Carter Kane

Carter Kane is a fictional character and one of the main characters in The Kane Chronicles series, along with his younger sister, Sadie. He follows the path of Horus and was once the eye of the god himself. He is one of the strongest magicians in the world, next to his uncle Amos, and his sister.

Background

He is the eldest child of Julius and Ruby Kane and is a descendant of two families with the blood of the pharaohs. Carter lived with his family in Los Angeles, California until his mother's death when he was eight years old. His mother died while releasing Bast (the cat goddess) from imprisonment at Cleopatra's Needle in London where Apophis is being kept. His maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Faust, took Julius to court and won custody of his sister, Sadie, but left Carter to be raised by his father. He was allowed to see his sister twice a year, but otherwise was constantly on the move as his father continued to study Egypt and homeschooled him.

The Red Pyramid

Six years after the death of his mother, now fourteen years old, Carter and his father visit Sadie on Christmas Eve. Their father takes them to the British Museum, where Julius attempts to summon Osiris through the Rosetta Stone. This, however, backfires and also releases Horus, Isis, Nephthys, and Set. Horus takes Carter as a host, Isis takes Sadie, while Julius, allows Osiris to possess him and he is kidnapped by Set. Not long later, Amos Kane takes Carter and Sadie into his custody.

From there, Amos introduces them to the world of the Egyptian gods and magicians and they stay at the Kane mansion until it is attacked by serpopards. Carter and Sadie go on the run and, with help from Bast, the fierce cat goddess, and Zia Rashid, eventually come to the First Nome in Egypt. There, Zia teaches them the basics of magic and Carter begins to develop an attraction to Zia. Unfortunately, their time in the First Nome is cut short when Chief Lector Iskandar dies and Michel Desjardins takes over, ordering the deaths of the Kane siblings. Sadie and Carter go on the run, attempting to evade the House of Life a group of Egyptian magicians, while still foiling Set's plan to destroy North America,and possibly the world. Set is building a red pyramid, and on the day of his birthday,he will gain true power. He ultimately reunites with Zia, who leaves the House of Life to aid Carter and provides the siblings with Set's secret name. In the final battle, she is badly wounded and is revealed to be a shabti in place of the real Zia. Carter vows to find her.^[1]

The Throne of Fire

Three months after the defeat of Set, Carter, along with Sadie and Bast, has begun to educate a group of about twenty initiates about the Path of the Gods. Carter receives a vision from Horus, warning him that in three days Apophis will swallow the sun, ending all existence. In order to prevent this, the sun god, Ra, must be awakened, something that can only be achieved by using the Book of Ra.

Carter and Sadie, with help from their most experienced initiates, Jaz and Walt Stone, break into the Brooklyn Museum. Although they succeed in securing the first part of the Book and gain an ally in the griffin, Freak, Jaz falls into a coma while aiding the siblings.The next day, Sadie goes to London alone to celebrate her birthday. This is cut short, however, when Carter receives a vision that she is in danger. Carter, along with Walt, rushes to London to aid her, but find that Sadie has brought the situation under control and is in the company of the dwarf god, Bes.Helping the siblings on behalf of Bast, Bes brings Sadie and Carter to Russia, where the second part of the Book of Ra is thought to be; Walt is left behind.Later on in the story Carter and Bes finds Zia with Ra's crook and flail.^[2]

The Serpent's Shadow

Carter and Sadie and their initiates, travel to Dallas, Texas the 51st nome, to find a heavily guarded magic book from the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. Sadie sees a face in the wall, which tells her that they need a golden box instead. However, the is attacked, and the book is destroyed. They discover that the entire 51st nome has been destroyed. At the 21st nome in Brooklyn, they discover that the box is a shadow box, and it holds the shadow (one-fifth of his soul) of King Tut. Horus visits Carter. Carter suspects that there is a better way to execrate Apophis and decides to consult Thoth. Carter and Walt go visit Thoth, as he is being attacked by demons. Walt and Carter repulse them, and Thoth reveals that Setne can help them get Apophis' sheut and destroy him. They go to the Land of the Dead and meet with their father and persuade him to let Setne go with them to find The Book of Thoth.

Setne tricks them by giving orders to Bloodstained Blade to kill them. However, they survive both tricks and Zia kills Bloodstained Blade. Anubus realizes Setne's plan and tells Sadie to go help Carter and Zia and sends her to them. Meanwhile they enter the Land of the Demons. Carter realizes that Zia is channeling the power of Ra. They find the sheut and Setne binds them by turning the glamour charm used to disguise them into bindings. Sadie comes to help and they bind Apophis's shadow to the statue. The shadow calls out to all forces of Chaos, and they arrive. While Carter and Zia are battling the demons, Setne makes his escape.

