Kaden

Kaden is a legendary Dragon Knight known and respected throughout Dragon Hold for killing one of every type of Dragon. His armor and weapon are made from parts of Adult Dragons he's killed in the last 20 years.

## Past

Nearly 22 years prior to the start of the series, Kaden and twenty-nine other Dragon Knights rode to Leathsham to investigate rumors of a dragon nest. That night, as Kaden and the other Knights relaxed in their camp, Slyrak flew over the city of Leathsham and attacked. The Dragon Knights rode into battle, but they were annihilated by the Father of Fire, all except Kaden, who was partially shielded by his commanding officer. 30 Dragon Knights rode to Leathsham, and only Kaden rode back.

Consumed with rage and a determination to hunt and kill Slyrak, Kaden worked tirelessly to kill various types of Dragons and brought their parts to Father, who helped him develop his Chaos Dragon Armor and Sword. These armaments would serve him well as he travelled the world hunting dragons, only returning to Dragon Hold to pick up more weapons before heading out again. Despite his growing fame among the novices and in the outside world, some of the older Dragon Knights either scorned his obsession, or believed him to be arrogant and disrespectful.

## DOTA: Dragon's Blood

### Season 1

Kaden is first mentioned by Davion in *Princess of Nothing*, who sees his portrait in a tavern in Haupstadt. Davion's respect and reverence for the man is made clear as he talks about how Kaden has killed one of each type of dragon, states that he once poured him a drink as a squire, and says that he's only killed five types of dragons so far. Mirana sarcastically states that Davion is well on his way to becoming a legend as well.

Kaden makes his first on-screen appearance at the end of *Neverwhere Land*, killing a Fire Dragon near a Dragon Knight Fortress in the mountains. He's then seen again in *The Monster at the End of this Book*, dragging the corpse of the dragon he killed in the previous episode into the Fortress. There, he meets Davion, Mirana and Marci for the first time. While cutting open the corpse of the slain dragon, he asks Davion about Slyrak and senses Mirana's disapproval at his treatment of the dragon corpse. Davion hurriedly leaves the room instead, having nearly succumbed to the urge to fight his hero. Mirana encourages him to open up to Kaden and ask for his help. During dinner, Kaden returns Davion's dragon fang necklace to him and reveals he found it in Uldorak's nest, contrary to what Davion said about not finding any Eldwurms in the cave. He tells Davion that there was no shame in fleeing the two Eldwurms, and tells Davion about his disastrous mission to Leathsham. Davion decides to tell Kaden everything he remembered, and Kaden has them all retire for the night.

However, as Davion slept, Kaden snuck into his room and knocked him out. He carries Davion with him into an underground space, ignoring Mirana's attempts to interfere. Chaining him up, Kaden stabs Davion with two ionic dragon spikes to force out Slyrak. Slyrak does emerge in their hybrid form to taunt Kaden, who maintains an indifferent expression and commands Slyrak to leave Davion's body and fight him. Instead, Slyvion breaks free and transforms into Slyrak's Elder Dragon form, and the two take to the skies and fight, destroying the fortress in the process.

Kaden reappears, alive and whole, with a squadron of Dragon Knights and Davion's squire, Bram, at the end of *Speak the Words*, investigating the air dragon lair Davion and Fymryn escaped from. It is clear that they are tracking Davion.

Kaden appears once more in the Book 1 finale, *A Game of Chess*. Together with his squadron of Dragon Knights, they restrain Davion during the battle between the Coriel’tauvi and the Dark Moon Order and force him out of his Slyvion form, then capture him with the intent of taking him back to Dragon Hold.

## Appearance

Kaden seems to be a man in his forties or even older, with black hair having turned white at his temples and lower jaw, a black, trimmed handlebar mustache, fair skin and grey blue eyes. He has a large, crisscrossing scar on the left side of his face. He seems to have a large physique accentuated by the armor he wears, and often appears cold and calm.

## Abilities

Befitting his reputation, Kaden is a highly skilled and extremely experienced Dragon Knight. His prowess is easily proven by the armor he wears, made from the parts of Adult Dragons he's killed himself (which Davion said could only be accomplished by a group of at least 20 Dragon Knights or an entire army). While the enhancements provided by his equipment cannot be dismissed, he has shown be just as dangerous without his armor, displaying immense strength, endurance, and dexterity during the attack on Dragon Hold. Two decades spent tracking, hunting, and slaying dragons have provided him with invaluable experience, as well as deep knowledge of dragons and their abilities. This allows him to assess a tactical situation quickly and maintain a cool head even when facing insurmountable odds.

Kaden appears to possess a strong will, having managed to resist Terrorblade's influence.

## Equipment

Kaden wears a set of plated black armor made from the remains of Adult Dragons he's slain over the years. It allows him to channel the unique abilities of the dragons the armor was forged from, as well as utilize their stolen physical strength.

* The cuirass, which glows with red lines when in use, channels the power of a Chaos Dragon, allowing him to phase out of reality, create bubble shields, and teleport short distances. The same power is used to summon his helmet out of thin air, presumably kept away in an extradimensional space .
* The gauntlets bear the strength of an Earth Dragon that allows it to displace tons of rock to burrow chasms under the earth, using the same strength to enhance Kaden's attacks. These gauntlets are also used to channel the electricity of Ionic Dragons, adding a shocking effect to his strikes, which he used to knock Davion out.
* The boots, which glow with white lines when in use, are imbued with an Air Dragon's ability to generate propulsive wind blasts, which can be used to amplify his speed, change his flight trajectory in mid-flight, and allow him to gain temporary flight.

Kaden also wields a greatsword, aptly named Kaden's Blade by the developers. Judging by the area near its hilt and the energy flowing through it, it is likely forged from the remains of a Void Dragon. It contains a dormant power that can be activated to cause the sword to strike opponents with equivalent mass, meaning that he can hit any opponent larger than him as though the sword has enough weight and power to knock it down, despite the sheer difference in size and weight between them. A useful weapon when facing creatures larger than himself.

## Quotes

* *That's a lot of fucking dragons.*

* *Dragons talk too fucking much.*

## Trivia

* Kaden once stated that he had loved a girl, once, before the incident at Leathsham. His tone when talking about her and the journal he kept indicates that in the aftermath, he saw her as irrelevant after what he'd experienced and never thought about her again.