Azzanadra

Azzanadra (pronounced AZ-an-ah-druh), known as Dr Nabanik in his human form, is a Zarosian Mahjarrat currently active in Gielinor, and is amongst the most powerful members in the race's history. After being brought to Gielinor by the Menaphite deity Icthlarin around the start of the Second Age, Azzanadra and the rest of the Mahjarrat served the Menaphite people of the Kharidian Desert, before eventually swearing their allegiance to the god Zaros.

Following the rebellion of a fellow Mahjarrat, Zamorak, and his acquisition of godhood, Azzanadra was one of the few Mahjarrat to remain overtly Zarosian in the schism that divided his race between the two gods. During the God Wars, he worked to sustain what little power Zaros' followers had remaining, as the dawn of the Third Age arrived. Despite being extremely powerful, Azzanadra's efforts were largely futile, and he was eventually captured by Zamorakian and Saradominist forces and imprisoned within the Jaldraocht Pyramid in the Kharidian Desert.

During the Desert Treasure quest, Azzanadra is freed by the player, although being in confinement for thousands of years has left him weak and disoriented. During the The Temple at Senntisten quest, Azzanadra takes on a human form in which he refers to himself as Dr Nabanik. With the player's aid, Azzanadra manages to re-establish contact with Zaros through the temple beneath the Digsite east of Varrock, evidently as part of the events preceding the 18th Ritual of Rejuvenation in The North.

Arrival to Gielinor
Like the other Mahjarrat, Azzanadra lived on Freneskae, the realm of perpetual warfare, along with many other tribes. Here, they would live to survive the elements and the destructive power of the legendary "Mother Mah", an Elder God that created their race and whom they would prevent from wreaking havoc on Freneskae through the Rituals of Rejuvenation and Enervation, although at least one Mahjarrat regarded her as a mere myth and the rituals as superstitious traditions. Due to the constant conflict with neighbouring tribes such as the Mahserrat as well as the frequent sacrifices at the Rituals, the Mahjarrat tribe never counted more than a few hundred members and was ruled. Therefore, Azzanadra was relatively influential among the Mahjarrat due to his already noticeable power.

In the Second Age of Gielinor, however, the two demi-gods Icthlarin and Amascut travelled to Freneskae in order to recruit the Mahjarrat to fight the Zarosian invaders of their homeland, the Kharidian Empire, in the Kharidian - Zarosian War. Some Mahjarrat opposed the proposal while others agreed to go, causing a large battle to break out. Both Azzanadra and Temekel argued that the Mahjarrat should leave Freneskae to go with Icthlarin. Eventually, after the death of Salisard and the sacrifice of Abrogal, those in favour of travelling to Gielinor emerged victoriously and the entire Mahjarrat tribe accompanied the two gods to Gielinor. There, Azzanadra aided the Menaphite warriors in driving back the Zarosian army, with success. During this time, they were known as the Stern Judges of Icthlarin.

However, as the Menaphites had almost ensured their victory a couple of years later, the Mahjarrat Sliske, who had got into a feud with Icthlarin over his methods in battle, approached the Zarosian legate, a Chthonian demon named Duke Ceres, and made arrangements to desert the Menaphites and join Zaros. Most of the Mahjarrat convened at the fortress of Kharid-et and soon emerged, joining arms with the Zarosians, proceeding to slaughter the retreating Menaphite armies. The god Tumeken, father of Icthlarin and Amascut and leader of the Menaphite Pantheon, swiftly interfered by sacrificing himself, his armies and half of his empire to repel the Zarosians; he used his powers of fire to create a massive explosion, turning half of the empire into a desert wasteland as well as obliterating his own army and most of the Zarosian one. Of the approximately five hundred Mahjarrat present, less than a fifth survived the explosion thanks to Azzanadra, who quickly erected a magical barrier as protection. Azzanadra was amongst those to survive and join the remainder of the Zarosian on the march to Forinthry. He was given the rank of Pontifex, and later Pontifex Maximus, in the Church of Zaros.

