Introducing...the Characters that Fill My Brain, Part 5: King Colderan

Well, that's what I've been doing, folks. Although I suppose I DO have an excuse! The semester was wrapping up for me over these past couple weeks, and today I officially finished my last final of the fall 2018 semester! Phew! Anyway, it's nice to have that done. I haven't been as "in-tune" with the blogging world because of that, but over the break there are a couple tag posts that I need to get done, and I hope to have more time for reading and commenting too! 

But, back to the subject. Today is the last day of my character post series, wrapping up with the last (and chronologically oldest) of the main characters. I really like this guy--he's so nice...but anyway, here it is! I would like to introduce you to King Colderan! 

Age: 

Depends on which book you're reading. In his "solo" book, (wherein he is the main character), he is mainly in his mid/late twenties. In later books, he is older, and by the time of my main trilogy, he has been long dead. (It's not really a spoiler...I mean, even for an elf, that would be really old.) 

Appearance/"Casting": 

His dark hair (now streaked with the smallest tinge of gray) contrasted with his son’s fair locks, and he had soft, gentle brown eyes that sparkled gold in the light.  His back was always straight, his head always high, though not in an arrogant way.  Because of an injury from a year ago, he now walked with a heavy limp, but he didn't complain or seem to pity himself.

As far as "casting" goes, I sort of imagine Colderan (as an older person) to look a little bit like Ben Miles, the actor who portrays Sir Timothy Midwinter in Lark Rise to Candleford. (*Naturally I don't approve of all the stuff that he or any other actor I have mentioned is in, but, setting that aside, I think he looks somewhat like Colderan*)

Family:

A wife and two children (one of which is Lehye'ahl), many siblings who he was never very close to, and parents he was never close to. 

Friends:  

His closest friend, named Amris, is a very intelligent and skilled elf, who is a genius at math and pretty much everything else. Colderan and his wife were also good friends with several people of different races, including a dwarf-girl and a member of the first royal family of Bdellith (this was centuries before Rhondin's time, however). 

Skills (or Un-Skills): 

Colderan is very good with words and is a skilled public speaker, as well as a good writer. He often gets lost in thought, and could be described as a "dreamer." With that personality, he can sometimes drift away and forget what other people are saying, but he never intends to be rude. He can be stubborn and argumentative when he wants, but only about things that are extremely important to him. He is trained to use a sword but he hates it, and he is skilled at horseback riding. Colderan is a problem solver, but unfortunately many problems that he faces are not ones he can solve. He can be overzealous at times in his efforts to comfort people, and, when he was younger, was a bit naive about how to think before speaking. 

"Well, all of those stars are up there—I’m not sure how to say this—but isn’t it amazing that we’re a part of the same world, the same…same universe, I suppose—that every single star is a part of?  No matter how big or important we think we are, there’s always something out there that reminds us that we really aren’t that big after all.” 

Fears:

Losing the ones that he loves. He is terrified of storms at sea (after several awful experiences which I'm not going to tell you about) and hates watching people climb around in the rigging, just in case they happened to fall. 

Loves (or Likes, I suppose): 

Being with his loved ones. Being at peace with all the races in the land and seeing his own people willing to form friendships with others. He loves sweet, warm drinks (especially hot cocoa), and is a huge fan of his friend's mother's chicken dumpling soup. He likes comfortable clothes and being able to slip his shoes off while working in his office, and overall loves it when his people show honest, true care for each other.

Five words/phrases that describe this character's personality 

(to prevent me from rambling any more):

Kind. Gentle. Courageous. Forgiving. Strong-hearted.

“Why must we distrust them?  Why can we not become allies and friends?”  Colderan stood in a small tent, a little spot of shade for working elves that had been appropriated for him and his father to speak in private.

          “They are of different races, Colderan—not just of a different land, they are completely different than us.  I would hesitate even to call them ‘people;’ ‘creatures’ is a more accurate word.”  

          Colderan began to pace heatedly about the tent.  “Father, they are just exactly like us.  They are people as well, every bit as intelligent as we are, though perhaps in different ways.  They simply look a little different—even though they do things rather differently than we do, they're really, on the inside, the same.  I would bet that the dwarves are just the same as us.” 

Songs that remind me of this character 

(for any reason, this does not mean that I necessarily support or agree with the musical group, and nor does it mean that the song is EXACTLY like my character, it may have several lines that are "right" or could just have the right "feel."): 

Burlap to Cashmere: "Closer to the Edge", "Other Country"

The Neal Morse Band: "Breath of Angels"

And Lastly...a collage!