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Kerapac chathead

Kerapac, the self-proclaimed 'Observer',[1] is a Dactyl Dragonkin. Like the other Dactyl, Kerapac represses the urge to cause destruction and kill False Users that the Dragonkin's connection to the Stone of Jas causes,[2] and instead performs research and experiments in an attempt to sever his connection to it, which led him to the creation of the Queen Black Dragon, and by extension, the entire dragon race.

He wrote the Dragonkin journals, and features in One of a Kind, Hero's Welcome and Sliske's Endgame quests.

Characteristics[]

You have made the right decision. Superstitions are meaningless. Only results matter.
Kerapac's Laboratory - Dragon remains

Kerapac's laboratory, in which the remains of a dragon lie on an operating table, while preserved heads sit in jars atop the shelves.

Kerapac can be described as blunt, highly intelligent, focused on his goals and completely amoral: he is willing to do almost anything for the sake of ridding the Dragonkin of Jas's curse, including acts which many would consider to be outright evil, such as vivisecting his own kind[3]. As such, he is more than willing to make deals and promises with people if they further his goals, and generally keeps his word. He considers concepts such as fate and the afterlife to be mere superstition, and thus does not hold a very high view of those who believe in them.

Kerapac is quick to become enraged. Phalaks stated that in the past, Kerapac speared a student in the throat for a minor reason that he does not remember. His son's scribblings show that he becomes extremely enraged when others steal his possessions.

He cares very little for the so called "lesser races", and feels nothing but hatred and disappointment towards his failed experiments - such as Therragorn - giving no second thoughts about abandoning them. Additionally, he holds great resentment and hatred towards Jas, who he has expressed a desire to kill[4], due to the curse placed on the dragonkin, even though such an act is impossible.

Kerapac is extremely powerful, and has fought against Jas's curse for over 18,000 years, which he continues to do to the present day. Like all Dragonkin, Kerapac has the ability to breathe dangerous fireballs, and he also possesses a large amount of magical prowess, as evidenced by how he was able to manipulate the egg of one race and infuse his lifeblood into it to turn it into another[5], a feat most gods are not even capable of. This, coupled with the mutilated remains of grotworms and strykewyrms within his laboratory all hint at his extraordinary physical and magical prowess as well as extensive knowledge of anatomy and magical theory.

History[]

Creation[]

Stone of Jas detail

The Stone of Jas, the artefact Kerapac is cursed to protect

Kerapac, like the other Dragonkin, was born eons ago in the previous cycle of the universe. He had a son named Vicendithas. They somehow became aware of The Great Revision - the elder gods' awakening and remaking of the universe anew, and hid deep within the Abyss to avoid it.

They then sought out the Elder God Jas to try and reason with her, but she enslaved Kerapac and the other Dragonkin and bound them to the Stone of Jas[6], the most powerful of the Elder Artefacts: powerful creations of the Elder Gods used to refine their power. This curse meant that whenever the Stone of Jas was used by anyone other than Jas, the Dragonkin would become empowered, enraged and feel a compulsion to cause destruction and destroy the so called 'False Users'.

Eventually, Jas and the other Elder Gods succeeded in creating the perfect world, which later became known as Gielinor, and went to sleep, leaving Kerapac, the Stone of Jas, the TokHaar and the other Dragonkin behind on Gielinor.[7]

Search for the Cure[]

After Jas left, many "young gods" and mortals found and used the Stone of Jas including Guthix, which angered Kerapac and the others greatly due to the pain they were forced to endure. They come to greatly resent Jas for what she had done to them, and many of the Dragonkin were driven mindless with rage due to the continued use of the Stone, and their power not yet being enough to kill the False Users[8].

Unlike many of the other Dragonkin, namely the Necrosyrtes, Kerapac tried to resist the curse, and sought a way to rid himself of it, and thus began experimenting on other Dragonkin in an attempt to find a way to remove it, pouring the pain he was forced to endure into motivation. His first experiments involved vivisecting his fellow Dragonkin, examining their bodies and removing parts of them in an attempt to find a biological reason for the curse. Despite his efforts, he was always unsuccessful in his attempts, with his subjects even retaining the curse as they died.[3]

Queen Black Dragon

The Queen Black Dragon, Kerapac's first creation

Due to his repeated failures and a realisation that he couldn't forcibly remove the curse, he instead found a new goal in trying to create a new form of life that would inherit the traits of the Dragonkin but be free of the curse. As the Dragonkin are not able to reproduce naturally, he travelled to an island full of giant, mindless reptiles, and took some of the eggs of these creatures. Using his vast magical prowess, he then forced his lifeblood onto the strongest eggs, a process which killed all but one of them: the egg of a large, water-dwelling lizard.[5]

