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To give the post-quest analysis some structure, I think it's best to go theory by theory and see what still holds up, what needs discarded/changed, and finally, what new theories have arisen from the ashes:

~X~OSRS: Xeric~X~ - The Aftermath

-- First theory: Xamphur is King Kharedst IV, the father of the girl who wrote Kharedst's Memoirs. Debunked! --

We get clear evidence from the Tasakaal that Xamphur's body dates back to the Age of Strife, Xeric's time, long before Kharedst IV, nearly a thousand years in fact.

Even for me keeping track of all this was getting overwhelming, so in my digging I actually found a well sourced timeline on the wiki: https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/w/Great_Kourend#History

But not being Xamphur does not exhume him of all suspicion. Reading the memoirs again, we still must account for the king drinking this corrupting flask and taking orders from this still mysterious "priestess."

'I... I've done everything you've asked,' he kept his eyes down as he spoke.

So what did he do?
*obtained the Ornate X Flask and Rose's dark amulet from the Old Dwarf
*obsessed over a mysterious, ancient book
*was killed by the council when they saw the flask was corrupting him

But that's all we can pin on him without unfounded speculation. Objects being stolen from the old dwarf he spoke with, the gravedigger winding up dead, the old dwarf concerned the same will happen to him. But what we can glean from the ending is that both he and Rose were merely pawns in Xeric/Xamphur's games. Means to an end.

Headcanon Haven, where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
OSRS Lore: Xeric
Slepe Tight - Slepe Lore

01-Jul-2021 15:20:22 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2021 20:02:45 by Lego Miester

01-Jul-2021 16:25:59 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2021 16:41:07 by Lego Miester

-- Bonus Theory - Xeric's Ensouled Head (debunked) --

This was one of my favorites! We still don't know who stole the Charred Skull or its purpose, but I missed something crucial: King Shayzien VII/Xeric's body was never recovered.

That means no tomb. So who's grave is this?



______________________________________________________

-- Xeric's Future Plans: Where is this headed? (partially debunked) --

Xeric is indeed mobile, thanks to us retrieving the Ancient Casket containing an amulet he now uses to possess Veos at his leisure, but Quidamortem is less abandoned than I had thought, and that earthquake, not random. Xamphur is doing experiments that are shaking the world, one of which occurred around the start of Kingdom Divided.

The magic of the Dark Altar wasn't disrupted, it was stolen. Xamphur took a portion of it and is experimenting with it, raising the Trapped Soul we fight in Ascent of Arceuus.

IF the skull was stolen by Xamphur, and IF it is indeed Xeric's from his body lost to time, with the soul perhaps in the amulet instead, then Xamphur does indeed have the power he needs to bring back Xeric. So he can, you guessed it:

Headcanon Haven, where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
OSRS Lore: Xeric
Slepe Tight - Slepe Lore

01-Jul-2021 16:40:17 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2021 18:14:09 by Lego Miester

-- The Three Symbols: --

After completing The Kingdom Divided and using the new spells, I noticed the symbol used by Kharedst's Memoirs teleport is the same one used by the Arceuus spellbook teleports. This seems to indicate the meaning of the purple symbol to be necromancy. Still concerning that Rose's writings would contain this sort of power, especially after we enhance the book into a Book of the Dead.

_______________________________________________________

--Mini-Theories--

Gnome Child "The father lives on. Alas, he's not the man he once was." turned out to be referring to Vanstrom.

"A door will finally open. A body lies within." - We found Rose.

"Someone we'll meet" - We can all point and laugh at how I immediately jumped to the conclusion of Xeric, but come on, undead, glowing in clear Xeric colors? That was bait, and I took it. Still, the reveal of Xamphur leads to whole new questions to answer. Headcanon Haven, where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
OSRS Lore: Xeric
Slepe Tight - Slepe Lore

01-Jul-2021 18:25:18

01-Jul-2021 18:54:07 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2021 20:04:05 by Lego Miester

-- Kourend Chronicles: A Kingdom United (debunked) --

Given...recent circumstances



The most clear interpretation would be that these assassins, sent by Xamphur(?) stole a Varlamore dagger to kill the king with, as none of the other assassins use a similar blade, and it very clearly has their art style. Perhaps to inflame old tensions? https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/w/Imafore%27s_betrayal

__________________________________________________

-- Kourend Chronicles: The Man In The Tower (confirmed!) --

Not much to say here, Xeric's Lookout was the place where Magnus was, but no sign of occupancy. They must've cleared out before we got there, and the bloodstain doesn't bode well for Magnus.



