Canaan Drake
Canaan Drake is a human adventurer and an A-Rank Outer Shadow to Inner Shadow John "Reaper" Crassman. In Zion, Canaan went by the alias of Drake to represent his late wife and child's family lineage, a pact and promise the adventurer made to forever remember his loved ones in times of great peril.
A former member of the White Garden, Drake was trained in the art of assassination since the age of four years old - his specialty being in knife and swordplay. Though, Drake would also display expertise in bows and crossbows to a lesser extent. When the White Garden was destroyed by the demonic forces of the Ancient Evil Babylon, Drake's wife and son were driven insane, forcing Canaan to kill his family in cold blood. With Babylon's supernatural influence corrupting the minds of Drake's comrades, the assassin fled from his hometown which became overrun by the Ancient Evil's forces, however, was later captured by Babylon herself, who attempted to corrupt the last member of the White Garden. When Babylon attempted a blood ritual on Canaan, it was revealed that the blood of his wife that had stained his hands provided the assassin with a means to barely resist the influence of the Ancient through an impure blood connection, allowing Drake to retain his sanity while also being granted the strength of an Ancient Evil.
Fleeing to the land of Zion, Drake would rebuild his life as an adventurer, acquiring strength in taking down Babylon with his newfound power. Having realized that even in death, his wife had forgiven Canaan, going to the extent of using her own blood to protect her husband from Babylon, Canaan vowed to honor her, by only using his surname which represented their family.
Following Babylon's defeat, Drake became known as the Champion of Zion, and was renowned as being the strongest adventurer in spite of his background as an assassin. Learning of Babylon's defeat, the Ancient Evil's Baphomet and Baal sought Drake's defeat, invading Zion and leading to the deaths of the many Drake had become close to. In his near-death moments, Drake refused to give up, vowing to become strong enough to defeat both of the Ancient Evils, however ultimately, was defeated due to the limits of his human body.
With each new land, Drake would encounter the same pattern of the Ancient Evils forces purging the people and corrupting them, with Drake being powerless to stop them. Eventually worn down, Drake fell into despair, realizing that despite wielding the power of an Ancient Evil, his body was fundamentally still human, and that no matter how hard he pushed himself, he could never fully be strong enough to stop the terrifying might of an entire Demon Army. In a final suicidal charge to take on Baphomet and Baal, Drake charged the armies alone, against the wishes of the last remaining people who would succumb to the Ancient Evils' invasion. Drake would fight viciously, eventually destroying their armies, but at the end of the road, would be a confrontation with the two Ancient Evils. Despite fighting his hardest, Drake was outnumbered, outmatched, and overpowered, nearing death, in which the adventurer swore that if he ever made it out alive, he would use his power to destroy the being who had forced such a miserable existence on the victims of the Ancient Evils, including his family, and the numerous innocents who were slaughtered.
Hearing his wishes, a horde of Black Legion Shadows appeared, rescuing the assassin. From the shadows, the figure of Inner Shadow John Crassman appeared, vowing to teach Drake the ways of Chakra in exchange for his loyalty. The strength he would acquire would be enough for him to serve as an Outer Shadow - and to prove his power, Crassman proceeded to effortlessly defeat both Baal and Baphomet. With this, Crassman told Drake that though there would be no consolation in killing many more, he would find peace in knowing the suffering of those victimized by the Ancient Conflict will eventually end, as the Black Legion Organization sought to destroy the sole entity responsible for the order of the omniverse: Vala the Spirit of Hope. Accepting Crassman's offer, Drake became John's Outer Shadow, going by the codename White Wolf.
Background
Childhood
Canaan is the son of a Gyptian prostitute and an Argerian barbarian, who had invaded the nation of Gyptia, for which the barbarians of Argeria overthrew Gypa, killing the men, and raping the women, one of which led to Canaan's conception. In spite of the circumstances of her birth, Canaan's mother was said to have attempted to provide Canaan with a loving childhood. Canaan grew up to have a fondness for wood carving, a talent that his mother had which never took off due to the poor career prospects of the profession, leading to her prostitution. Canaan loved his mother very much and greatly loathed his father, who abandoned his mother after learning of her pregnancy.
When Canaan was four, the barbarians returned to Gyptia, with which his father, who was revealed to be the second in command to the Argerian barbarian chief, sought to kill his mother for siring an Argerian-Gyptian mixed race. Canaan's father was revealed to have been married, and his conception was considered highly taboo, which could cost the father not just his position as a warrior, but also the livelihood of his own family. Seeking Canaan's death, Canaan's father attempted to murder his bastard son but was stopped by Canaan's mother, who was killed instantly, decapitated by the barbarian before Canaan's very eyes.
A greatly traumatized Canaan wandered the ransacked town, dragging his mother's corpse in a bag in an attempt to find a place to bury her. One snowy night, Canaan was ambushed by wolves, who attempted to feed off his mother's corpse for food. Despite surviving the encounter, Canaan could not save his mother from the wolves, who dragged her body to their den. Enraged at his powerlessness, Canaan's barbaric genes awakened, charging one of the wolves and killing it in cold blood with his bare hands. Canaan's encounter with the wolves would be scouted by members of the White Garden, a notorious assassination group consisting of one of the strongest fighters in the country. Surprised by Canaan's incredible feat, the scouts recruited Canaan into the group, recognizing his prodigal physical prowess.
