Stoneheart

Stoneheart is a notorious monster and one of the most feared rulers of all time.

Appearance
Stoneheart has a grotesque appearance. He has a muscular torso and wings all made of stone.

History
Long ago in Gielinor, there were no kings. Guthix had made sure that no one controlled anybody. Short to say, all were independent. But the people constantly faced problems and desperately needed someone to guide them. Therefore, a group of people decided to choose their leader. At that time, no one knew anything about kingship. So it was decided that the most experienced person in Gielinor would choose the leader. The person was none other than Ryphus, the first man to come to Gielinor. Being the most senior, the old man called for a gathering of the volunteers. Many had participated. The volunteers were the richest of the peasants. They were the ones to start the class called nobles in the future. One of them was a merchant named Gideon.

Gideon was born to normal parents. He was interested in business at a very young age. He was very talented in business. But he wasn't a normal guy. He was always somber. Nothing seemed to matter to him, whether it was profit or loss. He only seemed to enjoy when something wrong happened. He didn't have any friends. No one tried to speak to him or to joke with him. Not even his parents. They were all afraid.

His parents sought many doctors to cure him, but no one was successful. One day, Gideon left home with all the things he had earned. His parents tried searching for him but soon gave up. They all thought Gideon to be devil's child. They were only relieved that he was gone.

Gideon had grown his life in solitude, in a house he had bought with his earnings. But he cared the least. He was busy earning more and training to become king. So that he could teach the people the joy of being evil.

Now, Gideon and the others were asked to compete with each other in skill. They competed in sword fighting, magics and much more. Ultimately, Gideon emerged as the winner and the first king of Gielinor.

Upon kingship, Gideon divided the realm into four parts- Drywyre in the north, Littenburgh in the south, Gracia in the west and Zeano in the east. But he never made any reforms. He only promoted evil and violence. The people were too afraid to question him.

Once, they decided to ask the help of a great mage called Teresa. The old woman was an expert in magic. When the people told her their problem, the good witch offered to help. She bravely marched up to the king's palace and confronted King Gideon. She was brave enough to advice him and ask him to stop his tyranny. But the solemn king remained silent and quietly ordered his man to execute her. Losing all her composure, the hag cursed Gideon, turning him into a stone gargoyle. However, the king didn't seem surprised. In fact, he was probably more happy being this way. He watched quietly as the guards took the old lady to her doom.

Gideon the gargoyle gave up his crown, one day. He was tired of being noble. The people were relieved thinking the problem was over. Too bad for them, it was just the beginning of doom...

Gideon changed his name to Stoneheart and set about creating the magic of turning people to stone. Throughout the next years, Stoneheart created havoc among the people of Gielinor. He used to terrorize people and only stopped his merciless acts on them if they became a Gargoyle. Even in the slightest refusal, he found a uncanny pleasure in forcing them to become the grotesque beasts himself. All the imperials and fellow peasants came to fear the insane monster; they knew that Stoneheart had a gigantic army set out to raze the whole of Gielinor and that the Gargoyles would rule the wasteland that their beloved realm will become. All the kings lost hope of even attempting to kill the horrible freak.

But at least one person knew that all hopes were not lost. His name was Nigel and he was just a chef in the palace of Duke Norman in Littenburgh at that time. But he had trained sincerely in chivalry by his father, a respectful knight in Gracia and had fought many battles and won them all. After his father's death, Nigel had his skills behind and pursue his interest in cooking. But the time had come for him to return the battlefield one last time. Nigel stood against the monster's orders and challenged him to a battle on the third day of Verdala (a festival that first took place after the Battle of Ardougne and was celebrated on that date ever since. It consisted of three days- the first to cherish, second to party, third to be prepared for war).The kings warned him that the battle will be catastrophic, but Nigel was busy preparing for the war. One day, when he was practicing, he encountered an old hag. The hag gave him an orb which throbbed green and explained to him that it was the Eye of Unio (Unio was a famous philosopher at that time, who dedicated his entire life studying The Runes and creating artifacts). She then told him to use it when the time came. When the day of the war finally came, Nigel was charged with the responsibility of protecting all the people of Gielinor. The war began. Everyone, including the peasants and kings, fought alongside Nigel. Stoneheart fought valiantly; people were either turned to his side or crushed without mercy. The side of Nigel were losing bitterly. Things became horribly critical when the forces of Nigel died in battle. He became the last man standing.

Anger and bitterness churned inside Nigel and he finally used the Eye. A searing light shot forward and turned all the Gargoyles to dust. Stoneheart was the most pitiful of them all, as he became trapped in a cocoon of blinding light and vanished underground. Nigel became the sole survivor of the war.

As the only man on Gielinor, Nigel lamented his decision and spent the rest of his days building artefacts like the owner of the Eye. He thought everything was over. One morning he met a young woman named Helen, from another realm. She explained to him that a hag had ordered her to arrive to Gielinor as a means of new hope. She hadn't understood any of that but she wanted adventure and arrived to Nigel's home planet. Nigel then understood that the old hag was responsible for everything. He wondered whether she had died in the war. Suddenly, the duo both heard the voice of the hag, claiming to be the spirit of Teresa, and that she was responsible for the events that happened. She then went on to explain that it was her plan to unite Nigel and Helen to give a second chance to humanity.

Nigel and Helen married and had four children, who journeyed to all the corners of Gielinor to lead a new life.

The Terrific Three
Stoneheart breaks from his eternal torture and rises again with a whole new legion. Teresa's spirit bring three heroes called Philip (the Son of Arrav), Ryphus(the Prince of Realms)and Essar(the creation of Saradomin) together to fight against Stoneheart and to destroy him once and for all. Stoneheart ultimately dies when The Three cut him into three pieces.

Trivia

 * Stoneheart can turn anything to stone just by looking at it.
 * He is the only gargoyle immune to poison.