Mahjarrat

This page serves as a source for information about the Mahjarrat as is applicable to World-42 role-playing characters. If you have any information to add to this guide, please do not hesitate to contribute. The Mahjarrat, meaning "children of Mah", are a tribe from a race called the Dreams of Mah, hailing from the ruined world of Freneskae.

This page is currently being reworked, please save any edits you have until this notice is removed.

Freneskae
The Mahjarrat found their beginning on the ruined world of Freneskae, when their creator, the elder god Mah, while dreaming attempted to create a new companion to replace Zaros, who had left her and Seren behind to fend for themselves. These failed copies of Zaros went on to become known as the dreams of Mah, and split into three known tribes; the Mahjarrat included. After their creation, Mah began to grow unstable in her slumber, having poured much of her energy into bringing these shadows of Zaros into being. As Mah began to have nightmares, which literally shook the land with their sheer force, Mah's remaining child Seren sought out the dreams for their aid. Disguising herself as Mah, she taught the tribes of two rituals; which became known as the rituals of rejuvenation and enervation.

The first of these rituals, the ritual of rejuvenation, allowed the dream tribes to recycle their energies back into themselves and Mah, but at the cost of the sacrifice of one of their own. This ritual prolonged their lives and helped provide Mah with more energy as the weakest of their numbers were sacrificed. The second ritual, the ritual of enervation, was used to siphon energy away from Mah as she experienced night terrors, so as to calm her in her sleep. This siphoned energy was then later used by the dreams to reproduce; creating more dreams to boost their numbers and strengthen their tribes.

As the dreams tended to Mah and helped her to achieve stability, despite the lack of Freneskae's anima, Seren finally found it in herself to leave Freneskae, thus leaving Mah to the care of her other children. After Seren left little is known of what happened, but there are a few glimmers into the past. One of the other tribes, the Mahserrat, chose to forgo the rituals, and thus died off naturally. As the Mahserrat died off, the Chelon-Mah tribe became more aggressive. It was the Chelon-Mah's belief that only the strongest should survive, and their tribe members destroyed each other in the process, and one was left standing with all the power of his fallen brethren. Finding no challenges left from his own kind, he turned to the Mahjarrat, and slaughtered many of them as time went on.

Much timed passed as the Mahjarrat faired for themselves as the last true remaining tribe, and fortune eventually smiled on them. In his search for protectors, the god Icthlarin found the Mahjarrat on Freneskae, and asked them to return with him to Gielinor. The Mahjarrat accepted, eager to flee from the onslaught of the last Chelon-Mah, and willing to go to a new world that held better promises of a future for them. The Mahjarrat left all that they had ever known behind, and journeyed on to where they did not know.

Gielinor
After arriving on Gielinor, the Mahjarrat took their place as protectors of the Menaphite empire, and staved off its destruction at the hands of Zaros's empire. During this time they became known to the Menaphites as "stern judges", and their influence brought prosperity to the Menaphite kingdom, as they defended its borders from the onslaught of Zaros's Avernic legions. It came to pass that Zaros heard mention of their name, as the Mahjarrat were spoken of with fear from his demonic soldiers, and he was amazed to learn that he had other sibling besides Seren. Seeing it as his duty to guide his younger siblings, Zaros set out to take the Mahjarrat under his wing, and it was not long before the Mahjarrat came to gravitate towards Zaros's influence. The first to do so was Sliske, and others soon followed.

The majority of the Mahjarrat came to accept Zaros as their ruler, being connected to him through Mah and being pulled towards his power. Icthlarin had not truly understood the Mahjarrat, and was unable to care for them as Zaros had. With his power, Zaros created the rejuvenation marker in the far North, which finally provided them with a way to rejuvenate themselves on Gielinor, something that Icthlarin had failed to provide. With all that Zaros was able to provide, it was not long before the Mahjarrat turned on the Menaphites. In a great battle that raged near modern Sophanem, the majority of the Mahjarrat attacked the Menaphite kingdom at Zaros's decree, and slaughtered the few Mahjarrat that remained with Icthlarin in an act of war. Enraged at this, the god Tumeken decided to curse his own lands to prevent the Zarosians from conquering it; and let forth a great blast of magic upon the Mahjarrat conquerors.

