Hod

Description
Hod is a hermit, and the first human to harvest the power of mana. He wears an eyeless mask made of Mana Wyrm scales, a thick robe to combat the cold mountain climates and snowfall in the Hasla Woods, and he carries a walking staff.

Lineage

 * Mara the Meek

History
Hod was a simple traveling merchant with a wife whom he loved more than life itself. He and his wife trekked the countryside selling their wares, and staying in various settlements and cities along their traveling routes. In a large city near the Hasla Woods, Hod's wife gave birth to their first child, Mara. The difficult birth caused Hod's wife to die shortly after delivering the healthy baby. Hod spent the next few days caring for Mara, but half heartedly, because his heart was shattered. He wept every time he looked at the child, for she reminded him of his wife. Eventually, Hod decided to take his own life. He abandoned Mara in the woods, and trailed off deep into the trees, his mind intent on suicide. Instead, he found himself stepping upon scales. They crunched beneath his feet, and he followed the scales as they littered the forest floor to form a path. His curiosity was sated as the scales led him to a cave, where he discovered mana wyrms. The wyrms inspired him to live. He built a home in the mountains nearby to the cave, and visited the wyrms often. He began to learn how to absorb the mana and cast spells, becoming a skilled, albeit reclusive mage.

With Mara
Many years ago, Hod encountered the child Mara practicing with the mana wyrms in the forest. He felt a connection to her, although he did not yet know that the child was his estranged daughter, as he believed her to be dead. He observed the chid's faithful schedule of coming and going to visit the wyrms. One day he approached her, and wordlessly showed her how to improve the spell that was so frustrating her. Understanding the large, silent man to be a skilled mage, Mara was eager to show him that she was a good student. She followed his lead, then continued to return as often as she could at the same time of day; she found that Hod was waiting for her each time. They trained like this for many years as Mara grew into a woman. Yet, Hod grew suspicious of the connection he felt with Mara, finally understanding her to be his daughter. Hod became outraged as he felt the old loss of his beloved wife anew. He vowed never again to meet with Mara. In his sudden absence, Mara conducted her own truth-revealing dark spells. She confronted Hod despite his attempt to conceal himself from her. Mara pleaded with Hod to explain himself, hoping for a soothing answer. But Hod gave her no such comfort. His spewed his hatred at Mara, and spat vile curses, telling her that he wished he had made sure that she would not have survived as an infant. Mara exploded with a powerful ice blow to his head, rendering him unconscious and robbing him off his eyesight forever. Later, he managed to continue his reclusive, hermit life. He remained a skilled mage, and even helped Mara's sons, Roland and Fion, hone their own magical powers. Roland and Fion did not know that Hod was their grandfather, or that his intent was to train them up to destroy their mother. As he trained them, he beguiled them with tales of Mara's deep, innate darkness, planting the seeds of Mara's destruction.