| Richard Cole | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Family | Unnamed wife
Matt Cole (Son)
Matthew Freeman (adopted son / friend) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Other. | |
| Species | Human |
| Appearances | Raven's Gate |
| Affiliation | Nexus |
Richard Cole: The way I see it, Matt just happened to stumble into my office in Greater Malling. If I hadn't been there that day, I wouldn't even have met him and it would be someone else standing here now. Kate or Julia. They both worked at the newspaper. Maybe it would have been one of them
Huascar: No Señor Cole, you are wrong. You also have a part to play in this adventure, and that part was written for you long before you were born
Richard Cole: Are you saying I have no choice?
Huascar: We all have choices but our decisions are already known
~ Huascar and Richard Cole
Richard Cole is a journalist, who meets Matthew Freeman in Raven's Gate.
History[]
Richard majored in journalism, politics and the history of geography. He was a journalist for the Greater Malling Gazette in Greating Malling, Yorkshire, living in York.
Raven's Gate[]
When Matthew Freeman comes to him with an unbelievable story about a coven of witches, Richard is sceptical. However when Richard finds Matt nearly drowning in a bog after being chased by hounds summoned by the heartless Jayne Deverill, who is supposed to be his foster parent, he agrees to help Matt out. Richard stays with Matt and takes him into safety in York. Richard initially doesn’t want to have to look after Matt but eventually agrees. At the end of the novel Richard pushes Deverill in a pool of radioactive acid when she tries to crush Matt's windpipe.
Evil Star[]
Richard leaves his job as a journalist for the Greater Malling Gazette and worked on another newspaper, The Gipton Echo. He agrees to go to Peru with Matt, but gets separated from Matt when their taxi from the airport was ambushed by the Incas, who were actually preventing them from being captured by the police and the corrupt Captain Rodriguez. He stays at Vilcabamba, the lost city of the Incas, and reunites with Matt who went to the Nazca Lines to find the second gate. He is upset when Matt and Pedro go off on their own to face the Old Ones, and when Matt is injured and put into a coma.
Nightrise[]
He appears briefly at the end when he meets Scott and Jamie Tyler.
Necropolis[]
Richard travels with Matthew Freeman and Jamie Tyler to London to try to find Scarlett Adams, the fifth Gatekeeper. However, they arrive to late as Scarlett has just left on a plane. They meet Nexus and decide what to do after they were 'given' the diary of St Joseph of Córdoba. Richard uses his knowledge of historical maps to help him decode the diary and figure out where the doors are. But Matt guesses that the diary is being used as bait, so that the Old Ones can capture the Gatekeepers when they use one of the doors. Mr. Lee, a Chinese member of Nexus, sends them to his contact in Macau, Han Shan-tung, who gives them transport to Hong Kong, but they are attacked and separated.
He reunites with the Five at the Tai Shan Temple. Along with Lohan Shan-tung, Jamie and other members of the Triad under Lohan's commend, they rescue Matt and Scarlett from Victoria Prison. Scarlett protects them from the typhoon she has caused and they reach Tai Shan Temple where there is a door. But Scarlett is shot in the head, losing control of the storm as she loses consciousness, and Richard carries her through the door as her companion.
Oblivion[]
Richard ends up in Egypt with Scarlett Adams who has been shot in the head. They are immediately captured by the national police forces who work for the Old Ones. However, they are rescued by rebel forces, who are allied to Nexus. They are taken to a hospital where they meet Albert Rémy, a member of Nexus, who has been waiting for ten years to see if they will come through the door near the Pyramids of Giza.
Scarlett and Richard meet Tarik, the leader of the rebels, who wants Scarlett to kill the dictator of Egypt. Scarlet refuses to kill in cold blood and Richard supports her decision.
Tarik arranges for transport out of Egypt, as Scarlett needs to reach Oblivion, Antarctica. Richard is suspicious and slips out of his room to investigate. He finds that the children in hospital are child soldiers and finds dynamite in the bonnet of one of the Jeeps. Tarik delivers them to a man who will give them safe transport out of Egypt, who turns out to be the dictator. However Richard switched the bomb to Tarik's car, who presses the detonator and dies.
Rémy dies during the shoot out. Scarlett and Richard travel to Dubai, where they hope they can find a plane to take them to Antarctica.
Richard ends up killing Matt with the knife he received from the Incas in Evil Star so that the Matt from the past could come to the future to help defeat the Old Ones.
He later marries, and has a son called Matt, who has the same dark hair and blue eyes as his friend. Richard never wrote anything about his adventures, and left it to Holly, who is his neighbour. Sometimes, in the evening, they sneak out with bottles of elderberry wine and toast "To the Five".
Appearance[]
Richard is tall, with blond hair. He has blue eyes. According to Matt, he has a "serious, intelligent face", like a young Sherlock Holmes might have.
Personality[]
He is initially skeptical of Matt's story, but when he realizes the truth, he helps him.
Relationships[]
Matthew Freeman[]
Richard acts as a fatherly figure to Matt. He didn't really want to have Matt living with him at first, but eventually he grew fond of him. He cares for Matt more than anyone else, believing that he is his responsibility.
He tries to protect him during the war in Oblivion but ultimately fails, and is heartbroken when Matt dies.
Scarlett Adams[]
Richard grows close to Scarlett when he takes care of her in Oblivion.
Trivia[]
- Richard is one of the few character to have appeared in all five books but is the only one who lived by the end of the series.
- Richard appears in the Pentagram Chronicles and is one of the few characters who didn't go through a name change, keeping both his first and last name. Although, in the older series, he is described with having dark hair.