General Khazard

General Khazard is a Zamorakian Mahjarrat who has established a large territory between Ardougne and Yanille. He is the youngest of his race, born towards the end of the God Wars, shortly before his mother's death at Battle of Uzer. During the Fourth Age, he and his mentor and fellow Mahjarrat Hazeel claimed a large amount of territory and built up a following in southern Kandarin, which Khazard continues to rule to this day. He is currently at war with the gnomes of the Tree Gnome Village, and owns a pet hellhound named Bouncer, who he frequently calls on to aid him in battle.

Khazard serves as the main antagonist of the Fight Arena quest and The General's Shadow miniquest, and also serves as a minor antagonist in Ritual of the Mahjarrat. He also appears in Dishonour among Thieves as one of Zamorak's heist team, and has a small cameo in Missing, Presumed Death if Hazeel is not revived. He also serves as a boss fight in Fight Arena and Ritual of the Mahjarrat, and both of these fights may be replayed in the Dominion Tower.

Personality and traits
Khazard is the leader of the Khazard Army, one of the largest Zamorakian organisations in Gielinor, rivalled only by the Kinshra. He and his army rule a militaristic settlement based around the Khazard Fight Arena which is at war with the Tree Gnome Village. The nearby sea port which supplies the arena is also named after him. According to Zemouregal, he is adapt at manipulating humans into doing his bidding, which is why he and Hazeel were able to amass such a large amount of followers and territory. Of the Mahjarrat, only Bilrach, Lucien and Zamorak himself were able to amass a comparable amount of followers.

Khazard is rather sadistic and seems to show little regard for most humans and gnomes. His army has been known to kidnap and slaughter both his enemies and innocent civilians, which has at times included children. The people his troops capture are forced to fight in his arena for both money and the amusement of himself and his army. He also shows little regard for even his own troops, with 'accidents' being known to happen to his troops when he's in a bad mood. Wahisietel states that Khazard is not particularly bright, and refers to him as a "cowardly child" due to his age and tendency to run from trouble, such as both times he was defeated by the adventurer in combat.

Despite this, he does have a softer side. He was genuinely upset when his pet hellhound Bouncer was killed by an adventurer, even going so far as to bring him back from the dead. He also cares about and looks up to both his mother Palkeera and his mentor Hazeel, expressing sadness when he learns the former's death was partially caused by his own birth.

Khazard is one of the few Mahjarrat able to influence the Shadow Realm, a trait he inherited from his mother. Of the Mahjarrat able to manipulate the realm, he and Hazeel are second only to Sliske.

Childhood
Khazard was born towards the end of the Third Age to Palkeera and an unknown father. Palkeera died participating in the Battle of Uzer shortly after Khazard's birth in an effort to prove that she was still powerful even in her weakened state. With his mother dead and his father's fate unknown, Khazard grew up under the tutelage of Hazeel, another Zamorakian Mahjarrat. Not much else is known of Khazard's childhood, but under Hazeel's tutelage, he grew up to become a powerful Zamorakian warlord, much like Hazeel himself.

Domination of Kandarin
Towards the end of the Fourth Age, Khazard and Hazeel started their conquest of what is now known as southern Kandarin. Hazeel took control of the northern part of the area, in what is now known as Ardougne, while Khazard conquered the southern regions, establishing his Fight Arena and Port Khazard. Together they quickly dominated much of the local humans, ruling with a violent dictatorship.

Khazard, using his charisma, was able to persuade much of the humans to submit to his violent rule, and they became the Khazard Army, a violent army which would play a key part of his future plans. Those who refused to submit to his rule were captured and taken prisoner in his Fight Arena, with Khazard often forcing them to fight against strange beasts to the death, for both money own amusement. This went on for decades.

