Zaros

Zaros, also known as the Stranger from Afar and the Empty Lord, is the ancient and now largely forgotten god of darkness.

During the Second Age, Zaros reigned over one of the greatest empires Gielinor has even known, extending across the lands now called Misthalin, Asgarnia, the Wilderness (formerly Forinthry), and northern Morytania. Among his followers were the demons, vampyres, Mahjarrat, dragon riders, sirens, and some humans.^[1] At the time, Zaros was by a significant margin the most powerful of all of the gods, except for Guthix.

His golden age ended when he was betrayed by one of his own generals, the Mahjarrat Zamorak. The betrayal brought the Second Age to a close and shattered the balance of power across Gielinor, creating the instability that eventually erupted into the God Wars.

In the present day, Zaros has been almost entirely erased from history, with nearly all knowledge of him either destroyed or lost. The few who know about him still fear him immensely, with many refusing to even speak his name out of fear for invoking his power. The handful of Zarosians still in existence are mostly in hiding, with some silently plotting the return of their master.

He is also the patron of the Ancient Magicks, a spellbook of very powerful combat spells as well as teleportation spells to many of the now-forgotten settlements of his empire.

Little is directly said about Zaros' origin. At some point, he arrived on the vampyre world of Vampyrium, where he became known as the Stranger from Afar. He taught the vampyres culture and society, and changed them from hunting animals to more civilized beings.^[2][3]

Zaros arrived on Gielinor at the beginning of the Second Age, where he started building an empire together with his followers.

Over the course of several centuries, Zaros's empire grew to massive size, encompassing more land than any kingdom since. He ruled with force, aiming to put the entirety of Gielinor under his control. Its capital was Senntisten, a large city in the south of the empire and the most advanced settlement of its time, possibly only rivalled by the elven city of Prifddinas. Other fortresses and cities were scattered throughout the empire: Ghorrock and Annakarl lay to the north, Dareeyak, Carrallanger, and Paddewwa closer to its heartland, and Lassar to the west. In the east, Kharyrll bordered the Saradominist kingdom of Hallowvale, while to the south, Kharid-et stood near the Kharidian lands and played a major role in the Kharidian-Zarosian War.

Eventually Zaros launched a campaign against the Kharidian Lands to the south. The Zarosians pushed the Menaphites back, until Icthlarin and Amascut ventured off to find allies to fight back. They came to the realm of Freneskae where they recruited the Mahjarrat and brought them back to Gielinor.^[4][5]

With the Mahjarrat, then referred to as the Stern Judges of Icthlarin, on their side, the Kharidians drove away the Zarosians from their lands. The tide turned again after Sliske persuaded the Mahjarrat to abandon Icthlarin and join Zaros, leaving the Kharidians unable to halt the renewed Zarosian advance.^[6] In a final act of desperation, Tumeken sacrificed himself in a devastating blast that annihilated the Zarosian forces and the region, forcing the survivors to retreat and bringing the invasion to an end.^[7]

Nearly two millennia after Zaros's arrival, some of his followers began to grow dissatisfied. Most notable amongst these was the Mahjarrat Zamorak, one of Zaros's generals, who persuaded several other powerful Zarosians to join his cause. With the Mahjarrat Hazeel and Zemouregal, the demon Thammaron, the human general Viggora and the vampyre Lord Drakan at his side, Zamorak began plotting a rebellion to overthrow his master and seize power for himself.^[8] To defeat Zaros, however, the conspirators needed powerful artefacts such as the Staff of Armadyl.

Valdez, a faithful Saradominist explorer, discovered the Staff of Armadyl and set out for Entrana to deliver it to Saradomin. The thief Rennard ambushed him and stole the staff, intending to sell it to Zaros. He hired the messenger Kharrim to arrange the sale, but Kharrim instead made a backhanded deal to sell the staff to the then-mortal Zarosian general Zamorak.^[9] News of the staff's sale reached the Saradominist spy Lennissa, who informed the mage Dhalak. Although Dhalak was meant to alert Saradomin, he instead enchanted the staff to conceal it from Zaros’s detection for Zamorak, hoping that he turns against their common enemy.

Zamorak and his closest followers then attacked Zaros, with the others dealing with his guards while Zamorak confronted him directly. During the fight, Zamorak plunged the Staff of Armadyl into Zaros's back, wounding him.^[10] Zaros retaliated, and in the process Zamorak was impaled by the other end of the Staff.^[11] Zaros faded from the world, while Zamorak ascended to godhood.^[12] However, before his disappearance, Zaros uttered a curse unto Zamorak and all those involved in the rebellion. The curse was to make them wander around Gielinor as ghosts for eternity. Zamorak's ascension to godhood made him resistant, and supposedly only the humans directly and indirectly involved were affected. Viggora theorises that it was because all of Zamorak's other followers were magical and so the curse was much less effective on them.

Zaros's fall shattered the balance of power across Gielinor, leaving a power vacuum that set the stage for the God Wars. The Zarosian Empire began to crumble as Zamorakians and Saradominists moved against it, destroying its cities and fortresses and attempting to erase Zaros and all references to him from history. Despite the loss of their god, some Zarosians, including Azzanadra and Perseriya, remained loyal and continued to fight for him. Over time, however, the Zarosians were driven back and their numbers dwindled. The capital, Senntisten, eventually fell around the 38th century of the Third Age, bringing the Zarosian Empire to an end.

By the Fifth Age, Zaros and his empire had faded into obscurity, with very few traces left of their existence, until a major discovery was made at the digsite, east of Varrock, where the ruins of a Zarosian temple and an ancient icon were discovered. The adventurer who made the discovery would go on to uncover more Zarosian lore lost to time, including evidence of several of the empire's strongholds that had survived in part by being sealed away. These included Lassar^[13], Kharid-et^[14], and Ghorrock^[15].

