Mephiles Sol

"I do not fear death anymore. Instead, I fear a lack of it."

- Mephiles Talkur Sol

Mephiles (Pronounced Meh-fuh-liss) is the God of Rejuvination and self-appointed Guardian of the Well of Life. He is seen as a lesser deity due to his recent ascension and lack of following, but has greatly influenced the course of various underground religious factions during the fifth and sixth ages. Mephiles is often associated with Necromancy due to his undead nature and use of the undead.

Originally a mortal Fremennik outcast known as Talkur, he was killed during the Early Fremennik Daemonheim campaigns, to be later resurrected, as a Wight, in service to the Necromancer Fer ‘Ireth and the Immortues order. Breaking free from his master grasp over the century, Mephiles became deeply involved into the newly discovered art of Divination, eventually hoarding thousands of wisps, divine shards and the Well of Life to fuel his tremendous magical abilities, which reinforced his control over South Kandarin. Mephiles did this all in desperation to prevent his master from ‘destroying death itself’, while also enacting revenge for destroying his ability to pass on into the Afterlife.

By discovering the secret of combining the power of his various divine hoards, Mephiles created the False Artefacts; fake Elder Artefacts that could mimic their power to a lesser degree, using their power to create a Divine Simulacrum in the Elder Halls of Freneskae. Sacrificing his mortal body for the Simulacrum, Mephiles ascended as a divine being to finally destroy his former master.

Mephiles returned to Gielinor just after the death of Tuska, inciting the Godless Faction into a treasure hunt for his False Artifacts. His Paradigm now acts to recover them, while protecting the Well of Life. He strongly believes that the Well is a Elder Artefact, due to its unprecedented power to restore and alter life.

Early Life
Mephiles, originally named as Talkur, was born in the 132nd year of the Fifth Age within the Fremennik Isles. This was a period of great strife between the Fremennik Islanders and the Lunar Clan, which where warring over the loss of trading ships in lunar territories. His heritage is shrouded, as he was born during a raid by the Lunar clan upon his family's colony. His body acted as a conduit for the clan's magical attacks, absorbing it in his newly born body, which would grant Talkur a natural affinity with the magical arts for his later life.

Following the attack, he was found as one of only a few survivors of the attack which has claimed his true parents. A young couple took in Talkur as adoptive parents on the Fremerink mainland, at the fishing and transport hub of Rellekka. Three years later, Talkur became a older brother with the birth of Balkor. While growing up within the nomadic community, Talkur developed as a sheltered and shy boy who would be willing to fight if provoked. He often ventured around the settlement, playing with wooden shields and swords with the other boys.

Aged seven, his father began to take him on basic hunting trips for game such as rabbit and other native animals. While the initial trips allowed the two to bond, the fourth trip lead to Talkur unlocking the power he absorbed at birth, when a pack of dire wolves ambushed the young Fremerink in the icy hunting grounds north of Rellekka. A primal instinct activated within him, which slaughtered the wolves with one hellish screech. He had tapped into the magic his newborn body absorbed at birth during the Battle of the Fremennik Isles.

Talkur was put forward to the Chieftain of the village at the time after this trip by the locals, fearful that he was a weapon planted by the Lunar Clan to destroy them. While the Chieftain dismissed these allegations, he was fearful at the young child's power, and was bound by the founding laws of Rellekka to pass an edict over Talkur and his future within the community. Talkur was sentenced to be banished from the territory once he was at age to defend himself, 17, and to be striped of his birth-name and branded as "Mephiles"; a local name for the banished.

Banishment, Pilgrimage and Religion
Following Mephiles' banishment, he desired to understand what his magic could do. Naturally, he wished to see the Lunar Clan. Without many funds, goods or skills to offer for passage to the island, he traveled to East Ardougne to get a job of some kind. Mephiles found himself a poorly-page job as a errand boy for the palace, being sent to and from the port near Witchaven for the latest imports of meats, fine wine and spices that the royals consumed. Mephiles struggled with the position for almost a year, building up a small fund for his pilgrimage to Lunar Isle. With enough funds, he fled in the middle of the night back to Rellekka to arrange a trip with Lokar, leaving behind nothing at Ardougne.

Mephiles avoided the guards around the main square and entrance by wading though the North Sea coastline, surprising Lokar as he tied up his boat for the night. Lokar bickered about how Mephiles shouldn't have returned and the risks he put not just himself, but was easily silence when Mephiles showed him the gold coins he offered for a one way trip. Not deterred by the fact that the Lunar Clan will attempt to teleport away those without a Seal of Passage, Lokar reluctantly sailed him to Pirates Cove and introduced him to the Captain who would take him over the sea.

Mephiles bribed the captain to redirect his trading route from Rellekia to make a stop at Lunar Isle, despite warnings of the village’s objection to outsiders: especially Fremenniks. Upon arrival, Mephiles and the crew where subjugated to an ambush by the clan, who had predicted his arrival. Captured, he was brought before the war council of the Lunar Clan, who were to try him as an agent of the Fremenniks. Upon the trial starting however, the council was split upon the discovery of his title: Mephiles: the title for a Fremennik who has been exiled for the use of magic. Mephiles proved this by recovering titles

Some wanted to continue the trial regardless for his shared heritage: to show that even their exiles where not safe from persecution, while others wanted to dismiss the case since he was not truly a part of the war as a exile. Divided for days, the matter was drawn to the reigning Oneiromancer’s attention. During this period, Mephiles remained oblivious to the debacle, excluding casual chat he overheard from his jailers.

Her decision was swift: Mephiles was dragged from the cells, malnourished and suffering from constant cold exposure, into the central hall, where much of the island’s population had gattered, along with the war council and the Oneiromancer herself. Against what little resistance he had left, they adorned him in specially treated Suqah robes and a decorative drayman staff, before lighting the brazier in the centre with a strange mixture of wood and mixtures that smelled potently sweet. The mixture intoxicated Mephiles, subjugating himself into a dream state that was suggestable by the Lunar Clan in the hall. While his physical self was being publically interrogated without the ability to deceive or restrain himself, his mind was being subjugated to torments of the past: Visions of the battle that claimed his birthparents, twisted versions of his adoptive family and the Fremennik villagers, along with his own fears. He awoke hours after, face down in a now empty hall. The Oneiromancer and War Council stood at the far end of the hall, concluding their discussion before two approached Mephiles. He braced for the worst: expecting a bolt of lightning or a sword to pierce his agony-riddled form and end it all. Instead, he was uplifted. The Omeiromancer smirked and explained that he had passed the most ardigious of the trials aMoon Clansman must face, and that he was now one of them.

Mephiles took time to adjust to the sudden adoption by a new clan, but soon began tuition to learn about magic, runecrafting and how to control his birthpower. The Oneiromancer did try to discover why Mephiles had his mark, but even after seven years, neither had a clue. But either way, Mephiles had made a home and gained power. It was also during this period he had a brief romantic affair with a woman named Elise, who would receive rare Cobalt Roses as romantic gifts.

And then then the Fremennik attacked.

A breakdown in negotiations between the Fremennik and the Lunar Clan lead to a bloody beachside assault sometime in the Year 164 of the Fifth Age. Mephiles, along with all the island’s able-bodied men, where called to arms. Even with the advantage of magic however, the Fremennik outnumbered them five to one, decimating their ranks. As the women sealed the village with a magical barrier, Mephiles and his troupe of 6 battle mages where subdued by a whole squadron of axe-wielding barbarians, and left unconscious.

The next few days where a blur for Mephiles: His former kinsmen had drugged him with potent herbal mixes that clouded his senses and judgement, though he was aware of his imprisonment back in Relekkia. And when he eventually became lucid again he was kneeling before the chieftain and a full audience of aggressive Fremenniks. His adoptive family was present in that crowd, though not aggressive: each sharing the same face of disappointment and disbelief that the boy they called Takur had returned in such a disgraced way.

Another familiar face was more prevalent: The chieftain’s. With his sword at Mephiles’s neck, alogn with the prodding of two wooden poles from the jailers either side of him, he announced the charges against him: Violating (disputed) Fremennik Territories when exiled, Allying with the Moon Clan and the practicing of magic with ‘sacred’ runestones. Each carried the sentence of death by beheading. Mephiles protested briefly, before one of his guards slammed him down with his polearm. He continued, stating that sentence had been passed already by the council of elders.

But it was not a death sentence: at least, not in the traditional sense.

The chieftain condemned him to serve on towards a band of explorers down into the depths of an ancient castle situated on a peninsula off west of the Wilderness.

“Let him be taken to Daemonheim, and let him prove himself as either one of us, or one of them. Either way, he will die.” The chieftain commanded his guards, taking Mephiles away.

Death at Daemonheim
Mephiles was transported to Daemonheim a few weeks after his public sentencing, along with several other prisoners sentenced to the same fate as him, many emboldened, noble explorers and their ‘serfs’: Villagers who were their legal property, but not truly slaves in the fact they were paid and had rights. The journey was harsh for most of them: particularly the journey through the Wilderness once known as Fortinury, where bandits and rouges would attempt to ambush and pillage their supplies and serfs.

