Yanis, mostly referred to by others as the Neethan Warlock, is the leading warlock of the Neetha tribe.
History[]
Early History[]
Born into the vicious Neetha tribe, Yanis presumably grew up lower on the priority chain than the tribe's royals for food and other necessities. In any case, the Neetha's cannibal lifestyle caused facial deformities to occur while he was still young.
During his life, Yanis joined the tribe's priesthood, who were in charge of the tribe's treasures and knowledge and managing their worship of Nepthys, the Dark Star that the tribe worshiped as a destroyer god. Among the many things Yanis learned were the secrets of the maze in their settlement, the Delphic Orb and its tubeless telescope mechanism, the Second Pillar they possessed, and the Greek language learned during the visit of an ancient explorer.
At some stage the other priests took him on a long and secretive journey outside of the tribe's borders to see the second Vertex of the Machine made to counteract the Dark Star, and learned of one of the entrances beneath Table Mountain.
Prior to the beginning of the 21st century, Yanis became the tribe's head warlock and an adviser to chief Rano.
The Six Sacred Stones[]
After several outsiders were captured (Wizard, Zoe, Lily, Alby and Solomon) outside the village, Yanis joined the rest of the village as they went to inspect them. After discovering that they possessed the first Pillar, the Philosopher's Stone and Firestone, Yanis questioned how they had come across the great cleansing tools and why they had come. Though surprised to hear Lily responding in the Thoth language, Yanis decided he didn't trust her to translate and demanded Diane Cassidy be their interpreter. Wizard relayed their desire to borrow the tribe's Pillar so as to restore the Machine, however Yanis dismissed him out of their worship to Nepthys, and took the Pillar and cleansing Stones from them before imprisoning them on a platform on the lake.
During the middle of the night, Yanis sent one of his priests with the Seeing Stone and Firestone to the pinnacle of the volcano, where they used them and the village-shrine's inclinometer to allow Yanis to see the Dark Sun. Elated to be able to affirm the existence of the Neetha's god to them, Yanis cried out Nepthys's name in reverence.
The following morning, Yanis watched as Warano pronounced his claim to the whole village his intent to make Lily his bride, inviting anyone who opposed him to step forward, watching as the prince quickly dispatched Solomon when he opposed him. After Zoe made her own challenge to Warano, Yanis watched as Warano used his greater size and strength to keep Zoe parrying his blows and unable to fight back. However, Yanis soon realised what Zoe was really doing; knowing she couldn't match the Neethan man for strength was intentionally not fighting back to wear Warano down. Yanis sent some of his priests to prepare the maze for Zoe's sentence as she finally killed Warano.
Taking advantage of Rano's moment of silent fury, and because hurting and killing a member of the royal family was the worst crime among the Neetha, Yanis condemned Zoe to the village's maze as punishment, thinking that she would have no way to get through and thus allowing the Neethan warlock to claim that the gods had punished her. Allowing Zoe to have Alby accompany her into the maze, Yanis and the rest of the Neetha lingered on the lake edge to await the news that they had been hunted down and killed.
Soon, however, the sounds of the attack on the entry fort alerted the Neetha to the intruders, and they began scattering to hide and gather up weapons. In the chaos, Yanis and some of his priests moved to try and gather up their sacred treasures from the pedestal, only to encounter Zoe and Alby, who had successfully navigated the maze. Yanis was knocked out by Zoe, who took the Seeing Stone and second Pillar from him.
In the aftermath, Yanis was among the Neetha villagers and warriors who were rounded up by the CIEF and Congolese soldiers and flex-tied to keep them secure. Furious at the escape of Wizard's group and their theft of the Seeing Stone, Yanis demanded that Switchblade let him speak to Wolf directly. Though Wolf was dismissive of the Neethan warlock since he didn't believe they could understand one another, Yanis surprised him by speaking in Greek and offering to lead him to the second Vertex beneath Table Mountain, to which Wolf agreed.
