Kharshai

Kharshai is a neutral Mahjarrat who has been lost for years. He does not know he is Kharshai, however. During the events on the miniquest Koschei's Troubles, it is revealed that he has been disguised as Koschei the Deathless. He is notable for following neither Zaros nor Zamorak, the only Mahjarrat currently to do so. Due to his time as a Fremennik, Kharshai's appearance has been altered slightly.

Early loyalties
In the Second Age, the Menaphite god Icthlarin brought all of the Mahjarrat to Gielinor from their hellish realm Freneskae. The Mahjarrat, Kharshai included, were loyal servants of the God of the Dead for many years. Meanwhile, Zaros, the god of power and control, was expanding his already vast empire (which stretched the entirety of Forinthry and parts of Hallowland and what are now Asgarnia and Misthalin) most prominently to the south in his campaign to conquer the Kharidian Lands. Seeing his lands being taken by invaders, Icthlarin put the Mahjarrat to use and the armies of Zaros could not advance. For years the Mahjarrat had served under their master, their war-like abilities frowned upon by Icthlarin. Zaros soon realised their usefulness and rallied them to his side, at the promise of more violence, combat and bloodshed. The Mahjarrat deserted the Desert Pantheon and joined the forces of Zaros, immediately occupying high ranks amongst his armies, a notable example being General Zamorak 'the Scourge'.

At the end of the Second Age, a treacherous plot formed by Zamorak was brought into action. With many allies, amongst whom Mahjarrat such as Lucien, Zemouregal, Enakhra and Hazeel, and godly artefacts (the Staff of Armadyl and the Stone of Jas) at his hand, Zamorak and his following stormed Zaros' fortress, where the former battled the god himself, the latter's bodyguards being distracted by Zamorak's men. By pure luck, Zaros was impaled by the Staff of Armadyl and was banished to another realm, leaving Zamorak victorious and more powerful than ever. He was banned from the plane by the other gods, but soon returned, now a god himself, and the God Wars erupted, which started with an extermination by Zamorak and Saradomin of every reminder of Zaros. The Mahjarrat split into two factions: those that followed Zamorak, and those that remained loyal to Zaros, which were no less dangerous, with immensely powerful examples such as Azzanadra and Sliske. This created a rift between the former allies and the Rejuvenation Rituals would, from then on, be based on a Zarosians v. Zamorakians battle.

It was most likely due to these events that Kharshai, witnessing the treachery his kin was capable of, decided that balance was to exist to maintain peace between the Mahjarrat. Being neutral, Kharshai soon started to play a lesser and lesser role amongst the Mahjarrat, until he eventually became but a background character, in fear of becoming the next sacrifice. According to the second set of Zemouregal's notes, Kharshai was of average power and temperament and survived by going with the majority during the rituals. Although Kharshai managed to avoid being sacrificed through this method, it left him with no close allies, which Zemouregal deemed a potentially dangerous situation in future rituals.

Attack and going into hiding
At some point Kharshai started experimenting with a mineral, 'bane'. He wanted to see if it could be enhanced and used to make a fearsome weapon, and discovered that it could be tuned to be particularly harmful to a certain type of creature. Using this, Kharshai forged a heavy and powerful battleaxe, which he named Balmung, out of bane. He decided to "tune" it to Dagannoth, aggressive aquatic creatures, but to do so he needed a part of a creature's body. As such, Kharshai then set off on a small ship from The North to the Fremennik Isles to collect some blood.

On the way, he was attacked by an assassin at sea. According to Kharshai, he could not identify his assailant, but the battle was intense enough to destroy his entire ship. As the fight raged on, Kharshai panicked, fearing that he would be captured and sacrificed. He transformed into a human using his shape-shifting abilities. Knowing that he would still be traceable by other Mahjarrat, even though he was disguised, Kharshai erased his own memory and quickly created a toy ship with the indication that he is a Mahjarrat so that he could remember who he was should he later need it. Unaware that he is a Mahjarrat, his kin would be unable to locate him. His attacker had eventually been driven off in the battle but not before branding the symbol of Zamorak on Kharshai's naked chest. Unconscious, and his mission incomplete, Kharshai drifted off and, according to Chieftain Brundt, was found leagues away from the nearest ship or shore. Unwilling to let the seaborne stranger die needlessly, Brundt brought the shaken Kharshai to Rellekka, while the unfinished balmung axe came into the hands of the royal family of Etceteria, one of the Isles of the Fremennik.

