Zarosian Extermination

Introduction
The Zarosian extermination was a dramatic event of constant war, destroying entire civilisations, cities and knowledge of the Second Age. It was primarily caused by Zamorak and his followers, later aided by Saradomin who both wanted a portion of Zaros's vast empire. However, cities like Senntisten where still intact after hundreds of years, endlessly defending themselves but were eventually conquered by the majority.

Betrayal of Zaros
At the end of the Second Age, Zamorak was plotting against his master, Zaros, trying to overpower him and to overtake his empire. He managed this by obtaining the Staff of Armadyl, a legendary Elder Artefact, through numerous series of odd events and circumstances; taking it after the Saradominists failed to hide the Artefact (knowing it would give other gods such as Zaros a very large amount of power, overcoming the other gods). Zamorak knew he could not defeat his master without this powerful Artefact. He was a respected powerful long-living General, leading many Zarosian campaigns, which were highly successful proven by the vast amount of land the Zarosians conquered. Thus, he was convinced that the Staff of Armadyl would give him enough power to attain godhood, but in fact it could not. It would only effectively increase his power, but not to a degree at which he could reach godhood.

Zamorak decided to oppose Zaros, with some of his most powerful allies like Hazeel, Zemouregal, Lord Drakan, Viggora and several others; all former Zarosians themselves. When he reached Zaros' castle, knowing Zaros was surrounded and protected by numerous of his bodyguards, Zamorak knew he could only face his lord at the right moment where he wasn't distracted by Zaros's bodyguards. Zamorak's followers then approached the bodyguards, while Zamorak quickly reached out towards the throne room. Zamorak approached Zaros, and circled around the room, trying to confuse him. When he saw the chance, he attempted to impale Zaros with the Staff. Zaros was slightly weakened, and furiously, he seized Zamorak by the throat and lifted him into the air. This would have killed Zamorak, but by mistake, Zaros stumbled and fell onto his back, whereat Zamorak was recovering from his deadly blow: the Staff of Armadyl impaled both, and transferred some of Zaros' divine power into Zamorak. Zaros was slowly fading away, realising he was betrayed by some of his most loyal followers, and uttered a curse onto all those who were involved in the rebellion. he left his body in order to survive the deadly effect of the Elder Artefact and became incorporeal. His spirit vanished from Gielinor, and appeared in a very distanced dimension. Zaros could not physically reach his followers anymore, thus he struggled to survive for thousands of years. Zamorak was banished by the other gods for his treacherous deed, by taking on one of their own kind

The Third Age
Zamorak, through a number of unknown events, somehow was able to find the Stone of Jas, and absorbed some of its' power. He then became a god himself, and years later, his godly powers were fully developed, as he felt himself unstoppable, even by the the Dragonkin, protectors of the Stone of Jas. Zamorak's allies were hiding many years without their master being present to reach out more if his destructive plans, but soon Zamorak returned, and he gathered such a large and unstoppable army to take on all of the other gods, erupting chaos amongst the world. Large cities were destroyed and taken over by Zamorak, who was later aided by Saradomin who saw the opportunity to take some of Zaros' empire for himself, whereby many of the other gods, the most prominent examples being Bandos and Armadyl; joined the fight. Many of Zaros' followers were murdered, and some turned to Zamorak, not wanting to be killed.

Senntisten, the most prosperous city of Zaros back then, survived for many centuries, trying to isolate themselves from the devastated world. A temple was soon built, and a portal was created to contact Zaros for a short time. Devoted followers, like Azzanadra, took advice from Zaros and prayed together with him, and soon the world would be influenced again by the Zarosians for a short time. Azzanadra soon came to Uzer, and single handedly he killed the remaining forces of the demon Thammaron, a lieutenant of Zamorak, where eventually Thammaron was wounded himself and needed to retreat back to the Infernal Dimensions, but he eventually died from some fatal wound/s. Afterwards, Azzanadra soon came against forces both of Saradomin and Zamorak, where he was found to be immortal, and eventually they succeeded to imprison him in the Jaldraocht Pyramid, where he was trapped for thousands of years.

Nex, a powerful Zarosian general, gathered an army and headed to the Ritual Plateau, making it secure for the upcoming Ritual of Rejuvenation. After an intense battle, she needed to retreat and headed to a temple (God Wars Dungeon) with her remaining followers, constantly battling against armies of Bandos, Armadyl, Saradomin and Zamorak. The four armies managed to imprison her in the Ancient Prison. A Zarosian Mahjarrat known as Sliske however managed to free her by a ritual, for a short amount of time, tricking some Guthixian druids, telling them that Guthix was the only one who could stop the wars (which later turned out to be true). Nex was weakened, but soon returned to her position of power by fighting off the forces of the other gods. The gods managed to defeat Nex once more, imprisoning her and putting her into an enchanted sleep. The 4 gods' generals have been guarding four pieces of the key to open the door of the Ancient Prison, so Nex could not be freed again.

As the massive battle raged on, Guthix awoke from his slumber. The God of Balance joined the fray - not for the godsword, but because the battle threatened the very balance of the world. Guthixian forces served as diversions, in order to prolong the battle – at least long enough for the magus Aeternam to cast an enormous freezing spell on the God Wars Dungeon, imprisoning the combatants within for thousands of years, and effectively ending the war. The dungeon thus contains many creatures that are now extinct elsewhere on Gielinor, having gone extinct during the God Wars. All Gods were effectively banished from the world by a large portion of Guthix's power. Guthix went to his slumber once more, whereas the gods' followers still influenced the world partially. The world was forever scarred, but in the hands of mortals once more.

The Sixth Age
As there has been made contact with Zaros once more by Azzanadra and the Player, and the Edicts of Guthix are broken in his name by the Staff of Armadyl in the hands Sliske, Zaros can return to the world after about 6000 years (or 3 ages) of abandonment, but not without seeking a host body first to return to his physical form. The gods are returning, and Saradomin is the first one to have showed himself. Zaros and the other gods will be making a return soon, as this year is centered around the gods. As a note, Zaros power has grown as stated by Kharshai, and he is currently attempting to rival Zamorak, as he wants to seek out vengeance. Zarosian Extermination