Kolax the Bloodless Character in Stormfarers | World Anvil

Kolax the Bloodless

A master of disguise who was once said to be within the top twenty assassins for hire, Kolax the Bloodless has long since stopped selling his services as he now solely serves Roya, the CEO of Cetus Corp. Before then, he was famous for killing cleanly, one of the few in his profession that avoided collateral damage. Of his hundreds of known kills, none ever involved injuries to innocent bystanders.   That's not to say he hasn't killed others, as there have been times where he fought or even killed bodyguards and accomplices. But Kolax always killed clean, and always up close and personal. No explosives, no sniping, no staged deaths. These methods have earned him the moniker Bloodless.   In 2801 CE, Kolax attempted to kill Roya at a public party. She bested him, then promptly recruited him, as she is wont to do. Since then Kolax has climbed up to vice-captain of Roya's personal guard. He often accompanies on her trips, while also killing plenty of her enemies.
Gender
Male
Height
Unknown (assumed 160~190 cm)
Weight
Unknown
Age
Unknown (assumed 50~60)
Skin/Hair/Eyes
Unknown
Children

Morals

Because Kolax kills openly, it has been rather easy to analyse his murder victims. Now granted, some never were proven to be any form of rotten. But it does seem as if he only kills those that have blood on their hands themselves. That doesn't make Kolax a saint, as he still often works for killers himself. But at the very least, he doesn't go after innocent lives.   There has been a single time where Kolax answered the question as to why. In his words, "there are already plenty of folks willing to kill the innocent". Since then he has refused to answer the question. But no matter his precise reason, it is a fact he only kills the guilty. And most likely that is exactly why he only kills in close distance.

Appearance

"Okay, find me the most indistinctive member of Roya's crew, then never take your eyes off them. Whoever it is, that is most likely Kolax. Oh, don't forget the runner-ups, just in case."
  He's a man, he's somewhere near average height, and that is all we know. Never has Kolax been seen with the same look twice, always employing disguises. No DNA left behind, or conflicting fakes instead, so even that hasn't helped establish his real looks.

Origin

Kolax's first known kill was in 2087 CE. It is said that two senators on Lepus-229 were both secretly crime lords and covertly waging war against each other. The losing party was considering a bounty against their rival, when Kolax approached them and offered to take up the bounty.   Afterwards, he faced down the other senator on the senate floor, identifying himself before attacking and killing the senator. Kolax managed to escape unscathed. Afterwards, both senators their crimes were exposed and their names erased from history, so their real identities are unknown. Yet Kolax's name was remembered.   There have been many parties that tried to uncover Kolax's past, likely in the hope they would find leverage to use against him. As far as we know, none of them have ever succeeded.  

Modus Operandi

Kolax uses a variety of disguises and even memory-impacting drugs against witnesses, so the only real reason we know who he has murdered, is that he always introduces himself first. Though given the fact he uses disguises, we don't know what other murders he may have committed.   While he's not unwilling to use firearms, Kolax always fights in close quarters. No long-distant killshots, which carry the risk of accidentally hitting the wrong person. Also no indiscrete murder methods such as explosives and poison. He does use poisonous darts and other ranged weapons, but only when no innocent bystanders can get in the way.   A signature move of Kolax is throwing sand in people's faces, which more often than not has some form paralytic agent inside. A running joke is that the best way to flush Kolax out, is checking people's pockets.

Serving Roya

After fourteen years of a perfect track record, Kolax failed for the first time when he went after Roya. Unfortunately no recordings or reliable witness statements exist of the event, as Kolax had planted his memory-impacting drugs in all drinks poured at the occasion. It is said that Roya took him on by herself, with her personal guard just observing. A rather unbelievable telling, it seems more likely that many members failed due to having been drugged by Kolax.   In the end, it does seem like Kolax still has a perfect track record as assassin. After all, it quickly came to light that nobody had actually hired him to take out Roya. He simply wanted to show her his skills, so chose an assassination attempt as way of applying for a more permanent job.   Since then, he has killed hundreds more, either by Roya's side or shortly leaving her to clean house, so to speak. As Roya has many enemies, she brings Kolax with her almost everywhere, and never has he not left bodies behind. Yet just like Roya, Kolax remains untouchable.  
"I suggest you leave, miss Roya. We care little for a troubleseeker like yours. So I suggest you take your men and get off our planet."   Several people rolled their eye at the attitude, yet Roya simply responded with a smile and a sigh. "Such unneeded hostility when you could have been begging for your life. Won't someone rid me of this troublesome man?"   Radolfo took half a step back in shock before barking his response. "You dare threaten me?!"   As he raised his hand to point and make a threat in return, one of Roya's bodyguards stepped forward with a faint smile. "No, she gave an order. Good day, I am Kolax, and I am going to kill you now."

Comments

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Sep 4, 2023 17:36 by RandoScorpio

What a neat killer. I think I like Kolax, but I know I like Roya already! The fact he introduces himself before killing is so bold and ***y, it’s a nice touch to make him stand out a bit. Good luck!

Sep 4, 2023 21:47 by Michael Chandra

Like her inspiration source, Artur Bloyd from Planets for Sale, Roya hires a lot of folks that tried to kill her. I figured one of those would make a nice character to write about, and bam, Kolax!


Too low they build who build beneath the stars - Edward Young
Sep 14, 2023 08:33 by Angantyr

I find it interesting and somewhat intriguing that Kolax accompanies Roya on many occasions, yet is not easily identifiable. Would that suggest that she changes her bodyguards fairly often, so the chances of taking out her and Kolax stay relatively low?   The morals feel similar to Léon from "Léon: The Professional", although the means are completely different. I like this approach and would love to know the backstory of the character. What shaped his beliefs and motivates him to pursue the tasks? Is he fighting for a better world?   How do people learn the name of the killer and erase the names of the senators? It's an interesting build-up character-wise, but I'm wondering what path would lead to such an outcome. Is it somehow connected to making a name for himself? Does Roya have anything to do with it?   Thanks for an interesting read!

Playing around with words and worlds
Sep 20, 2023 07:17 by Michael Chandra

Roya recruits a lot of folks that try to kill her, and most like anonymity. Additionally she has too many to always bring with her. So yeah her personal guard changes a lot, plus she deliberately spreads misinformation that makes it harder to predict who.   The same applies to his first kill: Misinformation by spreading a lot of wrong names, so that the real ones basically got lost. Still plenty of folks that know the real names, but good luck finding them. Nevermind getting them to talk, it's a culture thing that's somewhat comparable to shunning.


Too low they build who build beneath the stars - Edward Young