War with the Gnomes
Meanwhile, an exiled, deceitful gnome known as Glouphrie the Untrusted had disguised himself using his trademark illusion magicks and become advisor to Bolrie, leader of the Tree Gnome Village, found west of Khazard's territory. Glouphrie, disguised as a spirit advisor, informed Bolrie that a 'dangerous and charismatic warrior' known as Khazard had taken control of the humans in the nearby area. Glouphrie told Bolrie that the spirit trees had informed him that Khazard would bring disaster to the gnomes. The fact that King Healthorg of the Tree Gnome Stronghold was not doing anything about this enraged Bolrie, who claimed that the king was weak and dying, becoming blind to the problems of the gnomes.

Glouphrie suggested that Healthorg's son Argenthorg would just follow his father's path if he succeeded him, appeasing humans and letting them take all of their land. The gnome illusionist claimed that if the next king of the Gnome Stronghold does not remove the threat of Khazard, the gnomish empire would be destroyed. Glouphrie suggested that, by attacking Khazard and the humans while they were still weak, they would easily be defeated, and Bolrie would become a hero and win the hearts of all gnomes, and that when Healthorg passed on, Bolrie would stand for election for King of the Gnome Stronghold.

Taking Glouphrie's advice, Bolrie attacked General Khazard, starting the war between the Gnomes of the Tree Gnome Village and the Khazard Army that continues to this day. Glouphrie had tricked Bolrie, and never had any desire of helping him: He had just wanted control of the Gnome Stronghold and to strengthen the Gnomish Empire against humanity, which Glouphrie believed to be a threat. Glouphrie's plot was eventually discovered, and after it was discovered he was working for Bolrie, albeit without the latter's knowledge, Bolrie was forced to leave the gnomes in shame, and his family were banished to a cave underneath the Tree Gnome Village, with him making it his purpose to destroy Glouphrie, who left to found Arposandra.

Bolrie's brother, King Bolren, took control of the Tree Gnome Village, erecting a maze around it, basing its design of one of the puzzles Bolrie used to draw when he was a child. The Khazard - Gnome War continues to this day, as the maze seems to deter Khazard's forces from assaulting the village, although Khazard was able to take control of a small area to the north of the village, which he uses to send attacks on the gnomish forces to this day.

Hazeel's Defeat
The start of the Fifth Age saw the discovery of Runecrafting and Magic among the humans. In the year 7, a tribe of Saradominist humans led by the Carnillean Family had grown tired of the rule of Hazeel and Khazard, and took it upon themselves to do something about it. Together, they stormed Hazeel's mansion, slaughtering all of the humans inside, loyal Zamorakians and Saradominist slaves alike. Hazeel had prepared for this, and had hidden a scroll with a ritual to revive him should he ever be defeated within his mansion.

When the Saradominists reached Hazeel, they were able to defeat him, but, knowing they would be unable to kill him, they used magic to put Hazeel's mind into a state of. The humans then took control of much of Hazeel's land, establishing the city of Ardougne. Khazard later remarked that if he had been there at the time, things would have gone differently, but regardless, the Saradominists were unable to take control of Khazard's land. Khazard was presumably too busy with his conflict with the gnomes to reclaim Ardougne, and a small cult of Zamorakians were tasked with reviving Hazeel.

Capturing the Servils
In 169 of the Fifth Age, Khazard kidnapped two members of the Servil family, a young squire known as Jeremy Servil and the knight Sir Justin Servil. Khazard had been victimising the Servils ever since Lady Servil had refused to hand over their lands. Lady Servil requested the assistance of a young adventurer in saving her family, and possibly even defeating Khazard himself. The adventurer was able to infiltrate Khazard's arena using a set of Khazard armour, and tricked Gerald, one of Khazard's lazy guards, into relinquishing the keys to Jeremy's cell. The adventurer then rescued Jeremy and went into the main arena to find Justin, who was being attacked by a scorpion. Jeremy begged the adventurer to save his father, and, after the adventurer dispatched the scorpion, General Khazard claimed to be impressed, and agreed to let the Servils go - in return for the adventurer becoming his new fight slave.