When they return to the mortal world, the Brooklyn House is at the First Nome, helping Amos and the others protect it. Ra is reborn with Zia as his host and is not senile anymore. The other gods come to help them, while Ra gives Carter the pharaoh's throne. He orders the other gods to help. They enter the First Nome to help protect Amos against the rebels. Together they defeat the rebels and Walt and Anubis kill Jacobi and Kwai. When the rest of the rebels realize they are being used, they switch sides and accept the leadership of Carter and Amos. During the battle that follows, Apophis eats Ra. Carter finally comes to understand the true nature of a person's shadow, that it was more than a "back-up disk" for the soul, that it actually stood for a person's legacy and impact on the world, causing him to realize that destroying Apophis' shadow would thus cut his ties to the mortal world. Sadie and Carter execrate his shadow, finally destroying him. Apophis regurgitates Ra before he dies, but as a result, Ra and the rest of the gods except Anubis must retreat from the world for a time.

After the battle, Carter and Sadie go to see their father to report Setne's escape. Their father is just happy that they're alive and succeeded in saving the world. Carter is offered the throne of the pharaoh and he accepts, becoming the first pharaoh in thousands of years. However, Carter leaves command of the House of Life in the hands of Amos while he runs the Nome at Brooklyn House and finishes high school. Afterwards, Carter and Sadie travel to the Hall of Judgement where they find everyone partying to celebrate the destruction of Apophis. After saying a final goodbye to Bast, Carter and Sadie return to Brooklyn House.

Two weeks later, Carter and Zia go to a mall on their first date. Zia informs Carter that Amos suggested she take some time away from the First Nome now that he has everything under control and try to be a typical teenager. Zia reveals that Sadie invited her to stay at Brooklyn House and attend American school and she asks his opinion on the matter. Carter and Zia share a kiss.^[3]

Personality

Carter Kane is very protective of his family and friends, and will do anything to ensure their safety. He tends to be a gentleman because of the way his father raised him, and is always thinking of how to solve their next problem.

Appearance

Carter closely resembles his father in appearance. He bears little to no resemblance to his sister and mother, both of whom are Caucasian in appearance. Because of this difference in appearance, few people initially realize that he and Sadie are siblings, something Carter has grown used to. Carter typically carries an Eye of Horus symbol, a gift from his father. Later, some of Horus's essence is left in the symbol and he removes it so as not to be tempted to use the power.Carter's ba is a falcon with a human head, recalling Horus.

Powers and Abilities

Magic: Carter is a very powerful magician, though is not formally trained, He has more experience than the initiates of the other Nomes, and his progress is quickened due to the Path of the Gods. Carter's specialty is combat magic although he can use other techniques granted by the Path of Horus. He can also use hieroglyphic spells and has been known to be able to speak about half a dozen Divine Words. Carter also has the ability to transform into a falcon. Whilst being the Eye of Horus, Carter had the ability to transform other beings into animals for a short duration.

Combat Skills: During the Red Pyramid, Carter shows superhuman reflexes whilst in a battle. He deflects daggers at remarkable speeds and even dodges a dagger. Although he usually uses combat magic, Carter was once forced to use pure combat skills against opponents due to his link with Horus not being very strong. He managed to hold his own against Sobek's crocodiles, and was able to hold his own against Percy Jackson, despite the latter being the better swordfighter. Percy himself told Carter that he was one of the few people to fight him well.

Magical items

Khopesh: Carter used a khopesh from Brooklyn House, during the Red Pyramid and the first part of the Throne of Fire. He later lost his sword while fighting the Tjesu heru and wasn't able to retrieve it. Carter found himself a new khopesh in The Serpent's Shadow, but again lost it in a fight with a massive hippo demon. This is Carter's main offensive weapon.

Wand: Carter used his wand through the Red Pyramid and the Throne of Fire, until his encounter with the water demons. He later used his wand from his father's tool kit and is still using it. He can summon a shield of force around himself, by focusing his will. Carter can also send a burst of magic into anything his wand is in contact with to shock them, however this does not work with Percy Jackson and in extension, to any demigods. This is Carter's main defensive weapon.

References

External links

• Official Kane Chronicles UK website