My character for Bazmund's "Broken Skies: War in the Eversky". It unfortunately died in the prologue stages. [hider=Cole Arkus] [center][img]http://pre11.deviantart.net/6543/th/pre/i/2014/247/a/9/elf_inquisitor_by_gerryarthur-d7xx1ex.jpg[/img] [h3][color=92278f]Cole Arkus[/color][/h3][color=92278f][i]"Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it. Or have you forgotten?"[/i][/color][/center] [color=92278f]Name:[/color] Colman "Cole" Arkus [color=92278f]Age:[/color] 20 [color=92278f]Race:[/color] Half-Elf [color=92278f]Appearance:[/color] Born to a human mother and an elven father, Colman stands at 5’7, and is quite thin from years of forgoing meals in favour of study. His hair is already a pale silver, despite his young age, and his eyes are green like the lake near where he grew up. The tattoo on his forehead represents a tree and its branches, ever splitting, but still the same tree. Due to his heritage, he naturally has a greater amount of dexterity, but also not as much as a true elf. The same holds true with human strength. As far as clothes go, he generally wears formal clothing in dark colours, and is not often seen without his coat. [color=92278f]Nation of origin:[/color] The Oakheart Sovereignty [color=92278f]Personality:[/color] Lucky enough to be born into a knight’s family – his uncle’s, to be specific - Colman’s name means ‘little dove’, and he lives to it, seeking peace with all. While he is often serious, Cole goes about his life in a light-hearted way, trying to smile when others are down. He has a great passion for knowledge, and the preservation of, considering himself an amateur scholar. He also has great respect for all the world, and all walks of life. The only things he will not tolerate are outright murder, taking advantage of the weak, and hurting his friends – the only ways you can get him to lose his temper. [color=92278f]Biography:[/color] Colman is one of the many examples of half-elves who come from Oakheart. However, due to his ‘hybrid’ status, there were a number who looked on him with distrust. His mother and father also bore the brunt of this attack, given that their marriage was sudden and unexpected. Unfortunately, it was also short. In his sixth year, whilst walking with his parents alongside the lake they lived near, his mother suddenly became aware of people following them. The treeline was too far away, and no boulders or bushes provided cover to hide behind. So she pushed young Cole into the reeds of the lake, and told him to stay there and not make a sound until she or her father said so. There he witnessed the act that he will carry with him for the rest of his life – the murder of his parents. But he did not make a sound. His uncle’s men later found him at the scene, shivering and cold, still waiting in the reeds for his mother’s say so. Despite his protests, they took him back to his uncle, Terrence Arkus, squire of the knight before him. Finding himself charged with his dead sister’s son, the knight had no idea how to raise the boy, having neither children nor a wife of his own. He was able to bring the murderers to justice, though, by Cole’s detailed description of their appearances. Left to his own devices, Cole grew up mostly secluded, the only interaction he and his uncle shared being mealtimes. Despite the knight’s attempts to reach out to Cole through offering to train him as a knight, the child responded only with cordial politeness, and would leave soon after, showing no interest in the ways of the sword. In fact, the only person who truly seemed to connect with him was the healer of the estate, a dryad of many years, who never seemed unhappy to see him drop by. It was this dryad who first awakened his interest in learning, and she taught him many things, even lending him some of her small library of books from time to time. In Cole’s fifteenth year, Terrence finally married, and the first new lady of the estate came to live there since Cole’s mother died. She was a young and beautiful woman, charming everyone around her, and she even seemed to love Cole despite his standoffish behaviour. Despite this, Cole now felt like he was intruding, given that one day his uncle would one day soon, have children of his own. And during an argument over this with the healer, her tree fell. She died the next day, causing Cole a severe amount of grief, only greatened when he found that her worldly possessions had been left to him. Due to the pain he felt after her death, he swore to never end a life, lest he cause someone as much pain as he himself was feeling. The moment Cole turned sixteen, he received his parent’s small inheritance, and used most of it to buy passage to Solace, where he sought to learn all he could, being the centre of the Eversky’s knowledge, and forget his past, with little success. He ceased contact with his uncle, and despite himself, finds that his new life brings him a modicum of comfort and happiness. In the four years since, he has made a living primarily as a tutor for the children of the city, though he has been known to hired as a secondary tactician against pirate attacks, or as a neutral party for negotiations between businesses, and the occasional members of state. Now, though, with the rise of the Heaven’s Eye, he is reluctantly once again preparing to leave his home – but where he will go, he cannot decide. [color=92278f]Skills:[/color][list] [*] [color=92278f]Committed to Memory[/color] - Anything Colman sees, he will likely never forget. Whether he wants to or not. [*] [color=92278f]Magical Potential[/color] - Given his elven blood, Cole most likely has the potential for magic, but has never attempted it, given his proximity to the Heaven’s Eyes. [*] [color=92278f]Healing Hands[/color] - Years of friendship with the dryad taught him many things, and one thing she knew very well was medicine. Cole, though he’d rather leave it to professionals, can perform medical practices, from illnesses and injuries of minor levels, to devising a medicine and giving treatment to a severe wound, to providing quick emergency care that gives someone just a little more time, provided he has the right supplies. [*] [color=92278f]Better Safe than Sorry[/color] - Due to his hours of study, Cole, among other things, knows battle tactics and politics, and can apply both to his situation should he need to. [/list] [color=92278f]Weaknesses:[/color][list] [*] [color=92278f]Oath of Peace[/color] - Cole has sworn never to kill, should it come to it, and as such is only barely able to defend himself in a fight. Nor will he stand aside if someone is injured and in need of help. It binds him together as much as bone, muscle and sinew [*] [color=92278f]Sore Thumb[/color] - Cole is unusual, and often finds himself the centre of people’s attention. His appearance, his way of dress, and the way he acts are all rather unique. Thus, he’ll draw a bit more attention than he wants. He can pass for human or elf, but either way, he's most likely going to have eyes on him. [*] [color=92278f]Experience Trumps Education[/color] - Despite everything he’s learned, Cole has never put much of it to practice, and should he find himself in an unfamiliar or extreme situation, he will become agitated and unable to remember what to do. [/list] [color=92278f]Equipment:[/color][list] [*] [color=92278f]Basic Medical supplies:[/color] Allows him to provide aid quickly and easily to the injured. [*] [color=92278f]Journal: [/color] Cole records many things in journals, so that even if he forgets, or he falls, what he has learned will not be forgotten. His current study is airships. [*] [color=92278f]His mother's ring[/color] He received his mother's wedding ring alongside his inheritance, and wears it on his non-dominant right hand. [*] [color=92278f]Rock Island Revolver[/color] Even if he’s sworn an oath, it doesn’t mean he can’t disable them. It’s better to be carry and be ready than unarmed and face conflict. Holds seven bullets compared to the usual six. [hider=Rock Island Revolver:][img]http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/9633/10495430_1.jpg?v=8CDC8FCD76BFBC0[/img][/hider] [/list] [color=92278f]Other:[/color] In accordance to his oath, Cole is a vegetarian and will only eat meat again if he is on the brink of starvation. [/hider]