Dig Site Lore Notes: Senntisten

Background

Senntisten was the capital city of the Zarosian empire. Senntisten sat east of Varrock and west of the current Mort Myre swamp. Senntisten was said often to be the jewel in the crown of the Zarosian empire. It was a hub for culture and organization of those loyal to Zaros himself. Persisting through the second age and being a hub in the Third Age God Wars, the city would ultimately fall.

Fast forwarding to the Fifth Age the player first got wind of an ancient city in The Dig Site quest. Senntisten itself wasn’t mentioned until Desert Treasure through the Ancient Magicks teleport to the Senntisten dig site. Throughout time we’ve gained more and more information about what the city stood for. First in The Temple at Senntisten where we unlock ancient curses by helping Azzanadra, otherwise known as Dr Nabanik, it’s by restoring the Temple at Senntisten that communication is restored with Zaros.

Much of Senntisten’s remains were unknown until the Sixth Age. We got our first glimpse into what Senntisten could be like with the Empty Throne Room accompanying the pre-release event for Children of Mah.

With Archaeology picking up steam in early 2020 the area once again became a hub when Zaros raised the mysterious monolith. Just what this was remained shrouded in mystery for a long time, until the release of Raksha.

The Elder God Wars kicked off with Azzanadra’s Quest and Battle of the Monolith which spurred our characters to lead an excavation into the City of Senntisten itself in the aptly named quest. The site manager is Jimmy but it’s effectively your own character since you outrank Jimmy. This dig site was referred to as a mini dig site because it only spans levels 60-67, however, it feels fully fledged.

Research: The Hidden Chamber (lvl 60)

• Study a bookcase in the Cathedral to unlock.
• Field Study: There is a hidden part of the Cathedral connected to the statues and the Shadow Realm. If we can uncover the secret, imagine what we could discover.
• Report: We uncovered what appears to be a secret laboratory dedicated to studying the Monolith. What was Zaros doing here?

Research: Prime Real Estate (lvl 63)

• Study the market stall outside the colosseum gateway.
• Field study: The markets of Senntisten are a mystery to us. Was their trade system as carefully organized as their political structure?
• Report: The markets of Senntisten were carefully licensed with various tiers of status that granted access to more lucrative contracts and desirable tax breaks.

Research: Complete the Pattern, Solve the Puzzle (lvl 63)

• Study the table east of the house where Naressa is located.
• Field study: This ancient puzzle box is surprisingly well preserved. It sounds as if there is something inside it.
• Report: It took some time to unlock the secrets of the puzzle box. That is, the researches smashed it against a rock in a bit of frustration. Inside, there was a well-preserved letter.
• Progresses the Empty Children mystery.

Research: Are You Not Entertained? (lvl 66)

• Study Glacor bones found in the Colosseum
• Field study: The Colosseum was once the central entertainment hub of the Empire. What games did they play here?
• Report: The Colosseum was home to brutal gladiatorial battles and magnificent demon-drawn chariot races. It would have been a crowded building in its heyday.

Site wide mystery: Empty Children (lvl 66)

• Unlocks with 63 Archaeology but requires 66 Archaeology to complete. Pages excavated from Marketplace debris, Gladiator’s remains, and while solving the mystery.
• The Empty Children are real and hungry. There are fears of what must be outside.
• Despite Senntisten being held up as the crown jewel of the empire there were still beings outside at night that made it less than paradise for ordinary residents.
• Two of the pages of this mystery are found in Senntisten. The first east of Naressa’s house and the second near the blood bank.
• Who are the Empty Children?

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Research: Crossing that Bridge (lvl 67)

• Study the scaffolding north of Jimmy. Must complete Inquisitor’s Memoirs (page 5)
• Field study: North of the plaza lies the crumbling ruins of a magnificent bridge. With some work, we could make it more accessible.
• Report: With some carefully placed scaffolding, we can now access the magnificent view of the bridge over the Senntisten waterways.

Site wide mystery: Night Theatre (lvl 67)

• Unlocks with 67 Archaeology. Pages excavated from Cathedral debris, Inquisitor’s remains, Marketplace debris, and Citizen remains
• “A Midwinter Night’s Tomfoolery” - The play - performed as ever by the Guild Actors of Senntisten - rather live up to the group’s acronym, which is to say rather a lot of hot GAS. (read rest of page 1)
• In “A Critic’s Review 3” we learn that GAS is no more. The Praetorians sought out the Guild Actors of Senntisten and they are no more. More on the Praetorians in our next mystery.
• The next play was directed by Praefectus Praetorio otherwise known as Sliske! In the “Whispering King” Sliske puts on a play with masks designed to look human and the actors wound up killing each other by the end of the play. 2 stars.
• Amendment on the “Whispering King” the reviewer felt he was too harsh and now calls it a “veritable work of art”. To see the true artistry you must read between the lines. The actors don’t matter and are “mere mouths” for the author.
• They lived as nobodies but now their lives conclude in theatrical perfection. Read last 2 paragraphs of last page.

