Four Diamonds Translation

  "This is a rough translation of the stone tablet brought to me by courier earlier today.

  The cuneiforms of this particular tablet are far different to anything I have previously seen in my career as an archaeological expert.

  Where possible I have given as accurate a translation as possible, but some of the words I have attempted to translate hold different meanings depending upon their intonation and context; Due to my unfamiliarity with this language, I have given possible translations for these words wherever I have encountered them. Wherever I have a word in brackets, it is a word which has many meanings depending on the context, although the general meaning should be clear to even a casual study.

  Hopefully this translation will help you in your excavations Asgarnia, and as usual I look forward to seeing what relics you bring back to the Museum of Varrock this time! Your friend, as always, Terry Balando

  Translation follows:

  (There are some missing sentence fragments here, presumably from a stone tablet preceding this one which you have not yet discovered)

  ...the permanent (exile/journey) of the people ended. And so it came to pass, that deep in the (fiery/uncomfortable) desert, the gods (argued/decided) amongst themselves that the (fortress/home) would be the (selected/chosen) place that would (imprison/conceal) the (wealth/power). Thus (guarded/protected) by the (unusually archaic word here, I believe it means either the sick or the dead depending on context) and (defended/trapped) by the (diamonds/crystals) of (this word is untranslatable). So it was that the gods left the four (diamonds/crystals) as the (key/secret). (Guarded/Protected) by the (again, this word has no modern equivalent) and held by the (worthy/strong) so that the (wealth/power) might forever be (imprisoned/concealed).

  There seems to be some further missing information continued onto a further tablet, but from this preliminary translation I think you may be onto something very big indeed!"

  Reflections
  This is the translation I received of a stone tablet found out in the Kharidian desert. It speaks of an ancient temple inside one of the great pyramids. It's a commonly visited by mages who seek to take part of the so called "ancient magicks." What interests me is the piece of the tablet that speaks of the gods arguing or trying to come to a decision together.

  First of all, it should be noted that the powers within this temple are the dark magicks of Zaros. Now, they may have been locked up in the pyramid after he had gone into hiding. Regardless, several gods were apparently involved in this. If I'm correct in my assumption that this was after Zaros had disappeared, then it may very well be so that there were several different gods involved in his disappearance. And this spawns a lot of interesting thoughts. . .

  Was Zaros actually so powerful that it took the might of several gods to bring him down? In that case, it is fully understandable that Zamorak appears to wish for him to remain gone. If Zaros woke up, what would happen in a war between two powerful chaos gods? In the very least, it would be interesting, and maybe even useful. Zaros has been brought down once, he can be brought down again. And Zamorak has power, power I would love seeing stripped away from him. Yes, wonderful thoughts indeed.

  A second question regards the very location of this temple--the Kharidian desert. It has been made very clear by the people who live there that they have their own gods. If you read my notes on Goblin History, you will see that I have come to believe that the God Wars were bigger than some might think. This temple could prove, or at least hint, that this war included even the gods of the desert. The Kharidian desert is, by some, called the cradle of humanity. This brings me to a daring thought; is the Book of Nod incorrect on these details? Or is it perhaps just the translation that is wrong? Was the Cage of Gods located in the desert, and were the gods responsible for this experiment not at all those who are worshipped in the lands of Misthalin, Asgarnia, and Kandarin? Hmm. . .

  When our Dark Father is portrayed, it is often a man with long black hair, a big black beard, and a sand brown tan--obviously he should be rather pale, but it's the thought that counts. So, is the Kharidian Desert our true origin? And does this mean that it is in fact the Followers of Set who finally laid claim of our homelands? In that case, I might have been wrong. Maybe Set is as powerful as his followers claim, and maybe it's not an all that good idea to let them keep at it with their research. Something definitely has to be done about this. He was apparently slain in the Third Age, but maybe just put into a very deep torpor? This has to be investigated and if my suspicions have any value what so ever, something has to be done.

  (The quoted text and images can be found in a book in RuneScape, registered trademark by Jagex Ltd.)