So I just finished reading through Asunder. Had me thinking about Cole, of course. So I ventured to the forums to better refine my considerations. I figured I'd throw up my thoughts, as they are, even before I read through all 30-some-odd posts from others who're just as fascinated.
What he is is probably a paramount question, in any case. I thought on whether he was anything like Wynne, a poor boy who was brought back to life by a benevolent spirit. But I can't wrap my head around that, and the way he was effected by the Litany. That, and at the very end of Asunder, he remarks that the Templars eventually "found Cole and removed all evidence of what they'd done". That means, to me, that Cole's body was "removed", even if no means of it is ever described.
Neither do I think he's anything of a "good" spirit, like Justice was when he's first thrust into the real world back in Awakenings. The fact he uses the spilling of blood so that he can persist means, to me, that he's far more likely a spirit on the other end of spectrum. In simple DA terms, he's a demon.
Here's the thing: I think this is Bioware's way of more fully examining the real nature of the Fade and the spirits that inhabit it. We've been given two examples of "good" spirits in our companions already. It makes sense that the story will allow a greater depth of understanding, will explore an aspect of the Fade's spirits that we haven't truly experienced yet. Except in the most superficial of ways, of course. This will be our chance to really "get to know" a true demonic spirit.
So I think Cole is a demon. Which had me wondering what sort of demon he is, and I went by the process of elimination to figure out what we're dealing with, here. Pride? Heck, no. Cole is as far from prideful as anyone I've considered. He struggles with feelings of self-hatred, more like. Not sure a pride demon would've been attracted at all to a dying figure of Cole in that dungeon, if he was self-flagellating himself so completely as he surely was after his sister's death.
Not desire, either. Cole isn't at all some seeker of pleasures, isn't throwing himself into lust or passions of some kind. He tends to be pretty angry, justifiably, but he doesn't lack control enough that I'd consider him a rage demon. Not really hungry, either. He avoids people and their notice too much for me to think he's a hunger demon. He doesn't try eating people, at least, shrug.
To me, there are a few possibilities:
(1) Cole's a sloth demon. Sloth demons derive power from those off on their own, alone and unwilling to fight or move. The way Cole seeks out those who want to die, lost alone, and he convinces them to give up -- that could be indicative of a sloth demon's machinations. However, sloth demons typically take on a physical form through actual possession. And Cole doesn't seem, to me, to be a possessed abomination of some kind.
(2) Or Cole is a Shade. A shade doesn't have to possess anyone, they persist in their very own demonic form. That, and they feed off the minds' energy of those around them. They are shadow creatures, often barely noticed. Think Gaxkang, as one example. It's very likely this describes Cole exactly. What with his ability to go unseen and even be forgotten.
(3) There is one last chance, though. David Gaider has remarked we'd see a brand new demon type in Inquisition, a major demon type that we've never encountered in lore before. There are several types that fit that description, including despair, fear and guilt. I also find it interesting that HE is the writer that mentions this particular note, if only because he's the author who's made Cole.
I'm very nearly positive that Cole's a demon. The real kicker, for me, however, is that the story is probably challenging us in our considerations of such questions and natures. It's easy to hear "he's a demon" and instantly jump to the conclusion that Cole is "bad" and "needs to be destroyed". Heck, chances are some of the companions will probably try to kill Cole out of hand, once his nature is really understood. Maybe the Inquisitor will, even. Wouldn't be the first time we were given leave to destroy a possible party member, after all.
But this could be taken as a prime opportunity to better understand the overall nature of the Fade itself, what it is and what sort of creatures inhabit it. That they take on such mirrors of our own emotions and experiences is worth noting, mind you. If we're to take our own emotional experiences and judge them as "good" and "bad" and seek to destroy them out of hand, what does it say about how we view ourselves and each other? Although that waxes dangerously philosophical, too, doesn't it?
I only think Cole is going to be a purely fascinating edition to our game experience. And I am desperately looking forward to "meeting" him, hehe.
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