It is unknown how long Kharshai's body was at sea; he could have been there from the era of the last Rejuvnation Ritual to the time when Brundt found him. Unable to remember anything, Kharshai merely tried to mutter his name, which the Fremennik interpreted as "Koschei." Koschei was taken care of by shoemaker Yrsa, and, impressed by his sudden recovery from his miserable state, the Fremennik dubbed him Koschei the Deathless. After being integrated into Fremennik society, fighting Koschei became one of the trials young Fremennik have to pass to achieve adulthood. Koschei was placed in an underground arena and, to win Thorvald the Warrior's vote, young Fremennik from then on had to pass his test on bravery and fight Koschei to the death (they would, of course, not be killed, but the point was to show no fear of death). Kharshai's plan had worked, for his existence was lost to the other Mahjarrat. Azzanadra, a Zarosian Mahjarrat imprisoned during the late God Wars, mentioned that, when he escaped the Jaldraocht pyramid, he was unable to detect Kharshai. In his own words: Kharshai may yet live, I can sense no trace of his death upon this world, but nor can I sense his pulse; perhaps his neutrality has earnt him a prison such as mine was.

Koschei became a valued Fremennik, even their champion, and was one of the commanders during the Battle for Rellekka, slaying hundreds of invading dagannoth for his supposed homeland. Koschei was later among the small party that was to defeat the Dagannoth Mother behind the attacks. He was placed to guard the entrance to her lair while the others, an adventurer who'd passed the trial, Prince Brand and Princess Astrid of Miscellania and Baba Yaga of the Lunar Isle Moonclan, would defeat her sentinels and eventually the Mother herself. As the party were about to advance, Koschei called them back for the immensely powerful Dagannoth Kings had arrived. He was easily able to hold his own while Brand, Astrid and Baba Yaga hurried back (leaving the adventurer to fight the Mother alone). After a tedious battle, Koschei and Baba Yaga were able to drive back the kings deeper into the dagannoth caves, after the unfortunate murders of Astrid and Brand. Mourning, Koschei returned to his regular duties in Rellekka. It should also be noted that this adventurer had been given the unfinished balmung earlier by Queen Sigrid of Etceteria, who described it as a powerful dagannoth-slaying axe and a family heirloom. By using it in battle, the Balmung came into contact with dagannoth blood and, unbeknownst to Kharshai, the enchantment was completed.

Recovery of memories
By 169 of the Fifth Age, Koschei's lack of memory had  troubled him. After the eighteenth ritual that had occurred that year, his mind kept being bugged by images of a blossoming tree south of Rellekka. He tried to chop it down, but to no avail. Koschei addressed the adventurer who'd fought the dagannoth to bring his balmung axe he'd received from Queen Sigrid before the battle, and chop down the tree. They succeed and find a strange chest without a keyhole. By mere touch, Koschei unlocks it, to reveal a toy ship within. It is written on the sail that Koschei will feel in his bones when the time has come.

After being exposed to water, the ship opened to reveal a white gem in a compartment. Upon touching the gem, Koschei's memories magically returned to him. He remembered everything that had happened and transforms into his Mahjarrat form, finding out that his long time as Fremennik has permanently altered his appearance. Within seconds, Enakhra arrives to the scene. Now able to sense him again, she claims that she came to check if it's truly Kharshai. Her Zarosian rival Akthanakos arrives momentarily, supposedly for the same reason, but all of them know that they wish to claim Kharshai for the Zamorakians and Zarosians, respectively. A furious Kharshai demands that they depart instantly, proclaiming his strive for balance. The Mahjarrat warn him not to count on the gods' support in the future and reluctantly teleport away.

Trivia

 * Kharshai's physical appearance is similar to Bilrach being that, he has been in human form for so long.
 * This miniquest is similar to the Doctor Who two-parter The Family of Blood, where the Doctor becomes a human and hides his true self in a pocket watch.

Also see

 * Koschei the deathless
 * Koschei's Troubles
 * Battle for Rellekka
 * Balmung
 * Cobalt Balmung
 * Crimson Balmung
 * Viridian Balmung