Once they arrived at the foreboding castle, Mephiles and his fellow prisoners where each assigned to a different group, led by a single explorer. He was fortunate enough to get one of the most open-minded of them: a young but clever seer who showed some symphony for the “crimes” he had committed. But the three warriors who assisted him did not: brutes with some skill in the basic arts of weapon and armour smiting, but stoic in the beliefs his people harboured about magic.

And so they entered Daemonheim from a shaft in one of the main castle pillars. The first floors where frozen like the surface, home to engorged fauna and alien beasts. The brutes enjoyed smashing up all the strange new things: Mephiles detested it to a point: while his intellect craved to learn about what brought them here and what they did, he still retained that old thrill to fight anything threatening.

They soon delved deeper, where the ground was warmed by insulation and time. It was a wreck of abandoned tunnels and encampments, though a few sentients remained to guard their way. The brutes again, did not care: it was just more things to kill in their eyes. However, the seer and Mephiles saw eye to eye about their tragic loss: they could have given useful information, though the methods that Mephiles would have utilised would have been a bit more forceful.

As they progressed deeper into the inhabited and deeper abandoned levels, the seer and Mephiles became much more talkative. The brutes disliked it. For all the knowledge that he possessed, they saw no value in it: to them, he was to only serve them with food, drink and service until he was slain. They grew abusive against him, and he could do little against them: in chains or freehanded, any resistance was a reason for a painful execution without trial, even if the seer wanted to protect him.

But then they hit a stalemate. The Occult levels of Daemonheim where infested with shadowy beasts from many planes unknown to the brutes, along with the sacrilegious users of both runes and Necromancy. Along with this, the serfs had grown ill. Talk had quickly spread to retrieve what they could and return to the surface. But Mephiles and the seer had other ideas. They debated that Mephiles, who was the only one there who had extensive magical training, was the only one they had that could lead them though the demons, beasts and magical creatures without certain death.

The brutes detested this, and declared enough. In a fit of rage, they turned against the seer. As they fought, Mephiles took his chance: in the unmeasurable time that he had been contained in chains, she scavenged together whatever he was in reach off to fashion a tool to escape. Some rune essence, a lodestone shard and a small blastbox of runic power. Using them, he conjured up a spell to teleport the chains upon him into oblivion, before firing a burst of blood magic upon the brutes that sapped them into terminal submission.

In gratitude, the seer released Mephiles from his imprisonment and gave him and the surfs the opportunity to return home. But Mephiles refused, declaring that he had no home to go to. Scavenging a set of metal equipment and a rapier from the dying brutes, they continued onwards.

Months where spend slowly descended, facing Bilrach’s loyal hoards. As they did, they studied anything they could that presented knowledge about the arcane arts: Herblore, Runecrafting and Summoning. The seer himself was taught by Mephiles to cast spells, renouncing himself the belief that such stones where sacred when in fact they were as common as the stone itself. But it would not last.

They descended further than the rest of the original parties in the end: To where the rift between Zamroak’s realm and Gilenior was blurred. Here the terrors they faced where grander then whatever existed on the surface. And voices unknown, for the seer. He began to lose it as they broke down deeper, with night terrors and strange theories from nowhere. Mephiles himself heard something down there: whispers, but too faint to understand. Until his seer, who had been his only remaining ally in the world, turned against him with a Katagon dagger.

It pierced Mephile’s abdomen, which enturn flushed out blood as it was violently extracted. The two scuffled, rapier and spells against dagger and agility. Mephiles, enraged, sadly stuck the seer down with his rapier though the neck. He wept silently that night, tending his wounds to a warm oven in an abandoned mess hall.

The final days where painful: The wound was open still after being treated by crude wrappings, slowly gaining infection. A potent mix of strong mixtures and his emotions fuelled him deeper. He felt fury all the time, with all the days a blur of blood, sweat and determination to discover what many had failed to find. It would however become his folly as he encounter the World-gorger Shukarhazh on Floor 58. Alone, wounded and deluded with despair, the fight was one-sided. The stalker threw him across its chambers, smashing his form apart bit by bit. Blood stained the already crimsoned walls, before it took a final blow at his chest. That last strike to Mephiles would be slow and vivid, with every second of it feeling like days, before the darkness would take him.

Mephiles’ body would be left alone by Shukarhaze, leaving him to the mercy of the swarming plant life. It preserved him well, until a group of scavengers found him aprox. three months later. They showed little respect as they tore his armour apart to set him free, before hawing him back to the surface upon a pile of other fallen warriors. Upon there waited a solem eastener with coin in hand. His new master: Fer’ Ireth.

Resurrection
The corpse was discovered by an bound shade, ordered by the Necrolord Fer 'Ireth, to recover the remains of any living creature within Daemonheim for study, along with bodies for general purposes. A group of simple-minded skeletons treated the body with a strange mixure of herbs and bonemeal, designed to avoid additional cellular decomposition along the journey to the Immortues Sanctum; a small chamber under the ruins of Uzer, tainted with the countless magics of necromancers who subcummed to their art since the Gileniorian God Wars.

Fer 'Ireth examined Mephiles' remains, noting that he had exceptional magical energies still locked within his dead body from both his natural infusion at birth and the organic preservation. It was decided that Mephiles would be resurrected and bound to Fer as a lich: the most powerful of the undead hoards known to exist on Gilenior.

On the 13th of Moevyng, Year 161 of the Fifth Age, Mephiles was reanimated as a Lich by Fer, in the presence of Ares and 3 assisting shades; the latter being terminated during the rite to fufill Mephiles' life force drain on his new master. While suscessfuly summoned by the Necrolord, difficulty soon followed, as Mephiles entered a form of shock from Reanimation Sickness; a condition most intelligent undead suffer from after their first reanimation as the necrotic disease slowly kills off the reanimated immune systems of the body.

Mephiles recovered over a three week period, slowly regaining control over his limbs and the eventual termination of his bodies' former functions, completing his first resurrection.

The Tainting of the Flesh
Following the weeks of recuperation following their twin resurrection, Mephiles and Ares where relocated to the Draynor Manor as their base of operations, and each trained separately by Fer, with Mephiles being trained in the basic forms of Ancient Magic and the use of a quarterstaff in melee combat. Upon completing his training, the duo where rewarded each with a gift from Fer’s personal collection:   Mephiles received Wightgrasp, an ancient quarterstaff that was wielded by one of the founding members of Immortues.

One of the first assignments for Mephiles was the attempted assassination of Emperor Russia the First during his occupation of the Kingdom of Kandarin, to prevent the purge of the order’s allies in the nobility and destabilise any attempt to cermet Zamorakism.

Leaping from the parapets of the conquered White Knight’s Castle, Mephiles underestimated his fragility and had torn ligaments and mussles upon impact, leaving him vulnerable as Russia and his personal guard stormed against him. But despite coming back and slaughtering the guardsmen, Russia was able to literally disarm Mephiles before dealing what he though was the killing blow into his chest cavity.

Waking up hours later, Mephiles found himself back at the manor on a stone slab in the basement, noticing he had fresh stitching around his torso and shoulders. Fer emerged from the shadows and stated that he had failed, but also that he expected him to do so, and was impressed on how much he had achieved despite overwhelming odds.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mephiles often spent his downtime in the rotting woods outside the manor, reading the various archives that Fer permitted him to relinquish from the archives that had either been left there by the Sicarus, or from the Uzer collection, under a particular dead oak tree that somehow still held leaves. He then would often practice on the same woods, which over the months would culminate in the development of a specialisation of both Blood Magic, Nature Magic and Necromancy, known as Tainted Flesh.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mephiles utilised these when Imortules was threatened by both Mars and Firan’ Ireth, who sought to enact revenge against Fer’ Ireth for centuries of betrayal.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mars, who was a jealous necromancer who desired the order’s secrets, attacked the manor house and abused the mental connection that mind-linked Mephiles to Fer, commanding him to attack Ares. The duo where evenly balanced with their unique advantages and disadvantages from Fer’s design of the two, and was only because of his intervention that Mephiles was overwhelmed and locked into one of the dungeon’s cells. Suspicious, Fer’ Ireth relocated the order back to Uzer, relinquishing the manor house back to a resurgent Sicarus.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mars would attack several other times as the trio travelled the continent to gather knowledge, eliminate their opponents or continue Mephiles and Ares’ training, eventually being cornered in Burg De Rott. The skirmish left Mars captured and tortured by Mephiles into revealing that Fer’s brother, Firan’ Ireth, had survived the ages and wanted revenge for what he conducted during the Second Age.

<p class="MsoNormal">Eventually Fer grew tired of the inference, using his contacts to trick Mars about their next trip, and using it to trap him at Burg De Rott. Subsequently tortured, despite Ares’ protests, Mars confessed that he had been operating on Fran’s orders, along that he was operating from the Blood Altar, using the Abyss as his means of transportation to intersect their movements.

