Alantes Kastaros

*"War. War never changes."*

## Introduction

Alantes "Alan" M. Kastaros is one of the central characters seen in Season 1 and 2. He is a veteran of the Guarman War, and is also the husband of Venyra Alor. A man with a powerful sense of duty and an even powerful shotgun, he is often seen as the hardy, flirty and reliable engineer of Special Operations Group 115. In Season 1, he is often seen wearing ICC-issued fatigues and battle armour, as well as a trusty bolt action rifle or pump action shotgun. In terms of combat, he is incredibly reliable, with his training proving to be detrimental to their effort of escaping Alexandria. Personality-wise, many have described him as a dutiful and loyal companion, with a kindness that is incredibly rare in this current climate. He also has the rage to match, seeing as he broke Carmen Valentine's teeth in anger after he laid a hand on his wife. Other than that, he is well-liked by the rest of the group, and Kremlinii sees Alan as nothing short of a brother.

In Between Season 1 and 2, he was forced to split from the group and joined another side group, which was promptly eliminated by the security forces belonging to the Hashimoto Crime Empire. He, however, was spared due to his fighting abilities, and was captured by the Commedia Del'Arte. After his capture, he was tortured brutally for information by Arlecchino, in order to find their boss's lost protegee. During this time, he, as an act of defiance, refused to break under the interrogation, and Arlecchino, bored out by his sheer determination, injected him with a cocktail of drugs to twist his mind, which caused him to become an elite soldier of the HCE, known only as 'Hierophant'.

During his time as Hierophant, he was always seen with a suit of salvaged close-combat powered battle armour, known as the Lazarus Armor. He spoke under a heavily filtered mask, and was often still as a statue. Only with the help of Casper did he successfully break his programming, and regain his sanity.

As of now, he has escaped Alexandria, and is living a relatively peaceful life with his wife and daughter in Whisperwind Acre, Alberia.

## Backstory

Alantes was raised in Wethersborough, Alberia, far away from the capital of London. His parents were soldiers in the Royal Army during the Austerreich Incursion, and after their deaths, he was mostly raised by his grandparents, which were fishermen. But, after he almost drowned in a fishing accident, he developed a fear of deep water, which would result in him choosing to leave the seaside city of Wethersborough for the famed South Horton Military Academy, in East London. Three years later, he would leave the Academy with a degree in engineering, and he would later join the Intercontinental Combined Coalition as a combat engineer, to escape the boredom of his civilian life.

His early days as a soldier was one filled with struggle, pain, and tiredness. Due to his relatively lanky build (despite his height of 6'1), he was often bullied. This led to him training brutally for Close-Quarters Combat, which earned him the moniker "Machine". The training proved to be detrimental, as two years after his departure from Basic Training, he would be deployed into Guarma as an attachment to the 117th Paratrooper Division "Helljumpers". There, he would take part in the Guarman Crisis on the side of the ICC, which lasted for 4 years. During this time, his wits, training and his strength in battle would be tested. Being caught in an ambush not once, but twice by rebels, he survived with sheer training and determination alone, being able to save himself from the rebels that wiped out his entire column. But, one time, he was not as lucky, being outnumbered ten-to-one and eventually caught alive by Guarman Rebels. He was nearly murdered on the spot, if not for the intervention of a unique organization that would force him to join their ranks for medical aid.

After the war, he was put on hiatus from frontline military service, and was appointed the role of Rear Echelon Engineer. There, he would participate in the Jottenheim Incursion, and also the El Dorado Rebellion. And at the age of 24, he was appointed to Head Engineer of his regiment. He would then take a week off to mourn his grandparents, which had passed during his time in service. After returning, he would head off to Alexandria, with the rest of his platoon, to help with the effort of evacuating civilians. When he arrived, his plane, along with many others, was shot down by Traitor Soldiers, which they mistook for ADF ground support units. He and his platoon would be one of the few to survive this, and would trek through the ruins of Graia to hopefully locate any other surviving paratroopers that took part in the operation.

After finding other paratroopers, he would link up with the 33rd Research Unit, which would swiftly create a Forwards Operating Base to take in refugees and wounded from all over, which at the time, included the likes of Angus, Maple, Tachy, Krem, and many future members of SOG 115. However, due to the fall of the base, he was forced to override the local Arcanum Power Grid and eliminate

## Trivia

-Alantes is currently 31, but plenty have commented that he looks way younger.

-His favourite dish is pizza (due to it being his childhood snack)

-He hates deep water, specifically the ocean (which would be Thalassophobia), but is fine with shallow water.

-He was confirmed to be the mole during Season 1, which explains how Providence was able to track the group throughout the campaign.

-After he defected, there was a total of 3 attempts on his life, each foiled by his newfound friends.

-His daughter was named after him during his time of abscence.

-He has given his powerful shotgun, Carnage, to Casper, after she freed him from the Mindshackle.