Zamorak

Zamorak (pronounced /zæməræk/ "ZÀ-mo-rack") is the god of chaos, with the elements of destruction and power often being attributed to him. He used to be a general in the Zarosian empire, but he betrayed Zaros with a large group of followers, and attained godhood by absorbing the Empty Lord's power by accident after having obtained the Stone of Jas which, in conjunction with the Staff of Armadyl, granted him enough power to do so.

He was known under Zaros as General Zamorak the Scourge, as he was the most powerful Mahjarrat at that time, followed by Azzanadra. Some followers describe him as a liberator from Zaros' reign. Zaros' suspected return is a major blow for both Zamorak and his followers, as well as for Saradomin; as some of Zaros' most powerful followers from the Second Age still remain today. Zaros, however, is still feared by both Zamorak and Saradomin.

Beliefs
Although it is often said, especially by Saradominists, that Zamorak is the epitome of evil, he considers himself merely the god of chaos; his teachings state that self-improvement, greatness, strength and purpose are brought by chaos, whereas order and constancy supposedly lead to stagnation of society. Zamorak preaches that the best comes out of mortals when chaos and pressure are applied, and that through conflict, mortals unlock their true potential. An example of his philosophy in action can be seen with the first Wizard's Tower, which Zanmaron the Red believed to have grown great out of conflict; the four orders of wizards constantly tried to best each other, pushing them to create new inventions and technologies.

Although he is also the god of destruction, he opposes pointless genocide and believes that destruction should have a purpose. This is not to say he will abstain from committing mass genocide if it would serve his goals, as was evident with his failed attempt to create a chaos dwarf army for himself, effectively a genocide of all "normal" dwarves.

He has also been shown to reward his followers' loyalty, as he did with Moia, although he is known to betray others, such as Queen Rashiliyia, whom he betrayed by resurrecting her son as a zombie who then proceeded to massacre the royal family and its guards, causing her to go mad, although the motives behind this remain unknown. Although his involvement is not confirmed as it could have merely been a native attempt at necromancy that was wrongfully blamed on Zamorak. The famous adventurer Randas likewise suffered after pledging fealty to Zamorak, and his soul was damned after the god's power became too much for him, although this is likely to have been the work of Lord Iban. Zamorak is shown to remember allies from long past as even after thousands of years he still remembered Viggora in Dishonour Among Thieves and stated he would give Viggora life again if it were within his power.

It should be noted that a good portion of what is known of Zamorak today comes in the form of literature written while the Saradominist religion was in near-full control of Gielinor. As Zamorak is considered the chief enemy of Saradomin, this literature is negatively biased towards him. This is strikingly illustrated by the false report of Operation:Phoenix, which blames the destruction of the First Wizards' Tower entirely on a Zamorakian attack. Although this operation never took place, the tower's destruction invoked mass hatred towards Zamorakians, leading to their near-exile from society in many cities.

Followers of other deities and even some of Zamorak's followers believe he is an evil god, and point to his many destructive and ethically gruesome actions. They also note his consistent reliance upon demons, vampyres, and other traditionally "evil" creatures that don't fit the template of mere chaos. They add that the strength Zamorak's followers might gain from chaos does not justify the suffering of innocents, and Zamorakians often interpret his ideals very differently.

Arrival to Gielinor
Like the other Mahjarrat, Zamorak 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 and Chelon-Mah as well as the frequent sacrifices at the Rituals, the Mahjarrat tribe never counted more than a few hundred members and was ruled.

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 go with Icthlarin and Kharshai was one of the most excited at the prospect of leaving Freneskae, as Gielinor is a much kinder realm than Freneskae was.. 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, Zamorak aided the Menaphite warriors in driving back the Zarosian army, with success. During this time, they were known as the Stern Judges of Icthlarin. Back then, Zamorak was the single most powerful of his kin and a feared warlord by all. Zamorak's valiant and successful methods quickly earned him the nickname "The Scourge".

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, 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. Zamorak was amongst those to survive and join the remainder of the Zarosian on the march to Forinthry. He was given the rank of Legatus, and soon after Legatus Maximus, in the Army of Zaros.

Under Zaros' service
Zamorak cared only for battle and power. On one occasion, his fellow Mahjarrat Enakhra built a large temple for him in the western Kharidian Lands as a sign of affection for him, but Zamorak rejected the gift, simply stating that he'd prefer a weapon instead. The Scourge soon became one of the most valued soldiers amongst Zaros' armies, which consisted of wicked creatures he'd brought from their respective realms, such as the Ilujanka from Iaia, vampyres from Vampyrium, flocks of demons from Infernus and now the Mahjarrat from Freneskae, among other races. Zamorak, quickly ascending to the rank of general, was given only the most important missions by the Empty Lord, although the latter always remained alert.