<p class="MsoNormal">As Fer, Ares and Mephiles stormed through to the altar, Fer was suddenly incapacitated by a powerful snare that bypassed his powerful artefact’s protection. The snare left the duo weakened as they confronted Firan, along with a quickly recovered Mars, together in a destructive battle. Mephiles however was able to turn the tide against the duo, using his conductive form to absorb huge quantities of blood runic energy, then channelling it though himself and Ares to overcharge their spellcasting abilities.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ares slammed Firan against a pillar to disable him, but in doing so left Mephiles to grab Mars by the neck and without mercy, drowned him in the lake of blood. With Firan’s defeat, the snare was weakened, allowing Fer to break it and personally confront his brother. Standing proud for his triumphant creations, Fer condemned Firan’s irrational hate for necromancy, before dealing a killing blow and transporting the body to the Sanctuary to be stored away with the other husks.

The Crusade Strikes
While Fer was using Ares and Mephiles to eliminate his rivals and expand his power base, The Silver Temple had been observing, on the behath of the Zeiro clan in the Wushanko Isles. A long-since excommunicated branch of the Temple Knights, these Saradominists did not observe the rules of chivalry that bound the rest of the god’s armed forces together, so they could eliminate more enemies from the fallen empire during the Gileniorian God Wars. Fer’ Ireth had been a long-standing target for millennia, even becoming a myth within their own ranks as an illusion conjured up by the Zarosian Resistance for more time. However deluded, the Silver Templars had sent a scout to observe Firan’s recent activities. Originally believing that he was acting on the behalf of The Enclave; the modern leaders of the zarosian cause, the realisation that Fer was still alive reignited a centuries-old crusade against the Necromancer.

Rallying together the scattered remnants of the order, Riggly LeRamox, Grand Bishop of the order united The Silver Temple for the first time in a lifetime, leading a crusade to the Immortues Ruins in northern Uzer. Ambushed by a battalion of dirty-fighting knights within the upper chambers, Mephiles and Ares were equally matched against what should have been to their advantage.

The duo did not last more than 20 minutes until the second wave of knights broke their defence, forcibly retreating to the lower chambers. The lower zombies and ghouls that Fer had created before the two did swarm at the knights out of instinct, but equipped with silver-edged swords and spell tags, the numerous experiments of Fer fell swiftly. During the distraction, Mephiles and Ares were dragged into the inner sanctum by Fer, which was sealed behind him.

Fer confirmed with the duo that he had acted rash and had unwillingly jeopardize his own work by allowing The Silver Temple to find them. With the knights haven disposed of the other undead, Riggly and his warlocks begun to melt though the solid mithril frame that held the inner sanctum both impenetrable and together. With haste, Ares was dragged onto the ritual marker, while Mephiles was ordered to pack up as much research as he could into his backpack. Ares was infused with a sizable portion of Fer’s lifeforce, focused though his staff. This triplicated Ares’ ectoplasm density, allowing for physical interaction with the world. But more importantly, Ares’ life force was regenerated to an important threshold; to where he could manipulate the undead and sustain himself.

With the ritual complete, Ares was ordered to tether this gift with Mephiles, so to sustain him. When questioned why Mephiles would need it, Fer remained silent. The tether was simple enough to create, and so with one final burst of power, the duo were teleported out of the complex and deep into the lower desert. Returning hours after the incident, they saw the ruins engulfed in fire from a mesa, with the camp of the Silver Temple knights in song and dance, parading around artifacts before throwing them back into the flames. Believing their master to be dead, Mephiles and Ares moved north to the Kingdom of Misthalin to escape detection.

<p class="MsoNormal">However, Mephiles soon began to deteriorate. While Ares had now the power to sustain the dead, he was not generating enough to sustain Mephiles, and Fer’s bond had now been cut off by the Zeiro. Dying, Ares took him to the Tower of Life so he could use the well to regenerate himself, unaware of the physical or mental ramifications.

The Frost
<p class="MsoNormal">Spending weeks encased within the Tower of Life to ensure his physical form remained intact, Mephiles sought to test if he could still perform proficiently in combat, along with confronting the past that Fer had restrained him from. Mephiles returned to Daemonheim, disguised as another of the many explorers who his former people had invited to raid.

<p class="MsoNormal">Slightly torn between facing his demons alone, Mephiles agreed to assist a band of adventurers known as The Frost, led by Hawke Frost. Venturing deep, Mephiles and Hawke discussed various topics of magic between the carnage, with Hawke revealing his species’ abilities with water and ice magic.

<p class="MsoNormal">During the raid, Mephiles was paralysed in fear and the very creature that had slain him, World-gorger Shukarhazh, was guarding the exit. Hawke and his band however stoop firm, convincing him to stand up and face him with them. Agreeing, the team took on Shukarhazh and succeeded, with Mephiles himself dealing the killing blow by removing the Seeker’s main eye with a Gorgonite Rapier.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hawke was impressed, offering a place for Mephiles to train with them as a member of The Frost. Mephiles agreed, on the condition that Hawke teaches him Ice Magic. Agreeing to the terms, Mephiles would spend the next few months between the Frost’s constant Daemonheim raids and the Tower of Life. Hawke would be one of the few permitted to visit Mephiles at the tower and learn about the well.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mephiles’ alliance with the Frost culminated with a mission to recover a modified Arcane Steam Necklace from Daemonheim, which had been stolen by one of Bilrach’s servants who claimed to be a Necrolord. With it recovered, The Frost planned to return to Hawke’s homeworld, Asylum, and use the amulet to legitimise his claim to be king of one of the world’s many shifting kingdoms. Mephiles refused the offer to join them, but regardless, Hawke declared him a duke before he left.

<p class="MsoNormal">A few weeks later, Mephiles received a letter, learning that Hawke’s succession to the throne was successful, making Mephiles the Duke of the Nevermelt Isles on Asylum, though a proxy had been installed in his absence to maintain order. Mephiles would eventually convert the small castle he had gained though the Dukedom into a personal storage facility for experiments.

The Final Drop of Blood
Mephiles was now without Fer's life-force for an extended period at this point; the necrotic disease that had resurrected him was almost absent from his body, replaced by the dependence on the Waters of Life. However, a dwindling supply from the well south of Ardounge and the failure to augment the properties into a renewable form left Mephiles in limbo between life and death.

Mephiles however was determined to escape death again, gambling his life by infusing his remaining supply of the life-renewing in one burst to regenerate his lost magical and physical strength at the cost of a minuscule lifespan of just 4 days. Finally able to leave his tower, Mephiles traveled to what had been a place of interest following a recent earthquake: Guthix' resting place.

Entering the newly consecrated temple was easy for the Lich: the Druids had disabled the remaining defenses and did not challenge anyone they though had pilgrimage to pay their respects to Guthix. Mephiles was exasperated by the sight of the dead god, unaware of the events that had unfolded for the world because of his confinement. He attempted to study Guthix's corpse to no avail, the druids intervening at every chance.

But the solution was there. By the third day, Mephiles was decaying again, suffering from weakened bones and strained flesh. Knowing he didn't have much longer, only his faith to Zaros kept him going, praying that the Empty Lord would provide a cure for his impending fate. And he so did provide, for a small part of the great plan still would require Mephiles.

The final day begun with a aftershock. The temple shuddered as flares of energy dispersed from Guthix's corpse and into the earth above them, bound for Lumbridge. However, as it did, fragments of green rained upon the small camp of pilgrims that had camped for the night, including Mephiles, who upon physical contact with the shards begun to draw energy from them. The energy was minute, but enough to power his body like the waters of life had done.

Hoarding the shards from everyone throughout the morning had made the druid's suspensions grow to breaking point, demanding that he leave the temple. Several Druids were wounded in a skirmish before they backed off in fear, along with the pilgrims. Drained and at the brink, Mephiles quickly cobbled the shards together, crushing them up with a pestle and mortar into a fine powder. Poured into a vial of stale unicorn dust, snapdragon and rainwater, he consumed the mix in one swig.

His dead organs contracted and rebounded into life, shocking his reviving body systems. The pure, unrestrained fragments of Guthix's godly powers was rejuvenating him at a unprecedented rate. Minutes past as the pain fluxed, Mephiles screeching in pain as he continued his self-resurrection. Then it stopped. Looking into the shattered glass of the vial, Mephiles visage was like that when Fer and Ares would revive him. Mephiles had found a way to sustain himself again.

