RuneScape Wiki
Register
Advertisement
This article is about the race. For the attackable monster, see Aviansie.
Taw'Paak, Emissary of Armadyl

Taw'Paak, an aviansie.

The aviansie (sometimes referred to as aviantese) are a race of humanoid avian creatures native to the world of Abbinah. Though the aviansie exist as one species, many different breeds exist throughout their lineage. Each breed exhibits unique traits, often similar to other bird species found throughout Gielinor, including but not limited to hawks, owls, phoenixes, and even unique, giant aviansie such as Kree'arra. Despite this apparent diversity, pointing out differences among the breeds is generally seen as rude[1].

The aviansie follow the god Armadyl, who united the warring aviansie tribes on Abbinah. It was Armadyl who brought the aviansie to Gielinor during the Second Age, establishing an empire atop the floating citadels, eventually leading them into the Gielinorian God Wars of the Third Age, a decision that later led to the race's near-extinction during Zamorak's destruction of Forinthry toward the end of the war. Only a fraction of the aviansie race present on Gielinor survived this tragedy and retreated back to Abbinah.

The aviansie race slowly repopulated over the coming millennia, and eventually, with the death of Guthix at the beginning of the Sixth Age, a handful of aviansie chose to return to Gielinor with Armadyl. Since their return, they have aided in the construction of the Divine Focus, aiding Armadyl in defeating his long term nemesis Bandos during The Bird and The Beast World Event.

General information and biology[]

Aviansie are humanoid avians. Though they all share the same general body structure, many different breeds and varieties exist, possibly due to centuries of adaptation to different islands and environments on Abbinah. All aviansie share several main traits: being humanoid, standing upright, two wings, talons on the hands and feet, a beak, tail feathers, as well as feather-covered bodies. Their plumage may also vary wildly in colour and size; for example Kree'arra has what is described as giant feathers.

Typically, aviansie tend to be about the same height as the average human though it has been speculated that aviansie are much lighter than humans due to hollow bones. Their lifespan is measurable to that of a human's;[2] however, exceptions like Kree'arra, who have lived for several centuries, also exist.[3]

Aviansie mainly eat insects and critters of various kinds, for example the Tobi'it, an insect native to Abbinah that is commonly used in delicacies. As farming is likely very difficult on Abbinah due to the scarce amounts of water available, aviansie have a limited selection of edible plants available to them, though it has been implied that the aviansie enjoy eating and cooking spicy food with what little fruits and vegetables are made available to them.[4][5]

Breeds[]

Aviansie head concept art

Concept art showing different breeds of aviansie.

Several different breeds of aviansie exist, of which only a few have currently been encountered. These different breeds originally belonged solely their respective historical tribe on Abbinah, before Armadyl united their species.

The aviansie found in the God Wars Dungeon (with the exception of Kree'arra) all appear to be of the same "military" type tribe, possessing hawk-like resemblances. It was also this breed of aviansie that mainly took part in the second World Event, where they fought alongside many human Armadyleans. The hawk variant also appears most commonly in the Rite of Passage concept art, possibly pointing to the possibility that it is also one of the more common breeds in existence at this moment in time.

Examples of other known breeds are the owl-like aviansie, such Taka'ra, the crane-like aviansie, such as Taw'Paak, and the dodo-like aviansie like Odd Billy. Several other breeds of aviansie have appeared in concept art, including some hybrid breeds, but they have yet to appear in-game. It is likely that some of these may be featured in the Rite of Passage quest, which takes place on their homeworld of Abbinah.

Religion[]

The aviansie have practised two major religions during their known history. Historically, prior to Armadyl's ascension to godhood, tribal aviansie believed in a spiritual pantheon, inhabiting certain aspects of their native world of Abbinah, such as the wind or the core. Following the unification of their species, Armadyleanism was established during their first few known decades of peace. It is unknown if any modern aviansie still follow the spiritual mythology, however there are known aviansie outcasts who resist unification that may still believe in the many spirits of Abbinah.

Modern Armadyleanism[]

Armadyl altar

An altar dedicated to Armadyl.

"We all - mortal and god alike - can share this world. But for us to work together, consensus and law are required."
 