It was this single act that brought devastation and ruin upon both the Mahjarrat and the Menaphite lands that they had sought to overthrow. As this searing wave of heat rolled over the lands, the majority of the Mahjarrat tribe was lost that day to Tumeken's wrath, while the Menaphite lands were turned from a lush green paradise into a harsh desert. The remaining Mahjarrat receded to the capital of Zaros's empire; Senntisten, where they lived as lords and ladies of the city. Despite the loss they suffered during the Menaphite campaign, they continued to serve Zaros faithfully, at least most did, that is until Zamorak came to power.

As the empire grew and the power of the Mahjarrat did in kind, some grew more ambitious than others. Disagreeing with the orderly ways of Zaros's empire, Zamorak staged a coup that would change the course of Gielinor's history forever. In a plot that slowly grew until it reached its head, Zamorak stabbed Zaros with the Staff of Armadyl, and was imbued with energy from the god as Zaros fled his physical remains. With the defeat of Zaros, and Zamorak being taken immediately to Infernus by the Avernic after his ascension, Gielinor was thrown into turmoil.

Zaros's empire was eventually torn apart without his presence, and the Mahjarrat split between the Zarosian loyalists and the new Zamorakian followers. As the ages passed the Mahjarrat began to be forgotten by many, and lived on as legends while they continued to quietly exist in the shadows, besides Zamorak, who eventually returned to Gielinor and sparked war then razed and entire continent. Eventually the Mahjarrat began to become more widely known again, thanks to the exploits of a famous adventurer late in the Fifth Age.

Accepted Lore
This section contains details about the Mahjarrat race that are very widely accepted throughout the community of World 42 roleplayers

Abilities

 * Mahjarrat can shape-shift. While it may be expected that the shift takes a certain length of time to make the ability less over-powered in-character, it is understood that Mahjarrat are capable of shifting into human and non-human forms. For example, Azzanadra is seen in-game in his true lich form, as Doctor Nabanik, and as a strange jackal-ghost when you first meet him in the desert pyramid.
 * It takes a considerable amount of energy to shapeshift. It took almost all of Jhallan's to unwittingly shift into a Muspah (a creature born from Mah's many nightmares), which is why he needed the Adventurer's assistance.
 * Mahjarrat are powerful mages, making particular use of Ancient magicks. Many Mahjarrat, such as Lucien, were known to be powerful necromancers.
 * They are very magically sensitive, and this may be the cause to their heightened senses when compared to humans.
 * Mahjarrat, with the help of the Ritual of Rejuvenation, are impervious to aging and natural death. They can, however, be slain in battle or by ritual sacrifice.
 * While Mahjarrat are in a shifted form they can still use all of their abilities but don't have the protection from their sturdier physique. Sustaining a different form than their natural will drain their power, however.
 * A Mahjarrat's main form, if the Mahjarrat has not recently participated in a Ritual of Rejuvation, is generally called it's "lich" form, in which they take on a skeletal-like appearance. Their bodies are made of pure bone, giving them a natural armor. It is possible that organs are hidden inside; but it is not confirmed.
 * A Mahjarrat's true form, post-ritual, is not a skeleton. They have flesh, and their faces seem to resemble humans, albeit with some noted differences.
 * Mahjarrat are able to reproduce; however, due to the lack of females and the general stubbornness of the only remaining female known in lore (Enakhra), this has not happened in some time. The youngest known Mahjarrat in lore is Khazard. His mother was Palkeera, and she died.
 * A Mahjarrat having a child on Gielinor must sacrifice some of her own energy when giving birth to a child.
 * Mahjarrat have incredible strength. At full, post-ritual strength, they may be able to rip a human in half with their bare hands.
 * Mahjarrat are capable of sensing the presence of another Mahjarrat, though discerning their identity can prove to be difficult.
 * Mahjarrat are capable of entering a frozen suspension called hibernation. In this frozen sleep, they are able to heal even the most extreme wounds and conserve power.
 * Mahjarrat are capable of using magic without runes, unlike most humans.
 * Mahjarrat don't feel physical pain nearly as much as humans and have a muted sense of emotions. This was noted by Kharshai in the quest Missing, Presumed Death, when asked about his new form.
 * On Freneskae, the Mahjarrat had a link of sorts to Mah's Elder energy, so Mahjarrat did not degrade over time on their homeworld as they do on Gielinor.

