Denton Van Zan is the leader of the Kentucky Irregulars, a paramilitary group of dragon slayers. He and the Irregulars come to England to kill the male dragon.
He has black Polynesian inspired dragon tattoos across his chest, abdomen, and upper arms, often wearing a vest made from a bomber jacket. He brandishes a sawed off 12 gauge Mossberg 500 with vertical fore end and a distinct battle axe.
History[]
Denton Van Zan and his Irregulars appear before Quinn Abercromby and the survivors of Bamburgh Castle. Van Zan makes a distinct first impression with a Vickers-Armstrong FV 4201 Chieftain Tank. Despite initially being mistaken as marauders, it’s enough to catch Quinn’s attention rather than turning them away. After a display of nonviolent intent, Van Zan elaborates on the history of the Irregulars, their journey to England aboard a rebuilt National Guard C5A with only two engines, and how he was able to acquire a dragon tooth on his home made necklace. He goes on to tell Quinn that despite the dragons excellent vision, they cannot focus in the changing conditions of twilight, the event personally dubbed, “magic hour”. The grizzled soldier claims to have eye-witnessed the phenomenon during a previous attack in a wheat field south of Coffeyville, Kansas, USA. Quinn, taken by the look in Van Zan’s eyes presses the latter when the man likens himself to an American folk tale of the townsfolk of Coffeyville, KS rising up against the Dalton gang to retake their home, quipping that the irregulars could be “The Dalton Boys” rather than the heroic townsfolk. Van Zan asks to be allowed into Quinn's castle compound to simply rest and refit artillery before moving on. After a tense few moments, the hesitant, but convinced Quinn allows the irregulars though the castle gate, much to the chagrin of Creedy. It is when Alexandra Jensen pilots the unit’s Augusta AW109 helicopter into the castle, that the skepticisms begins to settle.
When the female dragon responsible for earlier terrorizing the colony begins an attack on the castle, Van Zan and the Irregulars spring into action. A mounted soldier, Piscatella, is killed en route to his location to set up for the Irregulars unorthodox dragon slaying technique. Quinn watches helplessly as the man is attacked, but rides off to finish his duties and aid in the counter attack on the dragon. As the mission continues to sour, Van Zan losing two more of his men in the air, Quinn is now tasked with luring the dangerous creature directly to Van Zan. As Quinn tops the last hill before the colony, he appears directly in the sights of Van Zan’s harpoon gun, narrowly dodging the harpoon and the trailing dragon. The harpoon connects with the latter, sending the beast careening to the ground and ultimately, it’s demise. Van Zan’s vest is singed by the dragons last ditch blast of fire, but otherwise he is no worse for the wear.
As the survivors celebrate the death of the dragon, Van Zan appears amongst the crowd, halting the celebration, disgusted by their shallowness. He reasons that the three of his people dying to kill a single dragon is no cause for celebration. The rest of his Kentucky Irregulars look on in silent agreement before filing out behind him.
Van Zan later approaches Quinn directly, in need of soldiers, further explaining the nature their long trip from home. With the help of Alex, they go into detail about their experiences; having slain and investigated some 200 dragons, all bearing the same features, including eggs, the have yet to encounter a male, or bull, leading them to believe and ultimately track the lone male dragon to London. After hearing Van Zan’s wishes, Quinn insists the Irregulars leave immediately, also warning that the male had previously backtracked and attacked a fortress nearby, causing untold devastation.
Soon after, Van Zan shares his plans with the inhabitants of the castle, initially receiving only four volunteers. He then demands more to be drafted before a furious Quinn intervenes, attacking Van Zan, who warns the former to stay out of his way. As Quinn persists, he’s quickly dispatched by the battle hardened veteran.
Van Zan’s convey are stopped in the ruins of Pembury, a mere 66km from London, with no way through. After sending Alex to investigate an alternate route, fire erupts in the distance. As the Male Dragon sets up its attack, Van Zan orders his men into defensive positions, only to have his Irregulars decimated in the fiery ambush. Van Zan, having taken refuge from the inferno under his tank, survives, as well as another two unnamed Irregulars and Alex. The remaining Americans return to the burning ruins of the recently attacked Bamburgh castle to find its remaining survivors buried in a bunker. Van Zan and his remaining comrades help free the grief stricken survivors from their bunker.
Following the devastation of his fortress, Quinn opts to help Alex and Van Zan hunt the Bull Dragon. Quinn advises only the three of them fly to London, using the cliff walls of the coast and the River Thames as cover for their trip. Upon landing, the group observe the male dragon cannibalizing females, warding most of the smaller creatures away from the city. Quinn sneaks the group to the interior of the city through his knowledge of London’s underground. Van Zan organizes a plan to shoot magnesium tipped C4 crossbow bolts into the bull dragon's throat, but the shot needs to be dangerously close to the dragon to be successful. Van Zan sends each of the party with one explosive bolt, separating to spring his trap. Van Zan climbs a smoke stack to get the best possible vantage point for his plan. As Alex baits the dragon to chase her to the base of the stack, the Bull Dragon spots Van Zan, stopping its momentum enough to ruin his shot. As the bolt sails toward the dragon’s head, he attacks with a burst of flame, detonating the bolt in his face. The dragon momentarily retreats, regrouping for another attack. This time directed at the helpless Van Zan. As the dragon charges the war weary man, Van Zan grabs his battle axe and returns the sentiment. Alex watches silently from the ground as Van Zan leaps through the air toward the Bull Dragon, swinging his axe in a final attempt against the creature who had cost him so much. The Bull snatches Van Zan out of the air, partially hitting the smokestack, sending debris and Van Zan’s axe careening toward the fear stricken Alex, who dodges the wreckage with mere seconds to spare.