In a world where warfare between the nations of men is becoming more common, men and women who opt to sell their skills for money are becoming far more prevalent; be they those who 'sell their bodies' to provide some form of pleasure in the grim reality of war, or those who sell their martial skills with the bow and blade to the highest bidder.
Despite his charming good looks, the renegade known as 'The Hood' does not sell his body for carnal pleasure (he never has to pay for it, in fact). Instead, he falls into the latter category of men who roam from province to province, selling his skills as a warrior to those who have need of it. He spent his early years as a mercenary in relative obscurity - one of near-countless others who fight (and all too often die) in the name of some upjumped lord in some petty realm. The reputation of 'The Hood' was formed, not as a peerless soldier on a pitched field of battle, but as bold and cunning ranger that struck those who least expected it.
Many tales would abound of a beleaguered company of footmen making camp after a long march, only to be robbed of their weapons and supplies; of caravans stopped in their tracks by a wounded beggar - only to be relieved of their goods at arrow-point; and of a green-hooded marksman who picked off nearly two-score men as they attempted to raze a village as punishment for its residents' refusal to give up what meager goods they had.
While he is shrouded in a budding reputation rooted in folk-lore, which in turn endears him among the common folk - the reality is that The Hood is near-equally regarded as an effective irregular soldier, whether he be hired as a skirmisher, scout, or support archer. Not much is known prior to his life as a mercenary, save for that he speaks the common tongue with a faint but noticeable Merélais accent, and that he appears exceedingly well trained in a myriad of forms of combat; be they with the bow, sword, or shield.