Chapter 6 – DIMENSION FUSION DESTRUCTION (HOLY TRINITY)

So. Xau-Tak. One of the most enigmatic entities in the entire lore of Runescape, and a personal point of fascination for me in particular - I adore the cosmic horror theming around this deity, and every new piece of lore just makes things more complex and exciting. I'm making this post to outline a theory I've formed about Xau-Tak, to see if it lines up with what other people have figured out, and because I'm an obsessive nerd. Spoiler warning for several quests including Kindred Spirits and Pieces of Hate below.

What we know about Xau-Tak
Definitely a god, though of uncertain tiering - when asked, Mod Jack joked that its godhood tier was √-1

Associated with oceans, undeath and manipulation - V described the worlds left in its wake as "corpse oceans", its notable areas of influence are primarily in the Eastern seas, its primary recurring motif is countless hands and the 'kitten' makes reference to the metaphorical pulling of strings, a la puppeteering. Additionally, the undead created with Xau-Tak's power not only retain their consciousness and self-awareness entirely, unlike basically other zombies found in the world, but some, in particular Rabid Jack, blur the line between Life and Death entirely, becoming seemingly incapable of death.

Has displayed a very strange relationship with time and fate - Xau-Tak left a message it knew you would read, calling you by name, in a journal recorded in the Second Age from the words of a mad sailor, for seemingly no reason other than to screw with you, indicating either incredible precognition, direct manipulation of fate (pulling all the right strings to have such an impossible event occur), or a nonlinear view of time

Appears to be made of stone, as happens when any other god dies and its anima bleeds away

Bypasses the Edicts of Guthix as it partially manifests through the portal in Ulthven Kreath, at an indicated size unmatched by any other deity save Guthix and Mah (judging by its arm)

Worshipped by the Cave Horrors, who wear masks of its signature black stone, and worship Xau-Tak under the alias Tezcasathla - their other deities are named in reference to Hastur (Uvhastur), Yog-Sothoth (Yogsathla), and Nyarlathotep and Hydra (Nyarlahydra), all famous beings from the Cthulhu Mythos. Yogsathla and Tezcasathla are also named in reference to Ubbo-Sathla from the same. I's unclear where the prior part of Tezcasaltha originates from, but it's reminiscent of Mesoamerican names, which are used for various deities in some portion of the Mythos.

Its presence causes madness and hallucinations, again linking to the Cthulhu Mythos

In the most recent devblog it was stated that there are planned to be three elite dungeons, all with connected stories - the first presents the great spirit dragon Seiryu struggling with a strange corruption, which takes the form of great black stony spikes jutting from its spine and scales; the second is related to elder gods in some capacity, but not the Elder Gods of Gielinor; and the third has extra lore content for players who've completed Pieces of Hate, all but outright confirming a connection to Xau-Tak

Took the people that became the horrors of Mos Le'Harmless from their home plane of Jermyn/Bobonosia after it was conquered by "an invader from another world and the accursed monkeys who gather beneath his banner. A great beast of tusk and fury, armed with a great horn turns the very jungle itself against us." Can't say for sure who this god is or was, but it used the Elder Horn.

This journal indicates that Tezcasathla - the real Tezcasathla - was the creator-god of the mwanu, the race that became the horrors, but sounds nothing like what we know of Xau-Tak, possibly implying Xau-Tak impersonated Tezcasathla to steal the mwanu away

What I've put together from the above (headcanon, not a statement of fact)
Considering the above information, the primary conclusion I've come to is that Xau-Tak may in fact be an Elder God - but an impossible elder god; one that died in a prior cycle, but came back somehow.

As has been stated before, gods don't get an afterlife. Their anima bleeds out into the world, and they turn to stone. (I have a theory that this is because, since all godhood is derived from the power of the Elder Gods, godhood intrinsically links gods to the life cycle of the Elder Gods, thus releasing their anima in such a way that would contribute to the EGs' anima consumption.)

So Xau-Tak, following this conclusion I've leapt to, is an impossibility, a break in the system, an abomination unto reality as a whole. Either the entity that was Xau-Tak in life somehow persisted after death, or Something Else somehow took Xau-Tak's body and power. Personally I'm not sure which option I like less.

The final piece of this theory comes from something Zaros said - that there are six Elder Gods, five of form and one of "something else", but we've only ever seen the five-of-form. Jas, Ful, Bik, Wen and Mah.

And now Tak.

Which, I would also like to note, would theoretically also be a horror reference, as Tak was the name of an extradimensional entity in Stephen King's Desperation capable of possession.

So yeah, that's my theory. I fully expect a bunch of this to be falsified in the coming months/years now that we've got a good amount of Xau-Tak lore rolling out, but hey, I had fun spitballing.