Julius Kane

Julius Kane is the widowed father of Carter and Sadie Kane and the brother of Amos Kane. She was born to the ancient and powerful Faust family, but married into the Kane family, another powerful magician family.

Background
Dr. Julius Kane was a famous Egyptologist, specializing in the translation of ancient spells. This, however, serves as his cover story. In reality, he is a magician and a member of the House of Life. He met his wife, Ruby, at a digs site in the Valley of the Kings to discover a lost tomb; Julius was there as an Egyptologist and Ruby was looking for DNA. They eventually married and had two children.

After his wife, a diviner, had a vision of a chaotic future the two of them set forth to reunite gods and the House of Life. Their first act was releasing Bast from Cleopatra's Needle so that she may recover from her never-ending battle with Apophis. Although this was successful, the risk of Apophis escaping was too great and Ruby sacrificed her life to seal the portal. Julius was greatly grieved by this event and made a deal with Bast for her to watch over his daughter, Sadie as a pet cat. He also gifted his children with Egyptian amulets; Carter received the Eye of Horus and Sadie received an Ankh.

Julius fought to keep custody of his children, but after 'six lawyers, two fistfights, and a near fatal attack with a spatula' (later dubbed by Carter as the Great Spatula Incident), Julius was forced to give custody of Sadie to her grandparents. Sadie then began to live with them in London, England and her father and brother were only able to visit her twice a year. This, however, was not simply the work of the legal system, but also of the House of Life, which felt that it would be too dangerous to keep Sadie and Carter together; this and their decision to exile Julius was the beginning of the House's poor relationship with the Kanes. Julius traveled around the world with Carter, teaching him to dress well, homeschooling him, and teaching him the value of things such as basketball (especially in terms of the Lakers) and Elvis Presley.

Julius secretly continued his research despite his exile from the House, often running from place to place to keep from being found out. Despite this, there have been confrontations with other House magicians and instances where Julius was forced to use magic to protect himself and his son. In one instance, the hotel that Julius and Carter stayed in was attacked by gunmen, but Julius was able to use magic to disarm them and hang them from the chandelier. In Paris, the two escaped a riot by hiding in a car and Julius used magic to protect them.

The Red Pyramid
Six years after the death of his wife, Julius comes to London to visit his daughter on Christmas Eve. While on his way to pick up his daughter, Julius runs into his brother, Amos, who attempts to dissuade him from unleashing the gods, reminding him that the House of Life is watching him. Julius brushes aside his warnings and takes his children to the British Museum. After sending his children away, Julius attempts to summon Osiris, but also releases Isis, Horus, Set, and Nephthys. Osiris quickly takes Julius as a host and Isis and Horus take on Sadie and Carter as their respective hosts. Set, upon being released, takes Amos as his host and kidnaps Julius and Osiris and plans to use their power to turn North America into a desert.

Julius is held captive in a coffin within Set's red pyramid until Sadie and Carter arrive in their attempt to save him. The battle, however, is destructive and although they manage to defeat Set and free Amos, Julius does not survive. A few weeks after the battle, Anubis escorts Sadie and Carter to the Land of the Dead and they reunite with their father, who has become one with Osiris, as well as their mother. Despite his children's grief, Julius explains it was always his plan to die while hosting Osiris so that the gods could be restored. He gives his children a djed, the symbol of Osiris. Julius speaks loving words to his children and asks them to pass along a message from him to Amos, who was traumatized by being possessed: "Remind my brother that Egyptians believe in the power of the sunrise. They believe each morning begins not just a new day, but a new world."

Personality
Although Julius can be harsh and single-minded, he is also loving and often uses his strict manner to ensure his loved ones' safety. He exudes confidence, but has another, nervous side to him that Carter likens to a hunted man. He can be somewhat overbearing and may make demands of people that they cannot meet, which is best illustrated by his relationship with his son. He has a tendency to hold his workbag close to himself when nervous and is known to be a terrible liar, but no amount of pestering him will get the truth.

Appearance
Julius is of African descent and has dark brown skin and piercing brown eyes. He sports a goatee, keeps a shaved head, and dresses impeccably. Carter describes him as looking like a buff evil scientist. He is said to resemble the pharaoh Narmer, who united Upper and Lower Egypt.

Powers and Abilities
Julius, as a descendant of one of the most ancient magician families, is very skilled with magic. It is unknown where his specialty lies, but he was able to release a total of six gods with relative ease and has a vast knowledge of Egypt and its gods.

Relationships
Sadie Kane: Although he was forced to give her up when she was merely six years old, Julius loves his daughter very much. He greatly values the two visitation days he is allowed a year and fought very hard to keep her in his custody. After the death of her mother, he asked Bast to protect her by masquerading as her pet cat Muffin.

Carter Kane: Like Sadie, Julius loves his son very much, but Carter experienced his father's stricter side. Needing to keep his son safe, Julius demanded obedience and also taught him the ways of the world, warning him of the racism he would experience simply for being of African descent. Carter would often try to please his father by sharing the same interests, hoping to earn his approval.

Amos Kane: Although the details of their relationship are scarce, the brothers seem to care very much for one another. Amos attempted to dissuade Julius from going to the British Museum and releasing Osiris for fear of his brother's life. Likewise, Julius was concerned for his brother when he became traumatized by being possessed by Set and offered him wisdom and kind words. However, it is said that they argue a lot.