Hemoross

The Mage Instructor serving in the army of Tarnum (Wizard) during the events of Masters of the Elements.

Story

From the moment Tarnum was put in charge of Gavin Magnus's forces, Hemoross did his best to educate him on the ways of the wizards. Due to his previous bad experiences with wizards, Tarnum responded with bullying and name-calling, which led to him and Hemoross frequently being at odds. Hemoross frequently scouted for Tarnum by using a Seeing Pool. With this he was able to locate people and helpful artifacts, but was unable to locate the Elemental Lords. Upon reaching the Plane of Water, Hemoross began poisoning Tarnum's tea, causing him to be continuously seasick. When Tarnum realized what was happening, he fortunately took this as a good joke and didn't punish Hemoross for it. In times of trial, Tarnum would often call upon the Ancestors (the gods of the Barbarians), leading Hemoross to suspect he was a spy rather than a real wizard.

Their tension began to boil over once Tarnum's forces reached the Plane of Magic. Hemoross taunted Tarnum for caring about his appearance as much as a wizard and then balked when Tarnum wanted to abandon the search for the Magic Elementals in favor of freeing the enslaved Phoenixes. Hemoross went to Reamus's tent to loudly complain about Tarnum's leadership before Tarnum ripped through the tent wall and nearly killed Hemoross on the spot. In an attempt to quell the tension, Tarnum held a meeting and agreed to remain on the Plane of Magic, but couldn't resist accusing the wizards of being fine with slavery. This was the final straw for Hemoross who began secretly plotting a mutiny against Tarnum.

As Barsolar was absent, Hemoross called for Reamus to take over Tarnum's command. This blind-sided Reamus, who was not supportive of the mutiny. Hemoross likely would have attempted to forcibly remove Tarnum, had not Barsolar returned at that moment and lent his support to Tarnum, shaming Hemoross in the process. This only enraged Hemoross further and led him to challenge Barsolar to a wizard's duel a few days later. Tarnum stayed out of the duel until he noticed that several of Hemoross's students were about to dishonorably sneak attack Barsolar while he was pre-occupied with the duel. Tarnum jumped into the fray and defeated the apprentices while Barsolar battled Hemoross. Seeing that his ploy failed, Hemoross attempted to retreat, but was defeated and captured. Tarnum imprisoned Hemoross in a cage guarded by Iron Golems.

Hemoross's position as Mage Instructor was taken over by a Magic Elemental that recently joined the army. When the army began to move again, Tarnum moved Hemoross to a caged wagon guarded by elementals of each type, with an additional Psychic Elemental stationed nearby to read his thoughts.

As Tarnum realized that his own action's had likely driven Hemoross to this attempt at mutiny, his attitude toward Hemoross softened. He began bringing meals to Hemoross and putting a stop to any of the troops harassing him. In an attempt to teach Hemoross the same lesson he was learning (that Barbarians and Wizards need not be enemies), Tarnum decided that once the army returned to Antagarich, he would suggest to Gavin Magnus that Hemoross be promoted to "Peace Ambassador to the Barbarian lands".

When finally Tarnum's forces escaped the Elemental Planes, Tarnum send Hemoross (still caged) back to Gavin Magnus with Ponific. The final time Hemoross appeared, he was a free man travelling with his king. Compelled by Gavin Magnus, he issued the following apology to a flabbergasted Tarnum in front of the whole army:

"I, uh, I've had the opportunity to do some research into the history of our people, and of the Barbarian people. Sadly, I have learned that our ancestors wronged the Barbarians. We enslaved them all. Furthermore, I am here to denounce my earlier accusation that Lord Tarnum here is no true Wizard. He is obviously the best of us all, and no Barbarian."

Kings can be quite convincing when they wanted to be.

Name Calling

Tarnum liked to make fun of his wizard advisors by intentionally getting their names wrong. For Hemoross, these names include:

• Hemorrhoid