King Cole

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

### King Cole: Once Upon a Time...

Before the Kingdom of Fryslân, Bourgogne, Lotharin, and the Hesse were individual realms, they were one land known as Almania. Legend has it that the Almania king was uncertain which of his four sons to name as his heir so sent his sons out to learn trades to better determine which was fit to be king.

**[see Background Report for more info]**

When they returned, each son had used the magic in their noble blood to become truly exceptional masters of their craft. The four tested their skills against each other but each made a compelling case so after a number of tests and quests, the opted to split his kingdom into four and prepared a castle for each of his sons to rule upon his death

The youngest inherited the Hesse, taming the wilderness and declaring it a land of freemen rules by guilds and councils rather than kings. The third son inherited the northern lands of Fryslân, bringing his academics to to the hardy sailors and hunters that had traditionally lived in those parts. The second son inherited Bourgogne, which bordered the kingdoms to the west and had the great military academy. Finally, the eldest inherited his father's seat of power, the Lotharin, nestled between the Magical Forest and Black Woods — a place of ancient history and arcane past.

As a descendant of the third son, Cole Eisenhardt rose to power after the death of his father. He was scholarly sort as well, a trait which the Iron folk had thought their kings had lost. His coronation was a grand affair.

If Cole was going to rebuild the lost Almanian Empire or realize his ultimate goal of a united Europa, he would need to attain immortality. To fulfill his future, Cole looked to the past — to the times of the Aesopian Age. Cole knew that the heroes of old had lived long lives and had even been capable of casting off the shackles of the grave and returning to life. He also knew there were modern heroes who still walked the Earth. After deep study, Cole realized the key was popularity.

As a king past his prime, Cole began to throw great celebrations. He spent a fortune as a patron of the arts, commissioning artists to come to his court and write music, compose plays, and tell tales that spread his story to the four corners of Europa. Eventually, long after his hair turned white, Cole realized his plan worked when he outlived the peaceful reign of several kings from Fryslân's neighboring kingdoms.

Through border skirmishes, Cole managed to win a little land but his army was not well-stocked as the military of Bourgogne and the magic of Lotharin's mages made them too dangerous. So Cole turned to marriage. He married a princess from the most prestigious and potent of magical bloodlines and eventually the two had a son.

When his son was barely a man, Cole saw an opportunity for his son to marry the daughter of the Silver Realm after her sister was set to marry the Prince of the Golden Realm. After living over three hundred years as king, Cole lost interest in ruling all of Europa himself, but still hoped that his son might realize his dream. Unfortunately, the Sheeda invaded.

### Supplemental Reports

* (*Submitted by Herald*) After coming to Earth, Cole was Fabletown's most popular mayor. He was kind and fair, but left most of the managing to the likes of his staff: Ichabod Crane, Snow White, Bigby Wolf, and Bluebeard. After recovery from his first and only death to date, Cole came to Danny the Street and retired from mayoring, though he was happy to hold a gavel as a judge.
* (*Submitted by Herald*) **Background Report:** The oldest Prince of Almania was a charismatic lad and felt he could sway the court with impressive fashion and so he studied under Europa's greatest tailor. The second son was an adventurous young man who felt that his martial prowess would convince his father he was the right one to sit on the throne, so he became a huntsman intent to bring his father the pelt of the most ferocious beast he could find. The third son was a smart sort and he became a scholar and astronomer to impress his father with his knowledge. Finally, the fourth son decided he stood the least chance to inherit the throne and decided instead become a thief in the hopes he could steal the throne from his brothers through cunning.

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* **Fable Physiology**
	+ ***Immortality:*** King Cole lives without further aging.
	+ ***Resurrection:*** Like other Fables, Cole is able to return to life after suffering a violent death.
	+ ***Mythical Insight:*** Cole has insight into the innate character of persons he encounters — making him an excellent judge of character (though he is by no means perfect as he counts Bluebeard as a dear friend).
	+ ***Mythical Wisdom:*** Cole has a fantastic memory and a head for knowledge. Though he might forget minor details and certain events in his personal life, he can recite volumes of books he has read.
* **Lover of the Arts:** Cole loves art of all kinds — especially music.

### Weaknesses

* **Music:** More than anything else, Cole loves a good tune. He's a big fan of Izzy Bowin. Cole never misses a show of 'Once Upon a Rhyme' at the Perpetual Cabaret.

### Analytics

* **Physicality:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Occult:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
* **Weaponry:** 1 — Paltry / Below Average
* **Expertise:** 5 — Master / Remarkable
* **Range:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Strategy:** 2 — Basic Typical
	+ **TOTAL:** 32
	+ **RANKING:** Low Threat

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* Tsaritsa tried to seduce him, but he chose Eliza.
* He's the first mayor of Fabletown. When he was elected he chose Snow White to be his deputy mayor. Cole was a good leader, people listened to him and liked him. He threw great parties and made people smile. Cole gave rousing speeches and inspired law-abiding Fables to be their best selves. But his management skills were lacking. The burden of actually managing Fabletown usually fell to Snow White.
* After the destruction of Fabletown in the Manhattaning it took him some time to reappear. Snow White tried to run for mayor, but without Cole's name attached to her platform she lost.
* He's a mentor of Resnik the Cruel and Fawik the Rested who work as bailiffs and jailers for him.

### Notes

* King Cole is a character from *Fables*.
* His background is a nod to the *Four Skillful Brothers* tale.
* His nickname Merry Old Soul and him being a fan of Izzy might be nods to the original nursery rhyme.

## Network Files

Network Files King Cole.pngNetwork Files: King Cole

## Links and References

* Appearances of King Cole

1. ↑ Network Files: King Cole
2. ↑ Network Files: Tsaritsa
3. ↑ Roy Reimagines... Fables
4. ↑ NFX: Snow White
5. ↑ Network Files: Resnik the Cruel
6. ↑ Network Files: Fawik the Rested