After the adventurer defeated a large ogre, Khazard decided that they needed a tougher challenge, and released his pet hellhound, Bouncer. After Bouncer was defeated, Khazard became enraged, but claimed to be no coward, and kept his promise of letting the Servils go. However, he decided that as the adventurer had caused him so much trouble he would kill them himself. Khazard proceeded to attack the adventurer, and, after being bested in combat once, Khazard regenerated and turned into a giant form, stating that, as a Mahjarrat, he cannot be beaten. After being bested a second time, Khazard retreated into the Shadow Realm.

Preparing for the Ritual
After retreating into the Shadow Realm, Khazard began preparing for the next Ritual of Rejuvenation, an event that occurs every 500 years when the planets align, wherein the Mahjarrat sacrifice one of their number in order to rejuvenate the others. Khazard started out by sending out various scouts to gather intelligence on the other Mahjarrat and the rest of the world, sending one to the Gnome Stronghold to keep watch on the Gnomes, one to the Kharidian Desert to keep tabs on Azzanadra, Enakhra and Akthanakos, one to Karamja, and finally one to Falador, to keep watch on the White Knights.

Some time later, while wandering the forest south of Rellekka, Khazard was approached by the adventurer that had defeated him in combat before. Khazard was impressed that they were able to see into the Shadow Realm, although he claimed not to recognise them, as "all humans look alike to him". He then decided to use them to do a task for him, but first sent them to Sin Seer to see if they were trustworthy or not. Upon the adventurer's return, he was very impressed by all of the sins they had committed, and decided that indeed has a use for them. Khazard then sent the adventurer to find his four scouts and to tell them to return to him, giving them the message that the planets are nearing alignment and to beware his fellow Mahjarrat, as, although they are weak and few, they are cunning. After the adventurer completed this task and returned with a message from the scouts stating that "We of the blood are still loyal. Pavlov is the messenger", Khazard sent them to a cave near the Fishing Guild, for their 'reward', but not before giving them a severed leg, which was supposedly the "key" to their reward.

When the adventurer arrived at the cave, they found the ghost of Bouncer, Khazard's hellhound, and they realised that the reward was just a ruse, and that Khazard had tricked them once again. Bouncer then attacked the adventurer, and a fight ensued. The adventurer was able to defeat Bouncer using the severed leg that Khazard had given them earlier, and used it to distract Bouncer and then stab him in the back.

The 18th Ritual of Rejuvenation
As the time of the ritual drew ever nearer, Khazard headed to the Ritual Site with his army, encountering the adventurer once again, along with Ali the Wise, Sir Tiffy Cashien, Akrisae and a battalion of Temple Knights. Khazard was surprised to see Ali there, recognising him and using a spell to reveal him as the Zarosian Mahjarrat Wahisietel, an old rival of his. Khazard and his troops then proceeded to attack the group, with him taking on the adventurer personally, seeking revenge for his prior defeats. With the help of Sir Tiffy and Wahisietel, the adventurer was almost able to defeat Khazard. However, rather than be defeated and chosen as the sacrifice, Khazard quickly retreated to heal and prepare for the ritual, teleporting off, much to the group's annoyance.

Later on, as the rest of the Mahjarrat arrived at the ritual site, they began to debate who the sacrifice should be. Khazard joined them, saying that Wahisietel should be the sacrifice, with the newly revived Hazeel agreeing with him. Lucien, being the most powerful Mahjarrat there, ignored his demands and chose Jhallan instead. Wahisietel disagreed with this decision, stating that, due to the threat he poses, Lucien had to be chosen instead, and a battle broke out between the factions. Khazard and Hazeel teamed up to fight Sir Tiffy, Idria and Akrisae, while the adventurer dealt with Zemouregal's zombies.

After Zemouregal's control over Arrav was broken, Arrav attacked Zemouregal, much to the necromancer's horror, as he was not able deal with both Azzanadra and Arrav at the same time. Zemouregal begged Lucien for help, but he simply ignored him. Zemouregal then became enraged and demanded that everyone attack Lucien, claiming that Wahisietel was right, and Lucien should indeed be sacrificed. Following Zemouregal's advice, Khazard proceeded to attack Lucien along with the other Mahjarrat (although he continued to attack Sir Tiffy at the same time).

