Personality

Considering the incidents that happened within his family, it's no wonder why Coulson Pike is naturally not a very trusting person. He's not completely and totally paranoid, thinking everyone within ten feet of him is planning to stab him as soon as he stops paying attention, but getting particularly close with anyone hasn't been something Cole's done in some time. He's fine with working with people that aren't just...blatantly untrustworthy. He's friendly with most everyone that deserves said friendliness, too, and perhaps can even be charming when he isn't dropping a few sarcastic lines, as he's highly susceptible to pretty faces (even if said pretty faces aren't often trustworthy either, he's found over his time wandering). Cole's not going to be a jerk to anyone unless they deserve it, but no typical Joe or Jane should be expecting to be headed home with him. He's got to see a good reason to trust.

Despite his inability to see too much good in others, Cole's a good person himself and tries, sometimes reluctantly, to take the high road in most matters. Cole would vehemently deny that this makes him a nice person, though, because he kind of wants to be known as the aloof guy who can drop some sarcasm or even some charm here and there but still not care much about rights and wrongs. If someone was to go back and pick out decisions he's had to make in his life, though, they'd find he typically goes for the more morally upright one. Though Cole doesn't quite know it, he does want something more important out of life, and the only thing that would move him from his current life of wandering is something with a genuinely important and theoretically good purpose. He does not consider the current war to have anything worthwhile going on in it, believing it's just a bunch pointy-eared morons flinging magic at a bunch of blond-haired morons hitting them with sticks (his words), so he'll proceed to look elsewhere.

One thing Cole does like to be said about him is that he knows his stuff. He's a natural learner with a passion for history and military tactics, especially. The military tactics have helped him be more than just "that mage" when he's helped mercenaries and the like, though he's not typically put himself in enough of a position of leadership to put his intelligence in that realm of study to great use. He can spout a historical fact as fast as anyone, though, and being pretty darn opinionated about very specific things, he'll use said facts whenever he gets the chance to.

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History

Though a Breton, many find it interesting that Coulson Pike was actually born just within the border of Skyrim from his race's native land of High Rock. His mother's father, a Nord, had brought his Breton grandmother into the region and the family had remained settled in Skyrim ever since. Coulson was not raised like a Nord, however, with his grandfather already dead by the time he was six years old. His father was surprisingly magically inclined despite being half-Nord, and Coulson primarily studied magic in the way a Breton would from a young age. His mother did not approve of any additional martial training her son received, but Coulson's father, as the son grew older, could see what was upcoming - the war for Skyrim. Coulson was typically kept around his home in his youth, becoming acquainted with far more Nords than Bretons, and typically grew into a great appreciation for the Nord style of warfare. He also read whenever he didn't have work or magic study (which he enjoyed) to do, and typically his life was uneventful.

There was a reason that, despite his quick aptitude for magic, that his life remained fairly mundane. His father, a stableman of Solitude and a problematic drunk, never let the College of Winterhold, nor any other party that would be interested in a Breton mage-in-training, become aware of his son. He would send off recruiters in the area. His mother, on the other hand, disapproved of some of the father's teaching methods and wished to see Coulson, if he had to learn magic, learn how to use his magic properly so as not to be a danger. Arguments arose, and though Coulson didn't know it, the strain between his mother and father partially came from the accusation that his father was having an affair with a woman in Solitude whenever he went to spend several days there.

When Coulson was seventeen, it all came to a head. His mother, having found out with certainty of his father's affair, requested two military recruiters to come take Coulson for a mage's apprenticeship for the Imperials without the father's consent. Coulson would witness his father's drunken tirade as a result. The two recruiters were slain in the midst of the fallout. The same evening, Coulson's mother would kill the father as sleep finally took him. That next morning, Coulson would lash out at his mother with his tongue first and then his magic, but would do no damage. Instead, his deepest wound would be his decision to leave home permanently.

Trying to avoid any sort of farm-related work because it reminded him of home, Coulson decided to put his skills to use first in the realm of weapons enchanting wherever he could gain work. After learning that said enchanting was just another way for someone to try and tie him down to becoming someone's "dancing monkey," as his father had put it, Coulson left and has since been on the search for something of a new purpose. Primarily, the last year or so has been spent with him occasionally offering a magical hand to a group of mercenaries or, occasionally, to people who couldn't gain the services of a mage in Skyrim otherwise. With the war's start, he's tried to avoid Thalmor and Stormcloaks alike, thinking them both completely out of their stupid minds. So far, Coulson has realized he's putting himself to waste.

Character Name.
Coulson Pike

Age.
21

Race.
Breton

Sexuality.
Heterosexual

Faction, Army, or Allegiance.
None; helping search for the Blades

Occupation.
Wanderer and mage-for-hire

Werewolf or Vampire.
N/A

Major Skills.
+Alteration: Having become first interested in the way magic can bend what is assumed to be reality, alteration is probably Coulson's strongest school of magic. He specializes in the magic armor, utility, and paralysis segments of the school, granting him great diversity of handling situations.

+Illusion: Having always thought of illusion as a good sister school to alteration, Coulson's father encouraged his use of illusion magic. Cole specializes in rally and frenzy spells in this school, as the others never actually made much sense to him in the scheme of things.

+Restoration: As the school of magic he's least adept in of the three he's any at all familiar with, Coulson is less of a healer here, though he does know a couple of healing spells, and more of a warder.

+Archery: As his father was part Nord and had been taught by his father the many uses of the bow for combat situations and hunting for food, Coulson also learned how to fire a bow as well as would make any Nord proud...if they're cool with him using a crossbow, that is, because he sees it as much more practical.

+Enchanting: Coulson isn't a brilliant enchanter, but he does know how to keep his own staff charged and can slap a magical enchantment on most any weapon if he's provided the tools to do so.

+Strategy: While this is not a traditional skill, it needs to be mentioned that Cole is actually a very adept strategist despite not being a military man. Of course, most of his learning is from books, so he doesn't always quite know how to turn certain military tactics into something that works in a real-life scenario, but he's nonetheless got a wide-ranging scope of understanding of smaller fights.

Weapons, Armor, and Belongings.

+Staff of Courage: The first staff his father gave him when he was old enough to use them, Coulson has kept this particular item on him at nearly all points in his life to the point that it doesn't hold a magical charge as well as it used to, much to Coulson's disappointment.

+Crossbow: Never really liking the traditional bow that his father taught him to use, Coulson has always taken to the crossbow as a backup weapon in case his magic ever doesn't suit a situation.

+Orcish Dagger: For helping out a small band of orc mercenaries on one occasion, Coulson was given this dagger. He doesn't often have reason to use it, but it does make him more comfortable on a rainy day.

+Leather Tunic: Though he doesn't wear armor by any means, Coulson does have some protection around his chest with a heavier leather tunic that at least gives him some protection. Over it, he usually wears something of a half-shawl to conceal whatever he's carrying.