Icthlarin

Icthlarin is the Desert Pantheon god of the dead, the son of Tumeken and Elidinis, and brother of Amascut, the Devourer. He was the original leader of the Mahjarrat. Icthlarin is first encountered in the Icthlarin's Little Helper quest. 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 get to the Grim Underworld safely where they can rest peacefully in their next life. But his "job" is not that easy, because Amascut's goal is to destroy and consume the souls of the dead before they reach the underworld so they are erased from history 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.

Icthlarin is featured in the sixth age quest, Missing, Presumed Death, where he attempts to take over the Grim Reaper's role until he is found.

Origins
Little is known about Icthlarin's history, save that at some point he and his sister Amascut were born to Tumeken and Elidinis, the founding deities of the Menaphite Pantheon and the gods of light and fertility respectively.

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 desert, 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, one by one abandoning Icthlarin for the Empty Lord, taking up prominent positions within his empire.

Rivalry with Amascut
Around this time, Icthlarin also began to face trouble from within his own family. His sister Amascut, then-goddess of rebirth, had seen the power of the Mahjarrat and become disturbed by it, to the point it drove her insane. Enraged and mad, 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. Eventually, so reprehensible did Amascut become that it brought her into conflict with Icthlarin; a rivalry that has persisted ever since.

Shortly after her disturbing 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.



The Struggle for Klenter's Soul
""What's this? A mortal thieving from my domain? This will not do." - Icthlarin, confronting Amascut's latest pawn"

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.

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 plays a big part in the quest, Missing, Presumed Death
 * lcthlarin's voice over during the quest Missing, Presumed Death is done by Peter Cullen the same person who voices Optimus Prime from Transformers. This would m akes sense because Jagex is said to working on a Transformers roll playing game.