On one such mission, Zamorak, Enakhra, the elder demon Thammaron, the scholar Perjour, the human warrior Viggora and the Auspah Char (who had only been known to the others as a dancer prior to the mission) were to raid a barbarian settlement in the west. They set off but were soon attacked and Char was captured. When she awoke, she saw fellow Auspah being used as slaves by the barbarians for their fire-based powers and she too was commanded by one of them. Angered by this, Char grew in size and unleashed her full rage upon the barbarians, ravaging the camp. Zamorak and the others had been sitting a distance away, enjoying the sight. Zamorak then took Perjour's journal, the contents of which were directly transferred to Zaros' mind so he could track everything Perjour was thinking. He made a duplicate without these mind-reading powers which he gave back to Perjour, keeping the real book for himself. It is likely that he was already preparing to betray his lord at this time, seeing as he would have no other real motive for doing this.

The betrayal
His thoughts now hidden from the Empty Lord, Zamorak started planning his betrayal with his closest allies. His primary goal was to eliminate Zaros' other generals to increase the chances of victory. Very little of these actions of Zamorak's are known and only the eradication of Char is available in detail. On a mission to the west to scout out the elven settlements of Seren, Zamorak made his move. While Char was preoccupied battling elves, Zamorak approached her from behind and impaled her with a poisoned dagger. He did not intend to kill her, rather to make sure she could not prevent Zaros from being defeated but still live in pain to witness it happening. Char fell to the ground, her eyes burning with eternal hatred for Zamorak as he left her and returned to his co-conspirators.

"Many thousands of years ago, I was a general in Zaros's army. Zaros believed Seren was planning something on her crystalline city. Far away from his empire, he sent out a scout party. This had to go undiscovered, so Zaros only sent a small group of trusted followers. I am not one to question my god, but I disagreed with this choice from the start. He chose me, of course, but the rest of part was made up of Zamorak, and selected members of Zamorak’s ranks. (...) We were on our outward journey when we were ambushed by elven out-riders. Individually they were no match for us, but we were heavily outnumbered. In the middle of the battle, I turned to Zamorak. He was not fighting, but walking calmly towards me. I could not have expected it: not such betrayal in the middle of our enemies. He stabbed me with a poisonous dagger. He did not mean to kill me, he knew the poison would slow me, and stop me from ever reaching Zaros before it was too late, he wanted me to live with my pain."

- Char, after re-obtaining power in the Fifth Age

At approximately the same time, a Saradominist explorer by the name of Valdez found a large underground temple somewhere on Gielinor, and within was an Elder Artefact which Armadyl had hidden there after finding it: the staff of Armadyl. Realising the magnitude of his find and how grateful Saradomin would be with it, Valdez wrapped the staff in rags and went on his way to Entrana, a then Saradominist stronghold.. However, he was intercepted by the sneaky thief Rennard, who stole the staff and, even without being aware of its divine powers, recognised it as a powerful weapon. Figuring Zaros might be an interested buyer, he hired a messenger - Kharrim - to inform the Empty Lord. But Kharrim's loyalty lay with Zamorak and he told his master how a drunk thief would provide him the very staff of Armadyl, which would make the attempt to usurp Zaros actually possible. Zamorak and his allies went to Rennard and bought the staff off him for a ridiculously low price, boosting Kharrim's prestige amongst the Zamorakians.

Later, what turned out to be a week before the plan would be executed, Zamorak approached the five remaining Dragon Riders of Zaros, and made them an offer; that he would provide them what Zaros could not deliver, in exchange for two of their number joining him as personal bodyguards during the attack. Morvannon and Apropos agreed to the deal, whereas the other riders did not, and they agreed that they would neither warn Zaros or aid Zamorak so as to not incur wrath from either side if they lost.

Soon, the Saradominist spy Lennissa got ear of Zamorak's having the staff. Being under the suspicions of Lucien, another Mahjarrat, she could not act, so she informed her superior; the wizard Dhalak. Dhalak knew that, should Zamorak succeed, the world would be ridden of Zaros. As such, instead of reporting to Saradomin, Dhalak placed a powerful enchantment upon the staff that would conceal it from Zaros - an act he would later regret.

Zamorak also somehow gained possession of the Stone of Jas, the most powerful of the Elder God artefacts. Exactly how he obtained this, and the exact role it played in the betrayal is unknown.

Achieving godhood
He and his followers went forward to assault Zaros' castle under the pretence of discussing war plans. Hazeel, Enakhra, Zemouregal, Viggora, Lowerniel Drakan, and Thammaron attacked, however, and the Zarosians retaliated. While these distracted Zaros' bodyguards, Zamorak unsheathed the staff and duelled Zaros himself, stabbing it into his back with great force. The blow weakened Zaros, but he still remained more powerful than Zamorak and was leading in the duel. Zamorak fought valiantly, but eventually he failed to withstand Zaros' attacks. Having bested Zamorak in combat, Zaros grabbed him by the throat and proceeded to choke him, but somehow he tripped and fell, and the staff, still sticking out of his back, pierced his entire body and impaled Zamorak too. It now served as a conduit for power and through what may or not have been pure luck, transferred a significant portion of Zaros' power into Zamorak, effectively making him the most powerful mortal alive at that time. It should be noted that this description of events was given by the spirit of Viggora, thousands of years after the event, and, as such, may not be fully accurate due to possibly not remembering everything or the relative simplicity of a human mind compared to the significance of a Mahjarrat and a god.