The Battle of Lumbridge
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">Following Mephiles’ renewed freedom and knowledge on the rejuvenating properties of Divine Power, he lusted for more of it. And ample opportunity arose when the God of Chaos, Zamorak, fell into open conflict with his old enemy, Saradomin, over an overflowing well of the deceased Guthix’s power. The Battle of Lumbridge posed the best opportunity and timing for Mephiles: A chance to hoard his own share of the power for himself, along with plenty of targets to regain his prowess in open battle.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">However, Mephiles was cautious: He was still much weaker than he was once was in his prime. Taking to open carnage would be a foolish gesture in his eyes. So he decided to take upon some of the old knowledge that his forsaken master and Ares had taught him: knowledge on how to disguise oneself as a mortal. Mephiles bleached and tightened his skin using simple herblore, before adorning the equipment of a Black Knight Initiate.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">Infiltration was simple: the call to arms from both sides was sudden and unexpected: there were no real lists of who was really a knight: So long as you respected the chain of command and wore the right colours, you where one with them. Over the weeks, Mephiles stormed the crater battlefield with a fury he had not felt since he was a true fremerrink, looting hoards of the green divine shards, then smuggling past the god’s force with trading caravans, which had been secretly infiltrated by his servants.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">During the nights, when the battles died down to their lowest bloodshed, Mephiles would sneak off back to his former prison, the Tower of Life, to experiment. Little was known about divine power, as it was mainly hoarded by the young gods, so days passed without any success to refine them into a usable power source. In desperation, he turned to scientific and research papers that had been flooding out of the Mages Guild and Wizard’s Tower. The work of one Ava Stormbrewer would be the key.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">Her theories on Divination would crack the puzzle around the shards. As he cracked the first few open, raw power erupted before him with dangerous force. The reaction between the open air was violent, dispersing the power contained. So Mephiles conducted an ingenious form of containment: the Well of Life, which already sprung with seemingly divine properties, was the perfect container. Mephiles would bathe in the well daily, which seeped Anima into his body, rejuvenating and empowering it. Necrotic flesh would be scrubbed apart into newborn skin and bone, while the vigour and undying will of youth returned in a blaze of blue and green.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">By the time Saradomin overpowered Zamorak, Mephiles was no longer afraid to hide. On the last day of battle, Mephiles openly emerged into direct combat, along with many others who flocked to salvage what they could until the gods met their climax. With body, mind and spirit rejuvenated, Mephiles initiated a small massacre upon both sides, all while hoarding the last scraps of divinity.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">Mephiles stood at the centre of it all, along with many others who participated, when Saradomin went for the killing blow. He knew dangerous times where coming, now that Saradomin believed himself victorious in the first battle of the Sixth Age. Regardless, Mephiles also considered The Battle of Lumbridge a success. But raw hate for his master had grown exponentially with the return to freedom: he felt now was the time to begin to move against Fer’ Ireth.

The Bird and The Beast
With Bandos and Armadyl waging a bloody conflict across Misthalin and Asgarnia, Mephiles sought another opportunity to extract the life force of Guthix and the Anima Mundi from right under the Gods’ noses, setting out for Varrock.

Ambushing a Armadylian caravan, being escorted by a human captain to Draynor Village, Mephiles slaughtered the diviners and stripped the captain of his armor, weapons and eyepatch. Combined with some herbal hair dyes that the Fremennik use and an transfiguration potion to tighten his undead skin, he created the persona of Captain Jova. The forces of Armadyl and Bandos had been summoned with haste, so no real records existed to confirm or expose the existence of Jova. Across the six weeks, Mephiles planted siphons on various caravans, which remotely stored wisps and energy in magical canisters, buried within the carpentry of the caravans. He would extract the canisters at nightly intervals, teleporting them back to his tower to be processed by Viza into the Well of Life.

Mephiles remained absent during other events during the conflict, such as The Battle of Gunnarsgrunn, to not draw attention to himself.

Following Bandos’ demise and Armadyl’s victory, Mephiles sought his opportunity and removed the canisters from the now abandoned caravans, along with any remaining wisps that were no longer required to fuel the Divine Focus. He also slaughtered an unfortunate highwayman from the local roads, dressing him up in Jova’s equipment and dying his hair, before igniting the body. Armadylian forces investigated, believing that Jova had been killed by Bandosian forces as revenge.

Now residing within the Tower of Life, Mephiles has begun refining the potent mixture of the waters of life, the divine tears from the Battle of Lumbridge and the Wisps from the Armadylian-Bandosian Conflict. It’s unknown what Mephiles plans to do with the resulting power, other than to continue to fuel his life-force. Ares however has concerns that Mephiles intends to use the resulting mixture as a power source for ascendency, or a terrible weapon of mass destruction, being inspired by the Divine Focus and The Scarecrow.

Race To Ascension
While Mephiles was refining the divine mixture, Ares had manipulated a shaman in the Karamja jungle named Ivan, to hunt for the assailant of a local deity known as the Spirit of The Stars, who had mysteriously disappeared, leading to a swarm of undead attacking the local tribes. Disguised as a spellsword for hire, Ares was hired by Ivan, who also recruited a crossbowman, a exiled bandosian commander and along their journey, a polearm-wielding easterner.

The journey led them to a crypt, where the Spirit of the Stars was rejuvenating itself with the aid of the daughter of one of Ivan’s old shaman friends. However, the group is ambushed by Sihrus, an old enemy of the Immortues order, who had targeted the Spirit of The Stars to allow his necromantic creations to conquer the local tribes. After a drawn out battle against several skeletal behemoths, Sihrus is defeated and seemingly destroyed by a rejuvenated Spirit of The Stars.

However, Sihrus leaves behinds two powerful artifacts; a flawless diamond amulet and his wand. Ares abandons his disguise and telegrabs the amulet, which was one of Fer’ Ireth’s four artifacts. Within close proximity to Fer’s spellbook and cloak, both wielded by Ares, Fer returned in a semi-ethereal form, recruiting the easterner to his side, in return for the wand. He also attempted to recruit the bandosian, but fails to convince him and simply pays him for his service.

The resurrection however is not left unnoticed, as Mephiles’ connection to Fer is restored with his former master’s return. A potent mixture of fear and anger by this revelation causes an imprint of Mephiles’ emotions to be absorbed by the collected wisps and felt by the local presence of the Anima Mundi, causing a vicious storm to batter southern Kandarin and East Ardounge. Mephiles accelerated his plans with the return of Fer, utilising newfound knowledge of the animating properties of the divine materials he had harvested to create the Necrovitalia Cognito: a twisted, immobile hive mind created from a strain of Gargoyle-consuming plant known as Canifis Gargovore. Housed and nurtured in the many abandoned catacomb complexes under the ruins of Senntisten, Necrovitalia Cognito breaded a new species of undead: Necroviles.

Spawned as swarms of twitching blood veins, Necrovile spawn latch onto the recently deceased, reshaping them into one of the many castes of necrovile sub-species that Mephiles and Viza had conducted up. Packs of Bestia Necroviles, accompanied with the bat-winged Votalus Necroviles where the first batch to successfully enter service in the Mephiles Paradigm. Teneabre, Vitium, and Sano Necroviles later evolved independently to fill nieces in their primal society.

Latched into the heart of the Cognito, Mephiles orchestrated a wave of terror in Gillenior’s underworld, with swarms of Necroviles being sent to eliminate several figures of power within the Kingdom of Kandarin. Necroviles were also used to terrorise major Divination sites, securing access for his Paradigm's followers undetected. Fer and Ares did encountered the Necroviles sometime during this period, leading to several battles across Asgarnia, but the duo were unaware that Mephiles was their master until the White Wolf Engagement, where a major trade blockade was sabotaged by the Kaledrake Militia; a mercenary clan consisting of dark wizards and spellswords from various kingdoms, then under the employment of Ares. Necrovile forces were routed and exposed when Viza intervene to organise a tactical retreat.

While suffering heavy losses, Mephiles took advantage of the blockade’s effect to secure a major stockpile of divination energy, strengthening his emerging forces and his own divine reserve. the Kaledrake Militia also had their allegiance bought over by Mephiles in return for tuition in necromancy. The two forces became synonymous as Necrovile legions were incorporated into the militia, while the militia itself was usurped by Mephiles into his paradigm. Kaledrake forces enforced a occupation across the abandoned, battle-scarred wilds between East Ardougne and Yanhile, with the Khazard fortress being partially rebuilt as their new permanent headquarters. Raiding parties gained control of resisting settlements and kandarin patrols, providing a steady source of bodies and equipment for the Necroviles. The region was considered to be lost by the Ardoundge Government within a year, being referred by locals as the Fields of Toil.

Exubitor Necroviles were developed as Mephiles delved into the darkest secrets he could decipher from the tomes he had saved from The Silver Temple, being appointed as the personal guard for himself, the Kaledrake clan leaders and the hive mind of the species. But the Excubitors were not Mephiles’ crowning achievement.

Knowledge from the eldest worlds in the multiverse had traveled to Gilenior with the World Gate’s activation since the God Wars; including detailed legends of the powers that many Elder Artifacts wielded, particularly with the Staff of Armadyl. Though months of experimentation, calculations and close examinations, Mephiles was convinced he could pool the majority of his accumulated power into a single, false artifact. Such an artifact would not be able to kill a god, but would wield a terrifying, near endless pool of divine power that could be channeled into the wielder’s being. Mephiles considered a earth-shattering proposal: A strong, consistent reservoir of divine power that originated from the Elder Gods could be channeled through a false artifact to achieve ascendancy in the same way that the young gods had used Elder Artifacts and the

execution of their peers, though to a lesser intensity. In short, Mephiles proposed he could become a demigod.

Mephiles’s conclusion was timed well, as Fer’ Ireth and Ares launched targeted strikes at Kaledrake camps and resupply posts, including the converted Kaledrake fortress, to triangulate the source of the Necrovitalia Cognito. Now limited in time for the control of his undead forces, Mephiles acted swiftly to delay Immortues’ allies, along with Fer and Ares themselves, while he sourced a sutiple source of Elder Energy to fuel his ascension.

Immortues’ former allies, including nobility in Ardounge, where assassinated bruitly in public under the guise that the two paradigms where still united. Retaliation from the Mages Guild and even the Guardians of Armadyl where used to stall Fer and Ares.

