John Ross was a male Knight of the Word who was instrumental in the preservation of the gypsy morph Hawk so that he could save the Human race.
Once a frequent (but uncompleted) graduate student in English and related subjects, Ross entered into the service of the Word after meeting the Lady and her servant Owain Glyndŵr at the Fairy Glen in Wales. In Running with the Demon, book one of the Word & Void series, Ross comes to Hopewell, Illinois, to protect Nest Freemark from her father, a demon (or to kill her if she joins with the demon). He encounters several other residents of Hopewell in his time there. He convinces Nest's grandfather Old Bob that he knew Nest's deceased mother, Caitlin Freemark; earns the mistrust of Nest's grandmother, Evelyn Freemark, who believes him in league with the demon; and has a one-night romance with Josie Jackson, owner of Josie's Diner. Ross defeats a maentwrog freed by the demon as a distraction, but is taken out of the final battle as a result, leaving Nest to confront the demon on her own.
After Nest succeeds, Ross leaves Hopewell. In A Knight of the Word, which takes place 5 years later, Ross has seemingly renounced his service to the Word and has been living in Seattle. There, he is a speechwriter for Simon Lawrence, a nationally known advocate for the homeless, and has been living with his girlfriend, Stefanie Winslow. Nest Freemark, who is sent by the Lady, attempts to persuade him to return to service, and he ultimately does, but only after narrowly falling to the Void from the manipulations of Stefanie, who is actually a shapeshifting demon; Ross manages to destroy her with the assistance of Nest and his newly reclaimed magic.
Ross comes into contact with Nest once more 10 years later after capturing a gypsy morph (during the third book, Angel Fire East).