Canas

"Teaching illuminates the minds of both master and student... I will teach you everything I can!"

- Canas talking to Nino in their supports

Canas (カナス, Kanasu) is a man on a quest to gain knowledge. Canas is a passionate scholar who has a tendency to read on the battlefield and unintentionally neglect the people he cares for, as pointed out by Nino in their supports.

In Canas supports with Pent, it is revealed that knowledge of the ancient magics has been passed down in his family for generations. He has three brothers, but all of them were taken by the forces of darkness. The elder magic Canas uses, like his brothers before him, is based on the forces of darkness and to use this magic, one must invite the dark forces within him. It is tempting to submit to the darkness, which is why Canas' brothers merely subexist. Canas is afraid of suffering the same fate of his brothers, but as he puts it: "However, I must see the other side. My curiosity pushes me ever deeper. It will be my undoing."

His curiosity knows no bounds, which leads to a rather interesting conversation with Renault about whether morphs have souls or not. This conversation also uncovers a bit of Renault's mysterious past. However a practitioner of elder magic, Canas often compliments Anima magic, the magic of nature, which he considers aesthetically rich, even expressing deep admiration for Pent in their support conversation.

He is the father of Hugh and son of Niime, characters from Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi, he also may be Nino's uncle by marriage, as his wife's deceased sister Iris bears the same name as Nino's mother. It is revealed that he died along side his wife while trying to stop a snowstorm before the events in Fūin no Tsurugi.

Canas is the only recruitable Shaman, and potentially Druid, in the game. He can be recruited during Chapter 16x in Eliwood's Story or Chapter 17x in Hector's Story by visiting a home in the Port of Badon. Upon learning that the heroes want to reach the Dread Island, he offers his services since he also wants to go there.

Base Stats
|Shaman |Anima |8 |21 |10 |9 |8 |7 |5 |8 |7 |5 |Dark Magic - B |Flux Secret Book Vulnerary

Growth Rates
|70% |45% |40% |35% |25% |25% |45%

Supports
Pent, Nino, Renault, Bartre, Vaida

Overall
Canas joins a bit later than Erk and Lucius, but he is one of two recruitable characters capable of using Dark Magic, the other being Athos (who joins during the final chapter). Regardless, he will always have average stats, though the speed can become problematic when combined with the high weight of Tomes in Rekka no Ken. However, once he starts gaining levels, the effects of Nosferatu and Luna can become very useful in taking down mages, bulky units like Generals, and bosses with high resistance like Sonia and Limstella.

Quotes
"Ah, what a shame. There was so much more that I wanted to learn...Mother, I'm sorry... take care... of Hugh..."

- Death Quote

"Let this battle be forgotten by history... That is all I ask."

- Final Chapter quote

Possible Endings
Canas - Seeker of Wisdom

Canas returned to his family in Ilia. Some years later, he and his wife died trying to stop a snowstorm. His child was raised by his old mother.

Etymology
This may be a reach, but the name 'Canas' may be a transliteration of the Scottish name 'Knox,' which means 'round hill.' In medieval Scottish, the 'k' and the 'n' of the name Knox would both be pronounced as distinct phonemes [k] and [n]. The FE8 shaman Knoll's name also means 'small hill.' Additionally, 'canas' in the spanish language mean 'grey hairs' or 'white hairs', and in Latin, 'canas' means 'bright', suggesting the ancient source of his power and a reference to his scholarliness.

Trivia

 * On the level Living Legend, Canas will remark about finding artifacts in the desert. He also mentions the great amount of magic wielders in the desert.
 * Canas is quite similar to Etzel; they both are a dark mage of some sort, they both wear monocles, and they both appear in a somewhat late gaiden chapter.
 * Although Canas uses Dark magic, his affinity is Anima. This alludes to his quest for knowledge, not power.
 * Canas's personality seems to have drastically changed at some point, as Niime describes him in a support with Hugh as being similar to his son, "[trying] to be bad, but he can't deny his good heart". It is unknown if she was referring to him as an adult, or him as a younger man, however.