Mephiles searched for weeks though the countless tales and legends etched into the multiverse’s history, increasingly paranoid over when Fer would overpower him either mentally or tactically. The paranoia Mephiles inflicted on himself had an indirect control on the stem, leading to the newer generations of Necroviles to be much more guarded of their surrounded. This ultimately exposed Mephiles to a crippling blow, with Fer identifying his paranoia though their insidious resurrection bond and tracing it back to the stem.

The link however exposed Fer’s mind as well, unwittingly exposing a wealth of knowledge that Fer knew, but considered to be irreverent to his goals; including tales that the Majharrat had told of their homeworld and the Elder God, Mah.

Including the Elder Halls.

A stroke of genius stuck the wright, who realised that Mah’s divine power, which was a thousand times more potent than the well, whips and shards combined, would had manifested into wisps that could be shaped though standard divination; including into a new, divine body. A Simulacrum.

The process he realised was fraught with perils; His undead form would be destroyed in the process, leaving him as a disembodied spirit for fleeting moments. He also could not predict what the Simulacrum would grant to a humanoid form; he could change species, be incompatible or even be beyond his control. He could also not attempt a second chance: the ritual was a one-way process

The alternative was not prosperous either; Fer would regain control and complete his final act of unifying Mephiles and Ares into his catalyst for destroying death, which would compromise both mortals and gods alike. He had no choice.

Mephiles enacted The Final Plan: the prelude to his final solution for Fer. As his enemies approached the Dig Site, Mephiles ordered his remaining Necroviles and Kaledrake forces to the fields beside Eagle’s Peek, while Mephiles, Viza and his independent Excubtor Necroviles would charge though the freshly-reopened World Gate and navigate to Freneskae’s Elder Halls. The Necroviles and Viza would mount a final defence at the Sanctum of Zaros, giving Mephiles the precious time to construct a Simulacrum.

As the team passed through the gate unhindered, chaos ensued as the Necrovitalia Cognito was slain. The Necroviles turned into rabid, senseless creatures immediately, turning Eagle’s Peek into a chaotic hunting ground for both sides. Fer and Ares lead though the gate soon after, trailing Mephiles’ path following news of the chaos reaching Burthorpe. The duo strided though the chaos and entered the world gate to Freneskae.

The ritual soon began, with Mephiles and a few still-lucid Necroviles harvesting Elder Energy in vast quantites, while Mephiles taped into the power of his False Artifacts to transmute their power into the raw simulacrum. The storms above Freneskae grew extremely violent from the tremendous energy surged, combining into a luminous pillar of cyan, purple and green that shot through the clouds, revealing Frenesake’s natural orange skies.

Necroviles fell against Fer and Ares as they approach the Sanctum, where Viza was prepared. Armed with two bows, she ambushed the duo with an avalanche of volcanic tides, forcing them into the closed environment of the Sanctum. While effective in a more closed, reinforced environment that restricted her opponent’s devastating casting abilities, the mummy was forced further and further back into the chamber, eventually being cornered into the Nihil chamber. Disturbed by the commotion of the battle, startled Nihil swarmed the trio. Numbers fell, but Fer and Ares managed to reach higher ground. Viza perished in the final stand, overwhelmed by numbers, and was consumed.

Mephiles' Ascendancy
But Viza’s sacrifice was not in vain. The ritual was almost complete: all the energy from Gilenior was now ported into the ritual, and was now a matter of time as it was stabilised from the presence of the Anima Mundi well in the centre of the chamber. Mephiles waded in its power as his sworn enemies entered the halls.

Fer and Mephiles, still bound with some degree of respect for another’s success in their fields, pleaded with the other to submit: Mephiles begging Fer to reconsider the implications of his final plan for not just Gilenior, but for all of creation. It was a futile effort however: the duo engrossed with their beliefs and ethics beyond the point of return.

At an impasse, the battle begun. Mephiles immediately enveloped himself with an impenetrable spell shield, commanding his nearby Excubitor Necroiles to swarm, while also dodging flailing bursts from Wightgrasp. But soon Fer turn the tables, exposing The Amulet that projected the spell and shattering it with a concentrated burst of miasmic energy.

Mephiles then attuned himself to the Anima well, commanding the wisps to dispel their energy into violent explosions at the duo, which also caused parts of the hall’s vaulted ceiling to crumble and fall atop them. However Ares was ingenior, batting them back to Mephiles, throwing him away from the Anima well.

Enraged, Mephiles consumed the reserves of power he had left to gain superhuman speed and agility, sprinting like a lightning bolt around the chamber’s walls while also firing off divine energy charges to cloud their vision with ash. In the confusion, Mephiles bludgeoned Ares on the head with Wightgrasp, and took advantage by conjuring Tainted Magic tendrils to subdue him to the scorched earth.

With his apprentice incapacitated, Fer and Mephiles entered blow upon blow with each other, both from magic and physical strikes from their staffs. Ancient Magic, curses, charms and raw power stuck against each other with fury and chaos without pause. However, Fer’s Arefacts again protected him from harm, and as Mephiles became exhausted, using magic to alter the gravity around the room. Mephiles was thrown around the volcano and its egg-chambers like a child’s ragdoll, haemorrhaging his last pints of the water from the Well of Life. His flesh failed to heal, leaving him broken in mid-air.

A pause emerged in battle, the two exchanging a final glare. “Pax Decum.” Mephiles hissed ironically, just before Fer threw him the well to disintegrate.

Mephiles hooked his only working hand onto the Simulacrum as he hollowly bellowed towards what seemed like oblivion. Upon contact with the Anima Mundi, his physical form ignited into green flame and putrid stench that even made Fer grimace with disgust. Fer stared mincingly as his famed creation seeming burned into eternity. Then the ground began to shake. Mephiles cackled manically, seemingly incorporeal. His physical form was finally destroyed, allowing his spirit to momentarily transcend into the nearby Simulacrum, which was immune to the destructive Anima Mundi well. He shot out, infused with the power that had been hidden away for eons, as a string of helixes power and shot towards his former master. Fer’s artefacts, which had protected him since the God Wars from mortal harm, finally subsumed to a stronger power. The cloak of protection and amulet of souls dissolved upon contact, while the staff cracked and withered.

A single, bone-clawed hand emerged from the helix. Then another and another, tearing into Fer’s limbs like a knife to butter. Vicious goo and purple smoke seeped out from the wounds, while Fer contorted between pain, shock and disbelief on his face. A face emerged, cloaked in gold-trimed teal and purple robes. The face underneath was Mephiles, contorted into the estatisity of when he was alive. Eyes where bloodshot and emerald green, but emanated a cyan corona around the sockets. His skin was charred, almost hardened, but glistened in the pale light like crystal. Cracks soon emerged, revealing a faint aquamarine glow beneath. necromancer.

Mephiles inflicted more torture onto Fer, clawing away at his flesh as his own grew back. He pulsed a major bust of divine power into his former master, causing Fer to drop his staff and the Tome of Knowledge. The pulse severed Fer’s connection to Ares, freeing him from the life-bond. Along with that, Mephiles destroyed the Tone of Knowledge by discarding it into the Anima Mundi.

“It is over Fer.” Mephiles said into Fer’s ear, kneeling down to seize the tome of knowledge from Fer. He glanced silently at the book for a moment, before deciding against he was thinking. He slung the book underarm into the Anima Mundi, which dinstergrated it within seconds.

A unknown power drew Wightgrasp to his reach and slid into a staff holster on Mephiles’ back. He turned to Ares, who now was possessed by his own anger and stood beside Fer.

“My work here is done, old friend. I trust you will make the right decision?” Mephiles queried Ares, seemingly like nothing had happened between them. Ares just nodded, raising his staff.

The crunch to Mephiles was both thrilling… and disappointing: he knew it was all over, but he expected more of a grandeur exit for the great Necrolord Fer ‘Ireth then a simple crunch of flesh upon bone within the abdomen. He though he had beaten any satisfaction away during the fight; his anger and hatred diminished.

But something more now possessed him. Divinity; or at least a fragment of it. He was now a Tier 7 deity: a young demigod. Without warning, he clicked his fingers to teleport Ares away to the World Gate. And then he looked up.

“What now?” Mephiles pondered to himself. “What now?”.

Self-Exile
Mephiles left Freneskae though the World Gate after hours of contemplation, but did not return to Gielinor. Confused and overwhelmed from recent events, Mephiles reprogrammed the gate to randomly send him across the multiverse. Mephiles explored many worlds and realms, including Infernus and Teragard, remaining anonymous to prevent the other Young Gods from discovering his existence.

In this time Mephiles gained a loose understanding of his new powers and body, particularly with controlling the balance of light and dark energy within all beings. During this time Mephiles also transmuted Wightgrasp, his personal False Artifact, into a sleeker form. He also documented a rough map of the Mutiverse on Teragard papyrus.

After three months of travel, Mephiles eventualy stumbled upon a chain of lifeless and shattered worlds. Upon enquiring local worlds, he learned about the devastating wake of Tuska and how she consumed entire worlds to sustain her hunger for Anima. Intrigued, he considered chasing Tuska and attempting some research on her power in an attempt understand his own. Pinpointing Tuska's wake on the Mutiverse Map, Mephiles shuddered as he realized that Tuska was on a direct collision course with Gilenior. Without thought, he begun the long journey across realms to return home and warn the population.

