KARLAN / KHARLAN   Name: Karlan / / Kharlan Occupation: Shogun of the Pars Royal Army Cavaliers Age: Unknown, probably over 40 Country of origin: Pars / Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue Known relatives: his son, Zande / Zante First appearance: Heroic Legend of Arislan / OVA1 Last appearance: Heroic Legend of Arislan / OVA1 Voice actor: (Japanese) Naya Rokurou / (English) Ray Lonnen Lord Karlan was one of the 12 Shogun each leader of 10 000 Pars horsemen. In the battle of Atoropatene, in the year 320 of the Pars calendar, he was given the responsbility of doing all the reconnaissance. He is a very prudent man, a sound strategist, and has considerable influence over Andragoras because he uses his arrogance to his advantage, stressing the 'undefeatable' characteristics of their army, the greatness of their King, and his own warrior-spirit. He is also very reliable, which causes his men to be used often as backup for the segments of the more temerary Shoguns. At the battle of Atoropatene, Karlan and his division sided with the Lusitanian invaders, and he later helped Silver Mask / Hirumes sneak into Ekubatana and open the gates of the city. At first this betrayal seems incomprehensible for a man as loyal as Karlan. But, as we learn later on, he thinks what he did will ultimately benefit his country, by getting rid of a King that made Pars poor and the Kingdom weak. And by putting on the throne a strong King, a King worthy of loyalty and respect, a King crafty and clever legitimized by the values he seeks in the perfect warrior, but also by blood. He knows Andragoras for the usurper he is, and wants to restore the past grandeur of Pars by restauring its rightful heir. His single-mindedness once in pursuit of a goal often brings him to lengths which he would not have gone to otherwise, like the killing of his countrymen in war, and the betrayal of those who believed in him. For him some things are more important than one's life. He is loyal and would do anything for a cause. Even kill. Or die. Die he did, ironically, after all the suffering and destruction he caused to his own country, screaming 'Pars forever', throwing himself down a cliff. With him, as with Bafreez and later Bafman, the truth died, slipping through Arslan's fingers, leaving him with doubts and half-spoken allegations. In the dubbed version, Narcasse comments 'A traitor going to a traitor's death', but that opinion is limiting. Striding calmy towards death, he was also a man dying for what he believed in, in the ultimate example of the warrior-spirit he claimed to love so much.