Lamistard

Lamistard was a Mahjarrat who was sacrificed in the mid-Fourth Age. Lamistard was amongst the Mahjarrat who supported Zamorak following his betrayal of Zaros, but evidently had fallen out of favour within the Mahjarrat race by the Fourth Age. After attempting to tunnel under The North to benefit from The Ritual of Rejuvenation, Lamistard was captured and sacrificed.

Although Lamistard makes no appearance in-game, he plays significantly into The Curse of Arrav quest, during which players use his tunnels to access Zemouregal's fort. He is also mentioned in Zemouregal's notes, as well as in issue 38 of Postbag from the Hedge. The music track Lamistard's Labyrinth is named after the Mahjarrat, and is unlocked by players in his caves.

History

Like the other Mahjarrat, Lamistard 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 kratocratically.

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, Lamistard 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, 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. Lamistard was amongst those to survive and join the remainder of the Zarosian on the march to Forinthry. He was given the rank of tribune in the Army of Zaros.

Later life

In the late Second Age, the Mahjarrat Zamorak betrayed Zaros, using the Staff of Armadyl in an attempt to slay him, and instead managing to banish him to another plane of existence. After returning from a brief 'sabbatical,' Zamorak re-gathered the support of many of his fellow usurpers; pressured by this strength, Lamistard and most of the Mahjarrat joined Zamorak in his efforts to conquer the territories now unprotected by Zaros.

Lamistard served Zamorak during the God Wars, although he was evidently never favoured by Zamorak or the majority of the Mahjarrat--possibly due to his refusal to participate in what he referred to as Zamorak's 'cult,' despite his continued loyalty to the Mahjarrat god. During the Rituals of Rejuvenation near the remains of Ghorrock, Lamistard gradually found himself unable to gain any type of advantage in "ritual politics," leading to his constant forced positioning far from the ritual site by more powerful Mahjarrat. Zemouregal considered using him as the 15th Ritual's sacrifice, but Lamistard did not attend, fearing this very thing. Mizzarch was sacrificed instead, but Lamistard's absence meant he was now even weaker. Left weak and with few allies, Lamistard generally fell into relative obscurity.

Lamistard's Tunnels today, partially caved in after almost 1,000 years of abandonment.

In the mid-Fourth Age, around 1169, Lamistard attempted to circumvent his physical inability to combat more powerful Mahjarrat. After travelling to Trollweiss Mountain east of the Fremennik Province, Lamistard began creating a tunnel network which he hoped could put him directly below the ritual site, which would ensure that he gained significant power from the Ritual. In this way he theorised that he could be completely recharged, thus making him a force to be reckoned with in future rituals. Lamistard's tunnelling was extremely imperfect, however; he took numerous wrong turns, and supplies were a constant issue. Miscalculating his progress, Lamistard tunnelled directly into the basement of Zemouregal's manor, far southwest of the ritual site. Rather than turn back, Lamistard entered the basement in an effort to get his bearings, and was captured by Zemouregal.

At the 16th ritual, it was decided almost unanimously that Lamistard should be sacrificed. After being forcefully brought to the ritual site, Lamistard was slain, his lifeforce granting those Mahjarrat present 500 years of power. During The Curse of Arrav quest, players re-discover Lamistard's Tunnels and use them to access Zemouregal's manor. During the process, they also discover excerpts from his journal, as well as remains from his work in the tunnels.

Shortly following the 18th ritual, an adventurer used an Engrammeter to recover one of Lamistard's memories and gave it to the neutral Mahjarrat Kharshai, who absorbed it into his own mind, also gaining a tiny amount of Lamistard's lost power.