Is Hood a Jaghut?

Yes.

In TtH & DoD it has now been confirmed that Hood is a Jaghut.

TtH

"I have missed you, Draconus,' Hood said.

And he twisted round once more, glaring at the god. Jaghut. Yes, the mad, unknowable

Jaghut.

'You damned fool! You asked for this, didn't you? Have you lost

your mind!?'

'A bargain, old friend,' Hood replied, still studying the chains on his wrists.

"

Discussion prior to confirmation.

With the progress of the series more and more evidence turns up that supports this idea.

It is not yet 100% certain, however the common consensus is that Hood is positively a Jaghut.

Excerpts most often cited as backing this theory.

• From MoI

This comment by Gethol is one of the main pillars of the Hood-Jaghut theory since it implies Gethol has a face similar to that of Hood but now (as of then) broken.

• From RG

"King on your melting throne, you drew a breath, then let it go. And... never again. Simple. Easy. When you are the last of your kind, and you release that last breath, then it is the breath of extinction.

Along with the title ("Reaper's Gale"); the wind that speaks in Hedge's head and is implied to be linked to Hood; and of course the notorious "Hood's breath", this is the most certain evidence for Hood's racial identity. Also, the King of the Ice Hold is apparently someone of importance. Hedge thinks who he might be and then realizes he's always known him. How many Jaghut does Hedge know? Probably none. He acquired his knowledge after he died, and it is most certainly Hood he thinks about.

Moreover, Omtose Phellack seemed to be directly accessible from Jaghut's underworld (where Hedge was initially), which suggest it somehow gradates into Hood's Warren.

• There is also this quote:

which, while not very black on white as the first one, seems to be alluding strongly to Hood and Death.

• Finally,

The only species we know of having green-hued skin are the Jaghut. Besides, Jaghut are always described as tall in regard to humans.

Other, less certain clues

• In GotM, Raest speaks about Hood as an equal and as familiar to him. This is not a hard clue, but it adds to the idea of Hood being a Jaghut.

• In DG, Duiker sees the face of a Jaghut as he dies. Some people have commented on the possibility of this being Hood. However, given the context of the event, it is more likely that this was the Jaghut ghost guide of Corporal List.

• In MoI, the three T'lan Imass at Brukhalian's office seem very contemptuous of Hood. They threat Gethol that his master would not risk facing them.

• In MT, during the Reading of the Tiles, Feather Witch mentions that "Death sits on the Throne of Ice". This is most likely also a hint towards Hood's Jaghut nature, although some people tend to believe it is simply a metaphor for the extinction of the Jaghut and the breaching of Omtose Phellack.

• It has also been noted that there is an attracting symmetry to the idea of a Jaghut becomind the God of Death and T'lan Imass who are the racial enemy of Jaghut escaping death forever by means of the Telann ritual.

Exact identity of Hood

• While some people have suggested that Hood might be Gothos, it is pretty certain that this is not the case. Various reasons exist for that, the primary one being that Gothos is actually alive and his personality does not really match what we have seen of Hood. The references to his "Folly" as a "suicidal note without an end" do not, by any means, point to him somehow cheating death more than any would expect of one as powerful an individual as Gothos is.

• After RG, it is almost a given that Hood is the Jaghut who was last occupying the Throne of Ice. Raest referring to him as "Death Wanderer" also seems to indicate that Hood just had something about the dead souls from even before he became Hood.

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