Joh Latour
Biography:
Birth and early life
Johaas Latour was born in 701.II, 6 Hoeloii in
Berneem , in a noble family. His father was a powerful land owner and an army general, and as the first-born, Joh was to carry on his family's businesses. However, from his early age, Joh would neglect his preceptor's tuitions, preferring the amazements of nature.
At the age of 8, he is allowed to join his father in the South, where the army conducts an expansion campaign under the rule of King Soar.
This journey would be the trigger for Joh's passion for excursions. Following his father in the advance in the desert, he amazes himself with the unique landscapes and life forms that he encounters. His first encounter with
Magissens as prisoners will make him grow an interest in their culture, and he will learn to have basic communication skills with them.
His journey eventually ends when his father dies at the infamous Battle of The Peak at his king's side, in 712.II. Joh is 11 then, and rapatriated to Berneem and reunited with his mother, but his mind is now turned towards the south and the
Golden Sea . At the age of 17, he leaves the holy city in a caravan, to make the long route from the capital through Voay, Lemiit and ends up in the newly built citadel of Amaal . His goal is clear: crossing the desert all the way to the Peak, then turning north west to reach the city of Aarden. Hie wishes not only to find the grounds where his father died, but also to gather new knowledge of the region. Thus, he leaves the city packed full with notebooks, containers for samples, and custom-made observation devices built by a local jeweller: a series of magnifying glasses, a telescope, a basic microscope. To carry all of this, he buys four noomas and crosses the city walls on the morning of 719.II, 17 Faeesii. Noone will see him until four months later.
The Adventurer
The journey does not start well; a few days into his trip, he struggles to find a suitable way across the valley called The Wanderer's Pass. Going westwards, he makes his first encounter with
the migratory slug that he will be the first to describe and later call Acoccus exodus. This large, wide and flat slug usually lives south of the Sea of Green, but will undertake a formidable migration through the desert to reproduce in the eastern bushlands. Joh Latour will be able to follow them on this formidable battle for survival all the way to The Peak. The slug will prove essential for his survival in the sandy desert, as he will survive for a whole month drinking their blood and feeding on their flesh. Reaching The Peak, he will find the remnants of the battle, half buried in the sand, but no trace of his father's corpse. He spent a few days in the moutain studying its peculiar life, making countless descriptions of wierd insects, gastropods and birds. After another two months of solitary adventure through the arid bushlands of the East, where "rivers flow underground and plants grow upside down", he finally reaches a small farming village near Aarden in 719.II, 24 Berelii, a whole 147 days after he had left Amaal. Of this venture, he will write a book called The Story of a Survivor, which would meet great success. He is only 19 and all attention is focused on him.
The scientist
The lord of Amaal, impressed by his exploit, sponsors him and asks him to join the
Strategic Society of Amaal as a geograph, which he accepts. But a few years into the society, where his work focuses on directing surveys around Amaal's territory, he quickly feels the need of going back on the field, by himself.
In the few years of his work in the Academy, he will have contributed massively to the development of a commercial route from Amaal to Aarden, as well as the securing of naval routes by erecting many lighthouses and mapping the whole coastline with precision.
He cut ties with the Academy in 726.II and creates his own consortium called
Boomal's Naturalist Club. In opposition to the Academy, the BNC has no purpose other than the creation of knowledge. Joh Latour will be joined by a number of scholars from various regions of the world such as Reme Hackwood, Lepol and Ema Witt and Leen Heloocq . The group would later welcome a second generation of renowned scientists such as Aard Javic Makov and Siila Geen.
At the head of the group, Joh latour will conduct countless expeditions of various nature. The most well known are their numerous failed attempts at crossing the
Bulwark Chain from 740.II to 750.II , the successful journey from Sookva to the western woodlands through The Nool Chain in 755.II, and the exceptional but disastrous adventure through the Sea of Green in 758.II.
He is the author of countless scientific books, and is recognized as the most prominent specialist in land invertebrates. His work has fueled academic knowledge and is referenced in all scientific schools.
End of life
His later days he spent in the city of Berneem, which he will have to flee with his granddaughter during its destruction in 779.II, 16 Nevelii. He first finds shelter in
Lanten where he contracts the Red Death, from which he perishes in Amaal in 785.II, 31 Berelii.
His death will be in many celebrations around the world to, and his cremation on the parvis of Amaal's Great Palace was a solemn manifestation in the city.
Funeral speech by Aard Javic Makov in 785.II, 35 Berelii, in Lanten's central chapel.Joh Latour, my friend and mentor, your death is a tragedy . It is a tragedy for Science, which you contributed so much for; it is a tragedy for all of us gathered here, who loved you profpoundly; it's a tragedy for the world.On this day of grief, we all remember who you were, your sharp wits, your generous heart, your passion. You were a son of the capital's aristocracy, you could have stayed there, but you wanted better; you wanted to explore and that you did. With theBNC which you created, you made us follow you in such extreme and fabulous journeys for the sole aim of knowledge. Today I remember these gifted times as the result of your deeds, and I feel truly grateful that I could call you my "partner in science". You gave your all for science, even though it took so much from you; even when it took your beloved Leen from us, far in the jungle. I was here with you at that time, and I wish I could have been with you when life later struck you again with grief, when you lost your daughter to the horrors of war. Show SpoilerAnd although you felt only distaste for human nature, your love is what gathered all of us together. I believe that the world owes you so much for your life of dedication, findings, and loss. Today, we are the ones impacted with grief, as from this day on until our last, we have to carry on our own journeys without you. And I solemnly wish that we will live up to your memory as one of the greatest men in the world. You will live on in your work and in our hearts, you will never be forgotten.The death of Leen is recounted in Our days in the Sea of Green, by Aard Javic Makov
Family:
Joh married his colleague and former student Leen Heloocq in 738.II, with whom he had a daughter called Gayeel three years later.
Leen died during the expedition in the
Sea of Green from a staggerwasp attack. This accident was a turning point in his life and scarred him deeply, to the point of making him put an end to his ambitious expeditions.
Later, he would also have to live the death of his daughter Gayeel, along with her husband, during the destruction of Berneem, leaving Joh's granddaughter Leenaëlle as his only living relative.
Relationships
by Furilax
Johaas Latour,aged 73
Portrait taken in 774.II, 15 Faesii at his retirement celebration.
Life
1701
1785
84 years old
Spouses
Leen Heloocq-Latour
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
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