The Five Greatest Warriors[]
Over the next few months, Wolf decided it best to keep Yanis around in case he still had useful information regarding the other Vertices, however any information Yanis did share is unknown.
Yanis was brought along by the CIEF to the Third Vertex on the Hokkaido coast, believing he might be able to help them. As Yanis, the CIEF, Jack, Lily and Zoe found themselves forced through the entrance together by a tsunami, they came across the maze-like trap system of the vertex. After Lily pointed out the path they should take, Wolf turned to Yanis to see if he had any insight, but the Warlock simply shrugged and followed the rest of the group through the fire maze.
Yanis joined the procession through to the inverted pyramid despite interference from the Japanese Blood Brotherhood, and when the group realised that whoever placed the Pillar would likely die in the process, Yanis spoke out to say that a death in honour of Nepthys should be embraced. In any case, Wolf and Jack managed to set the Pillar in place and survive, and Yanis joined Wolf, Rapier and the remaining CIEF soldier in departing the Vertex.
Upon leaving the Vertex, however, Yanis, Wolf and Rapier were captured by the Russian forces working for the mysterious Carnivore, and taken to his dam. Shackled to the wall with various other players involved in the Machine's restoration, Yanis was forced to listen (though how much he actually understood is unknown) as Carnivore explained to all his plan to force them through holding hostages to lay the remaining three Pillars and hand over the ones that had already been laid. Cassidy, in fact working for Carnivore, suggested that they simply kill Yanis since he, like Tank and the Blood Brotherhood, had no real desire to save the world. Though aware of how Yanis and the Neetha had treated her, Carnivore instead opted to have Yanis imprisoned within one of his Living Tomb tanks of formaldehyde as a unique specimen.
After the fourth and fifth Pillars were placed, Carnivore decided to abandon his base, even knowing his prisoners in the Living Tombs would suffocate in the tanks within days. After seeking Carnivore's permission, Cassidy went up to Yanis's tank and turned off the oxygen, taking pleasure in watching the Neethan Warlock suffocate to death as a final revenge upon the Neetha.
Personality[]
Yanis holds many secrets thanks to his years serving his tribe, particularly ones that revolve around the Machine created by a race of super-ancient people. His loyalty to his tribe is somewhat questionable, unlike his devotion to the Dark Star, and is willing to take an opportunity to save himself, if only long enough to try to reach his own goals.
Skills[]
- Expert Historian: As the highest-ranking member of the Neetha tribe's priesthood, Yanis has learned all of the ancient knowledge the tribe has accumulated over the centuries, such as intel related to the Machine, the Sacred Stones, Pillars and Vertices.
- Bilingualism: In addition to his native Thoth language, Yanis has learned classical Greek through his position in the Neetha priesthood.
Equipment[]
- Pillars: The bizarre uncut diamonds the size of a brick that were created by a race of super-ancient people for use in the Machine's restoration. As the Neethan Warlock, Yanis had primary custody of the Second Pillar for several years, which he cleansed with the Philosopher's Stone when Epper's team brought it with them to the village.
- The Six Sacred Stones: The ancient artefacts mysteriously connected to the Machine's restoration, some of which Yanis used himself.
- Philosopher's Stone: The Stone used to cleanse the Pillars before their placement in the Machine, which Yanis used to cleanse the Second Pillar that his tribe had held for generations.
- Seeing Stone of Delphi: The Stone used to view the Dark Sun at the Neetha village, which Yanis used in conjunction with the Firestone and the village's inclinometer in order to see Nepthys for himself through the "tubeless telescope".
- Village-Shrine Inclinometer: To Be Added.
Trivia[]
- Yanis, along with the rest of the Neetha tribe suffers from proteus disease, giving him facial deformities due to diet and inbreeding over the generations.
- Though he is not mentioned, Yanis was likely present at the second Vertex and led the CIEF through the riddle-themed traps, witnessing the events that occurred during the second Pillar's placing before the CIEF departed with the charged Pillar.