Other Accepted Lore

 * The flesh of a Mahjarrat's natural form is on a spectrum of dusty purples and reds, pearly whites, and very light beiges.
 * Mahjarrat are not Undead, and it is accepted that they DO have vital organs.
 * Mahjarrat almost always disguise themselves when in public. The exception to this would be when flaunting power shamelessly, like when Zemouregal appears to The Adventurer in Defender of Varrock to threaten him/her and try to stop him/her from intervening.
 * Almost all Mahjarrat seen have crystals on their person, often imbedded in their foreheads. These crystals, once thought to be phylacteries like liches have, were revealed to be crystals that are similar to Seren's and Zaros's. These crystals are a sign of their origin from Mah, and their connection to the two gods.
 * Mahjarrat don't eat food or drink, in fact consuming food or drink often leads to them regurgitating it out later. Hazeel even claims the way humans eat food is 'disgusting'.
 * No known Mahjarrat besides Bilrach has ever returned to Freneskae.
 * It should be noted that the term "Mahjarrat" refers not to the whole race but a specific tribe that left Freneskae with Icthlarin. Technically, while no Mahjarrat is currently known to reside on Freneskae, other tribes of the same race may still exist.
 * According to Kharshai's memory, nearly 500 Mahjarrat left Freneskae. At the end of the Menaphite War, there were less than 100.
 * Before the Mahjarrat left Freneskae, the Muspah, creatures born from Mah's nightmares, were held with fear among the Mahjarrat. An appropriate analogy is that Muspah are to Mahjarrat what demons are to humans.

Debated Lore
This section contains lore that, whether or not it's obviously present in-game, may be disputed for use in-character either because of conflicting interpretations of lore or because it makes the character over-powered.
 * It is thought that Mahjarrat organs are not as fragile as those of humans.
 * It is widely believed that Mahjarrat have the gift of short distance teleportation. (Use of this is discouraged in roleplay because it is almost always over-powered, especially when coupled with no need for runes.)
 * It is thought that Mahjarrat are able to grow in power temporarily whenever they are next to a large source of magic, as long as they can access it.
 * Some believe Mahjarrat are capable of controlling portals to other realms, evidenced by Bilrach, though he was able to achieve this by creating Daemonheim and getting closer to "The Rif" (a mysterious place that weakens the boundaries between Gielinor and other worlds).
 * Many Mahjarrat seem to have selected a specific physical form that they tend to take most often when masquerading as humans. Some roleplayers infer from this that each Mahjarrat has a human shape that comes most naturally to them.
 * Mahjarrat blood is thought to be toxic by many.
 * Mahjarrat naturally have a higher intellect than humans. Kharshai claims that his intellect has generally increased upon gaining his memories. Also, Mahjarrat are a nigh-immortal race, so it'd be understandable that they'd have a higher capacity for knowledge, facts, and memories.
 * Mahjarrat most likely do not have separate family names. Their tribal identity would probably overpower any splits of said size.
 * Returning to Freneskae might cause a Mahjarrat to become rejuvenated because they would be returning to the world that has most of Mah's energy.

Other Information

 * The "Divisional Split Theory" is a popular lorebending theory practiced by a number of users which attempts to explain the existence of many Mahjarrat that exist in public role-playing on world 42, including some of the issues brought up in the Making A Mahjarrat section of this article.
 * Mah_wisp.pngrrat/Tribes is a page that details some of the various player-made groups of Dreams of Mah.
 * Mahjarrat are made of divine energy from the elder god Mah. The wisps that come from Mah contain both light and dark energies; the very energies that make up Seren and Zaros. Because of Mah attempting to recreate Zaros after he left, the Mahjarrat being the failed result, it can be assumed that Mahjarrat contain more or only darkness energy instead of light, as there is in Seren.
 * This may explain why many Mahjarrat can access the shadow realm.
 * Amusingly, if you killed a Mahjarrat, like killing a Nihil or Muspah, you would likely get elder energy out of doing so.
 * The word Mahjarrat is a tribe name, and thus a proper noun, so it is always capitalized, unlike a race name like humans.

Role-Playing A Mahjarrat
To put it simply, Mahjarrat are incredibly powerful. They are magical, near-immortal beings with millenia of practice to match their raw magical abilities, with an immense amount of strength. They are ancient magic users, sorcerers, necromancers, and physically strong. Even the weakest of Mahjarrat will have an advantage over most humans. It would seem that they are also capable of using mind-control and that their racial awareness, while innate, is also a skill and can be improved.