Zaros promptly began to fade away from Gielinor. To avoid death, however, he abandoned his body and, incorporeal, fled to a very distant dimension, though just before he disappeared he was able to curse all involved in the revolt to be invisible ghosts for the rest of eternity. The curse had immediate effect; Viggora too began to fade and the cheering Zamorakians could not hear him scream for help. Valdez, Rennard, Kharrim, Lennissa and Dhalak were affected by the curse of Zaros as well. Zamorak and his fellow Mahjarrat, and the other creatures that took part in the attack, were seemingly unharmed though. Despite being stricken by the curse, their extremely long life-spans prevented the curse from infesting them, like it did with the less powerful humans.

Zamorak, now the most powerful mortal alive, declared himself to be a god. After Zaros was defeated, Zamorak fell, weakened and exhausted by the battle. His demonic generals Thammeron and Zebub then gathered around him, opened a portal to Infernus, and carried him there, to fulfill his promise to them to overthrow their cruel Chthonian overlords. This he did over the course of a 20 year war. After he was done, he returned to Gielinor with a huge Avernic demonic army, and declared war on all the remaining gods. Zamorak wished to reclaim the Stone of Jas, and thus declared war on Saradomin in an attempt to reclaim it, beginning the God Wars. According to a memory viewed through the Stone of Jas the God Wars may have initially began as an extermination of Zarosian remains that did not switch loyalties to Zamorak but after its conclusion Saradomin turned on Zamorak, "as soon as your knife could find my back" in Zamorak's own words.

He rewarded those who had helped him, while the dragon riders were labelled traitors by the other Zamorakians; vampyres assassinated Apropos while a herd of hellhounds obliviated Morvannon. Zamorak travelled to many realms to acquire new followers, such as the gorak and bloodveld. Some other Mahjarrat, the entire vampyre race, most of the demon army, the former battalions of Viggora and many others switched their allegiance to Zamorak, and, with Zaros out of the way, he believed he could conquer Gielinor. To ensure that he would not be betrayed like Zaros, he travelled to the Infernal Dimensions where he acquired special robes of subjugation from the crafting demon Razulei. He ordered his followers to wear these robes - those that were not loyal to him were tortured at once and thus Zamorak's army was cleansed.

During the God Wars
The God Wars initially started with an extermination of all that remained of Zaros and his former following. Most of these followers went into hiding, like Sliske, but others didn't and were slaughtered. Zamorakian and Saradominist factions temporarily allied to destroy the Zarosian cities in Forinthry: Dareeyak, Paddewwa, Lassar, Annakarl and Carralangar amongst others soon fell. Annakarl would be the site of a battle for what remained of the fortress three millennia later. Only the capital of the Zarosian empire, Senntisten, stood strong (only in the last few centuries of the war, almost four millennia later, did Senntisten succumb to Zamorakian and Saradominist troops. It was taken over by Zamorakians and later ravaged by Saradominists, who built a city over it, Saranthium, to make sure no trace of the once great capital remained). Azzanadra operated from there, in an attempt to bring Zaros back. In addition, Saradomin somehow stole the Stone of Jas at the beginning of the wars, and used it to his advantage.

Desiring the use of more Elder Artefacts, Zamorak sent Perjour, who, in fear, had switched sides, to the island of Karamja. There he entered TzHaar City and explored the deeper parts of the volcano in search of the Elder Kiln, so that Zamorak could build an army of rock creatures, possibly even the TokHaar. Perjour, keeping a journal about his progress, eventually stumbled upon a door, the locking mechanism of which he could not comprehend. As the security system was activated by his presence and hordes of lava creatures swarmed inside, Perjour was killed. His charred skeleton remains in the cave today. This meant that Zamorak could not use the Elder Kiln to strengthen himself further.

While Azzanadra defended Senntisten, the other Zarosians attempted to conquer the Ritual Site. A terrifying monstrosity called Nex, feared by the gods themselves, led this battle. The Saradominist forces managed to lure Nex and her armies into an icy cavern, realising she was unstoppable, where she was magically sealed. The Saradominists then built the Temple of Lost Ancients around it to mark their victory. Soon, other gods began to participate in the war; Armadyl sent forth his Aviantese. Concurrently, the vampyres, led by Drakan, conquered Hallowvale, ending the peaceful reign of the Icyene there.