— Armadyl [6]

The aviansie follow Armadyl, the god of justice. aviansie religion is therefore based on his values of peace, co-operation and justice. The aviansie strive for a world where different races can work and live together in peace. For this reason, there may appear to be an element of hypocrisy, for such a race to have supported their god in the Gielinorian God Wars as well as the Sixth Age battle against Bandos, both being events that ended in much bloodshed.

The aviansie and their leader instead argue the contrary. In order to achieve a world where races co-operate and justice is applied, those who desire and strive for a world that goes against these values need to be silenced. Aviansie won't start a battle unprovoked. This is exemplified by Kree'arra's actions during The World Wakes. In this quest he states that the player has not wronged him and refuses to fight. He only engaged the player in combat as a last resort, when all other options have been exhausted.

Many of the key points of aviansie religion can be found described in Armadyl's Book of Law. Within its pages are detailed the wedding and last rites of Armadyleans, blessings, and several guidelines called The Law of Armadyl that aviansie follow as part of their religion. This includes the motif that it is 'honourable to resist a fight', that one should not let their 'vision be clouded by evil' but instead 'Look up, for the truth cometh from the skies' as well as the advice to remember that 'Peace shall bring thee wisdom; Wisdom shall bring thee peace'. These guidelines are probably central to all aviansie conduct.

There are very few known holidays associated with Armadyleanism. Armadyl generally discourages religious holidays in his name; the only major holiday that the aviansie celebrate is the new year. This year celebration symbolises the aviansie having won over the harshness of their homeworld for another year. Armadyl himself also holds one day a year for quiet contemplation and remembrance.

Spiritual religion[]

Before Armadyl ascended to godhood, the aviansie believed in a set of spirits that were believed to govern over three different aspects. The three main aspects were the winds that swept over and between the islands, the rocks that the islands were made of, and finally the water that was found on the core of the world. There was also a chief spirit called Ba'tieru, who was head of the spiritual pantheon. He governed over the storms.

The aviansie also held a myth of creation related to this spiritual religion. The myth focused around the chief of Ba'Tieru; the spirit of the storms, his lover Do'Thari, a water spirit, and his lover's wife Mied, a spirit of the core. In the myth it is described how a fight between the different spirits created the shattered world of Abbinah.

History[]

Early Abbinaan history[]

The aviansie originate from the world of Abbinah, a planet with a shattered core and floating islands surrounding it. The world is relatively close to Gielinor, and is particularly close to Kethsi. Tribal societies were formed fairly early after the species' dawn and most likely happened prior to or during the First Gielinorian Age.

The formation of multiple tribes lead to widespread geographical isolation of pockets of aviansie across Abbinah, resulting in the emergence of the different breeds that are present throughout the species today due to particular environmental, social and dietary pressures on each tribe. Very little is known about the structure of these tribes, but it is believed that most tribes excelled particularly in one aspect, often leaving them vulnerable in another. It was originally believed this variation had resulted in the emergence of several different species, but after unification by Armadyl, it was found that a species barrier was not present.

Due to the limited resources available on Abbinah, especially the low supply of water, conflicts would often break out between the tribes. Additionally, they had to deal with natural competitors, such as the kasaran, who ate to'bit like the aviansie. It is unknown how long these conflicts lasted. Elder aviansie, a rarity, would undergo the Sha'va'taya, the "last journey", where they travelled to the edge of the island and stepped off.[7] Toward the end of the tribal conflicts, the young aviansie Armadyl ascended to godhood using a currently unknown Elder Artefact which he found on Abbinah. This would come to be the starting point of a major reorganisation of the aviansie society and religion, which had thus far been based on certain elemental spirits.

Reorganisation of the aviansie society[]

Armadyl, now a god, quickly gained a following among the aviansie, with the old Spiritual Mythology of the Abinaans quickly being discarded in favour of Armadyleanism. Armadyl used his newfound powers to negotiate with the different tribes, ending the wars after around a century of unification. During the campaign to unite the aviansie, Armadyl also explored new worlds, leading him to find Gielinor and the Staff of Armadyl. With this staff Armadyl grew considerably in divine power.

