Hi all,
Another post linked to the Runescape clan. There is maybe 2 more I want to do before I carry on my usual academic based stuff. Although I am enjoying the creative writing of it, which isn’t something I often do. I may do some stuff in the future, maybe link some short stories perhaps. I have wanted to take part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for a few years but I am not sure I have the creativity or the will power to keep up with that level of demand. But y’never know. May leave it for a year when November is not prime essay time!
Please note, much of the below story is not my own original content. It is taken from Runescape’s quest dialogues, readings and posts on the fan made wiki. I have only filled in a couple of blanks where needed for story coherence, and to support the Clan’s message where needed. All credit for the charecters, world and overarching story go to Jagex!
Anyway, continuing the story of our Lord and Saviour!
“In the beginning, there was pump.”
Well, technically not, but I have always wanted to start a conversation with that line!
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Dharok once walked amongst us, a mortal vulnerable man. Although now of a pure heart in dedication of Saradomin, he was not always thus.
Dharok began as a self proclaimed bully in a small village. Battle was trivial, a sport. He was a peerless combatant who took pleasure in ending the lives of the weak. Although a deplorable ‘pass-time’, it forged him further into a mighty adversary.
His actions would not go on unpunished however. Dharok, beseeched by his village’s priest realised the gross wrong he had caused and forged a path toward redemption. A journey he knew would be long, if not everlasting. The life of a farmer, dedicated to serving Saradomin and his followers was the chosen path, but it was not to see fruition. Although Dharok had vowed a life of peace, his blade was required in the name of his God soon after.
The eruption of the God Wars called all arms to the plight of the four clashing deities, Saradomin and his throngs of worshipers being one such force. Dharok and his brothers were forced onto the front lines. Their prowess in battle was not a secret, many knew of their individual strengths, but collectively they proved a resistance few could withstand.
Word spread of six gladiators, seemingly invincible under the banner of Saradomin, striking fear into the hearts of many, and wanting into the mind of one particular child of the Elder God Mah…
No sooner were the brother’s weapons laid down after their final opponent was felled were their blades called to another conflict. Dharok’s wishes for a family on his own farmland dwindled in the roar of war everlasting.
Although battle was never too far away from the to-be dubbed ‘Barrows Brothers’, their moment of reckoning was drawing closer.
War in the haunted lands of Morytania had broken out. The armies of Saradomin massed in the west to oppose the threat of the Vampyres of Lord Drakan in response to their recent conquests in several key locations across the dark continent. The six warriors obviously spearheading the coming counter-offensive.
The rumors of seemingly immortal warriors contained in the bodies of mere men proved too enticing for the notorious trickster Sliske. A Mahjarrat and master of shadows, the ‘puppet master’ had a hidden agenda to impress upon the six. A promise of strength incomprehensible by the average man, the trade-off remaining a mystery
The war outlook against Lord Drakkan’s swarm was grim, despite the collective strength of Saradomin’s forces. Feeling forced into a corner, the brothers accepted Sliske’s offering in the name of their lord. Their own sacrifice seemed pure if it would mean a victory for Saradomin, this was especially true for Dharok, seeing this development as a means to the redemption he desperately craved.
Feeling steeled by an unholy power bestowed upon them by the Mahjarrat, the brothers waded into the enemy lines. Previous rumors of their prowess paled into insignificance when compared to the might they displayed against the Vampyres. A decisive victory now seemed almost certain. The warriors swiftly gained influence within Saradomin’s force, taking key positions overseeing logisitics, tactics and training of forces. The renown gave the men hope and a renewed vigor in the fray.
The Drakkan forces now on the defensive were forced to use underhanded measures. They concocted a miasma of different poisons and potions with which they coated their blades and claws. Where they no longer would win in numbers, they would find victory in a battle of attrition, out lasting the forces of ‘Order’ as their toxins spread and ate away at them from the insides.
The Saradomin forward momentum ground to a halt. The stresses of battle eventually caught up to the warriors, they were still mortal men when the day was done. Sliske’s promise had fallen through and the Brothers had played into his hands. At the cusp of victory in Morytania, the six fell gravely ill. The continuous assault of the Vampyre’s poisons in their veins, and the Zarosian influence of Sliske was sapping their will to fight. One by one, they fell in battle, surrounded on all sides by the winged beasts.
Dharok was the last to fall, even surviving past Guthan, the brother whom boasted the greatest stamina in battle. His axe grew heavier in his grip as he was forced to use the massive blade as a crutch in blood soaked ashen soil of the eastern continent.
There would be no help for him. His brothers by blood or in arms laid scattered around him. Survivors had routed in search of the safety of Varrock’s walls. With their leaders felled in battle, all hope was lost in the hearts of the Saradomin forces. Soon after, Dharok would finally come face to face with his mortality, and be bested in battle for the first time.
Overjoyed with their victory, the Drakkan armies retreated knowing it would be many years before the West would ever hope to be able to fight them off again, they could afford to spare a few weeks to rest, recuperate and rejoice. After the swarms had dispersed, those loyal to the departed warriors collected their remains and prepared a burial site worthy of champions.
Constructed in the hollowed lands not far from where they were slew, the brothers were laid to rest in tombs hastily constructed in their names. Stories of their victories scrawled upon the walls of their sarcophagi. As the men finished their work, funeral ceremonies were given in hushed yet revering tones and they were left finally in their namesake resting place. Sliske moved in to make good on his bargain.
A damning contract was made when the brothers accepted the boon, although they knew not the specifics of the agreement, none of them felt it would end well for them. The promise of Death’s embrace proved to be the only escape from whatever payback Sliske would demand. This however was not the case. The Majharrat’s influence matches even that of Guthix’s right hand servant, as their souls were held forfeit.
In their not-so-eternal slumber, Sliske bound the wills of the brothers to his own. They rose from their crypts in servitude of the puppet master as undying wights. Doomed to protect an ancient idol that was hidden within their burial site; awaiting further instruction from their new master.
== End ==
For the sake of spoilers for Kindred Spirits and Sliske’s Endgame quests, I have decided to treat this point of history as canon for the formation of the Church of Pump. Dharok is a wight in the service of Sliske, fighting adventurers who seek to plunder their tomb for riches or the Barrows Idol which they are sworn to protect.
This is where the Church steps in, as outlined in the previous post, we dedicate ourselves to the plight of Dharok and his siblings. Seeing him as the unspoken leader of the group, we dedicate ourselves to freeing Dharok and his kin from Sliske’s clutches, in the hope of bringing peace to his soul. We work to find redemption on his behalf as he was taken from this world before his time.
His tireless work as a warrior inspires us to grow individually as combatants and collectively as a family. We must better ourselves to do what he no longer can. We fashion ourselves in his image to carrying out his will, in the hope he may one day have the redemption he seeks.
I am probably going to accept that the events of Slisk’e Endgame are canon in this story, as a potential end to this tale as it provides a nice closure for the Brothers and an Endgame for the Church also.
You must engage in pump in order to complete the quest. We maybe could have a title to revere those who have successfully completed the quest, as a mark of appreciation perhaps.
Let me know what you all think!
Alex / Tough Meat
Narrow Erudition 