Personality
Clay has an awkward and shy demeanor, because he's had little in the way of social interaction over most of his life -- what new friends he's made are back home, and he's quietly terrified of his new situation. He has a core of strength of will to him, though -- it's a useful thing for mages who want to live long and healthy lives to have -- but he's seldom ever had to tap into it. All in all, he's trying to be subtle and quiet while he figures things out -- he has a deep curiosity about magic, and that can of course tempt him to do things he should not...
Background
Clayton vaguely knows he's adopted, but he's never been told the strange circumstances of his discovery - he was found as an infant by his parents in a deep forest clearing, naked and alone but alive. They raised him as their own, but it's apparent he shares little in common with them - slender where they are thick, fair where they are dark, etc etc. He spent an unassuming childhood punctuated by the occassional weirdness most magi experience, until a series of nightmares almost drove him mad. He was committed to a mental facility when he started wandering at night, ending up further and further from home each time. Had he not been discovered by a former student of the academy, it's likely he would be there still. Some legal shenanigans and some mild mind-control charms later, he was remanded into care of the state, and transferred to the academy as part of an outpatient program.