When the egg hatched, he placed the newly born Queen Black Dragon in a large, water-filled chamber deep underneath what would become modern-day Rimmington, and discovered that she was highly intelligent and seemingly free from the Dragonkin's curse, qualities which Kerapac believed gave the queen much promise. She also possessed the ability to breathe fire without magic, a feat that all modern-day dragons are now capable of, and she also inherited Kerapac's magical power, although due to her large size, she was unable to properly utilise it. To counter this, Kerapac channelled her power into smaller spirits, who were able to use the Queen's massive power to cast their own powerful spells.[9]

The other Dragonkin soon heard of Kerapac's experiments, and a former student of Kerapac, Phalaks, created his own creature: the King Black Dragon, which was similar to the queen, but smaller, three-headed and less intelligent. Despite it being weaker than the Queen, Kerapac saw its worth as potential mate for her, which would allow even more dragons to be created. [10]. Despite the King and Queen's promise, the offspring they produced were small, mostly unintelligent and rather weak, causing Kerapac to bring more and more mates to the Queen, which all proved unsuccessful.[11] In addition to the well known, common bestial dragons that were produced, a breed known as the White dragons were also born, which inherited the Dragonkin's ability to travel to different planes and intelligence, but were timid and physically weak.

Therragorn

Therragorn, a white dragon and one of the Queen Black Dragon's offspring

Due to how the Queen's natural offspring did not continue the Kin's lineage, Kerapac further experimented on the Queen's eggs and offspring in an attempt to correct this. One such attempt involved pouring molten metal of various types into her eggs in order to create Metal dragons. Few survived the process, even after Kerapac's magic was applied, but while those that did were stronger than most dragons, they were nevertheless deemed a failure.[12]

Eventually, 100 years after the beginning of the project, it was deemed a failure by Kerapac, as with the exception of the Queen, it was only able to produce weak, bestial and/or unintelligent offspring that didn't carry on the Dragonkin's lineage, rather, it created an entirely new species which Kerapac viewed as nothing but a disappointment. Although he released the King Black Dragon into the wilds, despite being disappointed with the Queen's inability to create viable offspring, he nevertheless realised that she was his creation and could prove useful later on due to her power, and thus placed her into a magical sleep underground, restraining her with magical artefacts which also served to protect her from intruders. He then burned most of his books on the project, and left with six of his fellow Dragonkin.[13].

At some unspecified time, he worked with Forcae in a joint attempt to find a cure, creating the world's first bronze dragon. He viewed it as a failure due to the lack of intelligence, but still worked with him and created the first iron dragon, which killed the bronze dragon easily. Despite Forcae wanting to pursue the metallic dragon line, Kerapac disagreed due his views on them, but built a foundry for Forcae after some persuading. Soon afterwards, they began to split as Forcae wanted to create more metallic dragons while Kerapac created frost and white dragons. Forcae created the mithril dragon, which easily overpowered Kerapac's white dragon. He still refused to believe they could assist the Dragonkin and Forcae left him out of anger.

He worked with his fellow Dactyl Dragonkin, having constructed a huge laboratory underneath some castle ruins deep in the Wilderness. One of these Dactyl left Kerapac out of anger after having their masterpiece, Verak Lith, ruined when Kerapac insisted that they have him reproduce, due to his behavior when provoked. Eventually, Kerapac would find two dragons from his son's old batch and started a new experiment, embedding black crystals on one of them. However, this allowed Xau-Tak to control the dragon, causing Kerapac to wonder if he was going insane after hearing voices. Eventually, the dragon destroyed another specimen in an unknown incident, prompting Kerapac to seal the laboratory for fear of her uncontrollable nature.

Eventually, he let his eldest son Vicendithas into his fortress and gave him the basement for a laboratory. Vicendithas managed to steal an egg and a vial of his father's blood to begin his own experiment, creating a crystal dragon. Kerapac would eventually come downstairs and saw the dragon. He was impressed by its ability to change sexes at will and demanded it along with a few eggs. Vicendithas refused and instead hid the dragon and her offspring. It is unknown if or how Kerapac punished his son for disobedience.

