Hawk (Shannara)

Shannara character


name=Hawk
nickname=
race=Gypsy Morph
gender=Male
hair=
eyes=
loyalty=The Ghosts
magic=
appearance="Armageddon's Children"
birth=2012
death=N/A

Hawk, also known as John Ross Freemark in "Angel Fire East", is a fictional character from Terry Brooks' "Genesis of Shannara" trilogy of novels, written as a prequel to his "Shannara" series. The leader of the Ghost tribe, Hawk is a main character in the book "Armageddon's Children".

Biography

Pre-Ghost Life

In "Angel Fire East", Hawk came into existence as a nameless "gypsy morph", a being spawned from the spontaneous merging of different magic and potential asset to either the Word or the Void. Due to its nature, a gypsy morph changes from form to form before settling on a final one. The gypsy morph seemed to settle on the form of a four-year old boy while in the possession of a Knight of the Word named John Ross. At this time, the creature could only say "Nest", prompting John to take him to Nest Freemark, a young woman with magical ability.

Because of its potential, the gypsy morph was constantly hunted by Findo Gask, a prominent agent of the Void, who intended to destroy it. During the hunt, the gypsy morph stays with Nest and John who later names him "Little John". Little John is at first unresponsive to Nest, but eventually bonds with Nest after she frees Wraith, a ghost wolf that serves as the manifestation of her father's magic, from her control and later takes the form of an unborn child inside Nest's womb while Gask gives up the chase, believing that the gypsy morph is truly gone. Nest then decides to name the boy John Ross Freemark.

Present Life

Some time after being born, before the events of "Armageddon's Children", an amnesiac John renames himself Hawk and then meets Owl, a smart, but wheelchair-bound young woman, and together, they found the tribe which he dubs "The Ghosts". Hawk later finds a dog whom he names Cheney, the inspiration for the name coming from a politician from the past. Over time, he and Owl welcome other street kids into their tribe and as the unquestioned leader, he supervises all the tribe's activities, ranging from foraging for supplies to playtime. He also plays the role of an older brother/father figure to the tribe members, allowing them to easily bond with him. During this time period, he meets a young woman named Tessa and the two fall in love. Interactions between compound inhabitants and outsiders are forbidden, so they meet each other in secret. They wish to be together although Hawk hates life in the compound while Tessa can't abandon her disabled mother.

As survival on post-apocalyptic Earth becomes progressively harder, Hawk and the Ghosts embark on several tasks such as finding a medication called "Pleneten" for Persia, the ill younger sister of "The Cats" tribe leader Tiger, nursing River's senile grandfather, The Weatherman, back to health, and longer treks for supplies. All missions cause him to question himself, only to be intensified by the arrival of Logan Tom, a Knight of the Word, who informs him of his nature as a gypsy morph. Shortly after regaining his old memories, Hawk and Tessa are thrown off the compound walls--their fates unknown--for smuggling medical supplies for personal use.

Being a gypsy morph, Hawk possesses potent supernatural powers including precognition, night vision, and enhanced hearing. He later discovers his ability to heal while spending time with a mortally wounded Cheney, who was then restored to his normal condition.

External links

* [http://www.terrybrooks.net/ Terry Brooks official site]