Kanos

Kanos was the third Crusader and one of the most powerful warriors of the time. Back to index

Biography
As with many Crusader's, Kanos's origins were deceptively unremarkable. Born on a backwater industrial planet, Kanos lived as a simple farmer for three decades. However, when the first "modern" Crusader Fredrick crash-landed on his farm, the interstellar mercenary medially recognized Kanos's great potential and offered to train him as a Crusader. Kanos accepted and, along side a small group of friends (Including his newly wedded wife) eventually left for parts unknown as the official third Crusader. However, disaster soon struck in the form of the brutal and expansive alien species known as the Conquerors. The war between Crusader and Conqueror escalated when Kanos discovered his enemies were under the control of the mind-numbingly ancient and dangerous entity known as the Worst Nightmare. Kanos was eventually forced to enact a final solution (The details of which are still unknown) designed to destroy both his enemies at once. Although the conquerors were destroyed, the Nightmare escaped unharmed and Kanos was the only survivor of his group.

A broken man, Kanos spent several years largely in isolation, stewing in guilt and regret. However, he eventually stumbled upon a Prophecy that pegged him as the leader of a "Destined Union" that would defeat the last of the Hunger Lord's servants. Although he put very little stock in the Prophecy, Kanos realized that he was most likely the only one left capable of permanently stopping Lord Ahab, the last of the Hunger Lord's servants. Deciding to accept this path, Kanos traveled to the sun sized planetiod "Frontier", located on the fringes of Alliance space, where he planned to prepare for a final confrontation with Lord Ahab. Immediately upon arrival, Kanos and his ship (The Eldorado) were "greeted" by the local defense force, lead by Issac and Cloe. However, the situation was turned around when the entire group was attacked by the cybernetic "prowlers" that Kanos defeated, saving the Defense Force. Kanos quickly found himself caught up in a multitude of events distracting him from his mission. First and Foremost, after saving her from a street gang, Kanos decided to adopt the young mute orphan Zahan, raising her as the daughter he had always wanted. More than this however, Kanos also realized that he needed to leave behind a replacement Crusader and begin training Issac to take on the role. This brought him into direct contact with Cloe, who was discovered (Including by Cloe herself) to be a sophisticated bio-construct created by the same group that left behind countless ruins on frontier. This, of course, lead to even more side trips in various efforts to discover her true origins and identity. Not helping matters was the resurgence of the Terrorists, under the command of Baron Belroran, who proved to be a constant thorn in everyone's sides.

Eventually, Kanos decided he was ready to face and defeat Ahab. As the Prophecy described the other members of the Destined Union sacrificing themselves to save the Crusader involved, Kanos enrolled Zahan in the Alliance Academy and disowned Issac as a Crusader, freeing himself to face the Warlord alone. Confronting the powerful ruler on Frontier, Kanos engaged Ahab in a hours long fight, eventually managing to kill Ahab via the use of a Zion Shard. However, Kanos was mortally wounded in the fight and, after almost a year to put his affairs in order (Including the brief training of Ixil) The Third Crusader bid goodbye to his daughter and then peacefully died. An alternate version of Kanos would eventually serve on the Trimitive Council.

Odds & Ends
Considered the most powerful of the modern Crusaders, Kanos was at the very least a top tier. Preferring to stay out of direct battle most of the time, Kanos would get involved when he saw it as necessary. Kanos forwent the power armor, firearms and power armor used by most other Crusaders, favoring instead to just use his Phaseblade, although he remained skilled with these weapons. Kanos's phaseblade, however, was anything but standard: Actually originating as a weapon used by an ancient Crusader warrior fighting against HON-TON, Kanos's weapon had almost five times the cutting power of a normal phaseblade, was adorned with spikes on the emitter, and its hilt was practically indestructible. On the topic of using a phaseblade, Kanos was a very skilled duelist, although not as powerful as Jason and mostly academic in his approach. In battle, Kanos mentally enhanced his strength and attacked with a basic and straightforward offensive style. However, Kanos has shown multiple times that he had a much wider array of skill: He instructed Ixil in a reckless and offensive form, Zannah in a brick-wall defensive style and held his own against Ahab, one of the best duelists in all of Horizons.

