Hood

Hood
Fan art by SunShyMoose
Biographical information
Pseudonyms	Hooded One The Dark Hoarder The Dark Hoarder of Souls The Shrouded One Lord of Grief
Race	Jaghut
Family	Haut (brother) Karish (wife)
Social information
Affiliation	High House Death
Title(s)	King of the Ice Hold King of High House Death (formerly)
Warren(s)	Omtose Phellack Warren of Death

Hood was the God of Death and also the King of High House Death.

In Deadhouse Gates

During the Season of Rot, a priest of Hood covered in flies approached Heboric and Felisin Paran while they were chained together against a wall in Unta. The priest stopped before them and said "Secret...to show...now..." The flies suddenly scattered, revealing no man under the mass of flies and startling the guards and other prisoners. Felisin later wondered, "Was that Hood himself? Had the Lord of Death come to walk among mortals? And why stand before a once-priest of Fener — what was the message behind the revelation?"

In Memories of Ice

After the Crippled God lashed Burn with chains of poison, the goddess gave Caladan Brood a hammer forged from her power to shatter her prison. Hood was among those Gods and Ascendants who agreed that Brood should not use the hammer, which would end all life on the planet in the process. The others in agreement were Anomander Rake and the Queen of Dreams.

As the Pannion Domin hordes descended on Capustan, Hood grew concerned by the Crippled God's machinations. He sent Gethol, his Herald, to the city to meet with Brukhalian, Mortal Sword of Fener and leader of the Grey Swords. Claiming brotherhood with the waning boar god, he offered the mercenaries protecting Capustan free passage by Warren to escape their inevitable doom. Additionally, he offered himself as their new patron. Brukhalian violently rejected the offer, striking Gethol with his sword. Afterwards, Hood discarded Gethol from his service.

In Toll the Hounds

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Toll the Hounds.

Hood's appearance was that of an ancient Jaghut with yellow tusks and pitted eyes. One of his withered hands was missing two fingers.

Hood was killed by Anomander Rake with Dragnipur, cheating Traveller of his revenge against the God of Death.

Hood helped the prisoners in Dragnipur to battle the forces of Chaos by summoning all the dead from his realm. After Caladan Brood destroyed Dragnipur, Whiskeyjack and the Bridgeburners ascended and took on the role as Guardians of High House Death.

In Dust of Dreams

Hood returned to his frozen body, which was encased upon the Ice Throne, in front of his army of Jaghut. He knelt before them and asked for penance for his ancient betrayal.

In The Crippled God

He was revealed as the force helping Felash wield Omtose Phellack aboard The Undying Gratitude. When he appeared before a shipwrecked Shurq Elalle and company as they faced Sister Equity, Hood bit the face off the pure blood Forkrul Assail and led Shurq's remaining crew to the Battle of the Spire.

With his power over Omtose Phellack, he froze the harbor of the Spire and destroyed the Assail, Kolansii and Perish warships anchored there, and created a glacial path up the Spire to the heart of the Crippled God. He personally slew Sister Reverence and freed the heart of the Crippled God.

In Return of the Crimson Guard

Hood spoke to Dessembrae in the aftermath of the Battle of the Plains through the skull of a battlefield casualty. Dessembrae was bearing witness to a fallen soldier, likely Ullen Khadeve, whose potential for greatness had been squandered in death. Dessembrae told Hood that he no longer had any expectations of death. To ask its purpose was to "impose expectations on mute existence--expectations it is in no way obliged to meet or even extend. And so I make no more, ask no more." A surprised Hood departed and Dessembrae promised he and Hood would speak again.

In Forge of Darkness

Hood had a wife called Karish and a brother called Haut. Hood was kept chained in a cell in the Tower of Hate by Gothos in order to stop him from taking vengeance on Errastas and Sechul Lath after they murdered Karish. Gothos allowed Draconus to free Hood, but warned that Hood would declare a war on Death itself.

Tens of thousands answered Hood's call to this impossible war, among them Jaghut, Imass and Thel Akai.

Hood's Realm

It was held that the souls of the dead would go to Hood's realm via Hood's Gate, also referred to as Death's Gate.

The area in front of Hood's Gate was described as a flat plain which was neither grass nor earth. The bright yellow glare of the sky did not originate from a sun, it was sourceless and the atmosphere was hot. The Gate itself was composed of naked human peat bog bodies with blackened flesh, animated and moaning.

Spoiler warning: The following section contains significant plot details about books through Dust of Dreams.

On rare occasions, the dead were accompanied to the gate by Hood in person, as was the case with Beak and Toc the Younger, whereas at other times, there was a Gatekeeper. Later in the series, the ascended Bridgeburners became Guardians of the Gate and their leader, the former Whiskeyjack, told Kalyth that they were, or would become, the new arbiters for as long as necessary.

Significant plot details end here.

Once through the Gate, Toc the Younger speculated it was up to Hood or one of his minions to decide what to do with the soul, if anything.

Worship

According to Lady Envy, Hood's host of holidays and celebrations were notable for their "swarming flies, blood-covered acolytes, cackling crows and faces stained with the ash from cremations".

One way of appealing to the God of Death was to let blood in Hood's bowl and call upon the shades of ones ancestors.

Capemoths were Hood's symbol in Seven Cities and carved on his temple in Aren.

Trivia

It was stated by Equity, shortly before her death, that Hood was extremely powerful, even before claiming the Throne of Death, that he could have been an Elder God. She also hinted that Hood might have betrayed his followers during the Jaghut war on death. This was hinted at several other times, though the exact nature of the betrayal was not made clear. It is possible that many felt he had betrayed his followers by taking the Throne of Death, however Equity's phrasing seems to point at something more active, and later Hood remarked that he cheated death by taking its throne.

Expressions

The Malazan series contained many exclamations which referred to Hood:

• "Hood's balls on a skillet"
• "Hood's Bones"
• "Hood's Breath"
• "Hood's Curse"
• "Hood's pecker"
• "Hood's litany"
• "In Hood's name"

Speculation

His name may have been Aimanan Hood as that name is listed in the appendix of The Crippled God. It is likely however, that that was a type setting mistake as in the Dramatis Personae of The Crippled God, Aimanan and Hood are mentioned separately in the list of the fourteen Jaghut. From a timeline point of view it seems unlikely as well as Hood climbs the Spire whilst the fourteen are fighting. The final scene with the Jaghut also supports the notion that he was not with them during the fight.

Notes and references

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