Zaros

Zaros is a god of RuneScape commonly thought to be the 'God of Pure Evil' though no confirmation has ever been made to his true motive. Sometime ago Mod James, creator of Desert Treasure, revealed on the official RuneScape Forums that Zaros was not, contrary to popular belief, the god of Evil. He should not be confused with the Lord Drakan's advisor, Charos.

Zaros is also referred to as the God of Ancient Magicks or "The Empty Lord". Zaros existed after Guthix's sleep and before the God Wars, which is why Guthix has little knowledge of Zaros (It is Unknown if Zaros had knowledge of Guthix). Zaros once led a tribe of powerful mortals called the Mahjarrat, who originate from Freneskae, a plane of eternal warfare, but was deposed by his Mahjarrat general Zamorak and his close followers. Most of the Mahjarrat joined Zamorak with only Azzanadra and Akthanakos remaining loyal to Zaros(During the Shadow Sword mini quest you find that General Khazard once had a master referred to as the "Dark Lord". It is unknown if this is referring to Zaros, however he is currently loyal to Zamorak. It is also possible that Sliske is still a follower of Zaros, as a Postbag from the Hedge and a Lores and Histories article seemed to hint. His legacy is still strong, as Saradomin will not speak of him and Zamorak fears him immensely.

Betrayal
Zamorak, a Mahjarrat general under Zaros, wanted to become a god and leader of the Mahjarrat. With his close Mahjarrat followers Hazeel and Zemouregal, as well as the Vampyre Lord Drakan and others, he plotted Zaros' downfall. To defeat Zaros though they needed a powerful artifact, such as the Staff of Armadyl.

Staff of Armadyl
Veldez, a faithful Saradominist, stumbled upon the Staff of Armadyl, he knew that it was a very powerful God weapon and could not fall into the wrong hands. However, a thief called Rennard found Veldez, knocked him unconscious and stole the Staff. He intended to sell it to Zaros, but his messenger, Kharrim, instead took it to General Zamorak of the Mahjarrat, who was mortal during that era. Another Saradominist called Lennissa found out about the sale and gave it to a Saradomnist Mage called Dhalak. Dhalak was supposed to pass it to Saradomin himself, but he enchanted the Staff so that Zaros could not detect it and then gave it to Zamorak so Zamorak could rebel against Zaros.

Betrayal
Zamorak, accompanied by his loyal followers- many of the Mahjarrats, Vampyres, Demons, and a human called Viggora, set out to attack the castle where Zaros resided Whilst the followers of Zamorak distracted the guards, Zamorak battled Zaros and managed to stab him with the staff of Armadyl to weaken him.

Although weakened, Zaros seized Zamorak by his throat, attempting to strangle him. However, Zaros tripped and fell, causing the staff to stab him even deeper.

The staff had also impaled Zamorak, thus delivering some of Zaros' power to Zamorak, and turning Zamorak into a god.

Aftermath
Zaros faded from RuneScape while Zamorak seemed to become more real. However, before he was banished, Zaros uttered a curse unto all those involved in the rebellion. The curse was to make them wander around Gielinor as ghosts for eternity. The following six people were affected by the curse:
 * Veldez, a Saradominist
 * Rennard, a seemingly Zarosian thief
 * Kharrim, a Zamorakian messenger
 * Lennissa, a Saradominist spy
 * Dhalak, Lennisa's boss
 * Viggora, a Zamorakian warrior

Zamorak was also affected by Zaros' curse, but because he became a god, he couldn't die.

However, the others involved were seemingly unaffected. Viggora theorizes that it was because all of Zamorak's other followers were magical and so the curse was much less effective on them. Zamorak won the rebellion in the end.

The followers of Zaros were actively hunted by followers of both Saradomin and Zamorak, hinting they worked together to bring Zaros down. However, Zamorak soon turned against Saradomin and other gods, starting the God Wars. Even during the God Wars, when Zamorak battled with other gods, he occasionally joined forces with Saradomin to fight off the remaining followers of Zaros.

Religion
The symbol of Zaros is a circle surrounding an equidistant cross, and is found on a Sigil at the Digsite, and on the Ancient Staff. Originally Zaros was worshiped by an unknown empire in the north east of RuneScape and the city of Uzer, however the empire has been destroyed by Zamorak and Saradomin while Uzer was destroyed by Thammaron, one of Zamorak's generals. Most traces of the Zaros religion, such as altars and temples, have been destroyed by Saradomin and Zamorak, however there are two known altars remaining: one underneath the Digsite and another in Azzanadra's temple. On the Ancient Spellbook, 4 teleports that lead to different levels of the Wilderness are also destroyed grounds of Zarosian worship, Carrallangar, Ghorrock, Annakarl and Dareeyak. The other teleports, Ice Mountain (Lassar), Canifis Pub (Kharyrll) and Edgeville (Paddewwa) were important military and defence fortresses, but the Digsite is referred to ancient name as Senntisten. Azzanadra, Eblis and Akthanakos are the only current non-player character worshippers of Zaros. It is also rumoured that Sliske also supports Zaros, but that hasn't been confirmed.

Gravestones also show the Zarosian symbol on its top. When read, it says "_______,servant of the Unknown Power, perished in this place."

Bob the Cat
Bob the Jagex Cat was thought to be Zaros due to some dialogue when talking to him using the Amulet of Catspeak. However, there is no real evidence to support this. In the "Tail of Two Cats" quest, players find out that Bob is or was "Robert the Strong". It is believed that Robert the Strong existed in the earlier ages, but according to Jagex he actually lived during the fourth Age.