Tumeken

**Tumeken**
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**Tumeken** (pronounced *TU-muh-ken*), sometimes referred to in Menaphite texts as the **Lord of Light** and the **God of the Sun**, is the god of light, the husband of Elidinis, the father of Icthlarin and Amascut, one of the four major gods of the Menaphite Pantheon and co-founder of Kharidian. He is also responsible for using a piece of his essence to create the four minor gods of the pantheon, Het, Crondis, Apmeken, and Scabaras. Because of this, Tumeken is directly or indirectly responsible for creating a majority of the desert pantheon and can be seen as its leader, though he has not been active since the Second Age.

## History

As the creator of much of the desert gods, Tumeken has been heavily mythologized by the Menaphites, making finding accurate statements regarding his character or history difficult. As he was mostly a regional god who did not interact much with surrounding territories and disappeared early in the Second Age, there is little to no information about him in other countries. A popular tale that is available about the god is Tumeken's dream, a Menaphite legend about the creation of the lesser gods, though the accuracy of the tale is dubious. Reldo, the scholar who translated the text suggests the tale exists to pass on Menaphosian beliefs rather than being an historic document.

### Second Age

Tumeken arrived early on Gielinor in the Second age, like many other gods during that time after the god Guthix had gone to sleep. Little is known about Tumeken's arrival but he would claim the area known as Kharidian for himself and the humans living there as his subjects. These humans were the ancestors of the modern Menaphites. The Kharidian Lands at the time were a vast area, stretching from Al Kharid in the north what would later become Sophanem in the south, had lush areas of forest, and was rich in resources. Little is known from this time, however according to legend he would meet the goddess Elidinis along the River Elid and took her for his wife, and Icthlarin and Amascut were sired from their union. This was the creation of the four major gods of Kharidian, and they have shaped its density and the world beyond since. Like many other gods at the time, the family established an empire, though its size and wealth was greater than most.

Tumeken was also responsible for the creation of the minor gods of the desert. It is unknown why he did this. Tumeken's dream suggests they were created upon witnessing the failings of his children, suggesting that they were created after the war with Zaros, but other evidence implies that they were created before as they were well established by the time of Queen Senliten. Likewise, Tumeken's sacrifice would make it impossible to create any later deities. However, according to legends, Tumeken entered a deep sleep and dreamed. Every day for four days he would visit a section of his lands and at the end of each day he would create one of four avatars of his essence: Het, Apmeken, Crondis, and Scabaras. These four would form the lesser gods of the Pantheon and each was given a duty by Tumeken to help Menaphite society.

Tumeken's role in the Kharidian-Zarosian War is unknown but he played a key role in its end. After the schism of the Mahjarrat, with a majority siding with Zaros and Zarosian reinforcements reversed the tide of the war and pushed the few loyalist Mahjarrat Menaphite forces south. Right when the Menaphite force were going to stage a last stand, Tumeken appeared and created a large magical blast of fire, killing hundreds of Mahjarrat and annihilating the forces on both sides, forcing the Zarosians to retreat. His fate after this is unknown, and while Kharshai believes him to have perished in the blast, his son Icthlarin merely believes him to be sleeping.{{#vardefine:refcontent|Jagex. Mod Jack's Twitter account. 17 March 2014. Mod Jack: "That's what Kharshai believes he saw, but Icthlarin claims he is only sleeping. Who do you believe?" }}

### Later Ages

The loss of the Tumeken was a great blow to both to Menaphite civilization and the Pantheon that he had created. With his absence it seems that Icthlarin and Elidinis took on the position of leader of the desert pantheon. Amascut's warping would cause great trouble for both. Thanks to the great desert now separating Kharidian and Zarosian's empires, there was never again an invasion of the same scale magnitude of the first war, though tension still existed between the two by the time of Queen Senliten. The Menaphites readily adapted to their new environment and the cities of Uzer and Ullek became Kharidian's greatest cities.

During the Gielinorian God Wars the desert held out relatively unaffected for three millennia as many battles to the north of the continent drove mass amounts off refugees south. There is evidence that during this period Elidinis made an alliance with Saradomin, who created a massive front north of the desert that lasted for centuries. However, this front would eventually fall when Zamorak launched a massive invasion called the Kharidian Desert Campaign that would lead to the destruction of first Uzer and then Ullek. Fighting between Saradominst and Zamorkian armies would devastate Kharidian even more than Tumeken's sacrifice had. With the destruction of the continent Forinthry to the north by Zamorak, Guthix awoke and banished every god of sufficient power from Gielinor. Elidinis was affected by this and was forced to leave, though her children Icthlarin and Amascut could stay due to their lack of power. Due to similar circumstances, Het, Crondis, Apmeken, and Scabaras were also allowed to stay.

After the God Wars, the surviving Menaphites built a number of settlements that had once been battlefields. Icthlarin had become more involved with the affairs of the underworld, to the point that he no longer visits the surface. Amascut, taking advantage of her brother's absence, proceeded to undermine the lesser gods of the Pantheon, stealing Apmeken's sight, hearing, and voice, creating monsters from each. She is also suspected to have played a role in the banishment of Scabaras. The culmination of her plot was the theft of the Kharid-ib, a jewel suspected to have a connection with Tumeken himself. Her motives for stealing the jewel are unknown.

## Current State

There are contrary statements to Tumeken's current state. It is unknown if he is dead or alive in a currently incapacitated state. Kharshai's memory of the end of the Kharidian-Zarosian War implies that Tumeken sacrificed himself in a blast to destroy the invading army and create a barrier between Kharidian and Forinthry. Tumeken's words during the memory imply as such, saying that Menaphites join him in making the "ultimate sacrifice," which signifies that he died.

However Icthlarin and several sources from Jagex suggest that he is currently sleeping. It has been suggested that he slept to avoid the Edicts of Guthix. However it may be that Tumeken is instead in a state of near death or hibernation since the Second Age, which would explain why he has not been heard of outside of that time period. The Kharid-ib loosely translates to The Heart of the Sun. Whether the phase means that the jewel is Tumeken's heart, or it shares a more symbolic connection with the god is unknown.

## Trivia

* Tumeken is based on the Egyptian god Ra, who was god of the sun. He is described by Senliten as "The sun that gives life and punishes".

## References

1. ↑ {{#var:refcontent}}
2. ↑ Kharshai, Kharshai's memory, *RuneScape*. "[Tumeken] cursed our treachery, then sorrowfully told the Menaphites that he needed them to join him in making the ultimate sacrifice for their homes and families. Then he raised his arms to the sky, and the light from his body grew brighter until nothing could be seen, and then his body exploded into fire and I passed out. When I awakened, the battlefield was a smoking, smouldering mess. Heaps of ash lay all over the battlefield."
3. ↑ {{#var:refcontent}}