- "We call ourselves the Gray Paladins. Remember it."
- ―Cole Drayson
Cole Drayson was a Human male member of the offshoot Jedi organization known as the Gray Paladins. Born to farmers on Dantooine, Drayson's Force sensitivity was discovered by Jax Pavan, a former member of the fallen Jedi Order and founder of the rebuilt Gray Paladins. Drayson become an apprentice, training under Pavan before swearing his oaths, and eventually became one of their foremost members. His skill with his dual blaster pistols was near-legendary, and he wandered the galaxy like an avenger, seeking to bring justice to all beings in need. After suffering a tragic loss during the Yuuzhan Vong War, Drayson decided to wander alone, though remained part of the Paladins, needing time to come to grips with all he had seen and done.
Biography
Early Life (7 BBY - 12 ABY)
Cole Drayson was born on Dantooine in 7 BBY to two farmers—Sarah and William Drayson. Raised under constant fear of the Empire, Drayson kept his burgeoning talent in the Force to himself, hiding it even from the rest of his family. It wasn't until he had an accidental run in with a man named Jax Pavan that Drayson's gifts came to light. Pavan, a Jedi in hiding himself, welcomed Drayson to join the revived order known as the Gray Paladins, which he had rebuilt on Dantooine with Kajin Savaros. It didn't take much to convince the young boy to shake off the shackles of his simple farm life and join the Paladins as an apprentice.
Dantooine
Apprenticeship
- "We rely on our own skills first and foremost. The Force is just a tool, not a way of life."
- ―Kajin Savoros
Despite coming to embrace his new path, Drayson was first taught to keep his abilities hidden. The Empire was still on the hunt for former Jedi and Force-sensitives, and it was part of their creed that the Gray Paladins remain a secret. Unlike the Jedi Order of old, Drayson found his training to be much more militant. The galaxy had changed since the fall of the Jedi, and his masters believed the Paladins needed to take a more direct role in combating evils.
Drayson found he was something of a natural when it came to blasters. He had sharp eyes and incredible intuition, which proved to be a deadly combination for a marksman. Rather than being taught to draw upon and harness the power of the Force, the Gray Paladins believed that training their own skills would allow the Force to naturally augment their skills. So it seemed for young Drayson. After months of training, he found he rarely missed a shot. Tracking targets and having complete situational awareness became normal for him, and even his masters could not convince him this was the result of his latent Force abilities.
Under the guidance of his two masters―Jax Pavan and Kajin Savaros, the two leaders of the Paladins―Drayson quickly advanced in his training. He always accompanied one of the men as they ventured out on missions. After the fall of the Emperor during the Battle of Endor, the Paladins dropped their secretive ways and began working across the galaxy in earnest.
After years of training and fighting at his masters' sides, Drayson finally was able to complete a solo mission akin to a Jedi trial. Upon completion, he was fully accepted into the Gray Paladins and his apprenticeship came to an end.
Gray Paladin (13 ABY - 29 ABY)
A Galaxy In Need
Having completed his trials and earned the right to be a full-fledged Gray Paladin, Drayson began his travails throughout the galaxy. The Gray Paladins were unlike the reactive Jedi, choosing instead to seek out and confront injustice wherever it reigned. After members graduated, they spent the first several years as a Paladin traveling from place to place bringing peace and protection to the ordinary citizens of dozens of worlds.
Drayson, with his unsettling appearance, dark wit, and impeccable skills, was soon known throughout the Outer Rim as an avenging space cowboy. He offered his help to any who required it, but mostly stumbled onto trouble on his own. Pirates, slave traders, criminal organizations―it didn't matter to him. Drayson fought the scum that preyed on helpless innocents and did it with style.
Yuuzhan Vong War
- "This isn't you, Kajin! Jax was my master, too. But he wouldn't have wanted this!"
- ―Drayson to Kajin Savaros, during their duel
It wasn't until the outbreak of the Yuuzhan Vong War that Drayson first met with high-ranking members of the New Jedi Order. The Paladins gathered on Coruscant at the invitation of Luke Skywalker who asked for assistance in aiding refugees escaping from the war and protecting them from both the Yuuzhan Vong and any criminal elements seeking to take advantage of the conflict.
Drayson's master, Jax, accepted the mission, and sent the Paladins all across the galaxy. Drayson himself saw plenty of combat. Unlike the Jedi, who overly relied on the Force, Drayson found he was more than a match for the average Yuuzhan Vong warrior. The first leg of his mission took him to the Outer Rim Territories, where he protected small civilian populations attempting to evacuate their planets from Vong the warrior caste.