At some point, Zamorak attempted to add the dwarves, who had been hiding underground, to his army by afflicting them with a curse. However, his manipulation of their anima mundi was imperfect and as a result spread to the whole race, turning the dwarves into powerful but mindless monsters: chaos dwarves. Saradomin protected his own dwarven following from the curse, but the members of the much larger colony that had fled underground slowly began to succumb. Using their magical prowess, the Elders of Keldagrim managed to bring the curse to a halt, although they lost nearly all magical skill in the process and felt it necessary to establish a monarchy.

In the latter half of the wars, demon armies began the Kharidian Desert Campaign, turning the lands into a desert while at it. During the Battle of Uzer, Thammaron and his armies destroyed most of the city, but were eventually defeated by the combined forces of the elite golems, the troops of Queen Senliten and Azzanadra. It took another combined effort of Zamorakians and Saradominists to bring Azzanadra to his knees and imprison him in the Jaldraocht Pyramid. Meanwhile, Balfrug Kreeyath's armies advanced to the southern polis of Ullek and sent it straight to oblivion.

Millennia after Nex's imprisonment, the godsword was forged to be used to finally slay the god of chaos. Zamorak discovered this, however, and when a special flock of Aviantese transported this sword through the mountains of the Troll Country, they were ambushed by a group of demons near the Saradominist temple. A skirmish started which soon grew into the Battle for the Godsword between Saradominist, Zamorakian, Armadylian and Bandosian forces, each god sending one of their most powerful generals there. The Bandosian troops were led by General Graardor, a huge and fearsome ourg. Commander Zilyana, a combative Icyene, led the Saradominists. Aviansie commander Kree'arra led his birds in the name of Armadyl. Zamorak stationed a huge demon by the name of K'ril Tsutsaroth to claim the god sword. Armadyl, Saradomin and Bandos planned to unite and defeat Zamorak, but everyone turned against each other instead. During the battle, the devious Zarosian Mahjarrat Sliske re-surfaced. Posing as a Guthixian druid, he convinced a group of Saradominists of the horror of the war and converted them to Guthixian religion. He taught them a ritual to wake Guthix and end the wars, which was performed. The ritual had actually released Nex and her armies from their prison and she immediately began to fight all the factions in revenge. Sliske then revealed his true identity and teleported away. With amazing effort, the four other gods' generals joined forces to defeat Nex and she was imprisoned once more, the door locked by a special ritual. In the last moment of the God Wars, Zamorak found the Stone of Jas and took it with him to Forinthry. Saradomin, Bandos, and Armadyl followed him there with their armies, and managed to surround the Zamorakian forces. Cornered and fearing for his life, Zamorak began using the Stone again, while pleading for his life. Armadyl tried to warn Zamorak that his desperation was making the Stone unstable, but his warnings were ignored. Zamorak then turned to Bandos and Armadyl, trying to convince them to stand with him against Saradomin, stating that "everything he had done, he had done for Gielinor, to raise up its inhabitants." Armadyl, unsure whether Zamorak was telling the truth or not, was quickly convinced by Saradomin, who said the god of chaos was lying, while Bandos was mocking Zamorak for his pleading and begging. Zamorak then once more explained where he stood for: he wanted the world to be free, with its inhabitants free to try and fail, only to grow stronger and stronger over time. Armadyl and Bandos once more ignored his plea for help, and when Saradomin was about to attack him again to kill him for good, Zamorak used the Stone, exclaiming that none of them were worthy of their power and that they would die with him if he were to meet his end there. The resulting blast reduced the entire continent to a barren wasteland, which became known as the Wilderness. It is possible that Zamorak was unaware that this desperate action would destroy the entire continent, as he had only meant to kill the other gods. As a result of Forinthy's destruction, the Anima Mundi cried out in agony. This cry awoke Guthix, who had been in a deep slumber since the end of the First Age, and, upon seeing that his perfect world had been scarred by the gods he detested so much, began a campaign, freezing the Temple of Lost Ancients and all combatants within in the process, after which he banished all gods, including Zamorak, from the planet. He created his edicts to avoid any deity from directly interfering with Gielinor in the future and assigned Guardians of Guthix to guard important locations. Zamorak buried himself at the bottom of Daemonheim, where he was just outside the dimensional boundaries of the planet. By the end of the God Wars, only tiny ruins left hints at what Forinthry once was - only the fortress of Ghorrock remained in the icy north and Khazard, a Mahjarrat born to Palkeera during the wars, took up residence in it.

Zamorak's followers remained and, throughout the Fourth and Fifth Ages, would cause quite some chaos around the world, mostly in conflicts against Saradominists. Meanwhile, Zamorak looked for a way to return to Gielinor, but ultimately could not find one.