Zaros saw the usefulness of these deadly additions to his forces and soon established a large kingdom that included the entire Wilderness - then known as Forinthry -, Asgarnia, Misthalin, Uzer and north-western Hallowland.

Azzanadra became a leader within Zaros' church, a Pontifex alongside other Mahjarrat such as Jhallan and Bilrach. Thanks to both his power and intense loyalty, he eventually rose to the rank of Pontifex Maximus - head of the church and second in command of the entire Zarosian empire. In an effort to quell conflict between his two favoured servants, Zaros appointed General Zamorak, another Mahjarrat with the rank of Legatus, to the rank of Legatus Maximus - head of the Zarosian generals.

Azzanadra on Icthlarin and Zaros: "Also no one "stole" the Mahjarrat from anyone. The Mahjarrat will align themselves with the God of the path that they feel fit. Icthlarin was a fool who thought he could control us, but he never had the influence that he thought. When Zaros found us we no longer needed Icthlarin, for we had found in Zaros, not only one of great power, but also a god who truly understood the ways of the Mahjarrat."— Azzanadra

Betrayal of Zamorak
Zamorak, then a Mahjarrat and a general of Zaros, planned to overthrow his lord. It's likely that Azzanadra and the other Mahjarrat loyal to Zaros were unaware of the plan at that time.

Systematically, Zamorak dispatched Zaros's strongest warriors, an example being the backstabbing of Char, whom he severely wounded and poisoned during a battle against the forces of Seren. It is unknown how or if he tried to get rid of Azzanadra. Eventually, the Staff of Armadyl fell into the hands of Zamorak, who intended to use it to attain godhood. Zamorak also obtained of the Stone of Jas, which would play an important role in his plans later on.

Zamorak, along with his allies, Lord Drakan, Thammaron, Zemouregal, Hazeel and Viggora, amongst others, fought Zaros' bodyguards outside. It is possible that Azzanadra was one of them. Eventually, Zamorak impaled Zaros with the staff during a one on one battle in Zaros' stronghold, but Zaros still stood. However, Zaros then tripped and fell over, impaling Zamorak with the other end of the staff and channelling some of Zaros' godly power into Zamorak. While Zaros faded from Gielinor, but just before he disappeared completely, he cursed Zamorak and all who took part in his fall. Zamorak and the other Mahjarrat, Vampyres, etc., with their immense magical power, were seemingly immune to it, but the lesser creatures, such as Viggora, that took part in the betrayal were cursed to roam the Shadow Realm, as is revealed during The Curse of Zaros. The gods banished Zamorak from Gielinor for seemingly murdering one of their own (even though Zaros was feared by them all), but he eventually returned, still as a God.

According to the The Book of Zaros, shortly after these events, Azzanadra ventured to the palace of Nex, and with her planned a counter-attack against Zamorak and his allies. This plan, whatever it was, was interrupted by Nex's sealing, which Azzanadra seems to have escaped.

The God Wars
Zamorak, who wanted to get the Stone back, eventually returned as a god, for he could use his new powers to overcome his banishment. Zamorak declared war on the other gods, and the God Wars soon broke out. Azzanadra, along with others that had remained loyal to Zaros, used the Temple beneath Senntisten, to pray and communicate with Zaros.

As the Wars raged on, Zamorakian and Saradominist forces started tearing down all the Zarosian fortresses and the remaining Zarosians. Saradominists and Zamorakians, having seen how powerful Azzanadra was, joined forces in an attempt to eradicate Zaros' champion. Azzanadra defended himself but was eventually defeated and, still in battle gear, imprisoned in the heart of Jaldraocht Pyramid where his power was bound into four diamonds, each of which was guarded by a powerful Zamorakian warrior, scattered around the world. Despite attempts, Azzanadra was not able to escape and gradually lost track of time.

Release from Jaldraocht
Azzanadra, having spent approximately 3000 years in the pyramid, was released by an adventurer who was enlisted by the desert bandits - some of the only remaining Zarosians - to find the four diamonds, promising that great treasure awaited them.

