Maren Voss

At a Glance

Species: Hag (disguised as Human) Gender: Female Age: Unknown Location: At large — left Ashveil before the curse was traced back to her Faction/Allegiance: Unknown Status: Alive

DM Only

“Maren Voss” is the name she used in Ashveil. It is not her true name. Her true form and true name are unknown — to be determined by the DM.

Appearance

Disguise: Presented as a middle-aged wandering scholar or hedge mage. Forgettable in exactly the right way — the kind of person a village would trust because there was nothing obviously alarming about her. Practical traveling clothes, carried books or materials consistent with a scholar’s trade.

True form: Unknown. Has not been seen in true form by any current PC.

Personality

Patient. Deliberate. Chose Vesper specifically and invested significant time building his trust and shaping his capabilities before acting. Knows how to read people — particularly soldiers: the loyalty, the need for a mission, the deference to authority. Used all of it. Her motives are not yet clear, which makes her more dangerous than a simple villain.

She has not gone silent since leaving Ashveil. The Witch’s Mark she left in Vesper allows her to reach him through dreams. She still contacts him. She still wants something from what she made.

Background

Maren Voss arrived in Ashveil presenting herself as a wandering scholar or hedge mage with knowledge of old magic and dark places. She took Vesper Crowe under her wing — sharpened his existing military skills, taught him to operate in spaces the army never trained him for, and earned his complete trust. At some point she performed a ritual that transformed Vesper into a Hexblood. The transformation may have been framed as a gift, a tactical advantage, or something Vesper agreed to without fully understanding.

She then cursed Ashveil and left before Vesper could confront her. By the time he traced the signs back to her, she was gone.

Motivations & Goals

• Unknown — her reasons for choosing Vesper, transforming him, and cursing Ashveil have not been revealed
• Open questions: Was the village the target, or was Vesper? Was the transformation the point, with the curse as cover or leverage? Is Vesper a weapon, an experiment, or a message to someone else?
• She is still attempting to contact Vesper through the Witch’s Mark — she has not finished with what she started

Relationships

Person	Relationship
Vesper Crowe	Transformed him into a Hexblood. Cursed his village. Still connected via Witch’s Mark. He is her primary loose thread.
Corwen	Elder of Ashveil — was present during Maren’s time in the village; may know things Vesper doesn’t

Plot Hooks

• The Witch’s Mark: Maren can contact Vesper in dreams — she hasn’t stopped. What does she want? When does she offer something useful, and at what cost?
• Tracing her route out of Ashveil — where did she go, and does it point to a faction, a patron, or a specific goal?
• Her true name — hags have true names. Finding it may be part of breaking the curse or gaining leverage over her.
• Someone else may be looking for Maren for their own reasons

Session History

(append here as sessions happen)