Jax Pavan, overwhelmed by Yuuzhan Vong on Dantooine
Word eventually came to Drayson via Jax that Dantooine was under attack. Having been born and raised on the planet, Drayson felt the need to lend his assistance. In fact, he was joined by both Jax and Kajin Savaros, who had hidden on Dantooine for years before the Empire fell. Together, Drayson and his two old masters fought with the New Republic to protect the refugees from Destrillion. But the battle was a slaughter. Despite the combined efforts of the Jedi and the three Gray Paladins, the waves of Yuuzhan Vong could not be halted.
On the windswept plains of Dantooine, Drayson saw his master struck down by a Vong warrior. The man who had trained him, who had resurrected the Paladins, had been slain. Kajin Savaros, Jax's partner in bringing back the Gray Paladins, succumbed to his rage over Jax's death and attacked the Vong with suicidal abandon. Despite his best efforts, Drayson was unable to calm Savaros down, and the man was soon unable to tell friend from foe.
As the Jedi forces, led by Luke Skywalker, attempted to evacuate civilians from the battle field, Drayson refused to follow, insisting that he could reach Savaros. Skywalker accepted his decision, and Drayson was left to hold back the remaining Vong and keep Savaros from killing himself. Savaros, again demonstrating his immense control of the Force, shredded the Vong forces with Force Lightning until not a single one of the creatures was left alive. Still, blinded by rage and grief as he was, Drayson finally engaged Savaros in a duel and at last managed to bring the man back to his senses.
By the time the war ended, Drayson felt he needed to separate himself from the Paladins for a bit. The war had been costly to their order, but Savaros, again under control, vowed to continue to rebuild... as Jax would have wanted. Drayson took to wandering the galaxy on his own once more, searching for those with potential and recruiting them into the Gray Paladins.
Untold Stories (30 ABY - Present)
Physical Description
Cole Drayson
Cole Drayson cuts an intimidating figure. He had fine, medium-length black hair
swept back from his face. His deeply sunken eyes were a piercing brown,
usually drawn in a fierce glare. His face was scarred from battle, and covered
by a rough thatch of black hair.
Drayson was tall, and built like a tank despite being light on his feet. This,
coupled with his deep, gravelly voice, made him a terrifying figure to come
across in a dark alley. Eschewing the traditional robes of a Jedi, Drayson preferred to wear simple, unassuming pants and shirts with long, brown leather dusters. Some felt that Drayson was trying too hard to complete the image of a bad ass space cowboy, but he just liked the way the clothes looked when he drew his blasters.
Personality and Traits
- "You think someone like me would fit in with robe-wearing, saber-wielding Jedi? Please."
- ―Cole Drayson
A self-styled badass, Drayson loved to play the role of a hero, riding into battle at the last possible second to crush the bad guys and save the day. To this end, he went out of his way to find trouble just for the chance to, metaphorically, crack some skulls. Despite his hard features and gruff voice, Drayson had a sharp tongue and sardonic wit and was quick to mock both himself and others in casual conversation. Those who didn't know him well usually felt he was insulting them, but Drayson was merely a straightforward man who sees no need to sugarcoat things.
His appearance, demeanor, and sardonic sense of humor painted Drayson as a dark man with a gruff personality. But, while he appeared hard and unapproachable, and often could be, deep inside he just wanted to protect others. He believed the galaxy was a hard place and found it took an even harder man to stand up to it.
Powers and Abilities
- "Listen up, kid... and I may be quoting here, but nothing beats a good pair of blasters at your side."
- ―Drayson to a potential Gray Paladin trainee
Drayson dual wielding his favored pistols
Combat
Drayson had sharp senses and a deep affinity for blaster pistols. In combat, he utilized his dual heavy blasters with the skill of a true marksman, able to make the most impossible of shots with minimal effort. He often focused so hard on his targets, that he was able to feel when they were going to move and when to fire. This trait was actually the manifestation of his Force abilities, but he often treated it as if it was purely his own skill.
Drayson was also something of a martial arts expert. He was a master of the Gray Paladin-preferred art of Stava, and was capable of taking on multiple opponents with the hard-hitting strikes and takedowns of the art. Whenever he was forced to engage in close quarters, Drayson would holster his blasters and aim to put his opponents on their backs, buying time to move to a more comfortable distance.
The Force
As a Gray Paladin, Drayson relied more on his own skills, rather than on aide from the Force. He rarely drew purposefully on his power, instead allowing it to augment his actions instinctively to strengthen his already lethal combat abilities. Like others of his order, Drayson saw the Force as just another tool in his arsenal and not as an intrinsic part of his life.
However, the Force still manifested itself in his actions—especially during combat. His senses often sharpened beyond Human ability and he could track enemy movements behind obstructions. Drayson also had some skill at Healing, his body able to quickly recover from most minor wounds. Any other powers he learned of during his initial training required him to actively focus and were often a struggle for him to use in intense situations.
Behind the Scenes
Cole Drayson is an NPC designed for the Taldryan-specific competition, "Gathering Darkness". Cole Drayson was designed by Aidan Kincaid.
External Links
1. Character Sheet - Cole Drayson