Philip (the Son of Arrav)

Philip is the mysterious son of Arrav, the hero of Varrock and the protected of Gielinor.

Appearance
Philip has fair skin like Arrav, and his features are also a little similar to him. He wears a helmet with horns in the end, also based on his father. He has a scar on his chest, which is a carved symbol Trodax, meaning 'the destroyer'.

History
The legend of Philip is a tale often told by elders to ward of evil curses and vengeful spirits. ''It is a tale that gives hope even to the hopeless, redeems the conscious of the wicked, even brings back the dead of a loved one at times. Unlike Arrav's legend, which is a documentary of Varrock, the adventures of his son are a message to the world and beyond...''

Parting Ways
''The warrior of Avarrocka rested in the lonely hut along with his beautiful wife Miranda. He had had yet another vision and knew that dark times were approaching. He didn't reveal his vision but rather warned his wife that dangers were imminent. His wife, who truly believed him, after all they've been through, knew what she had to do. They sat staring at each other, then the small child nestled in its makeshift cradle. It slept peacefully, unaware of the dark days to come. Miranda silently carried the baby and the couple left the hut, parting ways as they left their temporary haven. Arrav had a final quest to complete. Miranda, on the other hand, had a missin of her own. Blinking back tears, she marched steadily in the silent night...''

The Demon Reborn
According to the Legend, a lone child was found in the route to Avarrocka by the Enthai, a nomadic tribe who worshipped no god. They found the child without his parents (just like his father), and tried to take him to their camp. It was then that the leader saw the moon in the sky. It was unearthly. It was dull and black, radiating violet rays. That was certainly a bad omen in Enthai traditions. In utter horror the tribe cursed the Child of the Dark Moon as Trodax and threw him in a river to die. Their fears were linked to the legendary demon. Krespa.

Trodax was no ordinary demon. It was an unknown entity which was believed to be created before the Age of the Gods. It was said to bathe in evil. No one but the Enthai and the hunters of the demon knew about Krespa. It was said to roam everywhere, being the one to create chaos and trouble. But that night, the demon had done something bizarre. It had possessed a child. And that surely meant doom for all, including the child.

The Power Within
The child had survived the wrath of the river and had reached a small village called Renko in the outskirts of Avarrocka. He was adopted by an old couple who were part of a tribe called the Fadir, a group of people said to have introduced skills in Gielinor. They were named Bernard and Marian. They named the child Philip. The couple raised the child pretty well. They taught the child all forms of fighting skills and survival skills. They made him train day and night. He was seldom allowed to relax. The couple were secretly preparing to mould the child into a warrior; to give the world some hope. The child was well built and had a perfect body, except for a scar that had been carved on the poor child by the Entai before they tried to drown him; they never understood its meaning.

The Child of the Dark Moon, was an expert fighter and survivalist and protected his 'parents' from the dangers in Renko. Krespa mostly stayed dormant, waiting for the right moment. On day, when Philip was preparing dinner for the couple, the hunters of Krespa arrived attacked their hut in a frenzy. The battle resulted in the Philip unleashed the dormant Demon. A sudden fury took hold of him and when he regained control of his mind, all the occupants in the room were dead. Miserable, Philip ran into the woods to escape the sorrow with the Demon whispering inside his head. Unknown to the poor lad, Krespa had stirred. The tortures had just begun.

The Prophecy
When heroes die and peasants weep

And gods stir in their endless sleep

The fiend that plagues them will be awake

And shall raze the world with lives at stake

Years passed and Philip wandered the forest doing his best to survive the dangers that were everywhere. Finally, he was neared the city. Just as he tried to exit the woods, he seemed to freeze. Then he met a young woman called The Lady of the Forest, who explained his predicament. She went on to say that once a person entered the woods, they would never escape. The curse dated back to the Third Age, where a Mage got lost in the forest and, since no one took the initiative to find her, cursed the forest. That girl was now the Lady of the Forest.



The Lady explained to him that if she died the curse will be destroyed. Philip decided to sacrifice his entire life ahead by volunteering to stay there. The Lady took pity on him and sacrificed herself for him. Before dying, she gave him the armour of Stragos (Stragos was the grandfather of Philip), a supreme set of armour.

After her death, he built a grave for her and then set out to the main city of Avarrocka. The voices continued to pester him, but he tried his best to ignore them. When he reached the city, Avarrocka Guard preventing from entering the gates and explained that Varrock was in a dreadful situation due to a hero-turned-evil called Arrav, and told him to save himself by not entering the place. Philip felt the need to help them, but alas, his destiny stopped him from doing so. The voice of Krespa guided him to the copy of The Shield of Arrav which had been built earlier along with the real one, for its own purpose. Philip recovered the forgotten shield and was just about to leave when the Krespa hunters ambushed him. Philip tried his best but was outnumbered. As the hunters closed in for the kill, a clan of mages joined the battle. They rescued him and sent him to their hideout.

