Charos
Charos was a diplomatic human born sometime during the late Third Age to the early Fourth Age, and lived in Morytania. He was a human whose life is mostly shrouded in mystery, partially because most of the records from the Third and Fourth have been destroyed, and partially because true sources from Morytania are hard to come by, as the Vampyre lords of the region heavily censor and control what information passes in and out of the land.
Life's work and achievements
However, it is known and confirmed by historical sources that Charos was a man of great importance and an advisor to Lord Drakan, the long-time ruler of Morytania, which, at the time of Charos' life, would have been called Hallowvale or The Hallowland. He lived in the Castle on the North Coast of Morytania, and it is thought that he was one of the first Lords of the North Coast. Charos had a natural charm and ability to bend the wills and thoughts of weak-minded individuals, which is his greatest claim to fame. Because of this, he was able to be used by Drakan to interrogate human insurgents in and around the capital of the Hallowland, Meiyerditch. This is thought to be the reason Drakan kept him as an advisor, a position which would usually have gone to a Vampyre (Drakan's current advisor, Vanstrom Klause, is a member of the Vyrewatch).
In addition to possessing basic charisma and charm, much of Charos' famous abilities came from an item of jewellery, the Ring of Charos, a ring handed down in the Charos family for generations.
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This trinket gives the wearer some minor control over victims' thoughts, and, by suggesting something to them, they can make the victim do their bidding, to an extent. The main reason Charos used the ring was to trick the werewolves in Canifis and those in the Haunted Woods into thinking he was one of them, so that they would leave his Castle and its inhabitants alone. However, the ring only works on certain people, mainly those whose minds are weak and simple. It is assumed that with mental training people would be able to overcome the compulsion to obey the control of the ring, and several individuals (most notably those who have received religious training, for example Brother Althric and Monks on Entrana, and vampyres such as Malak) are immune to its charms.
Disappearance and death
Although his powers were great, and served to save his skin for many years, Charos became so convinced of his abilities that he believed that he could charm Drakan himself, a folly which led to his downfall and lost Charos his position as advisor, and henceforth his diplomatic immunity. All records of Charos cease at this moment, and it is widely believed that he was killed at the hands of the Vampyres he had served. However, Reldo, a librarian from Varrock and avid pursuer of knowledge, stated in a recent issue of Postbag From The Hedge that it is entirely possible that Charos is still alive, as he could well have been vampirised by the Vyres, not killed by them, and still walks among them today (as vampires have an unnaturally long lifespan).
Repercussions
After his possible death, the Castle and ring came into possession of the Lords of the North Coast, though how this happened or whether they had any affiliation with Charos is unknown, in year 1777 of the Fourth Age, when a large migration of pilgrims from Misthalin occurred and the northern part of Morytania became very densely populated.
After 15 Lords residing in this castle (most of which we have no records of), Lord Rologarth employed a doctor called Dr. Fenkenstrain. Fenkenstrain eventually tricked Rologarth, who was becoming decrepit with age, into killing all of the other inhabitants of the Castle, until eventually Fenkenstrain and Rologarth were the only two left (as evidenced in a letter), at which point the Doctor killed the Lord and stole the ring, selling his brain to the werewolves in Canifis.
Following the events of the Creature of Fenkenstrain quest, in which the Doctor asked for help in animating a large corpse made up of different body-parts, an adventurer accidentally put Rologarth's brain (which had previously been preserved and put on display in the Hair of the Dog Tavern in Canifis) in the head of Ed Lestwit, a former gardener at the Castle. When the corpse was reanimated, Rologarth returned to life. He shortly convinced the adventurer that he was the rightful owner of the castle, and revealed Fenkenstrain's dark secrets.
The castle is currently under the rule of Lord Rologarth again, though he is undead, and the Ring of Charos is now in the possession of the player. Players can use the ring to charm their way into the Werewolf Agility Course, and, after completion of the Garden of Tranquillity quest, has its true abilities unlocked once more, allowing minor mind-control on certain people around Gielinor.