The adventurer would also encounter Zarosian loyalists who had survived into the present day. Following his release from the Jaldraocht Pyramid, Azzanadra began to search for three artefacts, that he believed would help him discover the fate of Zaros and contact and locate him if possible. Disguised as Dr Banikan he allied with the adventurer, who released him from his prison, he got access to an ancient golem database, which he used to search for one of the artefacts: the Frostenhorn, rumoured to have been hidden in the Ghorrock Prison. Unbeknownst to Azzanadra, his supposed ally, Sliske, had tracked down the Frostenhorn, and had destroyed it, along with the other two artefacts: the strange icon and the Entranan relic.

Abhorred by Sliske's betrayal and sabotage, Azzanadra marked the loss of the three artefacts as the darkest day since Zaros's fall, though he remained determined in finding Zaros and learning his fate.

Originally Zaros was worshipped in his empire in the north-east of the continent. However, its settlements were destroyed by Zamorak and Saradomin before the former utterly laid waste to the land itself. Most traces of the Zarosian religion and the god himself, such as altars and temples, have been destroyed by Saradomin and Zamorak in an attempt to wipe all traces of him from Gielinor. His remaining followers were either killed or forced into hiding if refusing to defect. Without their god, the Zarosian following diminished throughout the Third and early Fourth Ages, until being reduced to a small number of Kharidian bandits.

Zaros' vast empire was home to many races, who served him, with the Betrayal of Zaros and subsequent God Wars, there are very few Zarosians left, and even less so races that can be defined as Zarosians. Including his followers from the Second and Third Age, Zaros' followers included:

• Certain demons - such as Chthonians and Blood reavers. During the Second Age there was a wider selection of demons in his service.
• Dragon riders - A group of beings with a unique talent for taming and riding dragons. Considered extinct today.
• Some humans - Inhabitants of the Zarosian Empire, during the Second and Third Age. Modern day followers include:
  • Ancient wizards - Mysterious wizards appearing during Treasure Trails.
  • Certain Kharidian Desert Bandits - Descendants of Zarosians, who were forced into the desert where they settled as bandits.
• Some mahjarrat - Powerful beings hailing from Zaros' homeworld Freneskae, originally brought to Gielinor by Icthlarin, before defecting to the Zarosian Empire, where they held high positions, with Zamorak's betrayal, many Mahjarrat defected again.
• Sirens - The aquatic beings took their role in the Zarosian fleets.
• Vampyres - The vampyres were initially followers of Zaros, but with Lord Drakan's rebellion together with Zamorak, there are no known Zarosian vampyres left today.

• Ablenkian - A Dragon rider, who remained loyal to Zaros, but was deemed a traitor and killed by Ripper Demons led by Corveth.
• Akthanakos - A Mahjarrat of average power who is the sworn enemy of Enakhra.
• Azzanadra - High Priest of Zaros "Pontifex Maximus". An exceptionally powerful Mahjarrat and one of Zaros' most faithful followers.
• Eblis - A bandit of the Kharidian Desert Bandit Camp, who aided in Azzanadra's release from the Ancient Pyramid.
• Nex - An exceedingly powerful Zarosian general. A nihil sealed away by a forced alliance between the four god factions fighting in the God Wars Dungeon.
• Torva - A powerful warrior who served directly under Nex.
• Perseriya - A siren who served as an admiral "Praefectus Classis" in the Zarosian fleet, but was later consumed by The Leviathan following a catastrophic failure of teleportation magic while attempting to claim the Stone of Jas for Zaros.
• Sliske - A devious Mahjarrat, described as the serpent-tongued. His recent actions questions his loyalty.
• Duke Sucellus - A Chthonian demon, formerly the leader of the Sixth Legion, acting high general "Legatus Maximus" as of the Third Age, but has since gone mad.
• Vardorvis - A vampyre executioner sent to eliminate Yonrith Lovakengj, but has since been infected by The Strangler and turned into one of the strangled.
• The Whisperer - A siren that used to work under Sliske before going mad to the black stone.

The following items provide protection against Zaros's troops in the God Wars Dungeon:

• Ancient staff
• Ancient sceptre ^{(Smoke) (Shadow) (Blood) (Ice)}
• Book of Darkness ^{(Ornate) (Damaged)}
• Robes of darkness
• Ancient rune armour
• Ancient dragonhide armour
• Ancient vestment robes
• Ancient blessing
• Ancient halo
• Ancient godsword
• Zaryte crossbow
• Venator bow
• Ancient ceremonial robes
• Torva armour
• Virtus robes
• Zaryte vambraces

The following items, while affiliated, do not provide protection against Zaros's troops in God Wars Dungeon:

• Ring of shadows
• Soulreaper axe
• Ancient talisman
• Ancient signet
• Ancient brew
• Forgotten brew

• 
  An official depiction of Zaros being betrayed by Zamorak.
• 
  Zaros as depicted in a cave painting on Vampyrium.

• Zaros was first mentioned in the 2003 quest The Dig Site.
• Many Zarosian names are words from the Latin language; some examples include the names of Nex ('death') and her bodyguards Fumus (smoke), Umbra (shadow), Cruor (blood) and Glacies (ice), Ferox (cruel, wild), the 'venator' bow (hunter), the 'nihil' horn (nothing), and Torva (grim).
• In RuneScape 3, Zaros is the counterpart of Seren, the goddess of light, and was created by the goddess Mah on the world of Freneskae. Resenting Mah's possessiveness, Zaros ultimately fled Freneskae while Mah was sleeping, though Seren remained loyal to their creator. Dialogue with the Memory of Seren appears to reference this history.
• A humorous version of Zaros could be seen in the Eastern Lands during the 2014 April Fools event.