Return to Gielinor
Following the creation of the Edicts, many Zamorakian organisations tried to work around them to allow their god to return. As the world was mostly Saradominist in the Fifth Age, this did not go over well. In the Fourth Age, Bilrach began a dig downwards in the Daemonheim castle east of the Wilderness, being called by whispers in his head. Bilrach assumed these to be Zamorak's (although he later began to doubt this), and thus he and his army began to dig kilometres downwards in search of 'The Rift', visiting many strange realms and creatures in the process. In 1669, Lucien and Zemouregal sent the former's daughter, Moia, after Bilrach to find out what was going on. She reached and confronted Bilrach in 168 of the Fifth Age. They ventured to the last floor, where The Rift supposedly was, together, but what exactly happened there is unknown, although it is known that one of the pair died. Moia is known to have entered Zamorak's fiery realm, but whether she was alone or in Bilrach's presence is unknown. Zamorak taught her about his ideals and showed that, according to his beliefs, people make their best moves when chaos reigns. He showed this to Moia by setting a village of people who lived a peaceful and stable life on fire, which resulted in them cooperatively working to douse the flames after the deaths of several members of their community, which initially horrified but later impressed Moia.

Although Zamorak was not on Gielinor itself, he could still communicate with his followers. For example, he was able to convince Bilrach to attempt to liberate him by sending voices in his head. Additionally, he promised to return the late Prince Bervirius of Karamja, who had died, to his grieving mother Queen Rashiliyia if she swore fealty to him. She complied and Zamorak indeed returned Bervirius, but as an undead monster who attacked Rashiliyia and her husband King Dathalas and took the life of many guards, leading to the former's descent into madness and her becoming the "Zombie Queen".

In 169 of the Fifth Age, Guthix' cave, where he had gone to sleep after the God Wars, was found by an archaeologist. The cave was soon invaded by factions of nearly all gods, including Zamorak's. Zemouregal, Enakhra and K'ril Tsutsaroth, each with their own legion of followers, tried to reach and kill Guthix to return Zamorak to the world; in this pursuit they chose to side with their long-standing enemies, the Saradominists. Due to a lack of cohesion amongst them, they all failed and were forced to return to their homes. After a series of events in the caves, Sliske slew Guthix with the staff of Armadyl, nullifying the Edicts. Saradomin returned to Gielinor first, and concluded that the other gods, including Zamorak, would soon follow. Zamorak remained in his own realm, awaiting a good opportunity to return in the Sixth Age. Some followers of Zamorak are claiming that Zamorakians killed Guthix, rather than Sliske.

The Battle of Lumbridge
Zamorak was said to be at the very bottom of Daemonheim; whether this meant The Rift leading to him was there or Zamorak was actually there in person is unknown. A short while after Guthix' death, he summoned a large portal just west of Lumbridge. the constantly glowing portal attracted many visitors from various places, even a travelling elf from Tirannwn. The portal, located in a small forest between Lumbridge and Draynor Village, kept growing until almost the entirety of Lumbridge was watching it. Some people expected Saradomin to come out of it, while others suspected it to be the work of Zamorak, Bandos, Glouphrie, Guthix or general monsters.

Eventually, the portal grew large enough for Zamorak to come through, making him the second god to return to Gielinor, and he immediately began destroying the forest in order to get the divine power remaining from Guthix's death that was underneath it. Saradomin arrived at that point, stopping him, and the two gods proceeded to duel each other. This caused the entire forest to turn into an immense crater with a maelstrom of divine energy in the middle. Zamorak summoned Moia, his newest general, and her troops to fight Saradomin, who, in turn, called his icyene general Padomenes and his own armies. The legions clashed and the gods erected camps to recruit more troops while still launching spells at one another. Meanwhile, Duke Horacio struggled to keep further damage to Lumbridge to a minimum, having already lost several buildings and lives to the gods.

After ten weeks of ferocious battle, during which Zamorak summoned demons and behemoths to his aid, Saradomin, empowered by divine tears, managed to blast Zamorak with energy. He was hit directly but attempted to retaliate using his own divine tears. However, his opponent nullified the blow and overpowered him due to Saradomin's followers collecting more tears than his. Stricken by another beam of energy, Zamorak was defeated and knocked off his feet. The wounded god collapsed onto his back and lay helplessly as Saradomin prepared to finish him off. Moia quickly intervened, however, and teleported herself and her god away to an unknown location, saving him, after which the god of order left as well. Followers of both gods dispersed peacefully soon after this, leaving an empty crater near the duchy.

Angry about his defeat, Zamorak has since threatened to denounce his Mahjarrat followers for not aiding him in the Battle.At the same time, he has assigned one of his emissaries and Moia to salvage the remnants of his forces from the conflict.

Sliske's Grand Ascendancy
Some time after the Battle of Lumbridge, Sliske took control of the Empyrean Citadel and invited every god to his "Grand Ascendancy", during which he would ascend to godhood. Zamorak accepted the invitation, as he wanted to watch another one of his own kind ascend. Saradomin, Armadyl, Bandos, Brassica Prime, and possibly Zaros were also present, each for their own reasons. K'ril Tsutsaroth accompanied his god to the Citadel, but was not allowed to enter the throne room where the gods were waiting. The Zamorakian Mahjarrat, consisting of Zemouregal, Enakhra, and Hazeel (or General Khazard, if Hazeel had not been revived yet), also came to the Citadel, intending to stop Sliske's ascension and threatening Zamorak, stating that it would be unwise for him to denounce them for their absence at Lumbridge in his weakened state.