White Garden
Canaan trained in the ways of the assassin for nine years, where he displayed an aptitude in knife and swordplay which was above average for a rogue warrior. Canaan's fighting proficiency was considered formidable, however, his dislike for killing and the trauma of decapitation led to his inability to complete contracts effectively. One day, in an attempt to awaken Canaan's killing instinct, the thirteen-year-old was tasked with a life-changing mission: assassinating the head of the Argerian barbarian clan: Galaan Drake, who was revealed to be Canaan's father. Canaan proceeded in slaughtering the entire Argerian barbarian tribe under Galaan's command, leading him to be isolated. In a brutal showdown, in which Canaan's agility overpowered Galaan's might, Canaan was given the opportunity to kill his father for everything he had done, but was unable to land the killing blow. In a moment's hesitation, Galaan knocked his illegitimate son out and fled to a nearby wolf den.
Pursuing his father, Canaan encountered the wolf pack, recognizing the pack to be the same ones who had taken his mother's body. In a pure rage, Canaan engaged the pack but was unable to kill the alpha, who was significantly enhanced from the Blood of Babylon. With no choice but to retreat, Canaan ran into Galaan, and despite the hatred he had for his father, the two were left with no choice but to escape the pack together to come up with a plan to kill the alpha wolf. Galaan revealed that he intended to go to the den to retrieve Canaan's mother's corpse, as he admitted to feeling remorseful of his actions. Hesitant and resentful of his father, Canaan did not believe Galaan. However, the two continued venturing deeper into the den to find a way to gain the upper edge against the alpha, who Galaan suspected was the key to defeating the entire wolf pack.
As the two continued venturing into the den, Galaan revealed that on the day of Argeria's invasion of Gyptia, his wife had revealed her infidelity to Galaan, claiming that she believed that Galaan would not return back alive due to the poor survival rate of the Argerian barbarians. Stricken with grief from his wife's unloyalty, as well as the clan's custom that if a man's wife is unfaithful, the wife must be felled by the husband's axe, Galaan needed to find a way to deceive the chief that he had a lover; as though Galaan was betrayed by his wife, he could not bring grief of his wife's death to their daughter. However, many of the Argerian women were already married - leading to the siege of Gyptia in an attempt to subjugate the people and find suitable mates for an overwhelmingly male population. Canaan's mother, a Gyptian prostitute, had given shelter to Galaan, and it was revealed that the two had harbored genuine feelings for one another, as Galaan had admitted that he admired Canaan's mother's fierce desire for survival, even if it meant selling her body. It would also be that day where Galaan decided to make the Gyptian woman his genuine wife, rather than a lover as a means to protect his current wife from death. One night, while Galaan was sleeping in the prostitute's house, a mysterious being, later revealed to be an agent of Babylon, the Ancient Evil of Lust, drugged Galaan into uncontrollable libido, as Galaan was one of the only barbarians who did not force themselves onto the Gyptian women. A frantic Galaan proceeded to attack the woman who had given him shelter; an act which later became the source of immense grief for Galaan.
The God of Wolves
After revealing the story behind his conception to Canaan, Galaan begged for his son's forgiveness, telling the boy that even if he never forgave him, at least allow Galaan to assist in taking down the alpha and recovering his lover's body. Reluctantly, Canaan accepted Galaan's apology, as the two ventured deeper into the den, fighting off the wolves. With each wolf slain, Canaan grew closer to his father, however, this moment would be cut short, as the two were finally intercepted by the alpha, who revealed himself to be Fenrir, the Wolf God. Fenrir was revealed to be infected by the Blood of Babylon as well, as the Wolf God had feasted on Canaan's mother's flesh, which was tainted by the Blood following Galaan's attack on her many years ago. Stricken with guilt, Galaan declared that Fenrir would be his kill, as he was the reason his son and lover had to live a life of suffering. Against Canaan's wishes, Galaan charged Fenrir.
Canaan and Galaan's combined assault on Fenrir proved futile, as though Canaan's agility surpassed Fenrir's, he did not possess sufficient striking power to end the god, while Galaan's barbaric strength was enough, he was far too slow. As more and more wolves surrounded the Rogue and Barbarian, Galaan sacrificed himself to save Canaan's life, throwing himself into the line of fire and unleashing a violent explosion that leveled the cave walls, killing the wolves and severely injuring Fenrir, but not killing him.
In shock at what his father had done, Canaan's barbaric strength reawakened, causing the boy to enter a feral rage, charging Fenrir and combining his barbarian physiology with his assassin techniques. A grief-stricken Canaan bombarded Fenrir with tremendous force, finally allowing Canaan to bypass the power barrier which was keeping him from dealing damage. However, due to not being familiar with his barbarian genes, Canaan's attacks were only slightly effective. Relying on a highly evasive style of his White Garden training, paired with his barbarian endurance, Canaan fought Fenrir for two months without rest, eventually wearing down the god and killing him.
In disbelief that he had lost to a thirteen-year-old child, Fenrir peered into the soul of Canaan during his dying moments. The final words the Wolf God had for Canaan was that he would live a life where he would climb a neverending cliff, and he would never be satisfied with how high he was.