Lucien demanded that the fighting stop shortly after this turn of events, and he sacrificed Jhallan, rejuvenating the Mahjarrat (including Khazard), filling them with strength once more. After Lucien summoned the Stone of Jas, a trio of Dragonkin appeared, and he was killed by them after a brief skirmish. A terrified Khazard made a quick excuse about having matters to attend to, and teleported away to avoid being killed, returning to his Fight Arena. Despite his rejuvenation, he continued to walk around in his skeletal form, to better strike fear into both the enemy and his own army.

Sliske's Grand Ascendancy
Due to a variety of reasons, Khazard and the other Zamorakian Mahjarrat did not participate in the Battle of Lumbridge, a fight between Zamorak and Saradomin that occurred early in the Sixth Age, which resulted in a loss for Zamorak. Due to this, Zamorak threatened to denounce the Zamorakian Mahjarrat, which angered them greatly.

Shortly after the battle, the Mahjarrat Sliske, who had recently slain Guthix with the Staff of Armadyl, hosted a "Grand Ascendancy" party in the Empyrean Citadel, during which Sliske claimed he would ascend to godhood. Khazard and the other Zamorakians travelled to the Citadel, not wishing for the ascension to take place, but they were barred from entry into the main building by the Barrows Brothers, who only allowed gods inside. Zemouregal made an attempt to get in, but it was thwarted, so Khazard and the others merely stood outside.

Zamorak's Stone of Jas Heist
Some time after Sliske's Grand Ascendancy, in which Sliske revealed that he had obtained the Stone of Jas and would be holding a contest between the gods, with the winner receiving it, Zamorak decided to assemble a team of his strongest followers to attempt to steal it from him. Zamorak recruited the adventurar that had previously hindered Khazard to recruit these followers, and many of the Zamorakian Mahjarrat were amongst those Zamorak wished on his team, Khazard and Hazeel included.

Using information given to them by Moia, the adventurer encountered Khazard at the Ruins of Uzer looking for information on his father, theorizing that since his mother fought there, his father may have too. Being currently unable to access the Shadow Realm due to Sliske's experiments, he instead sent the adventurer into the realm to look for more information about his mother and father.

In the Shadow Realm, the adventurer discovered Palkeera's body, and a bloody journal on her person. The journal explained that Palkeera had fought in the Battle of Uzer in an attempt to prove that Khazard's birth hadn't weakened her enough to be considered the weakest Mahjarrat at the next Ritual of Rejuvenation, but was mortally wounded during the battle, causing her to retreat into the Shadow Realm. Her dying thoughts were of Khazard, hoping that he would eventually find her body, and wishing for him to know the identity of his father, but only managing to write "He did it. Created life. Za-" before dying.

When shown his mother's journal, Khazard was saddened that his birth was partially responsible for his mother's death, but was glad that she died fighting for the honour of Zamorak. When shown the section about his father, he remarked "It couldn't mean... Him?", and was angered that it ended so abruptly, wishing for more information about his father. Having fulfilled his goal in Uzer, he then agreed to join Zamorak's team in reclaiming the Stone of Jas, and travelled to Zamorak's base at the bottom of Daemonheim. Once there, Khazard conversed with Hazeel, and expressed a desire to aid him in reclaiming Ardougne to repay him for teaching him how to conquer.

Once the team fully was assembled, Zamorak tasked Khazard with opening a window to the Shadow Realm, revealing Viggora, who explained that he had discovered that Sliske was hiding the Stone of Jas within the Shadow Realm in a cave south of the Barrows. Zamorak then tasked his followers with retrieving the Stone from Sliske to prove their loyalty after their failure to aid him at the Battle of Lumbridge, and explained how each of their talents would be necessary to retrieve it. Zamorak explained that Khazard and Hazeel would prove invaluable due to their mastery of the Shadow Realm.

