Icthlarin

Icthlarin is the Menaphite god of the dead, son of Tumeken and Elidinis, and brother of Amascut, the Devourer, and one of the four major gods of the Desert Pantheon. He was the original leader of the Mahjarrat when they first came to Gielinor. His role as a god is not concerned with the act of death, but with the caretaking of the dead, ensuring that the souls reach the afterlife. Icthlarin's only act is to help the spirits of the dead pass through the Grim Underworld safely so they can reach the afterlife where they can rest peacefully in their next life. His task is impeded by his sister, however, because Amascut's goal is to destroy and consume the souls of the dead before they reach the underworld so they are erased completely. To this end, he is important in the funeral rites of those who worship him. This role as a protector of souls often brings Icthlarin into conflict with his sister goddess.

Note that cats are included as guardians of Icthlarin, as Amascut is terrified of them, and as the Sphinx protects the cats, so too does Icthlarin protect the Sphinx.

Origins
Icthlarin is the son of Tumeken and Elidinis, the founding deities of the Menaphite Pantheon and the gods of light and fertility respectively, along with his sister Amascut, who was the goddess of rebirth. The two would work together to watch over the dead. Harold Death would deposit souls in the underworld, bringing them across the River Noumenon with the demon Alathazdrar as the ferryman up to a certain point, and Icthlarin would guide those that wished to move on to the afterlife while Amascut would escort those who desired to be reincarnated to their new bodies.

Together with the other gods of the Menaphie Pantheon, Icthlarin helped establish and rule the Kharidian empire, one of the most prosperous areas on Gielinor at the time. Tumeken would appoint Icthlarin as his heir and so he would play a critical role during the early Second Age, ruling both the living and the dead.

War with Zaros and Recruiting Allies
During the Second Age, the peace of the desert became threatened when Zaros, god of control, sought to expand his already vast empire into Menaphite territory, beginning a long and bloody conflict known as the Kharidian - Zarosian War. Icthlarin and the rest of the Pantheon fought to defend the empire, but even they combined struggled to resist the might of the Empty Lord, and slowly but surely more ground was lost to the invaders.

Eventually, as the situation began to become particularly dire, Icthlarin realised that they alone could not turn the tide of battle, and resolved to find allies who could. Leaving Gielinor, Icthlarin eventually came upon the war-torn world of Freneskae, home of the powerful and near-immortal race known as the Mahjarrat. Here, he was able to convince a number of them (though not all) to join him and help bring an end to the Zarosian incursion.

With the Mahjarrat in tow, Icthlarin returned to Gielinor in the midst of battle. Almost immediately, the tide of the war began to change as the Mahjarrat - dubbed the "Stern Judges of Icthlarin" by the Kharidian defenders - quickly started decimating Zaros' forces. For the first time since the war began, the Kharidians were on the offensive.

Ultimately, the Kharidian army and its Mahjarrat allies, under the leadership of Icthlarin were able to successfully expel the Zarosians from the desert, the war culminating in a clash between the two forces at a narrow mountain path in the north which saw the Kharidians victorious at last. Peace, albeit a temporary one, had returned to the desert.

For his actions, Icthlarin became highly respected by the desert folk, but the same could not be said for everyone.

Losing the Mahjarrat
Following the war, Icthlarin faced new trouble in the form of his own Stern Judges. Despite enjoying the victory against Zaros, the Mahjarrat quickly grew restless with the newfound peace of the desert, while Icthlarin himself became increasingly concerned about one of them in particular - the devious Sliske. During the war, Sliske had collected for himself a number of wight minions out of Zarosians he had snatched via the Shadow Realm. Due to the desperate situation, Icthlarin had been forced to overlook his discomfort with Sliske's actions, but with the war over, Icthlarin - as god of the dead - could not stand by any longer. When Sliske refused to hand over his wights, Icthlarin took them by force, relinquishing their souls to the Grim Underworld. This, however, did not sit well with Sliske, who promptly defected from the desert god's service and offered his allegiance to the Menaphites' enemy: Zaros.

Over time, the other Mahjarrat would all follow Sliske's example, steady abandoning Icthlarin for the Empty Lord, until a final mass defection took place, where upon all the remaining Mahjarrat left the desert, one of the most critical events in the entire Second age. Many of the Mahjarrat would take up prominent positions within Zaros's empire.