Despite his failure to create a successor, he still continued the search to free himself from Jas's curse, and thus established a laboratory under the Dragonkin fortress on a peninsula near Forinthry, close to Daemonheim. Here, he continued to experiment and seek ways to rid himself of the curse, doing things such dissecting Dragons, Grotworms and Strykewyrms, collecting Ancient Effigies, and experimenting with portal magic. He continues to experiment in his laboratory even in the present day.

Kerapac also observed the events of the 18th Ritual of Rejuvenation, under the belief that studying the energy transfer taking place could be useful in his research. However, though he considered involving himself directly, he did not see any gainful chance to do so and ultimately did not intervene.

Re-emergence of the Ilujanka[]

The following takes place during Missing, Presumed Death and One of a Kind.
That is a stupid question. He should go with me as that is the only chance his people have to survive. Frankly, I'm not sure why we are having this discussion. Yes, it is only a chance, and yes, it means more time in stasis. But still, it is the only hope for his people. There are no guarantees, it could take centuries to find a cure, or there could be no cure. But seeking the cure should be all that matters.

During the beginning of Sixth Age, the Mahjarrat Sliske captured one of Kerapac's fellow dragonkin - a Necrosyrte known as Strisath - by luring him into the Shadow Realm. He then supposedly used his connection to the Stone of Jas to find it, and held a "grand ascendancy" in the Empyrean Citadel, inviting many of the gods and the World Guardian. He then announced a contest between the gods, and claimed that he would award the Stone of Jas to the one to kill the most gods. He ended this meeting by releasing Strisath from his cage, who immediately attacked the present gods, many of whom were False Users, scaring them off. After leaving the Empyrean Citadel, Kerapac found Strisath wandering about and quickly captured him, bringing him to his laboratory.

Therragorn crashes

Therragorn is shot down over Daemonheim.

Some time later, Kerapac spotted one of his failed experiments - the last white dragon, Therragorn - flying over Daemonheim. She and her two riders, the legendary Ilujanka Hannibus and the World Guardian, were then shot at by fireball, which possibly originating from Kerapac himself, which sent the riders flying off Therragorn's back and to the ground. Kerapac then brought the two injured riders back to his laboratory, hoping that the World Guardian would be able to assist in his research[14].

The World Guardian quickly awakened, and Kerapac told them that he had rescued them, that he had seen no sign of Therragorn and that she was most likely dead, informed them that Hannibus was mortally wounded, and that he would only help him if the World Guardian assisted him with his research.[15] With no choice, the World Guardian reluctantly agreed to Kerapac's offer, and Kerapac brought them to Strisath's chamber.

Here, he explained that Strisath was once one of the Dragonkin's most celebrated philosophers, before the curse drove him mad, and that he wanted to know if the World Guardian's resistance to god magic would be able to help weaken the Dragonkin's curse.[16] He then elaborated that the curse is like a chain that connects his kind to the Stone of Jas and the False Users, and that it might be possible for them to travel into a representation of the curse and use their resistance to godly magic to temporarily weaken the Curse's effect on Strisath.[17] He then opened the portals in the chamber, releasing wisps made of remnants of Stone's energy that could be channeled into making Strisath receptive to the next part of the plan.

Siphoning Dragonkin memories

Strisath imprisoned in Kerapac's lab, surrounded by wisps which the World Guardian is channeling into him.

After they channelled 25 Dragonkin memories into Strisath, Kerapac used a magical circle he had created around Strisath to send the World Guardian into the curse, where they fought a representation of it: the Echo of Jas. While the adventurer was busy fighting the curse, Kerapac used his magic to heal Hannibus, fulfilling his end of the bargain, and due to their abilities, the World Guardian was able to effortlessly defeat the echo, calming Strisath, albeit temporarily. When they emerged from the curse, Hannibus was fully healed, and Kerapac was thankful for the World Guardian's assistance, knowing that it was a small step towards the cure.

Kerapac's offer

Kerapac offers Hannibus the chance to save his species.

Following this, Kerapac made Hannibus an offer, knowing that his species was unable to reproduce, much like his own. He requested that Hannibus submit himself to his study, hoping that if he did, due to the similar physiology between their species, there would be a slim chance that he would be able to find a cure for both of them, although only it would take a few decades[18]. Hannibus and the adventurer then left Kerapac's laboratory to think about his offer, where they encountered Therragorn, who had brought one of Hannibus's descendants - Sharrigan - from the Ilujanka homeworld of Iaia.