Before the Ascendancy started however, Icthlarin and an human adventurer, the World Guardian, arrived at the Empyrean Citadel, searching for Harold Death Esquire, who had been abducted by Sliske to force Icthlarin to attend the event. Icthlarin joined the other gods in the throne room, while the World Guardian began to explore the Citadel, looking for Death. As Icthlarin entered, Zamorak and Saradomin were arguing about Dawn's failed attempt to use the Wand of Resurrection to create an army of undead. Saradomin accused Zamorak of trying to massacre the Saradominist city of Falador, although Zamorak replied that Dawn was acting on her own, as he had disavowed her and as such was not responsible for her actions. Icthlarin then entered and was mocked by Zamorak, who deemed him unworthy and not powerful enough to be invited. When Icthlarin tried to warn the god of Sliske's plans, Zamorak dismissed it, stating that it was not yet sure whether Sliske had gained any power at all, and that he would not be manipulated by the Mahjarrat.

While the World Guardian made their way through the citadel, the gods started to quarrel, as Icthlarin pointed out that every one of them had been manipulated by Sliske and tricked into attending his Ascendancy, and continued to try convincing the gods to not trust Sliske. As each god believed himself to be too wise to be manipulated, Icthlarin's warnings were ignored. At that moment, Sliske appeared in the throne room and revealed his two prisoners, who had been placed in cages next to his throne: Death and the dragonkin Strisath. Sliske then threatened to kill Death, trapping the souls of all mortals in their bodies forever, and release Strisath if any of the gods would try to stop him. Unwilling to risk the lives of their followers, the gods stood down and waited for the Ascendacny to continue.

At that point, the World Guardian, who had earned an invitation to the event by solving various puzzles throughout the Citadel, entered the throne room and joined the gods. Surprised, Zamorak asked how they had got in, but he was interrupted by Sliske, who was about to reveal what would happen next. Impatient and angry, Zamorak urged him to go on. Sliske then boasted that he had acquired two elder artefacts, the staff of Armadyl and the Stone of Jas. Zamorak didn't believe Sliske really had obtained the Stone and demanded proof, but Sliske then pointed at Strisath, who had called the Mahjarrat 'a false user', indicating that he had indeed used the Stone and thus most likely possessed it. Afterwards, Sliske revealed that he planned to give the Stone as a reward to whoever managed to kill the most gods by the next solar eclipse. Zamorak called the entire contest a ridiculous idea, asking what Sliske hoped to achieve with this, and threatened to leave the Citadel, but not before vowing that the Stone would not remain in Sliske's possession for much longer. The other gods, however, started to argue once more, with several of them claiming the Stone as their rightful possession and declaring that they would be the victor of Sliske's contest. Frustrated by the gods' inaction and continued squabbling, Sliske then released the enraged Dragonkin and tossed the key of Death's cage to the World Guardian, before leaving the Citadel. While the World Guardian freed Death and narrowly escaped with Icthlarin, the other gods, except for Brassica Prime, teleported away to escape the rage of the Dragonkin.

Stealing the Stone
Not long after Sliske's Ascendancy, Zamorak started making plans to retake the Stone of Jas from Sliske and to use it to regain the power he had lost to Saradomin at the Battle of Lumbridge. He sent his most trusted general and so-called left hand, Moia, to the Empyrean Citadel to enlist the help of the World Guardian, whom he believed to be instrumental for the success of his plans. Moia managed to contact the World Guardian, who agreed, either truthfully or not, to help the god with his plans. However, immediately after Moia handed the World Guardian a device that would take them to Zamorak's headquarters at Daemonheim, Sliske appeared, revealing that he was aware of Zamorak's plans to steal the Stone. He then told the World Guardian that his contest had slowed down since Bandos's death and wished to make things more interesting once more. The Mahjarrat tried to convince the World Guardian to go along with Zamorak's plans and to betray the god at the very end. The World Guardian told him what they were planning to do - help Zamorak, sabotage him or just go along - or refused to reveal their plans, whereupon Sliske teleported away.



The World Guardian then used the device given to them by Moia to teleport to Zamorak's headquarters, created deep below Daemonheim by the Mahjarrat Bilrach, who was then named Zamorak's right hand. Zamorak once more stated that he wished to retake the Stone of Jas, and then tasked the World Guardian with assembling a team for the heist: a group of six of his most powerful followers, consisting of four Mahjarrat - Zemouregal, Enahkra, Hazeel, and Khazard -, Lord Daquarius, the leader of the Kinshra, and Nomad, a powerful and mysterious battlemage. Together with Moia and the World Guardian, these followers would then infiltrate Sliske's base and recover the Stone.