Armadyl also reorganised the aviansie society to make the tribes co-operate. The tribes of old were now ordered into a system of tiers, resulting in a caste-like system, where, though young aviansie are taught to become knowledgeable and experienced in all avenues of life, their tribal heritage often lends to them excelling in one particular field. As the various breeds have now merged together with the tribes, breed is not much of a factor on their field of expertise. The tribes that lived on the lowest flying islands now generally practise more pragmatic tasks, while those on the islands furthest from the planet's core took on more scholarly subjects. Though the race now worked together across the tribes and co-operation through peace, there still exists and air of jest or perhaps snobbery between some of the tribes.

Arrival at Gielinor[]

Approximately 5–600 years after the aviansie had united, Armadyl began the arduous process of a species-wide migration to Gielinor. This occurred during the Second Age, when many followers of different Gods were also arriving at Gielinor's borders. Armadyl chose to lead the aviansie to Gielinor on the promise that Gielinor offered much better living conditions for the aviansie than the chaos of Abbinah could. Even though Armadyl was probably aware of Zaros' presence and empire-building, he judged that his kind would have a better life on Gielinor. Armadyl used his power to create flying islands for the aviansie to use as homes in this new world. One of these islands became his own base of operations in this new frontier: the Empyrean Citadel.

Many, if not most or close to all of the aviansie left Abbinah during the Second Age. Most chose to follow Armadyl, to find a new home in Gielinor, where they didn't have to worry about the harsh storms, the difficulty in obtaining water, or the chaos of crashing islands that made their lives difficult on Abbinah. The aviansie believed that they had found a new place to roost and many floating islands started filling the sky. It is unknown what presence on the surface world the aviansie had.

During this time, Armadyl came to gain his first followers that were of non-aviansie origin. A handful of humans formed together to create the Guardians of Armadyl. It is unknown if any aviansie were ever part of this group, but it is not completely unlikely, as the Guardians were tasked with guarding the Elder Artefact that Armadyl had used to ascend, the Staff of Armadyl [8].

The God Wars and the slaughter[]

Little is known of Armadyl and his aviansie's involvement in the conflicts of the Second Age, and it is often assumed that the Armadyleans had managed to avoid the wars that unfolded as Zaros built and expanded his own empire. This peace, however, did not last. After Zamorak betrayed his master and ascended to Godhood himself, he began a course of events that pulled the aviansie into inevitable war.

Very little is known about the aviansie and Armadylean involvement in the God Wars. The aviansie most often formed alliances with Saradomin's forces, or begrudgingly those of Bandos when their interest aligned during conflicts if they didn't fight alone. It is probable that the aviansie and Armadyl tried to stay out of battle as much as possible, in part due to the beliefs of the Armadyleans. It's likely that the desire to stay out of lasting conflict was one of the reasons Armadyl helped forge the Godsword, a weapon said to be capable of killing gods.

The Godsword was a powerful weapon. The weapon was created in an alliance between Saradomin, Armadyl and Bandos, planned to defeat Zamorak. Due to a turn of events in the far north, in the mountain north of Trollheim, the plan failed. A group of aviansie, who had been transporting the sword, were attacked by the Zamorakian general K'ril Tsutsaroth and his forces. Forced to retreat, they hid in the nearby Temple of Lost Ancients and built up defences. Although the aviansie received reinforcements from the armies of Bandos, Armadyl and Saradomin, the battle kept raging in an eternal stalemate.[9] It is believed that during this time, the Godsword shattered into several pieces, and the battle now became a free-for-all for the powerful weapon. Each faction had constructed their own hilt for the Godsword in order to control the weapon's power.

War at Forinthry

Zamorak tearing apart Forinthry with the help of the Stone of Jas. An aviansie is depicted in the middle, worn out and caught in the blast.

While the battle raged in the temple, Zamorak fell upon a huge discovery that would come to finally end the war. He located the Stone of Jas, an incredibly powerful elder artefact. Using the stone's power he blasted the whole north-western part of the continent, what was then known as Forinthry, into pieces, creating what is today called the Wilderness.

The explosion instantly felled an innumerable amount of combatants, a particular number of which consisted of a huge majority of the aviansie race. Through one god's single act, the aviansie race had come close to extinction.