By far and away, Kanos's greatest strength lay in the supernatural. His telekinesis was absolutely overwhelming and he rarely need to use anything else. He could easily toss around even large army's of enemy's and objects, as well as having an upwards limit of 100 tons. He was also able to use Telekinesis with great finesse, subtly manipulating even insects and using it to create storms of sand and water. The energy he could summon and manipulate glowed dark red, instead of the normal blue, and although it normally only stinged and subdued, he could amp it up enough to kill ten men at once. Kanos was also well versed with telepathy, able to defend himself from even the Worst Nightmares influence (with considerable strain). Elemental powers were also well within his skill (although he rarely used them), his alternate self being particularly fond of cold weather manipulation. Finally, he was knowledgeable in many MANY obscure and little known ability's, some mundane, some deadly, and all powerful.

Authors Notes
Out-of-Universe, Kanos had almost as much of an impact on Horizons as Fredrick did, being influenced by a more mature and serious tone. As a side effect, he became the first of the morally ambiguous, Anti-Hero "Dark" Crusaders.

Due to playing such an important role in the development of Horizons, more than a few Alternate versions of Kanos have cropped up. "Beta" Kanos acts as the Loyalist Council's chief mouthpiece and representative, "Gamma" Kanos remains very close story-wise to his "Delta" self, while "Epsilon" Kanos is a major departure: serving as Fredrickson's loyal disciple and brutal enforcer. Most famously, the Kanos from the "Zet" Universe served as a member on the "Prime" Trimitive Council, before returning to his own dimension. The name Kanos does Appear in the "Alpha" Universe, but as a completely different character, an enforcer for a Terrorists analogue.

In fitting with the more serious tone of his adventures, Kanos is generally treated as much more powerful than other Crusaders, more drama coming from how conflicted and dark he himself is, rather than external threats. That being said, he remained far from infallible: In terms of pure supernatural power, a combination of raw ability and decades of experience made him a one-man-army, although beings such as Lord Ahab were still just as, if not more, powerful. Kanos was also well versed with swordsmanship, if in more of an academic sense than most. Ultimately, Kanos has earned the title of "Most powerful Crusader", although his counterparts have been known to stalemate or even defeat him before.

Kanos was slightly taller than his predecessors, with his dark black hair, beard stubble and frosty blue eyes completing his intimidating appearance. Although he denied it, his cynical outlook was most likely the reason for Kanos choosing a pitch black coat and hat, rather than the traditional brown favored by Crusaders. Although he mostly resorted to his archaic powers first and foremost, Kanos also carried a specially crafted Phaseblade, with an ancient and nearly indestructible hilt.

Kanos's hard life and brutal experiences left him a bitter and jaded old man, one who refused to get involved in almost anything, instead preferring self exile and isolation. Haunted by the demons of his past, Kanos was often brooding and moody, with little patience for allies and even less mercy for his enemies. However, after setting up shop on Frontier and adopting Zahan, he slowly began to put his past behind him. By the time of his death, the influence of Zahan and his other friends had finally allowed him to find peace, although even in the Sanctuary he remained more pragmatic and sarcastic than most other Crusaders.

Despite there series taking place co-currently, Jason and Kanos never had much interaction. They had little animosity towards each other, but also never became close friends. Kanos did, however, hold his Father in high esteem, seeing Fredrick as a model instructor and owing him a good deal of gratitude for training him and, in the Sanctum, absolving him of his guilt over his past actions. However, there shared life experience lead to them becoming friends more than master and teacher later on.

Kanos's "Keepsake" was his deceased wife's weeding ring.