Sanya

Sanya is a human man, and a Knight of the Cross, wielder of Esperacchius, given to him by the Archangel Micheal. He first appeared in Death Masks.

Description
He is described in Death Masks as a tall, powerfully built man in his mid to late twenties, with very dark skin and short cropped hair. Sanya is generally optimistic in outlook, which fits the weilder of the sword of hope. Sanya describes himself as agnostic (or sometimes as atheist), and has been so since childhood. This, considering his job and experiences, is surprising to many. He explains that while he has a powerful sword and met many powerful and supernatural beings, he does not perceive this as immediate proof of a literal creator god, his angels or heaven. He presumes that he could for example be mad and hallucinating, or that the supernatural creatures he met could exist but not be divine. He sees his work as a Knight in doing good and worthy deeds, which for him is and can be completely separate from any question about religion and faith.

Details

 * Sanya is a black man.
 * He is a descendant of Salahuddin or Saladin.
 * He grew up in Russia in the city of Moscow.
 * He was once the holder of the Denairaincoin of Magog
 * Sanya speaks English with a thick Russian accent.
 * Sir Stuart Winchester confirmed that Esperacchius is the legendary Frankish sword, Durendal.


 * As of the end of Small Favor, Sanya is the only active Knight left.


 * He is also comfortable with firearms, wielding an AK-47 in the pursuit of Nicodemus.

Back story
In Small Favor, When Sanya was sixteen, Rosanna from the Order of the Blackened Denarius offered him the coin of the fallen angel Magog, which he accepted. In the following five years Sanya and Rosanna travelled the world, with her slowly corrupting him more and more to let the Fallen take control. During a stay in Venice they were visited by Polonius Lartessa, who had just had one of her projects thwarted by Shiro Yoshimo. Despite having been told to leave, Sanya stayed and listened in on them, and Rosanna reporting about him. Realizing that Rosanna did not actually care about him and that he was being used, Sanya then dropped the coin into a canal and left them. He was then found by Shiro, who had followed Tessa to Venice. They were met by the angel Michael at Malta, who offered Sanya the sword Esperacchius. Being offered the chance to fight evil and also redeem himself, Sanya accepted, becoming one of the Knights of the Cross.

In the series

 * In Death Masks, he took part in the fight against Ursiel. That is when Harry first met him.

In Ghost Story, Harry's memory returns of what happened after Sanya and Molly Carpenter took Harry to Saint Mary of the Angels church after he broke is back. His hair was singed and smells of smoke from rescuing the Willoughbys, Harry's elderly neighbors.