Rivalry with Amascut
Around this time, Icthlarin also began to face trouble from within his own family. His sister Amascut, the then-goddess of rebirth, had seen the power of the Mahjarrat (or alternatively, as implied by Mahjarrat Memories, the power of the Elder Goddess Mah) and become disturbed by it, to the point it drove her insane. Amascut declared herself The Devourer, intent on feasting upon the souls of the deceased and reap destruction upon the land, in direct opposition to her brother and the rest of the Pantheon, whom she now held with great contempt. Icthlarin and Amascut have been locked in a rivalry ever since.

Sometime after her metamorphosis, Amascut began to destroy her own temples and clergy. In response, her followers, including Neite - then one of Amascut's chief priestesses - rose up against her, cursing her that her name would be forgotten, any body she held would cast her out before long, and never again could she assemble willing disciples. Amascut, however, retaliated with a curse of her own, binding her priests in her own form, dooming them to walk the world as cats, which she in turn grew deathly afraid of.

Icthlarin, seeking to protect Neite and the others from his sister's wrath, brought them under his wing, gifting them with immortality that they may never die from natural causes. Around the same time, Icthlarin also appointed the Sphinx as the guardian of feline kind, safeguarding them against the agents of the Devourer in return for eternal life.

Amascut's insanity would cause great problems for Icthlarin, as in addition to causing troubles on the surface, she had created beasts to prowl the underworld, eager for souls to devour. This meant that escorting and guarding souls through the underworld took up more of Icthlarin's time, and meant that he would not always be successful, with many souls being devoured by Amascut's beasts. Icthlarin's role now consumes so much of his time that he has little time to devote to what happens on the surface, only interfering when he absolutely must.



The Struggle for Klenter's Soul
In the year 169 of the Fifth Age, Amascut sought to obtain the soul of Klenter, a former High Priest of Icthlarin. To this end, Amascut - disguised as The Wanderer, hypnotised a passing adventurer into infiltrating his tomb and stealing one of the canopic jars. This act of depravity, however, did not go unnoticed by the god of the dead, prompting Icthlarin himself to appear before his sister's latest tool and relinquish the Devourer's hold over them, denying Amascut Klenter's soul.

Kidnapping of Death and Sliske's Grand Ascension
In year 1 of the Sixth Age, Icthlarin called upon the help of the adventurer as Death is missing. On receiving an invitation box to Sliske's ascension, Icthlarin realised it was him who kidnapped Death. The adventurer opened the box and the two teleported to the Empyrean Citadel. As only the gods were actually invited, Icthlarin proceeded into the citadel while the adventurer was forced another way in. After passing three trials, the adventurer infiltrated the main room after getting an invitation and Sliske released the dragonkin Strisath, who shot balls of fire at Icthlarin and the adventurer as they attempted to release Death from his cage. After Death's release, Icthlarin's magical shield faded and Death teleported them out of the Citadel before an approaching fireball hit them.

Powers and Abilities
As a demigod, Icthlarin is of lesser power than most major gods. He is still very powerful compared to mortals, as he must regularly exercise his power defending souls from Amascut until they reach the underworld. His role is crucial to the cycle of life and death on Gielinor. He presumably, like his sister, has the ability to possess or hypnotise mortals but has not done such so far. He is capable of creating mental links with mortals he has met in person, allowing for quick communication if needs be.

Icthlarin's control over the undead far exceeds that of most necromancers and he can normally dispatch dozens of undead with a wave of his hand. Icthlarin is also capable of creating shields that can protect from dragonfire from a Dragonkin for a time, though not indefinitely.

Trivia

 * Icthlarin is probably based on the ancient Egyptian God Anubis. This is because Anubis is the Egyptian guardian god of the dead and has the head of a jackal, which both are features of Icthlarin.
 * His symbol is an ankh (☥), an ancient Egyptian symbol which was popular with pharaohs' tombs. It means 'life'.
 * Icthlarin is one of the only gods known to have been in the realm of Gielinor before the major gods returned. This is possibly due to his demigod status, and that as he is a relatively low-powered deity, Guthix judged that he wasn't a major threat so he didn't get banished by Guthix.