With the help of the desert bandit Eblis and his magical mirrors and at the thought of treasure in the pyramid, the adventurer set off and defeated three of the guardians in the most inhospitable of places, with the fourth guardian, the vampyre noble Malak, giving the 4th diamond himself after the adventurer killed Dessous, a rival vampyre lord.

The adventurer eventually put the diamonds in place in the pyramid's spires and after a perilous journey through its halls, they made it inside to the pyramid's central room where they met Azzanadra, who was in a ghost-like form. Azzanadra, who lost track of time as the years passed, believed that the God Wars still raged, and was shocked to hear that they had ended long ago and resulted in almost complete Zarosian extermination and that he could no longer hear Zaros' voice in his mind. Azzanadra, for their efforts, rewarded the adventurer by teaching them the Zarosian Ancient Magicks. He then left to search for any remaining allies.

Re-establishing contact with Zaros
In order to make contact with Zaros, Azzanadra disguised himself as a human archaeologist, Dr Nabanik, and attempted to convince the archaeological expert at the Misthalin Digsite to allow him to excavate and restore the Senntisten Temple, claiming to be a Mahjarrat expert. In addition, he attempted to back this up by telling the story of a Fremennik, who actually witnessed the ritual of rejuvenation taking place, although he did not know it. This was all to convince the Exam Centre, but he never got the permission he needed. As such he asked Wahisietel for help, who sent the adventurer who'd freed Azzanadra from Jaldraocht earlier to aid "Nabanik". The latter revealed himself to be Azzanadra and the adventurer got permission to restore the temple. Immediately, Azzanadra began a reconstruction, aided by many Zarosian "workmen" from the desert.

He then explained he needed several powerful artefacts to establish communication with Zaros, who had been banished to a very distant realm. First, he needed what is known in human tongue as the frostenhorn, an object which amplifies whatever powers or conditions are around it. Azzanadra had sent others, such as J., to retrieve it from the icy fortress of Ghorrock earlier, but they had all failed. The adventurer travelled to Ghorrock and defeated an ice demon guardian before getting the horn. They then went to the Barrows crypts to defeat Sliske's barrows brothers, whom Sliske had tasked with guarding a powerful icon during the God Wars, on Azzanadra's request. The icon is able to slowly absorb prayer energy, and had become quite full over the centuries. The icon was retrieved as well for Azzanadra. Finally, Azzanadra sent the adventurer to meet with an assassin, hired by another Zarosian ally. This assassin had tricked the adventurer earlier into heisting a relic from the Saradominist island of Entrana. Azzanadra explained, however, that the Saradominists actually stole the relic from Senntisten during its destruction and carved a Saradominist symbol onto it. It was really a Zarosian artefact which served as a catalyst for holy power.

With these artefacts, Azzanadra was able to establish contact with Zaros. He did this by attracting the god using the immense prayer energy of the Barrows icon, and using the Entrana relic to significantly speed up the energy pulses it emitted. Finally, the Frosternhorn would amplify their power, drawing Zaros to the world. This succeeded and Zaros was able to make contact with his champion for the first time in thousands of years. He awarded Azzanadra with some power to make up for the missed rituals and allowed the adventurer to pray to him in order to curse enemies in battle. Azzanadra then proceeded to make plans with his beloved god.

The 18th Ritual of Rejuvenation
Azzanadra participates in the 18th Ritual of Rejuvenation, before which he prepares four beacons of Zaros' power. With the beacons planted on all sides of the ritual site, he plans to channel their power into a spell to kill Lucien. As Lucien commences the ritual, Azzanadra arrives at the site, along with several other Mahjarrat. An argument breaks out amongst those present as to who should be sacrificed. Lucien, declaring himself the most powerful, decides that the sacrifice should be Jhallan. A fight ensues when the Mahjarrat pose their reasons for choices of sacrifice, Azzanadra siding with the Zarosian Mahjarrat in believing that Lucien should be eliminated. When the battle turns sour for Zemouregal and Lucien refuses to give aid, more Mahjarrat turn on him; however, before anything can be done, Lucien sacrifices Jhallan, completing the ritual and rejuvenating the Mahjarrat.