Sharrigan offered to bring Hannibus back to Iaia with her, telling him that he had fought long and hard, but that the Ilujanka had accepted their extinction and embraced their destiny, carving their history into a great tree and celebrating their lives. Although Hannibus told them of the cure, Therragorn did not trust Kerapac, who had followed them outside, surprised to see that Therragorn was still alive. Hannibus was unsure what to do, torn between going home and rest with his people or spending decades of stasis in the hope for a cure that may or may not exist, and asked the World Guardian for advice.

Sharrigan arrives

Sharrigan offers to bring Hannibus back to Iaia.

Kerapac did not hold back in stating his belief that accepting fate is mere superstition, and that Hannibus should come with him for the slim hope of a cure, as that was the only hope for his people. Both Sharrigan and Therragorn did not trust Kerapac, and thought that Hannibus should go and spend his final years with the rest of his people, which Kerapac thought to be meaningless sentiment.

The World Guardian then has a choice of either siding with Sharrigan or Kerapac. If siding with Sharrigan, Kerapac calls Hannibus pathetic for abandoning the future of his species for "quaint superstitions" and "short lived social ties", and returns to his laboratory while Hannibus, Therragorn and Sharrigan return to Iaia. If siding with Kerapac, he informs Hannibus that he made the right choice, ignoring the protests of Sharrigan and Therragorn, and he takes Hannibus back to his lab to be put in stasis while he searches for a cure, while Sharrigan returns to Iaia.

Kerapac's current whereabouts are unknown, but it is likely that he remains experimenting within his dungeon, in an effort to save his race from their enslavement, with or without Hannibus.

Hero's Welcome[]

The following takes place during Hero's Welcome.

Kerapac makes a brief appearance during the quest after the defeat of the Abomination, along with his fellow Dactyl Phalaks and Silkath. Having heard the news from Phalaks, he arrives with the two Dactyl to grab samples from the now-deceased Abomination for studying. He asks the World Guardian to leave and when they cannot, initially believes that they trying to challenge him, not noticing that the Necrosyrtes, who have also arrived and are blocking their way. After a short argument between him and Strisath, the two sides begin fighting each other, during which the World Guardian escapes amid the chaos.

Sliske's Endgame[]

The following takes place during Sliske's Endgame.