The Battle for Gielinor
Returning to Gilenor, Mephiles was shook upon learning that Tuska was in orbit of Gilenior, closing in day by day, while The Godless, Zamorakians, Armadylians and Saradominists banded together to mount a defense on Tuska's own back, hoping to launch a two-pronged plan; impaling Tuska with a Anima Spear with the aid of various adventurers and the World Guardian, while forces on Gilenior would launch assaults on Tuska's Airut and other followers, while establishing divine focuses to bombard Tuska.

The presence of Tuska in orbit was enough to induce Divine Entropy; a principle of divination where a super-large divine being's presence would dilute the effect and power of lesser divine beings within a exponential radius. With Tuska being so large in comparison, Mephiles was being weakened from the surface of the planet even when Tuska was approximately half the distance between Gilenior and Zanaris.

He knew his own forces where decimated and so decided to ally himself into the service of the four defense factions. The Armadyl faction where the only ones who accepted his help, being the most tolerant. Mephiles would also decide to hide his divine status from everyone unless required to do so, fearing retribution.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:0cm;mso-add-space:auto">As Tuska Fell, Mephiles felt the drain upon him by a true deity’s presence subside. However he was still weak, and now aware that the now Emboldened Godless would be on the prowl for another trophy. He would remain purposefully weaker for a few weeks, hiding with a couple of followers in self-exile upon a nearby world.

Mephiles returned to Tuska’s corpse sometime after the Mazcab world window opened, craving to return to his former power. He impaled the beast’s corpse along one of the anima laylines upon her back with Wightgrasp, channelling anima into himself. However Mephiles was reckless, not bothering to scout the area, where some Godless scouts had made a camp upon her hind. An archer took a shot at Mephiles, which cracked though his right leg.Wounded, Mephiles lost his footing and slipped, causing Wightgrasp to scrape along the length of his torso while still conducting Anima. His simulacrum form was damaged during this. As ambushers charged, Mephiles fell back to Tuska’s spines before conducting an emergency teleport to Ardounge.

Descent into Memories
Following the botched usurping of power, Mephiles returned to the ruins of the Tower of Life that lied just outside Ardounge. It had been salvaged upon the locals following the revolution against the Mourners, leaving very little rubble left off the surface. So despite his wounded form, he called upon tainted roots and the gargovores that had survived within the wreckage to rebuild the surface as it was before.<p class="MsoNormal">Upon stepping within, he found the sanctum as it had been left by Fer and Ares: Intact, but littered by the corpses of Necroviles that where either slain in combat or crushed by the tower’s rubble. The well itself was still frozen in ice, though it was clear that the duo had made an attempt to breach it. He struggled to chant the incarnation to dispel the enchanted ice, and clambered into the slush to repair himself urgently. Using what little strength he had in the waters, he produced a charm of regeneration from raw divine energy that put himself into a regenerative, comatose state.

<p class="MsoNormal">Days passed, of which during members of the Mephiles Paradigm slowly gathered back to what they considered their sanctum, and reconstructed the side chambers into research halls and dormitories. All the meanwhile, Mephiles’ mind reached out to a few at random, instilling voices in their heads as he instinctively attempted to latch onto the now shattered anima link he has with Fer: something not akin to a child going into a foetal position when scared.

<p class="MsoNormal">When Mephiles awoke naturaly from his coma and surfaced from the well, he found that 5 of the followers where there beside him, ready to act as his arms. This was extremely convenient when he had discovered that while he had regained his strength and ‘cauterised’ his self-inflicted wound, it had not healed as he had hoped.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mephiles made a terrifying revelation about Simulacrums: While they elevated one to a weak but divine status, they cannot reflect the key property of living flesh: healing. They can only be partially repaired at the most, and this takes both time and power. His form was now permanently damaged, making him more vulnerable to a killing blow from something like a Anima Spear. For a brief moment, he considered re-enacted the Ascension Ritual. But the idea was not viable: He did not have as nearly as much divine power in his reserves as before, and did not possess all his False Artifacts; save Wightgrasp. Energy like that was now in the public domain: any attempts to siphon large portions of it would only attract the attention of certain individuals: particularly the Young Gods.

<p class="MsoNormal">And so he turned to the five who now shared a part of him. They were all mages, skilled in some forms of magical combat. He called upon them to be his Emissaries: those who would act on his behalf while he remained at the Tower of Life. Particular, he ordered one to instigate chaos amongst the kingdom of Asgarnia, and another to seek out information to something known only as the “Fist of Guthix”: something mentioned cryptically in a few of the chronicles that he absorbed from the power he had acquired from Guthix’s demise.

Intervention of The Godless
Mephiles, anxious to secure his power reserves, decides to redeploy one of his Emissaries to recover one of his False Artefacts: The False Eye, which has somehow been relocated to Eagle’s Peek by yet unknown forces.

However, while this Emissary would recover The False Eye, his emissary would be ambushed by Mark, The Hoardstalker and a band of Godless field agents. Mephiles bestows his Emissary with a slither of his own divine power, but it proves to be his undoing, as the powerful spells cast during the skirmish cause the cave to destabilise, crushing his own Emissary.

Mephiles roared in fury within the Tower of Life at both the loss of one of his Emissaries and a False Artefact. He spent days confiding with the five remaining emissaries, who were deployed at various points of interest across the planet, on what retaliation was appropriate.

The debate was fierce, with various methods proposed: from infiltration and sabotage, to extortion and even a proxy war. However the eventual consensus hinged on a single point: They had The False Eye, and that could not be tolerated.

Unholy Reclamation
<p class="MsoNormal">Mephiles used a portion of his power to create an energy storm above the Godless Hall, disrupting the main portal as he teleports the Paradigm’s officers at the perimeter, who enturn begin to establish teleports for Necrovile forces. As the orb that contained it was escorted to the main chamber by The Hoardstalker and the order’s diviners, Mephiles’ orders the surprise attack on the outside perimeter with many Excubitor Guards to occupy and butcher the main guard, using the storm as cover. Rosaline however was by the main guards post with her children, and would escort them though the battle to the main portal, jerry-rigging it for moments to teleport them to safety on the surface.

<p class="MsoNormal">As the chaos unfolded, Emissary Kallig snuck into the keep and ambushed the attending members, allowing Mephiles, who was perched on one of the Keep’s towers with Excubitor Officer Karath, to remotely access the False Eye’s power of blurring the shadow realm and real world, allowing him to infiltrate the keep as a shadow that would attach to the Hoardstalker.

<p class="MsoNormal">Without warning, he would begin to suffocate him, before throwing him telepathically into the wooden panelling, knocking the Gojaro unconscious for the remainder of the siege. Mephiles himself then physically manifested himself, defending his Emissary from a Godless Demon by throwing him into the left side benches with a blast of divine energy, disabling him. Smirking behind his ornate helmet, he offered Dark and Lyam a chance of “redemption”; Surrender the False Eye to him, or they will die. Of course their answer was obvious. Lyam open fired at Mephiles with Seren crystal-tipped arrows, while Dark would slip into the shadows to strike the duo.

<p class="MsoNormal">Lyam’s attack however would backfire: With the arrows that struck Mephiles where simply absorbed into his simulacrum form, while The Shaman managed to grab the orb and break it open with one of the crystal-tipped arrows, being overwhelmed with Seren magic and divine energy. Mephiles grabs the ring from his Emissary, pushing him aside, greatly empowering himself as he slips the ring upon his gauntleted hand. He gains the ability to augment his own physical form, sprouting a pair of draconic wings. His strength, speed and divine potency also increase tenfold. As he absorbs the power, Emissary Kallig is overwhelmed and killed by Dark and Lyam.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mephiles quickly utilises his power to overwhelm his Godless opponents single-handily: By parrying a suddenly recovered Demon with Wightgrasp, and despite getting stabbed by an infernal blade and torched by demonfire, deeply wounds it by clawing it’s abdomen with a orb of divine power. He also attempts to impale Dark with Wightgrasp, as he attempts to flee into the Shadow Realm, by using the ring’s power to latch onto him. However Lyam saves him by detonating a rubidium and nitro-glycerine flask, blasting Mephiles into the left side benches, along with blasting a hole through the front-right tower.

<p class="MsoNormal">As Godless reinforcements began to flood in though the hall, Officer Karath storms down the stairwell and occupies them with a couple of Necroviles. Mephiles himself arises from the debris he was thrown into, wipes away the char from his face caused from the demonfire, and declares enough in a violent tone. He flaps his wings and ascends upwards, blasting a hole in the upper floors to the roof. His body and Wightgrasp pulse with Guthix’s stolen power, along with his own divine reserves, charging an orb of power approximately the size of the Stone of Jas, firing it into the air.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Orb flies up into the sky, detonating into a mass flurry of meteors charged with divine power, crashing all across the Godless Hall Island, tearing apart anything in a wide radius As the keep itself begins to be struck and begins to collapse around them, Dark and Lyam fall back to Rosaline, dragging along a wounded demon, the unconscious Hoardstalker and a small number of remaining guardsmen and women into a protective shield, before managing an emergency group teleport to Lumbridge castle. A drained Mephiles declares his victory on the Godless’ own podium, before teleporting away on his own to the Tower of Life, leaving Officer Karath to perish in the flames.

