William Cooper

William Cooper
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Status	Alive
Hair Color	Blond
Affiliation	Rowan Academy Red Branch
Occupation	Leader of the Red Branch
Relatives	Hazel Cooper (wife)
First Appearance	The Hound of Rowan

William Cooper is one of Rowan's most deadly and successful agents and a member of the Red Branch. Cooper's charge is Grendel, a cheshirewulf.

Appearance

Heavily scarred, his face is so pale that it could be mistaken for Astaroth's at times. His blond hair is mostly gone and what remains is tucked beneath his black skull cap.

Personality

Initially, Cooper is cold and reserved. He is a lonely person, stating that he believed that it was his purpose to be alone and to fight Rowan's enemies. It is later revealed that he loves both Hazel Boon and Max McDaniels, and takes on a more protective role. 

The students of Rowan are frightened of Cooper, thinking that he is a killer, and Cooper embraces this role. He is even called a "professional killer" by Miss Boon, who claims that he does not care about Max's well-being because it is not in his nature to care about such things. However, Cooper was hurt by this remark, showing that he is not as heartless as most assume.  

Background

Like all agents, Cooper attended Rowan Academy. Before his efforts at reforging the gae bolga, he was handsome. He was a year older and a class ahead of Bryn McDaniels, who was known back then by her real name, Deirdre Fallow. Cooper and Dierdre were sweethearts during their school years together until he graduated and became an active Agent. At that point, the two fell out of touch.

In his Second Year at Rowan, Cooper was marked as a future Agent. He possessed great athleticism, abilities of analysis, and an ideally suited temperament. It is stated that Cooper was not made a member of the Red Branch directly out of school. It is more likely that he joined the Vanguard or the Bloodstone Circle, both of whom are considered elite groups of Agents.

Recently after he had become a memeber of the Red Branch, he went to the Isle of Men to try to let the The Fomorian fix the Gae Bolga. Things went wrong and he was severely injured by the Fomorian, which is how he gained the scars on his head and face.

Abilities

Cooper, as the leader of the Red Branch, is Rowan's finest agent. He is a skilled warrior and tracker. He is such a skilled fighter that he is feared by Yuri Vilyak, who was the leader of the Red Branch at the time. He wields the Kris of Mpu Gandring, a wavy-bladed knife with "an evil history". He is extremely skilled in wielding the Kris, which he has used to defeat a lamia, a half-woman half-snake monster, and an afrit, a spirit of fire. While being controled by the Atropos, Cooper killed Xiùmĕi and wounded Matheus, both of whom were members of the Red Branch. He is also a master assassin, having almost succeeded in killing Max McDaniels. One of his specialties seems to be Illlusion. In the Red Winter, it is revealed that he was considered the most gifted practitioner of illusion to ever be taught by Annika Kraken and that he was offered the position of Instructor of Advanced Illusion.

Relationships

Hazel Boon

During The Second Siege, it gets very clear that Cooper and Miss Boon are no friends. Cooper looks down on her for being a teacher, and she disapproves of him and his methods. However, as the book progresses, they get to know each other better, and their relationship develops. In The Maelstrom, after Cooper got captured and possessed by the Atropos, he proposed to Miss Boon, and they married each other. In The Red Winter, it is revealed that Hazel is pregnant, and she gives birth to a daughter. (So cute, right?)

Quotes

• (To Max) "If you can't spot the sucker, the sucker's probably you."
• To Max, "Coming here without guns and tanks. Shows dash."
• To Ms. Boon, "Me go now."
• To Max, "Because you're an impulsive whelp."