Even though the Dactyl were not responsible for killing V (as Tarshak was "captured" and working with the Necrosyrtes), Sliske invited him to his endgame, which Kerapac accepted. He also brought along his fellow Dactyl Kalethax, Esskon, Vicendithas, Torkuss and Skalekith. Along the way, he and his entourage attempted to vandalise the maze and destroy the walls with little success. They also confronted the other gods, threatening but not killing them. Towards the end, he freed the Dragonkin from their curse by using the Elder Mirror to channel the energy in the Heart of Gielinor to destroy the Stone of Jas, freeing them from their curse. For this, the other dragonkin see him as a hero.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ Kerapac, "First dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "I am Kerapac, the observer. The end of our enslavement to Her stone is at hand, and I am the key."
  2. ^ Kerapac, "First dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "Others ravage, rage, tear and scratch at anything that will reduce the pain - the itch of False Users. I endure. I stay in control. I pour the fury and pain into my project, my hatred acting as my fuel to keep going on."
  3. ^ a b Kerapac, "First dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "All of my past experiments on living dragonkin were failures - no matter how much I tore my subjects apart, leaving them on the brink of death, examining their entrails, still they felt the itch. I could see it burning in their eyes as they died. The secret to our curse is not hidden deep within our bodies, or I would have found it. I am absolutely certain of that."
  4. ^ Kerapac, "Fourth dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "I am Kerapac, the observer. I will find a way to free the dragonkin from Your curse. We will remove the shackles you put in place, and we will kill you."
  5. ^ a b Kerapac, "First dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "A solution came as I found an island filled with giant, mindless reptiles - I could not forcibly remove Her curse, but I could work around it. Create a new uncursed form of life. I used magic to force my lifeblood into the eggs of the strongest of these reptiles. Only one survived the process: the egg of a huge water-dwelling lizard."
  6. ^ Player, "While Guthix Sleeps", RuneScape. "It has communicated to me that it is 'The Stone of Jas', owned by Jas, and protected by creatures he[sic] has enslaved for the purpose - the Dragonkin"
  7. ^ TokHaar-Hok, "TzHaar-Ga'al-Kot", RuneScape. "After many failures - imperfect worlds wrought with crude tools - the masters succeeded. They created their final, perfect world. The masters fulfilled their great longing. They cast aside their tools, for they no longer had need of them. Jas set down the Elder Stone: the artefact that most purely expressed her power. The masters lay down upon their perfect world. The masters...speak no more.."
  8. ^ Kerapac, "First dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "Others ravage, rage, tear and scratch at anything that will reduce the pain - the itch of False Users. I endure. I stay in control. I pour the fury and pain into my project, my hatred acting as my fuel to keep going on. My hatred of the False Users. Of our curse. Most of all, of Her."
  9. ^ Kerapac, "Second dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "I am currently observing the creature I have created. She is enormous. Side effect of using giant reptiles. However, she is also highly intelligent, and she appears to be free from Her curse. Is this the next step for the dragonkin? I must test the limits of this creature, to see if she is a viable evolution. She can spout flames, naturally, without magic - useful. She has inherited my magical power, but her huge body prevents me from manipulating it. The obvious solution would be to channel her power into smaller recipients or vessels, who can then cast spells for her using her tremendous power. It remains to be seen whether she is capable of solving the problem herself."
  10. ^ Kerapac, "Third dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "Others have started to take note of the project in their moments of sanity. Good. One even tried to copy me, and created his own creature - it is considerably smaller, weaker, and less intelligent than mine, but it has three heads. Despite its weakness, this creature may be useful for breeding with mine. I must know what potential their progeny has."
  11. ^ Jagex. Postbag 47 - "Transcript:Grumpy mermaids and sleepy dragons.", Letter 3, by Queen Black Dragon. RuneScape Postbags from the Hedge.
  12. ^ Hannibus, RuneScape. "I saw a tall, pale-skinned creature, pouring molten metal into eggs. So few of the young survived, even after they infused the eggs with their strange sorcery."
  13. ^ Kerapac, "Fourth dragonkin journal", RuneScape. "A hundred years have passed. The project is a failure. Our creations have only managed to produce weak, broken, bestial offspring. They are weak, these less-than-dragonkin, these...dragons. We have not created the future of our species, we have created an entirely new one. A weak species. Weak. Like we are under Her curse. The dragons are not affected, but they are too far removed from us to hold the key to our deliverance. I want to slaughter them all, these dragons, along with their Queen and King. Yet the part of me that clings to sanity reminds me that they may prove to be useful later on. I can...barely restrain myself. I have released the King into the wilds. The Queen is... different. She has my lifeblood. I have made her. Despite being a failure of a dragonkin, she has a degree of raw power that may yet prove useful. I have stored her deep underground, restrained and protected by magical artefacts I have created. They are both her shield and her prison, keeping her in a magical state of slumber with a protective field to fend off intruders. The dragons are a failure. This project is over, but the search for our freedom is not."
  14. ^ Kerapac, "One of a Kind", RuneScape. "I am not wholly altruistic, Player. Yes, I know who you are, and all about your special status as 'World Guardian'. I rescued you because of the particular benefits you can bring to my research."
  15. ^ Kerapac, "One of a Kind", RuneScape. "Your friend did not fare as well as you did. He's alive, but will not survive without aid. Which I can provide, in exchange for your assistance in another matter."
  16. ^ Kerapac, "One of a Kind", RuneScape. "Strisath was once one of our most celebrated philosophers. Time was he could peer at the vagaries of the universe and pluck meaning from chaos, but now... Now he is one of the Necrosyrtes, spitting death threats at anyone who so much as thinks about that accursed Stone of Jas. You are aware that the Dragonkin are bound to the stone, I'm sure. The pain that the stone inflicts on us drives many of my kind mad, reducing them to the sorry state you see before you. I want to know if your special traits can help to weaken this effect."
  17. ^ Kerapac, "One of a Kind", RuneScape. "The curse that my kind suffers is like a chain that connects us to the Stone of Jas and also the Vosk... Sorry. The 'False Users'. This will allow someone to travel into a magical construct that represents the curse. Which is where you come in. As World Guardian, you have a degree of resistance to the power of the gods, and - by extension - a resistance to the enchantments of the Elder Gods. I believe you will be able to weaken the curse's hold on poor Strisath here, long enough for me to talk with him."
  18. ^ Kerapac, "One of a Kind", RuneScape. "Kerapac: Very well. Your people are afflicted. I may be able to help. If you submit yourself to my study, then I believe there is a slim chance - within a few decades - that I may be able to provide a cure. I will store you in stasis, so the passing of time will mean nothing to you. Your species and mine share similar physiologies. I believe that by investigating your affliction I may be able to help my own people."
  19. ^ Runefest 2017 Lore talk
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