<p class="MsoNormal">As his forces retracted back to the Tower following the fall of the Godless Hall, Mephiles recharged his divine power and life reserves within the Well of Life, beginning to wonder how the Godless would now react in the now-impending war between the Paradigm and them. He also decided to transmute his draconic wings back into his body for the time being, finding them cumbersome.

<p class="MsoNormal">In the following days after the battle, Mephiles had a new set of unique battlemage armour crafted for him, wanting to dispose of the Zarosian livery in favour of a more unique design that reflected his heritage. <h4 class="MsoNormal">Frigid Knowledge Mephiles soon learned that The Frostentome had returned to Gilenior in the North, with Freneskae being torn apart by Mah, deploying a small hive of Necroviles to secure the site until he could arrive, aware that the Godless where also hunting it.

As Godless Strike Team Alpha arrived, the group was silenced soon by the growl of Necroviles, who had been protecting the area until their master arrived to claim the artefact.

The Scopulus, unshaken, stormed off and fought off several of the creatures. During its fight the Rosaline implied abandoning the Scorplus, until it came back with several Necroviles impaled on its speared arm. Silencing the groups concerns, they marched deeper into the tundra. Upon crossing onto a series of beached icebergs, the group soon felt the unsettling aura they knew when they had the False Eye. But another pack had snuck up, pouncing over one of the snow drifts and past the Scopulus.

The Godless engaged, with the Hoardstalker and Darkauro dealing with them in close combat; the former getting into a violent scrap with the Alpha. But the scrap had allowed the Alpha to howl, alerting an entire nesting ground that had been established to guard the area. The Hoardstalker, taking de-facto command, ordered everyone to higher ground on the solid drifts. The Scopulus defied, charging violently into the swarm and using his mass to divide the single swarm into smaller groups, who then suffered the full wrath of it swinging its rocky limbs around into them.

As the Scoplus distracted them, along with protecting Rosaline from a side attack, The Hoardstalker carved a forward path though the hoards and to the edge of the iceberg, where the Artefact was encased within a huge mound of ice. The Hoardstalker, Dark, Ellone the Icyene, and Taylor all attempted to break the mound, with Taylor more worried about the safety of the book itself. Darkauro attempted to use Fire Blasts, but discovered quickly the ice was enchanted to deflect such attacks, and so let the Scopulus attempt to smash though. In the process, one of the Hoardstalker’s chakrams got embedded in the mound, before being shattered by the golem as it continued to bash the ice. As they begun to break into the air pocket that contained the False Artefact: A book, encased in ice, The Hoardstalker and the Scopulus where struck by a conetrated burst of Divine Energy. While the Scopulus’ mass only made him slide into a nearby ice sheet, the Hoardstalker was blasted over and into a snow bank above, cracking one of his horns as he landed, suffering a concussion.

The Godless turned to face the direction the blast had come from, discovering Mephiles across on the opposite coastline. Shocked to discover he had come in lieu of one of his Emissaries, they scrambled to redraw their weapons. The Scopulus stomped out from the wall of ice, retaliating with a fury of rocky projectiles across to him. This howver was futile, as Mephiles transmuted his cloak into the Dragonic wings he had acquired from their previous encounter, using them to glide across to their side.

While the Godless kept attempting to retrieve the book, Mephiles engaged the Scopulus. It was no match for therock entity, who was vastly underpowered against Mephiles’ enhanced strength and speed. Taunting the group, Mephiles claimed he knew where the Godless are keeping the False Cloak and the Visage. The Scoplius took avantage, uppercutting him enough to stun him and take a few steps back. After realigned his neck, Mephiles gets up and charges toward it, swinging Wightgrasp like a maul, and delivered a crippling blow that shattered the Scopulus’ arm and putting it to his knees. The Scopulus would look in shock seeing how it was defeated in two blows, aknologing his opponent’s divinity, before being delivered a quick killing blow. Horrified by the quick defeat of one of their most powerful allies, everyone apart from Darkauro began to retreat.

Dark eventually chipped off enough off the opening to grab the Artefact, and attempted to run. Mephiles aimed Wightgrasp, about to fire an explosive blast at the retreating faction, only for Rosaline to surprise Mephiles by throwing a strange imp she had been concealing on her person, who blinded him as it latched onto his face. Frank, one of the strike team, would charge at the god, stabbing it on the back, only discovering that his simulacrum form was tough and reduced the impact of stab attacks. Surprisingly, Mark then suddenly stormed down the ice sheet, swinging the prototype god-slaying longsword. It penetrated further due to the augmentation, but it was still not effective. Tearing the imp off his face and throwing it to an icy death in the frigid waters, he stabbed Wightgrasp into the ground and charged divine power into the earth, pushing Frank and Mark away from him. Deciding they had no chance to defeat Mephiles alone, they began to retreat. But Mephiles enacted one of the new abilities he had gained by absorbing so much power, overriding Mark’s will and then throwing him to the ground.

Mephiles glided again to where Mark has landed, cutting off the only route back to Relleka. Mephiles easily took Mark's body into a grip again, hovering him toward himself, with Wightgrasp ready to impale Mark. However Mark this time could control himself enough to cast a portal spell, which projected the spear end into Mephiles back, before splitting it in half as it shut close while still though the portal. Mephiles was in agony as Wightgrasp’s blade fully penetrated into his Simulacrum’s inner core, the wound protruding a cyan, gloopy mix of divine energy and water from the Well of Life.

Mark gloated, taking the opportunity to stab him again with his augmented longsword, but only though the Armor. Mephiles quickly recomposed himself, sheathing away the aft section of Wightgrasp, now charging blasts by hand. Being slow to charge a teleport spell on time, Mark used his augmented longsword to block the attack, only for Mephiles to continue rapid firing off attacks towards Mark's failing blocks as it dwindling in charge.

The Hoardstaker recomposed himself as well from his fall, leaping down and charging with his remaining chakram, only for Mephiles to simply grab the Hoarstalker by the throat, and throw him towards Mark, where, of course, was thrown to the ground with Mark together. Incapacitated, Mephiles painfully extracted the bladed half of Wightgrasp from his back, taking it like a blade and stabbing it clean though Mark’s right thigh, twisting it as it was extracted it to inflict maximum pain.

Mephiles grabbed Mark’s throat, demanding him to tell where the extraction point for the group was, only to have his mother insulted. Putting Wightgrasp’s blade to his neck, he gave him a final chance for Mark to correct himself: He insulted his grandmother instead. Prepared to have his throat slit, Frank tackled Mephiles from the side. The pair scrambled across the snowy floor to The Hoardstalker, who summoned a Spirit Kyatt, and distributed the appropriate scrolls to the three to teleport them out.

<p class="MsoNormal">Wounded and enraged, Mephiles retreated to the Well and submerged himself to repair the damage to his Simulacrum form, along with re-joining Wightgrasp. He contemplated, as he sat into the Frozen Throne that had been constructed above the well, if he should reconsider his tactics.

<p class="MsoNormal">After tense deliberations with the remaining Emissaries, Mephiles agrees to accelerate a portion of his plans: Operation Spirit Siphon. <h4 class="MsoNormal">Operation: Spirit Siphon

Following the discovery that Mephiles has been using a Spirit Catalyst to transport into the Spirit Plane, The Hoardstalker has arranged for his Godless Strike Team to go to his homeland and disrupt the Paradigm's plans.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mephiles was fully aware of the compromised Spirit Siphon, as the Hoardstalker was secretly confronted by an Emissary who provided a half of the Amulet false artefact, while the Gorajo revealed he had the remaining half and tear core, and reunified them. Unmoved by this, the deity remained in the Well to connect up the rest of the Spirit Siphons.

The Divine Alliance
Using his sources, Mephiles discovered the existence of another of the Godless’ enemies, Sakuna. Intrigued of the knowledge of a being who displayed recent ascendency to godhood, the deity arrange a secluded meeting on the Island of Waiko. The two, loosely acquainted with each other’s operations in their respective lands though espionage, quickly turned the focus of their meeting to how the Godless where confronting their plans.

Mephiles, intimidating Sakuna with the recent intelligence regarding their “Godslayer” project, concluded that an alliance against the Godless where in their interest, with Mark’s assassination being the highest priority. Sakuna agreed, on the condition that the assassination attempt was also used to capture a young girl being protected by the Godless, who was of great interest.

With an agreement made, Sakuna revealed to Mephiles the existence of what appeared to be the Elder Horn, or a very convincing forgery. Ending their conversation, Mephiles hinted to Sakuna the true history of the object, before departing into the Shadow Realm.

Sakuna later lures Mark to a secluded island in the Arc, as part of a staged exchange for Tyler: In reality, a dummy of Tyler was being used to stage two traps for Sakuna. However Mephiles apprirates from the shadows as Mark approaches to hand over Tyler, throwing Wightgrasp as a spear in an attempt to murder the Godless leader. The attack fails, prematurely detonating a series of “Divine Charges”: Explosives derived from divination energy. While the blast strikes everyone in the local vicinity, only Sakuna is killed in the explosion, leaving the supposedly Elder Horn to be thrown into the sea. This also causes the Kraken under Sakuna’s control to become hostile to everyone.