The World Guardian then travelled around Gielinor, searching for the followers and convincing them to aid Zamorak in his quest to retake the Stone. Zemouregal and Enahkra, found at Zemouregal's fortress, agreed to help, although Zemouregal was most displeased that Zamorak expected them to prove themselves after their absence at the Battle of Lumbridge, stating that it was Zamorak now that had to prove himself. Khazard joined the team after the World Guardian found the dead body of his mother, Palkeera, in the Shadow Realm. Hazeel, revived now regardless of the World Guardian's previous dealings with his followers, tasked them with freeing an associate of him, the werewolf Jerrod, who also joined the team for the heist. For Lord Daquarius, they suppressed a rebellion among the Kinshra and eliminated those that believed that chaos equalled evil and refused to follow Zamorak's true teachings about chaos, while Nomad was freed from Death's clutches in the latter's office.

With the team fully assembled, the World Guardian returned to Zamorak's base, where the god informed his followers of his plans. He was interrupted by Viggora, who had been spying in the Shadow Realm for Zamorak and had discovered Sliske's hideout and the Stone under the Barrows in Morytania. Zamorak then ordered the team to infiltrate the base and to use their special talents to overcome whatever Sliske had in store for them.

The team sneaked in the base and managed to take down the defences, eventually opening the vault where the Stone was hidden. There, a unpleasant surprise awaited them, as Sliske appeared and revealed that he had been tracking down several of the team members. When the Zamorakians wanted to attack Sliske, the Mahjarrat created apparitions of each team members, except for the World Guardian. Khazard then sent the World Guardian to the Shadow Realm to retrieve the Stone, while the rest of the team fought the apparitions to buy them more time. The World Guardian was able to defeat several monsters in the Shadow Realm and touched the Stone, causing them to witness another glimpse of the Stone's past: the destruction of Forinthry at the hands of Zamorak. Meanwhile, the other team members were able to defeat every apparition.

The World Guardian and the Stone were then teleported out of the Shadow Realm, but at that point Nomad betrayed the others, revealing that he was planning on stealing the Stone for himself to regain the power he had lost after a battle with the World Guardian. He realised he would not be able to teleport away the entire Stone and thus planned on breaking off a small piece. Then he threw his spear at the World Guardian, who had the choice to either throw back the spear to stop him or to dodge it to allow him to continue with his plans. Regardless of the choice, Nomad then claimed the Zamorakians were all fools, as he believed Zamorak would remain in Daemonheim instead of helping his followers. At that moment, Zamorak teleported to Sliske's base, knocking Nomad down, but before the god could finish off the treacherous mage for good, Nomad managed to escape. Zamorak then touched the Stone, finally regaining the power he had lost to Saradomin at Lumbridge. At that point, Sliske appeared again, trapping every team member but the World Guardian with magic. Zamorak and Sliske then argued, with Sliske stating that Zamorak, just like other users of the Stone, had become addicted to the power it contained, and that he thus would do everything to keep the Stone under his control. Zamorak then threatened to attack Sliske, saying he was a plague that had to be purged. The World Guardian then had to decide what they would do: they could help Zamorak, attacking Sliske as well and severely wounding the Mahjarrat before he teleported away with the Stone. They could also help Sliske by attacking Zamorak while he prepared his attack on Sliske. Lastly, they could reamin neutral and stand by idly, watching Zamorak attack Sliske, before the Mahjarrat got away with the Stone once more. If the World Guardian had helped Zamorak or remained neutral, the god congratulated the team members for their hard work.

Zamorak then returned to his headquarters below Daemonheim, where he still remains, making plans to continue rebuilding his armies and to take the Stone from Sliske for good.

Groups and races

 * A number of Mahjarrat
 * Certain Demons, a race from Infernus - they generally look like wicked, red beasts, typically with wings, although there are variations.
 * Monks of Zamorak are monks who have devoted their life to the worship of Zamorak
 * Dark wizards and various other similarly-titled mages such as witches
 * The Kinshra, sworn enemies of the White Knights.
 * Khazard's Army, an army owned by General Khazard, the Mahjarrat warlord.
 * The Dagon'hai, a Zamorakian organisation of wizards based in Misthalin.
 * Zamorak Magical Institute, an organisation attempting to steal various runecrafting secrets from the Wizards' Tower.
 * Werewolves, inhabitants of Morytania
 * Chaos druids, occultists who practise in dark magics and sacrifices.
 * Undead, various kinds of re-animated dead beings.
 * The Huzamogaarb tribe of goblins, although technically not followers of Zamorak, actually fought for Zamorak during the God Wars as footsoldiers.
 * Necromancers, dark mages who specialise in raising beings from the dead.
 * Zamorakian Order of Paterdomus, Zamorakian extremists that have taken over the Temple of Paterdomus.
 * Order of Red Wizards, one of the former four orders of the first Wizards' Tower and inventors of the elemental spells.
 * Gorak, powerful and aggressive beasts that look like a combination of a chicken and a rhinoceros.
 * The Red Axe - A group of dwarves dedicated to Zamorak.
 * Chaos dwarves - Former Guthixian dwarves cursed by Zamorak into fighting for him.
 * Chaos dwogres - Dwarf/ogre hybrids fighting for Zamorak.
 * Chaos giants - Dangerous entities created by the Red Axe to fight for Zamorak.
 * Cult of Hazeel, a cult in service of the Mahjarrat warlord Hazeel who worship Zamorak.
 * Cult of Iban, followers of Lord Iban, who claims to be the son of Zamorak.