__________________________________________________

-- Kourend Chronicles: The Ascent (debunked!) --

Not Xeric. Xamphur was on the move. What was he there for? The Tasakaal, for sharing Xeric's knowledge? Konar, for hiding the casket? Or this strange trader? Alas no sign of the body to investigate. Headcanon Haven, where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
OSRS Lore: Xeric
Slepe Tight - Slepe Lore

01-Jul-2021 19:30:34 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2021 20:04:42 by Lego Miester

Which brings us to my favorite part, the new theory:

WHO. IS. XAMPHUR?


https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/w/Xamphur

The evidence currently seems to point in two contradictory directions. We'll start with what's the same and spread outward:

Xamphur's body dates back to the Age of Strife, the same time as Xeric's rule. He was raised from the dead at some point, his eerie spectre seemingly indicating death by being bound and drowned? He was imprisoned in Molch, only to be released within the last 100 years by the lizardmen. He seems intent on bringing Xeric back and controlling Kourend from the shadows through manipulating the powerhungry council and the royal family. He knows much of necromancy, and has the portion of the dark altar's power we helpfully obtained for him.

Said council describes him in the form of an Arceuus mage, an expert in curses. He provided the potion that kept Rose asleep, using the threat of knowledge, as well as the poison that killed the king. He may have also directed the king towards the flask in the first place to give them a reason to kill him. He's also been the one directing the lizardmen to attack Kourend in Xeric's absence.

THEORY 1: Xamphur is just that, a mage of Arceuus.

Rereading the transcript (thank you, wiki editors! Could never have made this thread without you!) Lord Arceuus specifically recognizes Xamphur's name, and says he "looks similar to an Arceuus citizen."

Speaking with him further, he describes the Ascent as around 1000 years ago, at the time of Byrne II. So while he is of Arceuus, Xamphur predates their Ascent into their current forms.

MORE FUN, LESS BACKED THEORY 2: Xamphur is a previous Shayzien king, just like Xeric, and the exploded tomb in the royal catacombs belongs to him. debunked. Though that still leaves the exploded tomb frustratingly unaccounted for. Headcanon Haven, where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
OSRS Lore: Xeric
Slepe Tight - Slepe Lore

01-Jul-2021 20:26:07 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2021 21:58:47 by Lego Miester

And of course, at long last, where is this headed?

Poking around post-quest I found very little, even trying to use the Book of the Dead on NPCs that the memoirs worked on to poke around for extra dialogue, but the quest itself sets the stage:

The assassins targeted 3 people: Martin Holt, Jorra Ashtar, and lastly King Hosidius. They went through the trouble of using a Varlamore dagger for the king's assassination, which has been sent to the dwarves to investigate. When they piece it together, what will be called for?

War!

While the kingdoms fight, Xeric and Xamphur plot. If they can seize the relatively undefended Dark Altar, with the help of allies on the inside like the pyromancer, they'll have all the power they could need to truly raise Xeric. We still don't know what those earthquakes are from, but I get the feeling that's one mystery we may not want to find out.

'The entrance below may be below the earth, but that realm lies beyond the reach of us mere mortals...'

But of course, that's just hearsay of a gravedigger. Even so, as we've seen, great mysteries are often buried.

So stay curious, and never stop digging!

Headcanon Haven, where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
OSRS Lore: Xeric
Slepe Tight - Slepe Lore

01-Jul-2021 21:19:41 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2021 22:18:38 by Lego Miester

30-Sep-2021 00:30:51 - Last edited on 30-Sep-2021 00:32:00 by The Sphinx