000 years, the God Wars were finally over and the survivors could begin to rebuild. Guthix returned to his deep slumber beneath the earth.