After the team made their way to Sliske's hideout and traversed it, they eventually made their way to a locked door that required the skills of each of the team to unlock. With Jerrod and Moia's skills, they discovered that magical orbs containing Light and Shadow energy in the Shadow Realm were connected to the door, and Moia tasked Khazard and Hazeel with revealing them so Nomad and Enakhra could balance them. With further assistance from the adventurer, Zemouregal and Lord Daquarius, the team was able to unlock the door, revealing the way to the Stone of Jas.

Through the door, the group discovered Sliske, who revealed he had been had been waiting for them. Sensing something in the Shadow Realm, Khazard and Hazeel informed the group to be on their guard, and Sliske revealed the "other guests" - shadowy apparitions of the group, Khazard included. Hazeel surmised that they were the result of Sliske's twisted experiments into the Shadow Realm, and Khazard was horrified, stating that playing god like that is extremely dangerous. Sliske taunted him about being scared, causing Khazard to rationalize that they were merely illusions, only for Sliske to reveal that they would be formidable opponents. Tiring of Sliske's tricks, Khazard sent the adventurer into the Shadow Realm, and tasked them with retrieving the Stone.

Khazard and the rest of the group then set about trying to defeat Sliske's apparitions while the adventurer attempted to retrieve the stone. By the time the adventurer returned from the Shadow Realm with the stone, the battle between the team and their apparitions was still ongoing, but was quickly ended when the adventurer destroyed the apparitions with the power of the Stone of Jas. Nomad then betrayed the group and attempted to claim a piece of the Stone of Jas, but fled when Zamorak himself appeared to stop him. Zamorak then proceeded to touch the Stone of Jas and channel energy from it, only to be interrupted by Sliske, who froze Khazard and Zamorak's other followers with dark magic.

The adventurer then had the choice of either aiding Zamorak by attacking Sliske, aiding Sliske by attacking Zamorak, or remaining neutral by doing nothing. Regardless of what they chose, Sliske escaped with the Stone of Jas into the Shadow Realm, causing Khazard and Zamorak's other followers to be unfrozen. Zamorak then revealed that touching the Stone of Jas had returned much of his power, and thanked Khazard and his other followers for risking their life to aid him, and they had all become stronger from the ordeal, causing Khazard and the others to kneel before Zamorak.

Fight Arena
General Khazard serves as an optional boss in the Fight Arena quest. After a player defeats Bouncer, the player can choose to engage in combat with Khazard or escape. Khazard attacks using weak melee attacks and is a fairly easy fight; able to be dispatched with little difficulty. It is possible to lure him behind a skeleton and attack kill him with Magic or Ranged, just like all other bosses in the quest. After being reduced to 0 life points, Khazard will proclaim that he cannot be beaten and grow in size, restoring and boosting his life points, in addition to making him slightly stronger. After defeating him the second time, he merely shrinks and disappears, and players are free to leave the arena. This form of Khazard makes a reappearance as a boss in the Dominion Tower, with the exact same moves and abilities.

Ritual of the Mahjarrat
General Khazard returns in Ritual of the Mahjarrat, attacking the player with his troops. During the fight, the player is aided by several Temple Knights, Wahisietel and Sir Tiffy Cashien. This time General Khazard uses a long-range Magic attack, which can be blocked with Protect from Magic or Deflect Magic, and will summon Bouncer's ghost periodically during the fight, who will constantly inflict rapid unblockable damage on you. Bouncer cannot be attacked, so when Khazard summons him, lure him over to Wahisietel, who will kill him for you. It is possible to lure Khazard next to Wahisietel so whenever Bouncer is summoned it will die instantly. During the fight, your combat stats have a large boost from the Stone of Jas, boosting combat stats over 99 for even players meeting the minimum requirements. As such, the damage you (and your summoning familiar) deal will be greatly boosted. While Khazard is significantly more difficult than he was in Fight Arena, he is still fairly easy, even for players meeting the minimum requirements for the quest, and players can simply hide behind a tree and let Sir Tiffy and Wahisietel deal most of the damage to him.

Like his previous incarnation, this form may also be fought inside the Dominion Tower as part of the Khazard and Lucien fight, but Sir Tiffy and the Temple Knights are not present.