The group of mages introduced themselves as the Fadir tribe, a clan of 'war mages'. They then explained to him about their magics including their ability to see the future. When the Fadir tribes saw the features of Arrav in him they told him that he was the hero's son. Initially, Philip was shocked to hear the truth, but he trusted their deduction and accepted it mournfully. The tales of Arrav were told everywhere in Gielinor and Philip knew about him. He understood the fate of his father but decided to become a hero himself, without worrying about the consequences. It was then that he vowed to sacrifice his life just as his father had and pledged to fight the dark forces that plagued the Goblinslayer. He also vowed to destroy his father's tormentors.

The Fadir leader, Afro, confessed to Philip that he had a vision concerning him. He explained that in the vision he saw a great warrior, whom they deduced was Philip (as he had the Stragos helmet) wearing the helmet of Arrav's clan holding a powerful but mysterious blade. Apart from the vision, the Fadirs had other news as well. They told him that though he was destined to be a great warrior, the beast was going to rise. This they knew from The Prophecy. They told him that there was no cure to his 'malady'.They also told Philip that other sources said that he was to die before the Winter Solstice. Ultimately he was left with only one choice:he must sacrifice himself when the time came for the benefit of the people of Gielinor, though he knew that the Prophecy would take place no matter what he did. It was a grim situation indeed.

In the following days, the Fadir trained him further in fighting and weapon wielding. Once, when he was swimming on the lake, he gad a vision of a legendary sword waiting for him in an unknown place. The sword called 'Bloodlust' was even more unknown than the mighty Shield of Arrav. Most didn't know about it. The demon's faint voice was suspiciously quiet whenever the visions occurred. The visions told him to meet a seer called Seburen, the master of Knowledge. Philip had the faintest of hope on seeing the visions. He believed the demon's silence was a good sign, he also felt that it must be kept a secret from as many people as possible. On the tenth day, Philip took leave of his friends, lying to them that he found the potion that can banish Krespa in a dream the previous night. Though the Fadir were reluctant, they allowed him to leave. So the hero gathered his provisions and went on a quest even more dangerous than his father's.

The Ether Realm
On his way, along the Barbarian village, Philip encountered several wild barbarians and slew them all. But his route required him to travel to Ether Realm, a minor realm situated in Gielinor, along the Barbarian Village. There, he encountered several deadly monsters. When the cannibals called Raza entered the fray, Philip lost most if his energy in slaying them. When the final one was killed, a beautiful young lady appeared and dealt him a killing blow. As strong as he was, Philip survived, and was then taken to the Seer's Hut. There, Seburan introduced the young lady as Tanya, a young warrior who pledged to served him throughout his life, as he had saved her from the Raza. Seburen explained about the location of Bloodlust as somewhere beyond Gielinor. He apologized for such a limited knowledge and made him stay there while Tanya tended his wounds.

Journey to Trepeka
When Philip was finally ready for fighting, he insisted on leaving to find the sword. Seburen ordered Tanya to accompany him and she reluctantly obeyed. He also gave him a simple blade to help him during dire situations. The duo set out of the Ether Realm and travelled throughout Gielinor, fighting monsters along the way. Once, Tanya was captured by wild doregs, ferocious hunters with stunted growth. Through tactical warfare, Philip finally managed to save her. Soon they were watching out for monsters, looking out for one another. Gradually, they began to love each other. Though Philip loved Tanya, he feared that she would suffer the same fate of the other people who'd been close to him. But he never found the strength to stay far away from the monster that was him...

Thoughts about a Shattered life
Philip never forgot the death of his caretakers and knew that his life would never be normal. Everyone wanted him dead; the demonhunters were pursuing him. While they gathered information about the blade, Philip thought of his deceased parents. He never knew where his mother had gone; his father was a failure... he had nothing to hope for... but he still had hope. Somehow, he believed that the sword might change his life.. for better or for worse.

Savage Crest and the God-Queen
They set up camp in Lumbridge, where Tanya performed a ritual to exit Gielinor. Outside of Gielinor, Tanya guided him to a realm called Treapaka, home place to great Arkus, the First God of Tyranny.

It was said that Arkus had three forms. The first was his normal form, which itself was the last form most would see before they die. The second was the Weredragon form; possessing three heads, it was a ferocious sight to behold. The last form was never seen by many; only Zenus himself had seen it and even He had been pretty shaken up; that form was called the Alpha Dragon, with several feral heads, it was the ultimate form of doom. Arkus was rumoured to have been involved in some ancient ritual and had been searching for the sword for a long time; rumours also pointed that he may have already found it...