Notable individuals

 * Agrith Naar - An ancient demon of the weather, disguised as Denath, a dark mage. He was killed by an adventurer.
 * Balfrug Kreeyath - A demon who played a large part of destroying Ullek. He is now a bodyguard of K'ril Tsutsaroth.
 * Bilrach - A Zamorakian Mahjarrat and right hand of Zamorak himself. He is extremely loyal to Zamorak and responsible for the creation of the dungeons under Daemonheim in order to attempt to bring Zamorak back prior to the events of the World Wakes.
 * Culinaromancer - A maniacal mage who draws his power from food. After attempting to kill the Lumbridge Secret Council, he was defeated and his head exploded.
 * Dark mage - A ZMI mage who keeps the abyssal rift open. He resides in the Abyss where he prevents the universe from imploding.
 * Delrith - An ancient demon who attacked Varrock, banished most recently by the same adventurer.
 * Enakhra - A fellow Mahjarrat who built a temple to Zamorak in the desert. She is known to have strong feelings for Zamorak.
 * General Khazard - A Mahjarrat native to Gielinor and raised by Hazeel.
 * Hazeel - A Mahjarrat who helped Zamorak rebel against Zaros. Was defeated by Carnilleans, but the Cult of Hazeel has plans to return him.
 * Hreidmar - Leader of the Red Axe company, a Zamorakian company in the Dwarven Consortium. Defeated by the adventurer.
 * K'ril Tsutsaroth - One of Zamorak's most feared tools of destruction. He now resides in the God Wars Dungeon.Zamorak Altar.png
 * Lord Daquarius - Current Lord of the Kinshra.
 * Lord Iban - A former Black Knight and immensely powerful mage claiming to be the spiritual son of Zamorak. He had taken control of the Underground Pass but was killed by an adventurer hired by King Lathas.
 * Lord Milton - Lord of the Kinshra before Sulla, who declared war on Asgarnia, starting the Battle of North Falador. Assassinated by Sulla.
 * Lord Shadwell - Lord of the Kinshra before Milton, known for his aggressive and extremist actions.
 * Lord Sulla - Previous Lord of the Kinshra and initiator of the War of 164. He was killed in his attempt to escape Asgarnia.
 * Lord Valzin - Founder of the Kinshra and pivotal character in the foundation of Asgarnia itself.
 * Moia - A former student of Zamorak who now serves as general for Zamorak's armies.
 * Moldark - Zamorak's emissary in Edgeville.
 * Scorpius - A famous astronomer who has since become a ghost.
 * Solus Dellagar - A major criminal hunted by the Temple Knights. Was apprehended in a "trial mission" of an initiate Temple Knight. His loyalties are open to doubt.
 * Surok Magis - The new leader of the Dagon'hai who attempted to take control over Misthalin by manipulating the mind of King Roald. Currently incarcerated when he was captured working for Lucien.
 * Tarn Razorlor - A necromancer lurking in the depths of the Mort Ridge Mine. Was killed by an adventurer.
 * Thammaron - An elder demon who was a lieutenant to Zamorak. Thammaron perished after the Battle of Uzer.
 * Urval - A former druid who was banished from Taverley for preaching Zamorak was Guthix's perfect incarnation.
 * Viggora - A human General of Zaros who aided Zamorak in his betrayal and ascension of said god. He was cursed when Zaros fell and roams the land as a ghost.
 * Wizard Ellaron - Last Red Wizard to live. He died in the Abyss due to an overflow of magical energy inside him after attempting to blow up the Wizards' Tower.
 * Zemouregal - A fellow Mahjarrat who launched an assault on Varrock from the Wilderness and defeated Arrav in the process.

Trivia

 * In most older content, Zamorak's symbol is oriented facing downwards instead of upwards. The current version of his symbol became more common over the years until it eventually became the only variant seen in new content.
 * The version of Zamorak's symbol seen in some areas of the God Wars Dungeon is also significantly different from the symbols used elsewhere. The God Wars Dungeon graphical update removed most of these instances, but it can still be seen on the upper-right hand corner of the Frozen door and on the hilt of the replica Zamorak godsword.