Site wide mystery: Secrets of the Inquisition (lvl 67)

• A 9 page mystery. Pages found from Ministry remains, Cathedral debris, Inquisitor remains, while completing the mystery, and Citizen remains.
• Inquisition confirmed as the secret police of the Zarosian empire. Their duty: walk the empire in secret to uncover and remove heretics and blasphemers with a focus on protecting the faith. The police were so secret even they did not know about one another until sometimes it was too late. “Sometimes the only solution is to excise the diseased flesh, amputating the corruption to save the whole”
• The Praetorians’ interests lay elsewhere… (From page 6): The Praetorians are masters of secrets and only a handful are known, they are well hidden and guarded even in the Shadow Realm. All but one - Sliske. Sliske was different from the other Praetorians in that he could not keep secrets and ultimately, “Sliske’s masks were more brilliant than [the Inquisition] was lead to believe.”
• Zaros leaving was initially considered a rumour and with that a great betrayal to think he’d leave would be blasphemous. The Inquisition sought out the source of the rumour in the crowds at the colosseum. There was even the question that perhaps a more powerful entity may have killed Zaros since it was ages since he was seen, could it  have been “a terrible, wicked blasphemer by the name of Guthix?”
• The statues across the city were the eyes of the Inquisition.
• To find page 5 you must activate 4 statues, each with one of the elemental funerary urns. After this use the drawers in the Inquisition office typing out the names: TOBED, WORVIM, ZADOK, and YOKAI.
• It is then implied in page 5 that the statues in the cathedral can speak to members of the Inquisition. Perhaps they are a pathway to the shadow realm?
• Aurelius discussed the whispering of the statues with Kolton and moved into the Shadow Realm overlooking the bridge. The whispering voices warned of absent gods, vague prophecies of the Praetorian’s crimes, and dark and sinister experiments beneath the city -- something that could threaten even Zaros himself.
• Aurelius and Kolton decide to do their job and devise a way to stop those experiments.
• Aurelius and Kolton followed Sliske from the shadow realm! They observed what we did, his demeanour flips from jovial trickster that could entertain children to a ruthless sadist.
• They then saw Sliske enter the Shadow Realm but his pew had a single word scrawled on it: Vos.
• As they went deeper into the Shadow Realm there was no sign of Sliske nor the Praetorians. The four statues, initially silent, now had a vitality to them. This page of the mystery tells us as the player what to say to the statues to enter the shadow realm: The mask speaks: Astra inclinant, sed non obligant and we respond: Vincit qui se vincit and for the second: Sic semper tyrannis and we respond: Oderint dum metuant.
• When we make our way deep into the Shadow Realm we find Aurelius.
• The monolith closed surrounded by a swirling vortex emanating a whispering  voice that dazzled. The ability to promise everything Aurelius wanted, the evidence needed to convict Sliske, the chance for Aurelius to get his family back, everything for one touch. Aurelius did not give into the temptation because he was an Inquisitor.
• When asked, “what are you?” It simply replied Vos.
• Zaros intervened, the monolith closed tight but the difference between closed and open was imperceptible.
• This was a very very sacred space belonging only to Zaros.
• Following this trespassing Zaros began to limit the power and reach of the Inquisition. No more statues and the duties were restricted. The Praetorians filled in.
• Kolton was sacrificed for the Mahjarrat ritual and Aurelius was stripped of his Inquisition title.
• Aurelius keeps hearing the whispering voice urging him to find it but now there’s no god to stop him from doing so.

Feature: Stained glass windows

• Located in the Cathedral, one in each of its four corners.
• Initially shattered, each one is repaired with 100 ancient glass shards (obtained randomly while excavating)
• One for each of the ancient elements: blood, ice, shadow, smoke.
• Blood window: "Depicting 'the Nobility of Blood', a reference to the vampyre race and their place in Senntisten."
• Ice window: "Depicting 'the Indomitability of Ice'. The window seems to depict a large glacor."
• Shadow window: "Depicting 'the Power of Shadow'. A parable warning about the dangers of creatures from the shadow realm."
• Smoke window: "Depicts 'the Relentlessness of Smoke'. Seems to represent some sort of smoke demon."

Isaac Asimov - Foundation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29579.Foundation

Through the Ages: https://store.steampowered.com/app/758370/Through_the_Ages/

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Show Data

• Episode Title: The Mask of Senntisten
• Teaser: The Lore Diggers reunite to pull back the layers of Senntisten. We go from utopia to the excess of empire with Empty Children, theatrical reviews, and the secrets of the Inquisition. This all leads us to ask: where are they now and what is Vos?
• Recorded Date: September 5, 2021
• Release Date: September 17, 2021
• Hosts: Shane, Tanis, Cireon, and Questcaping
• Duration: 1:51:31
• Editing Notes: Add Patreon spot