The aviansie choose a partner for life; therefore, the vast majority of mating pairs were broken with this act, with both male and female aviansie soldiers being killed in the explosion. Only a handful of aviansie survived, mainly those too young, too old or physically hindered to battle. These aviansie gathered what little they could and returned to their old homeworld, though the devastating loss experienced by breeding pairs would eventually result in little hope of re-population of the species. Even Zamorak was unaware of how close he had brought the aviansie extinction.[10]

Meanwhile, Guthix, who had awoken due to the massive damage that Zamorak had caused to the Anima Mundi, established his edicts, resulting in the immediate banishment of all gods from Gielinor. Guthix's actions also caused the Temple of Lost Ancients to freeze completely, including all the combatants contained within it. It is currently unknown if Armadyl had already left before this on his own or if he was also forced out from Gielinor.

After these events, Armadyl travelled the universe, mourning his aviansie, which he believed had become extinct. He would not come to return to Abbinah again until soon before the Fifth Age ended in Gielinor.

Recovery and Reunion[]

The aviansie slowly rebuilt their lives on Abbinah after the catastrophic event that had reduced their numbers a fraction of what it had been before. They continued following the instructions and orders that Armadyl had given them. Some believed that Armadyl had fallen, while others believed, correctly, that he was still out there, somewhere in the universe.

It wasn't until many thousands of years later that Armadyl finally returned to Abbinah. At this time, Taka'ra had been elected the aviansie's leader. The reunion between the aviansie population and their lord Armadyl was celebrated for no less than a whole year back at Abbinah.

It is likely that around this time Armadyl sent his chosen emissary, Taw'Paak, to Gielinor.

Return to Gielinor and victory over Bandos[]

A few years after his return to Abbinah, Armadyl returned to Gielinor, soon after Sliske had killed Guthix, destroying the edict barriers surrounding the world. On Gielinor, Armadyl made contact with his remaining followers, including the aviansie in the God Wars Dungeon. He informed them of his return and likely his plans for the new age.

Soon after his return, Armadyl received an invitation from Sliske to attend his "Grand Ascendancy" at his former Empyrean Citadel. Together with several other gods, Armadyl bore witness to Sliske's claim to be in possession of the Stone of Jas, and his demonstration that he had captured Death as well as the Dragonkin Strisath. Sliske then continued by claiming that whoever of the gods has killed the most other deities by the next solar eclipse would be gifted the Stone of Jas. Shortly after announcing the rules of his competition, he set Strisath free, resulting in Armadyl and most of the other gods fleeing.

Armadyl's Tower

Armadyl on his tower in the battle against Bandos.

Soon after the meeting, Armadyl and Bandos begun a six week long battle, with their caravans and followers fighting over an area covering the majority of Misthalin and Asgarnia. Each God constructed a tower just outside of Falador. On the top of each tower, besides the God themselves, also sat a powerful, potentially deadly, divine weapon, aimed at the opposite God. Bandos's weapon was called The Scarecrow, while Armadyl's was named the Divine Focus. The weapon was to be powered by Divine energy that the caravans of each God had gathered from wisps spread out over the lands.

The aviansie joined their God in the battle, and many human Armadyleans also chose to battle on Armadyl's side. A certain aviansie named Gee'ka, skilled in engineering, also created several large, magical golems that fought on Armadyl's side, both defending Armadyl's caravans as well as attacking Bandos's caravans.

After six weeks of battle, the Divine Focus was fully charged. Armadyl's army had managed to charge the weapon faster than that of Bandos. After firing the weapon, Bandos was hit directly by the blast and came to be the first victim of the new war between the gods. His tower was also blasted to ruins. As a message to Bandos's followers, Armadyl took Bandos's war mace, smashing the petrified head beneath his feet before leaving to return to Abbinah. He brought his aviansie with him, but left behind his tower and the Divine Focus.

Culture[]

Abbinah concept art

Concept art showing off a village in the aviansie homeworld Abbinah.

Aviansie culture is best described as tribal. Though the tribes today work together for the greater good, tribalism is still strongly influencing their ways of living. Certain tribes often inhabit certain islands or groups of islands, and an aviansie's future profession and life is much depending on from which tribe and breed that certain aviansie comes from. This is exemplified by the fact that in general the aviansie that live the furthest away from the core focus on more scholarly subjects, while those closer to the core focus more on the pragmatic and practical sides of life. In this sense, the aviansie society (and by extension, their culture) is still segregated.

