Cale Coilltear (Cail Coy-ul-the-ar)

(a.k.a. Scarwolf, Wolfboy, Wolfblood)

Cale is the other main protagonist of the Merlin's Children's series, along with Tess Bowden Cale is a 19 year-old street-kid turned soldier, who lives in the alternate reality of Talmain.
I'll let my learned friend give you the details.
Hello, Merlin here! What can I tell you about this young scallywag? Street-kid turned soldier, but oh so much more. I have a connection to all my descendants, but this young fellow is one I’ve been watching closer than most. He’s one of the most powerful mages to come from my line. I’ve never met the lad myself, but I’ve followed him from a distance. What can I tell you? He grew up wild, first in the forests of Western Casalonia and later as a street rat in Beldane. No formal education, can’t read or write, but his mind’s as sharp as a Dverren blade. He’s a fearsome warrior with a heart of gold and a burning desire to protect the innocent. Brave and loyal, reckless and headstrong.
The boy does have some very silly ideas about his power. He vowed never to use the wild magic after his father died. Thinks it’s evil. Thinks he’s evil, a witch, a murderer, a monster. How much of that he picked up from the priests and village gossips, and how much is the whispering of his own demons, who can say? But he spends his whole life trying to run from what he is—the most powerful mage of his generation—and has turned all his energy into becoming the finest warrior of his generation instead. He can fight, that’s for sure, and when the cause is just, or at least if he believes it is, then he’s unstoppable. But he carries the guilt of every man he’s killed and turns it against himself. He has incredible powers of healing but he’s too scared to use them because he believes he can’t control his own power. He’s terrified he’ll destroy everyone and everything he loves, the way he killed his father when he was a boy. Or did he? He can’t actually remember what happened, but he’s sure he’s to blame.
What else can I tell you? He’s a complicated boy. He has a life marred by tragedy, though he’d argue no more than most of the street-kids he grew up with. His mother was a Kepushay woman, a kind and gentle soul, who died when he was very young, burned as a witch because of her abilities as a healer. His father, a Casalonian woodsman, moved his young family deeper into the forest after that, worried the mob would come for Cale, who was already showing signs of great power.
Cale and his sister grew up running wild in the forest. There was a baby sister too, but she died in the first hard winter after their mother was ripped from their lives. Then his father died in horrific circumstances when Cale was just nine. As I mentioned above, the lad blames himself for the incident, though he has no clear memory of what happened…only the aftermath. His guilt over what happened nearly broke him.
In the days after their father’s death, his sister Dainne, two years his senior, overheard the village elders planning to burn Cale too. And so, she dragged him away from home in the middle of the night. They walked across the desert to Beldane City—a desperate journey that nearly killed them both.
And there they grew up as street-kids in the slum area known as the Warrens. Cale had become withdrawn and had lost his desire to live, until a Kepushay warrior, Inek Ban, took him under his wing, taking him on a spirit journey that helped to break through the darkness wrapped around his soul. Inek taught Cale, and later Dainne, the warrior arts of Kai-shin, and Cale found freedom and joy in the power and discipline of the movements. He trained obsessively, channelling all his spare time into mastering the arts, in between working as a stable-hand in the Palace stables, and running wild in the streets with his new friends in the River Street Gang.
And then a further tragedy turned his life in a new direction. Darthian raiders killed his first love, an Erean girl called Thulia, along with many other children in the Warrens. After that, Cale lied about his age and joined the Casalonian army as a soldier, wanting to use his fighting skills both to avenge Thulia, and to protect the lives of other innocents. He was joined by his best friend, Rafel Mendoz, Thulia’s brother, though they were assigned to different units.
Cale is a strange mixture of light and dark. He is fire and rage, but also has a huge capacity for compassion. A man of few words who finds it hard to sit still, he has a major problem with most authority figures, apart from the few who’ve earned his respect. He is fiercely loyal to his sister, his friends, and his army comrades. He’s crazy-brave, most would say reckless, caring little if he lives or dies. He fights like a demon but takes no joy in the lives he has taken. He’s very harsh on himself, but has a dark sense of humour, a lively curiosity, and a heart as big as the world.

Physical Description

Facial Features

Good-looking despite the scars on his face - three slashes on his cheek, like claw marks. The scars, together with his Kepushay blood and wolf-like eyes, are the basis for his nicknames.

Age

19

Sex

Male

Eyes

Dark gold

Hair

Long, tangled, black hair

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Copper skin

Height

6'2"

Weight

Lean, athletic