Despite his visage and chestplate being damaged, Mephiles swiftly attempted to recover Wightgrasp; only to be countered by cannon bombardment by Darkauro and Vash in the nearby ship. Blasts are fired at everyone as they flee onto the boat, before Mephiles anchors the ship down with a continuous Abyssal field: preventing the ship and its crew from using any form of teleportation. The godless however counter by luring the Kraken to attack Mephiles with their cannon fire, forcing the deity to protect himself and kill the beast.

By the time Mephiles turns to recover Wightgrasp, Darkauro has almost pulled the entire ship into the Shadow Realm. He however snipes a glancing blow onto Mark as he fades away, causing the godless leader’s augmented weapon to overload. Infuriated by the loss of the Elder Horn and his ruined armor, Mephiles took some comfort standing above the broken, calcified corpse of Sakuna and extracting her fading anima. And as he did, Mephiles’ simulacrum began to enter a new stage of metamorphosis.

Anima Arcesso
The Godless continue to tinker with the False Artefacts they have collected, despite setbacks with the volatile nature of their raw power. In doing so, the researchers have discovered a possible way to weaponise them against Mephiles, his Paradigm and the Necrovile Hoard. They invite the leadership and the Strike Team to discuss it at the Vorago Cave Safehouse.

Date: TBA Fall 2016

Asylum of the Dammed
Dark decides to look again at a expedition to the icy world of Asylum, where the Frostentome claims there is a vault containing several of Mephiles' experiments: Including one that may turn the tide of the bitter war between the Godless Faction and Mephiles' Paradigm.

Date: TBA Winter 2016

The Great Revision
The Godless Faction can only be so prepared for what Mephiles will unleash, as they approach the Tower of Life with their diminishing forces. Who will prevail as time runs out?

Date: TBA Winter 2016

The End of All Things
"The world's last days, as the scrolls and sagas say: when god fights god, and every field is drenched with heroes' blood. Did we not speak of this, when we last met? Has that time come? The future clouds my thoughts."

- Eir, the Valkyrie Date: TBA Early 2017

Personality
<p class="MsoNormal">As a result of his exile, enslavement and abandonment, Mephiles is a cold individual with sociopathic tendencies. Most notably, prior to his Ascension, he sacrificed all but a handful of the Necrovile species to simply buy a few minutes of time. His motivations and plans are utterly personal and he rarely takes the living cost into account, being able to murder scores without remorse or hesitation.

<p class="MsoNormal">However, Mephiles is not completely heartless; He was a loving member of his adoptive family before, and had what can be assumed to be a loving relationship with Elise while a member of the Lunar Clan.

<p class="MsoNormal">Before ascension, Mephiles was a contrast to what he is now. He was a fearsome warrior, and full of life and shared an almost brotherly friendship with Ares Interptum. However, when Ares betrays Mephiles by deceiving him to restore Fer ‘Ireth to full power, declaring that he “Was a failed experiment”, Mephiles vows to utterly destroy them both.

<p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, after repeated betrayals and mishaps during his time as a undead servent, Mephiles’ worldview became increasingly cynical and nihilistic. He decided to use the new Paradigm to eliminate the stigma behind all forms of magic by force and fear, and in doing so making a better world by preventing others from repeating his tragic past. In his new role as the leader of the Paradigm, Mephiles pursued his goal of spreading his influence and terror then Fer ‘Ireth ever did, even converting his dead enemies into Necrovile Excubiors to reveal their secrets beyond death.

Divine Powers
"Jas...Ful...Kia...Bik...Nia...Noa...Nya...Sek...Soa...Ska...Reh...Wen...Anu...Seh...Mia...Hea...Tye...Ela...Mah!"

- Mephiles’ Chant when performing a Divine Plague

As a very young deity, Mephiles is of lesser power than most major gods; around a level equal to one of the lesser gods in the Menaphite Pantheon. However his power continues to grow, and his current power level still contains a wide range of benefits.

His simulacrum body is impervious to the effects of age, disease and natural weathering, along with additional resistance to mortal magic. While he is still able to invoke many powers that mortals cannot conjure alone or even together. The body also grants him the ability to cast spells without the use of runes, and he can expand that source of magic to anyone in close proximity.

Mephiles can invoke Divine Plagues: a massive, varied force of divine magic that requires immense focus. Invoking such powers will drain his constitution and will with immense speed, preventing him from continuously calling them. Such miracles vary in their forms and properties, but have been shown to include the following:
 * The instant, indiscriminate disintegration of any and all undead within a circular radius of around 50 meters.


 * Blurring the lines between the Shadow Realm and mortal plain.

Mephiles is able to infuse his Emissaries with a portion of his power, allowing them to cast muti-elemental spells and many resistances granted by his simulacrum body.
 * Firestorms of burning ice that last as long as he can continue the chant uninterrupted.

Normal Powers
Mephiles retains access to his mortal mage and necromancer skills as a deity and continues to use them in combat. These include and are not limited to the creation of deflection shields and barriers, augmenting one’s own speed and agility, inducing paranoia into opponents’ subconscious, along with a masterful control of Blood Magic and Fleshomancy (The ability to control and grow flesh).

In terms of Necromancy, Mephiles is inferior to Ares and Fer as he cannot sustain their life force by himself, and therefore requires to kick-start their own life force generation before controlling them with rituals. However, he however can augment their physical forms with enhanced strength, speed and even limited intelligence and coordination, making them perfect for tactical combat.

Weaknesses
Despite being a diety, Mephiles can still be killed if his weaknesses are exposed. Notably, his Simulacrum body is made from Silica, and therefore is vulnerable to crushing physical blows or a direct slash across the correct shatter point axis on the limbs or neck; somthing exploited by Godless archers. Wounds inflicted by such methods are unable to be restored by biological functions such as coagulation of the blood or cell reproduction; instead requiring divine energy or sacred clay to repair him.

Along with this, Mephiles is indirectly tied to the Anima Mundi since he ascended with power stolen from the remains of Guthix, so damaging the local anima of a world can inflict terrible mental and magicial strain.

His undead status from before ascension also continues to apply, so spells such as Crumble Undead, along with either Holy Water or the River Salve will have some effect, though not as effective as they where before.

Religion
Main Article: Mephiles Paradigm

Media




Naming & History

 * The name Mephiles derives from Mephistopheles, a demon that first appeared featured in the german Faust legend. This is a sly nod to how the Fremennik are derived from the Vikings, which have close ties to the germanic people.
 * The name was confirmed to be taken from Mephiles the Dark, the primary antagionist from Sonic The Hedgehog (2006).
 * The surname of Sol is incorrect, since Fremennik use the titles of their relatives, professions or feats instead of surnames (if the Fremennik take a similar naming style from Viking culture). A in-game explanation is given by Mephiles to Ares during the original saga, stating that his handwriting made the word Son look like Sol, eventually adopting the surname over time.
 * Mephiles’ birth name or place of origin was not revealed until two years after his inception, being a running joke since it wasn't revealed until Void Adept completed The Fremennik Trials.
 * Conveniently, Mephiles’ death wasn't even revealed until Dungeoneering was released, one year after his name and birth. Before that time, Mephiles refused to talk about the subject with anyone.

Species & Limitations

 * Mephiles’ undead sub-species is known as a Wight, the same as the Barrows Brothers.
 * Mephiles' undead sub-species is commonly misinterpreted as a Lich, Zombie or a Ghoul. These are all incorrect. While Mephiles wields powerful magic and a has a immense will to escape death, he did not resurrect himself and has a fleshy form. Mephiles’ intelligence and combat ability would also rule him out as a zombie. Mephiles resembles a Ghoul the most, but does not crave human flesh, instead consuming life force from a necromancer or objects of great power, such as Divine Tears.
 * Another misconception about Mephiles is that he cannot feel pain. This is partly incorrect. Mephiles has a greater tolerance to pain due to his decaying nervous system, but this regenerates as he absorbs life force, and degenerates when he consumes in by the use of magic, physical combat and over time.
 * Mephiles is affected by the blessing of the River Salve, making him unable to enter or leave Morytania without the use of teleportation.

Other

 * A retconned and scrapped storyline from the 2008 season involved Mephiles entangled with a future version of himself and his successor as the Immortues Dux, Ilana, over the future disappearance of Ares in a few months time. The storyline would have concluded on the revelation that Ares’ disappearance was organised by a second version of Mephiles, from a farther and devastated future, to lure his previous versions and advert his fate by exterminating the Immortues order, being defeated in the process by Illana’s sacrifice, erasing the alternative timeline and preventing these events in the first place. It’s unknown if Ilana will return in a future, canon adventure.
 * Mephiles' brother, Balkor, was shortly roleplayed as a minor role in a Void Knights RP as a new squire. The only reference that Balkor made to Mephiles was over why he was treated unfairly by Peer The Seer during his trials. Balkor was fatality wounded duing an ambush of pests on the Void Knight ship, The Bowsword , just weeks after arriving. He died and was buried at sea one week later.