At this point, Azzanadra uses the beacons to summon Zaros' power and casts a devastating spell that causes relatively significant damage to Lucien, which Lucien even admits feeling. With only a quarter of his life points left, he summons the Stone of Jas to enhance his power. Before any significant display of this power, however, the Dragonkin arrive and destroy the "False User," impaling Lucien with the Staff of Armadyl (which shatters in the struggle). After Lucien's death, a content but rather shaken Azzanadra teleports away to the Senntisten Temple.

Nullifying the Edicts
When the temple believed to be Guthix's resting place was discovered by the adventurer and archeologist Orlando Smith, different factions reached the chambers and tried to nullify the Edicts to allow their gods to return. Upon discovering the contents of the temple, Azzanadra went to alert Char, whilst Sliske moved to release Nex. Together, along with Akthanakos and Wahisietel, the group of Zarosians entered the Temple and encouraged the adventurer to side with them. The group had previously discussed their planned interaction with Guthix and decided it was best not to kill him. They wished to awaken him as to barter the return of Zaros to the world. This interaction never occurred, as Sliske, having lied about his task, snuck into Guthix's chamber and slew him. The goal was reached, however; without Guthix to enforce them, the Edicts were no longer there to stop Zaros, but also the other gods, from returning.

Sliske's Grand Ascendancy
Several months after the Assassination of Guthix, Azzanadra attended Sliske's 'Grand Ascendancy' at the Empyrean Citadel with Akthanakos and Wahisietel so as to represent their lord during the events, due to Zaros having not yet returned to the world. As Zarosian Mahjarrat, Azzanadra and his brethren believed they would be welcomed inside the citadel, but to their surprise found themselves as barred from the proceedings as the other gods' followers. In the wake of Sliske's latest exploits, Azzanadra has grown cautious as to the former's loyalties, over which he argues with Wahisietel, who has denounced Sliske as a Zarosian and advises Azzanadra against trusting him.

The Return of Zaros
Later, Azzanadra discovers the World Gate and convinces Sliske as well as the adventurer to attempt to pull it out of the Shadow Realm so that Zaros may return. Azzanadra then sets the gate to the right destination for the adventurer when Sliske brings it back to the material realm. When Zaros finally came back to Gielinor, Azzanadra invited the adventurer to view his return.

After seeing Zaros again, Azzanadra's reaction varies depending if the adventurer had assisted or hindered Zaros' return. Zaros tasks Azzanadra to find the Elder Halls of Gielinor. If the adventurer also hindered Zaros' return, he is also tasked with finding a way to stop the divine energy leaking from Zaros' body.

Trivia



 * Azzanadra was first mentioned by a Guardian of Armadyl in the Temple of Ikov quest, released in 2002, over 3 years before Desert Treasure was released.
 * In Postbag from the Hedge 42, when Azzanadra was disguised as Dr. Nabanik, he jokes that he is a Mahjarrat. During The Temple at Senntisten, it is revealed that this is actually the truth. In the letter, Dr. Nabanik mentioned that he had "spent some time in the pyramids." This is obviously a joke to his imprisonment by the Zamorakian forces back in the God Wars.
 * All of Azzanadra's guises seem to feature twin prongs on his head. Even as Dr. Nabanik, he has two feathers where the usual horns should be. These are Griffin feathers. These prongs are a sign of his position as head of the Zarosian church and are mocked as "Bunny Ears" by Sliske.
 * He is called "Azzandra" after being rejuvenated in Ritual of the Mahjarrat. This is corrected in subsequent quests.
 * Azzandara is an alternate name for, the deity of Zoroastrianism.
 * During Dishonour among Thieves, Palkeera's bloody journal previously stated that Azzanadra participated in the Battle of Uzer, even though he would have long been imprisoned by then. This has been fixed.