Prince Konan

Prince Konan of Rolance was a minor antagonist in the video game Tales of Zestiria, as well as a major antagonist in the second season of the anime adaptation Tales of Zestiria: The X.

In the Anime
Prince Konan was the fiancé of Rose, the young sub-leader of the Windriders group (a merchant/mercenary organisation which served as the precursor to the Sparrowfeathers merchants guild and Scattered Bones assassin organisation), through an arranged marriage by Rose’s adopted father Brad (the group’s leader). However, shortly after Rose had shown off her wedding dress to the group, Konan betrayed them, having his men throw smoke-bombs at the Windriders before launching a cascade of arrows down upon them.

Konan then used blue fire-based magic to burn Brad to death in front of Rose, smiling sadistically as he did so. Years later, Rose received word of Konan’s location from her lieutenant in the Sparrowfeathers, Eguile, and instantly her personality changed, losing her cheerful and lighthearted attitude and becoming impatient and angry, as well as driven to find the man who murdered her family. Rose and the Sparrowfeathers left Lastonbell to hunt for Konan, while Sorey left to the city of Pendrago to find the source of the malevolence with Gouldman.

The seraphs Mikleo and Edna secretly followed Rose in one of the Sparrowfeathers’ carts to investigate her sudden change in demeanour and discover her secret, as well as to prevent Dezel from going on a destructive rampage like he had at the Lastonbell Cathedral. Along the way, an informant met the group and told Rose that Konan was laying low at his hideout. When Edna and Mikleo demanded an explanation from Dezel of what was going on he told them of Rose’s secret life as an assassin, and that Konan, the man she was to kill, “deserves to die more than any other man on Earth”. According to Dezel, Konan had approached Brad,leader of the Windriders, for help in the war, due to the windriders’ immense influence in the kingdom of Rolance, promising an end to the fighting in return, and in exchange agreeing to marry Rose. However, once the Windriders had secured his army a huge victory, Konan saw them as no longer useful, since peace had been attained, and swiftly had them all killed in his surprise attack. Upon learning of what Rose was planning to do, he disembarked and fled to tell Sorey.

Rose and the Scattered Bones arrived at Konan’s fortress, and a stakeout revealed that at least ten men were guarding the prince. Entering the castle through a sewer grate, they arrived in the central courtyard, eventually locating the prince, immediately bringing back horrific memories to Rose. The group followed Konan and his men to his fort’s basement, where they learned that he had been taking in shipments of fake magical elixirs with highly addictive narcotic properties to sell to unsuspecting peasants and make them into addicts. As Konan left the basement and walked over his lake-crossing bridge to the main tower with his bishop, the two discussed the future, while Dezel (watching from above) promised that this night would be his last. The group waited until the cover of nightfall, before attacking and knocking unconscious Konan’s guards and proceeding to his bedchamber, meanwhile Shepherd Sorey arrived at the castle gate with Edna and Mikleo, utterly horrified at learning how many people Rose had killed and at what she was planning to do. When Rose found Konan in his bed she removed his mask, ensuring that he would know that it was she who killed him. Onan showed immense shock upon seeing his ex-fiancée standing over him with tw knives in her hands, and tried to push her away, but to no avail. Rose stabbed him in the throat with one of her knives, Seemingly killing him. Sorey arrived too late to stop her.

However, the severely bleeding prince rose from his bed, pressing hard on his wound, called for his guards, and asked Rose and Sorey who they were, not recognising Rose, who was confused that he was still alive, believing that she had hit his jugular and that he should be dead. Konan then asked Rose how she coud have really believed that he would honestly want to rule Rolance with a mere mercenary girl, and mocked her group’s naiveté, before telling Rose “If you go on your knees and beg for your life, I may spare you.” An infuriated Rose pulled out two more blades, and rushed at one of Konan’s guards, intending to incapacitate the entire group by herself. When Sorey pulled out his purifying sword to try to stop her from murdering yet another person, Dezel used wind magic to keep him pushed against the ceiling, while Edna attacked Dezel using a shard of rock which blasted him through the fort’s ceiling. In the commotion of the battle, Konan escaped through his balcony doors, rushing towards the lake, aiming to swim to safety. Despite Sorey’s attempts to catch up with Rose, he was unable to reach her before she leapt into him, forcing her blades towards his neck with immense speed and force, only for Konan to inexplicably avoid death by bringing his hands to his blades, allowing his hands to be stabbed instead. To the view of Sorey, Konan’s eyes turned black, and leaked an enigmatic fluid. Sorey instantly realised that Konan was no human, but a Malevolence-infused Hellion His true nature revealed, Konan was unaffected by the pain and quickly began to overpower Rose, beating and kicking her across to bridge with unmatchable speed. When Rose attacked again, Konan sent a shockwave of Malevolence out of his body which chaused the node of the bridge to explode sending Konan and Rose on a slab of the bridge falling towards the lake. As they fell, Rose stabbed Konan in the arm, declaring that she would never forgive him for what he’d done meanwhile Dezel attacked the distracted Konan with wind energy Konan used an explosive Malevolence attack to counter Dezel, but the attack destroyed the bridge and destabilised two of the fortress’s towers, as well as sent Konan falling straight into the water below along with countless blocks of rubble, meanwhile Sorey rescued Rose. It is assumed that Konan either drowned or was crushed by debris. Either way, he never left the lake.