This can often lead to a large amount of overpowering and godmodding within Roleplay. It can be dealt with by either finding reasons to make it fair- perhaps your character is apathetic to humans as a human would be to insects. Perhaps your mahjarrat is naturally weak. The choice is entirely up to the roleplayer, but it is to be stressed that if a mahjarrat character walks into a bar and begins to kill everybody for the fun of it, it likely won't get the roleplayer many friends OOC'ly, and their character will be ignored.

For more information on a Mahjarrat's abilities, click here. (Source: RS Wikia)

Roleplaying Mahjarrat Well
Mahjarrat are often considered to be one of the hardest races to play well due to the inherent issues present in playing such an old, powerful, and rare race. It is recommended that a roleplayer exercises caution and does their research before creating a Mahjarrat character.
 * Mahjarrat will very rarely mention their kin to outsiders, and without express, critical motivation, most Mahjarrat will keep their identities secret. Mahjarrat, though strong, are not immortal, and it is often vital to avoid showing true identity haphazardly; it would be often be dangerous to do so, bothersome at best.
 * Many Mahjarrat chose to adopt an alternate alias for a disguise, such as Doctor Nabanik (Azzanadra) or Ali the Wise (Wahisietel); these were both Mahjarrat disguises. Being a Mahjarrat does not mean that an obviously conspicuous disguise will be any less conspicuous. If the player intends OOC'ly for the Mahjarrat to IC'ly blend in, they will need to do so well.
 * Some role-players even go so far as to keep the true race of their characters a secret OOC'ly from other players to better perpetuate the disguise. This is an individual choice.
 * Zarosian Mahjarrat RP'ers will need to remember the inherent secrecy and prejudices that a Zarosian will know about. Public acknowledgement of Zaros should be avoided as a precaution against attack by both fearful humans and enemy Mahjarrat. Until very recently it was considered wise for Zarosians to keep quiet as only a few would openly profess their beliefs. Common people won't have more than a clue who Zaros is, but that doesn't stop enemies from biasing them against Zarosianism. Should a Mahjarrat slip up around people, the consequences could be disastrous.
 * Some of the more powerful Mahjarrat are very smart, such as Sliske, and some are rather impulsive and blunt, such as Khazard. The RP'er will have to make the choice themselves as to how their Mahjarrat will be.
 * Mahjarrat are almost always in a high position of power, or are following another Mahjarrat. They never aim small. They have an almost zealous need to hold great power in their hands. This makes sense - a master chef with a record in gourmet dining will not want to be a frycook at Taco Bell. Similarly, a Mahjarrat who is a guard but has no plans to moving up quickly is so frowned upon in the world 42 community that it borders lorebreaking.
 * Due to their incredibly lengthy lives, Mahjarrat can study and learn just about anything they wish. This includes languages, magics, combat, and just about any learnable skill. The wise player would avoid a character who knows everything, though, and all significant skills should be addressed when building a character's background.

Making a Mahjarrat
There are a number of critical details that a player developing a mahjarrat character should address in his/her bio in order to make it more legitimate and conform to the boundaries of lore.
 * 1) Why does s/he mix with the community? Nearly all Mahjarrat are hidden away from obvious human sight. Wahisietel is an exception, but he disguises himself as a humble human as a cover for his work with Azzanadra.
 * 2) Why isn't s/he in Zemourgal's Notes? Before all the living mahjarrat were released in-game, for male characters, it was possible to say that your mahjarrat was in the Notes and simply provide what was written. However, this is no longer possible. Females did not have this option, since it's known that Enakhra is thought to be the only female Mahjarrat still living. If using the "Divisional split theory", this can be a legitimate reason for not being in the notes.
 * 3) Why is s/he so "weak?" Why doesn't s/he raise an undead army in the middle of Falador?
 * 4) How did s/he react to Zamorak's betrayal and how did s/he participate in/survive the God Wars?
 * 5) Aside from surviving, what has s/he done with the last few thousand years of life and what plans does s/he have help Zamorak/Zaros? If none, why not, and what plans does s/he have instead?
 * 6) If s/he is in a place like Falador/Entrana/Paterdomus, explain how the saradominist protections there do not cause some kind of harm or inconvenience. All known Mahjarrat are aligned with Zaros and Zamorak, including Kharshai who is assumed to be a balance weight between the two. All of these alignments fall subject to the wrath of Saradomin - especially Zamorak.