Father
While it is known that Khazard's mother is Palkeera, the identity of his father is a mystery. During Dishonour among Thieves, the player finds a bloody journal when they search Palkeera's corpse in the Shadow Realm. The journal ends with Palkeera wishing for Khazard to know his father, but she dies before she is able to finish writing it, only managing to reveal that his father's name starts with "Za-". When shown the journal, Khazard remarks "It couldn't mean... Him? Argh why does it finish there? I need more information!", implying that he suspects the identity of who "Za-" is.

In a forum Q&A preceding the release of Dishonour among Thieves, Mod Ollie revealed that the name of General Khazard's father could be found elsewhere in-game. Mod Osborne has also previously stated that Khazard's father is "A powerful Zamorakian", but it is unknown if this is still true.

Development history
When Fight Arena was initially released back in RuneScape Classic in 2002, Khazard was not initially a Mahjarrat. He physically resembled a Black Knight, and was said to have died over 200 years ago by his troops, implying he was simply an undead human. The reason given for him terrorising Lady Servil was stated to be because she declined his hand in marriage. When Bouncer was killed by players, Khazard referred to him as his "only friend". If defeated during or after the quest (it was possible to return to the arena after the quest and kill Khazard upstairs if you hadn't already before the 2009 rework), Khazard was said to be dead by his followers.

With the release of RuneScape 2 in 2004, he attained a more recognizable form, that of a skeleton wearing iron armour with a large sword, but the dialogue in the quest remained mostly the same. Some time between the release of RuneScape 2 and The General's Shadow in 2007, Paul Gower - the developer of Fight Arena and writer of most RuneScape lore at the time - decided to make General Khazard a Mahjarrat in order to boost their numbers. This was reflected in The General's Shadow, which provided the first mentions of the Ritual of Rejuvenation and the Shadow Realm, stated that his race used to live in the desert under a cruel master, and made reference to Hazeel, Azzanadra, Akthankos and Enakhra. His appearance was also slightly updated for the miniquest: he was given an updated skull, his sword was replaced with a Katana, and his armour was updated, but this change was not made to his Fight Arena incarnation.

With the release of RuneScape HD, the form of Khazard in Fight Arena was updated to resemble his Shadow Realm version, and Khazard armour and the armour of his followers was updated to resemble the armour he wore. In 2009, Fight Arena received a rework. This update overhauled much of the dialogue in the quest, removing the reference to Khazard having died over 200 years ago and replacing it with him "leading his army for over 200 years in the form of an undead maniac". The reference to Bouncer being his only friend was also removed. Most significantly, the fight against him was updated to give him a second form in which he becomes a giant, before which which he makes a speech in which he states that he is a Mahjarrat. In addition to these dialogue changes, he was updated to resemble Zemouregal, Lucien, and Jhallan, but this change was not carried over to his Shadow Realm incarnation.

Finally, he was updated again in 2011 alongside the other Mahjarrat with the release of the Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest. The dialogue of Fight Arena was also slightly updated: Lady Servil now states that Khazard victimised her because she refused to hand over her lands, his followers now simply state that Khazard has been leading them for at least 200 years, and the references to having killed him are changed to "beat", although he is still said to be killed by the player in dialogue with the local, who states that "you cannot kill what is already dead."

Trivia

 * The frozen Zarosian fortress of Ghorrock has a statue of Khazard in its courtyard. Exactly why is unknown. However, it is possible that he commanded Ghorrock at some time. Oddly, this statue was not updated with his 2011 graphical rework.
 * Despite having been rejuvenated, Khazard has been stated to be the only Mahjarrat to keep his skeletal form; this is because "he chooses his skeletal form to better strike fear into his foes...and his army."
 * After being rejuvenated, Khazard's chathead colour does not match with the colour of his face on his character model.
 * Khazard is the only known Mahjarrat to use a weapon, aside from Lucien, Zamorak, and Sliske, who all possessed the Staff of Armadyl.
 * When fought in Fight Arena, he seems to interrupt himself when giving his speech. He doesn't have this problem in the Dominion Tower, although in the Dominion Tower not all of it is voiced.