At Treapaka, the duo travelled to the Savage Crest where they encountered Martin, the guardian of the great blade, who somehow lost it aeons ago. The trio scoured Savage Crest, where the the forces of Ukya, the God-Queen attacked them. In the fight that ensued Tanya, who was destined to own the Gem of Beyond, ripped the Queen's torso and claimed the Gem. A fellow soldier of Ukya, Ferron, offered them his opinions of Bloodlust's whereabouts; about it being somewhere in the easternmost part of the Realm. They follow his directions and enter Thanatica, the most dreadful kingdom in Treapaka. In the 'lands of massacre', they finally find the sword embedded in the Thanatican a Rocks, the hardest solid throughout the cosmos. But unfortunately, Bloodlust was guarded by Arkus, the most aggressive and fearsome God in all of the realms. His army had set up camp there. Apparently, the Dragon lord had already heard of the adventurers (he was a God, after all and he had eyes throughout the realm). He, along with his mighty army (the mightiest army throughout the realms) was ready to kill them and gain the sword.

The Final Battle
An epic battle ensued, the gigantic forces of Arkus clashed with the trio. The trio managed to slay all the soldiers, but in the battle all of them were gravely injured. Arkus fought with Philip, showing no mercy. He was an unstoppable force of nature; all those legends were but facts. He used all of his Godly powers to attack the brave warrior, and only Philip's survival instincts prevented him from death. Arkus soon began to toy with Philip, assuming his Weredragon form with three heads. Philip became severely injured by the vicious creature's attacks. Arkus intermittently tried to attack Marvin and once, Philip threw the Shield to save him, where it deflected a blow and fell far away. Finally, the mad god became tired of playing with his food and assumed his Alpha Dragon form and grabbed him easily. The entire realm trembled with his roar. The surroundings crumbled under his stare... the Alpha Dragon was a force to reckon. He decided to burn Philip to ashes with his multiple deadly heads.

Just then, Krespa awoke. The Elder Demon began to go berserk and the fight between the two forces was incredible. The battle between two great powers ravaged the realm. They were equally matched. However, in the end, Krespa removed Bloodlust from the Stones, which shattered into a million pieces, and destroyed the the god by savagely tearing him into two halves. At that moment, the moon became dark and Krespa gained utter control over Philip, corrupting his soul inch by inch. It was at the hat moment that Philip knew that he had to protect his people, just like his father had, risking his own life; father and son were destined to die that way... He stabbed himself with the sword. But, to everyone's surprise, the sword didn't kill him but subdued the rising beast. Thus, Philip had changed his destiny itself.

A New Path
After the battle, the duo took leave of Martin and travelled to their own realm.

Back at Gielinor, Philip met the seer again who told him that the hunters had abandoned their search. He also told him that the scar in his chest was an ancient symbol called Trodax which meant 'destroyer' and that he was the Destroyer of Chaos; he had many more evils to destroy. He survived The Demon for a reason...he wars still needed to maintain justice. The seer then told the them about a new prophecy, as mysterious as the first one.

Three heroes, all far away

Shall guide the world through night and day

When the monster goes on a killing spree

They shall stand together; the Terrific Three

Seburen also told him that Philip was required to travel to the future, for he was somehow involved in the new quest. Tanya insisted on accompanying him, much to the comfort of Philip. The seer teleported him along with his friend Tanya to the future. Philip was required to protect Varrock and the future of Gielinor.

The Terrific Three
Philip is one of the three main heroes destined to save the world from Stoneheart, as mentioned by the second prophecy/ the Prophecy of Three. He is rewarded with the Shield of his father for his heroic deeds in Varrock. He is informed about the fate of his father by the hero who battled him, Essar and is allowed for a brief emotional talk with his deceased father, thanks to Ryphus's proficiency in Necromancy. Also, during a battle where the fate of the heroes hung in balance, he sacrifices his shield. However, Zenus himself rewards him with the 'lost twin' of Bloodlust, Hellsgate. Now, with Bloodlust, Philip could shatter any form of matter and with Hellsgate, he could create miniature 'vortexes'(a.k.a Tunnel to Hell) that would destroy people near it, completely.

The Last Warrior
Philip plays a minor role in The Last Warrior. He almost stops Justin when he ventures through Varrock.

Trivia

 * The name the 'Child of the Dark Moon' is similar to the 'Child Of Sun and Moon'.
 * Bloodlust being embedded in the Thanatican Rocks is similar to Excalibur from the Legend of King Arthur.
 * It is said that Arrav had met Miranda during his travels, where they gave birth to 'Trodax the Destroyer'.
 * Even Marvin didn't know the true identity of the blade he was supposed to guard. Also, Arkus's need for the sword was never known; one could only assume that he wanted even more power.
 * Arkus is replaced by Spectra as the God of Tyranny, after his death at the hands of Krespa.