The aviansie also follow certain tribal rites. Currently only one of these rites is known: the Rite of Passage, which marks the step into adulthood for all aviansie. To complete this rite and be viewed as an adult aviansie amongst their kind, they have to travel to the shattered core of Abbinah and fetch water, a task that may seem overly simple, but most certainly isn't, given the extreme conditions that are present on Abbinah. This rite will be central in the upcoming quest Rite of Passage.

Notable aviansie[]

  • Armadyl, an ascended aviansie, is now a reasonably powerful god. He values law, peace and justice. He took part in the first God Wars and defeated Bandos in the events of The Bird and the Beast.
  • Kree'Arra, a general of Armadyl. He fought in the first God Wars for Armadyl and lead parts of his army. He was one of the aviansie that was frozen in time at the end of the Third Age and that was not freed again until the end of the Fifth Age.
  • Taw'Paak, Armadyl's emissary. She was the first aviansie to return to Gielinor after Armadyl's reunion with his aviansie. She tries to recruit human adventurers to Armadyl's side.
  • Taka'ra, Armadyl's head warmage. He led the tribes for ten years before Armadyl's reunion with his aviansie and has an important role among them.
  • Gee'ka, a skilled engineer. During the battle against Bandos she constructed magical golems that fought for Armadyl.
  • Odd Billy, an ornithologist located on Cyclosis in the Arc, who enlists the help of humans in cataloguing bird species.

Quests and events that feature aviansie[]

This is a list of the known quests and major events in game that feature or will feature aviansie.

Trivia[]

  • The name comes from the word avian, meaning "bird".
  • Until the release of The Bird and the Beast, Taw'Paak, the emissary of Armadyl, was the only aviansie outside the God Wars Dungeon.
  • The Armadylean Head Warmage is distinct from other aviansie, as his appearance is based on a Great horned owl, while others seem to be similar in appearance. Taw'Paak's appearance, on the other hand, resembles a Black crowned crane. This suggests that there are different 'breeds' of aviansie.
  • The aviansie may be based on the Chozo race of people from the Metroid franchise of video games produced by Nintendo. Both are a race of bird-like people, near extinction, and have a very primitive and tribal aesthetic to them.

References[]

  1. ^ Mod Moltare. The Bird and the Beast FAQ. RuneScape Update FAQ Tumblr. 15 May 2014.*
  2. ^ Jagex. Mod Raven's Twitter account. 13 February 2015. Mod Raven: "They live about as long as a human (in good environment)."
  3. ^ Jagex. Mod Raven's Twitter account. 13 February 2015. Mod Raven: "To be fair, he is a special case. Most aviansie are nothing like him."
  4. ^ Mod Raven. "Around the Campfire Live Q&A." 14 April 2014. RuneScape Lore Discussion Forums.
  5. ^ Mod Raven. "Lore Q&A with Mods Osborne, Raven, Rowley, Stu, Ollie and Chaose." 12 February 2015. RuneScape Lore Discussion Forums.
  6. ^ Mod Crow. "Declare your allegiance!." 9 July 2013. Community Home Forums.
  7. ^ Mod Raven. "Lore Corner - Answers!." 17 January 2017. RuneScape Lore Discussion Forums.
  8. ^ Jagex. Postbag 15 - "Transcript:Property Law and Vampyres.", Letter 1, by Armacus. RuneScape Postbags from the Hedge.
  9. ^ Saint Zilyana, "Zilyana's Notes", RuneScape. "I'll give Kree his due. His forces have done well to establish a foothold in the Temple of Lost Ancients. The aviansie have established a camp in the southern part of the temple that they're calling Armadyl's Eyrie. K'ril is in the north. I've told my men to set up next to the eyrie, to help defend against K'ril's constant onslaughts."
  10. ^ Jagex. Mod Osborne's Twitter account. 6 October 2013. Mod Osborne: "Zamorak was unaware that he was wiping out a species - that was not his goal. Still, Armadyl would blame Zamorak."
Advertisement