In this month we’ve finally obtained the last chapter of the Effigy Incubator. For this reason, this issue of Forgotten Lore will contain a recap on the Ilujanka lore. Of course, this issue will contain some spoilers about the Effigy Incubator, so if you want to avoid spoilers, I’d advise you to return to this article later.

The Ilujanka originally lived their lives as farmers on their homeworld, Iaia. Here they used their bonding abilities to share their minds with the Gurhs. This bond allowed them to make a deal with the large creatures: The Ilujanka would tend to the Gurhs’ eggs and find food for them, and in return the Gurhs would plough the Ilunjanka’s fields. Life was good for the Ilujanka, until something occurred that made them infertile. This “something” is still unknown to us as even Vincendithas has no answer to that question. He does, however, think that this something caused the Ilujanka to become inefficient at absorbing anima, thus resulting in their infertility.

Eventually the tribes declined until only one remained. At this moment the god Zaros appeared to them: He offered them a cure for their services in return. As any dying race would, most of them would accept the prospect for their salvation. Zaros, however, did not grant them their wish. He told the Ilujanka that he needed to win a war first, and if he won the war then he could become an Elder God and save them and therefore Zaros required their aid in battle. On Gielinor the Ilujanka had the ability to bond with dragons. They used this bond to command their dragons in battle, thus becoming the Dragon Riders. It didn’t take long until the Dragon Riders became legendary amongst their allies and feared amongst their enemies. The war, however, turned out to be taxing and eventually only five Ilujanka remained. At this point the remaining five turned to Zamorak who promised to give them what Zaros could not, and in return he only asked for two bodyguards.

Of course, Zamorak’s attempt to overthrow Zaros did not go well for the last remaining Dragon Riders: Zarosian ripper demons killed Balustan and Ablenkian, Apropos fell to the Vyres, and Morvannon was chased by the Twin Furies and fell to their armies. Hannibus and his trusty old dragon friend, Shakorexis (King Black Dragon), fled to the cave now known as the King Black Dragon’s Lair. Zamorak branded him as a traitor, and when Enakhra eventually found them she turned Hannibus into stone. Before Enakhra was able to deliver the now petrified Hannibus to Zamorak, Robert the Strong was able to save him. Sadly though, all his attempts to free Hannibus failed. Thus, Hannibus remained a statue until the World Guardian saved him later during the Sixth age.

Hannibus wished to return to his home world to remain there with the last of his kind, but Kerapac had a different idea. He shot down Hannibus with his newly obtained white dragon, who called Therragorn. Whilst the white dragon travelled back to Iaia without Hannibus, Kerapac offered Hannibus a cure. Eventually the white dragon returned with Sharrigan, a descendant of Hannibus, who told him about the fast decline of the remaining tribe. Hannibus now had a choice to make: Would he return to the tribe to wait out the last of their days, or would he give Kerapac a chance to find a cure?

In the end the decision was irrelevant, because Kerapac was stubborn and made a cure anyways. The cure Kerapac gave them was promising, as some Ilujanka became able to bear children. The cure, however, was incomplete and sadly other matters became more important to Kerapac, so he shelved the Ilujankan project in a similar way to how “Penguins in Space” was shelved by Jagex. [Totally not passionate about that one 😉 ].

After the small matter that is Desperate Measures, Kerapac got himself bound by Jas and thus was no longer able to help the Ilujanka. Thankfully there was Vincendithas, Kerapac’s clone son, to take over the project. He found out that Iaia’s anima had changed over time and therefore believed this contributed to the Ilujankan race’s infertility. In his first attempt for a cure, one of the three volunteers, Etruya, passed away. Thanks to her sacrifice he was able to come up with a new formula, and for the first time in a thousand years Ilujankan eggs were laid. For now, it’s a matter of waiting for them to hatch to find out if Vincendithas was successful or not. But the bigger question may be: “What caused the anima in Iaia to change, and will it eventually affect other worlds as well?”. These, however, are questions for another time.

There is, however, one part of the Ilujanka’s story we’re still missing. When Morvannon died, she left behind her dragon Gorvek. Unbeknownst to anyone, Morvannon was miraculously with child. Gorvek placed the egg under his care and raised the Ilujankan child whom he named Vindicta. Vindicta became a Zarosian Dragon Rider, and she sought revenge for her mother’s death by the hands of the Twin Furies. She became a general in the Zarosian ranks and commanded her armies in the Heart. It was only later when she met Hannibus that she discovered she was his daughter. They travelled back to Iaia for some Father-Daughter bonding, but all she knew was war and battle. The old farming life was not for her, but she did manage to inspire other Ilujanka to travel to Gielinor. A short time before Vincendithas finished the cure, Zaros ordered Vindicta to retreat from the Heart as it was no longer relevant to his plans.

This is where the current story of the Ilunjanka ends. There are still plenty of questions left unanswered and even more mysteries left to unfold. For now there’s hope for the Ilujanka’s future, but will it all matter with the Elder God Wars starting? We can only wait to see and find out what with the incoming Elder God Wars front release. Who knows, maybe Vindicta will make an appearance there as well.