Azan

Azan is a supporting character from the manga series, Berserk. Azan was the second in command of the Holy Iron Chains Knights. An old-fashioned knight who has turned to the cloth, he always speaks of honor and loyalty.
He is voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto (in Japanese) and Richard Epcar (in English).
==Past==
Prior to joining the Holy Chain Iron Knights, Azan was renowned as the legendary "Bridge Knight". According to the legend, Azan once met a wounded elderly man on a bridge and helped him cross while fending off a group consisting of nearly a hundred horsemen. After joining the Iron Chain Knights, Azan became de facto commander (men follow him rather than incompetent Farnese) and the group's only veteran member by the time Farnese becomes the group's current leader.
A year after the end of One Hundred Year War, Azan accompanied Farnese on her mission to investigate a prophecy of the Falcon of Darkness said to be birthed during the fifth solar eclipse. After the solar eclipse, Farnese and her forces find the "red lake" mentioned in the Holy See's prophecy: A literal lake dyed red with the blood spilled from the remains of countless bodies of men and horses (grisly remains of devoured members from old Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse). Soon after, Azan accompanies Farnese on her mission hunt down and capture the black swordsman who the Holy See believe to have some connection to the "Falcon of Darkness".
==Present==
===Tower of Conviction Arc===
When the Holy Iron Chains Knights catch up to Guts after his mortal battle against an apostle Rosine, he challenges Guts to a duel after seeing the wounded swordsman wipes out some of the army's less experienced men. After Guts recognizes him by reputation, yet insults him by saying he had renounced his knighthood, Azan proceeds to overwhelm the swordsman in combat. But Guts, knowing that he is not exactly in his best condition, uses what little energy he had left to use Azan's staff as a springboard to jump over him and make an attempted dash at Farnese to secure her as a hostage in order to get away before he is covertly knocked out by Serpico. After Azan restrains their men from killing Guts to avenge their fallen comrades, noticing his leader Farnese in shock from drawing blood, he manages to get Farnese to regain their composure. When Guts escape their custody with Farnese as their hostage, Azan is forced to focus on putting out the fire their prisoned caused while Serpico chases after him to save Farnese., matching the injured Guts in combat. Azan manages to survive the events of the Tower of Conviction and decides to report the events to the Holy See, while Farnese and Serpico follow Guts.
Later redeployed to the Tower of Conviction along with the rest of the Iron Chain Knights, Azan and his men find themselves at a losing battle against the countless evil spirits of death that have amassed for the Incarnation Ceremony. Attempting to retreat back to the tower he and his men are betrayed by paranoidal refugees in the tower who closed the tower gate on them, leaving them at the mercy of oncoming tidal wave of evil spirits. While Azan miraculously survived thanks to his staff keeping him from being crushed under fallen debris, he felt chagrined by the betrayal by those he is supposed to protect and ashamed to have been unable to save his troops. Joining forces with Guts to fight the Kushan soldiers deployed to the ruins of Albion after the calamity that was Incarnation Ceremony, Azan takes advantage of the group's focus on Griffith to lead Serpico, Farnese, Isidro, Nina, Jerome and Luca to safety. As Farnese and Serpico leave to follow Guts rather than accompany him, Azan decides to go to Vritannis to report what happened. Soon after completing his final task to the Holy See, Azan is excommunicated by the clergy.
===Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc===
He later reappears in Vritannis, living on the streets and reduced to a mendicand after having been kicked out of the Holy See and sleeping on boats. The pirate captain fighting Isidro steps on him, which prompts Azan to throw him into the water and beat up the rest of the pirates. Guts and his companions later end up sailing off with the boat he is sleeping on to Roderick's ship. As such, he is currently accompanying Guts towards Elfhelm.
===Falconia Arc===
He is seen working menial labor in Roderick's ship and training Isidro in spare time, all the while berating Isidro for not being honorable. He helped Gut's party and Roderick's crew fighting Sea God and now-transformed Sharkrider Pirates. Finally arrived in Skellig Island, he was seen drinking and hanging around with Dwarves (or Gnomes).
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