Johan of Tangermunde

THE LIFE OF JOHAN

Johan was born in Tangermunde Castle to a chambermaid named Anna. His father was Frederick II, the son of Frederick I Hohenzollern, the Elector for the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Tangermunde was the family estate before Frederick I became an elector and he spent his winters there and ed to Frederick II dallying with the servant women.
Johan's birth was proof of Frederick II's virility so Anna was gifted a generous payment before she was told to leave. It was, and still is, tradition for bastard sons to be raised well away from their father's lands and potential scandals. Anna, wary that Frederick II just might decide to kill her son if the politics changed for him, worked very hard to live a quiet life hidden from notice. She went to Berlin.
Anna sent Johan to children's church every Wednesday where he learned to read, write, math, and the Catechism. Johan excelled at his studies and Anna was very please when Master Roland, a bookbinder, offered to take him in as an apprentice. With great relief and joy that her son would grow into a profession, Anna agreed.

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Johan grew and learned the business of bookbinding, he completed his Catechim in the children's church. At the age of fourteen he was confirmed in his local church and could attend church as a man and no longer attend children's church. This was a momentous occassion that freed him to start learning Master Roland's true but very secret profession, wizarding.
Free of having to attend children's church, Anna impressed upon him to start calling himself John of Berlin. With him bein older and his father having ambitions of becoming an elector, someone just might to profit from his bloodline. She also suggested that, instead of coming home for visits, she would visit him when she felt safe doing so.
Master Roland suggested Anna move to another district of the city, where she not known. There she could live as though she has lost her son and declare her visits as going to visit her cousin and his family. He even insisted on paying for her room at a spinsters boarding house. Anna agreed.

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For ten years, they carried out the plan with no worry that Frederick II would ever bother Johan. But then, when Johan turned twenty-one, his father's wife birthed a son. Anna was visited by harsh men working for Frederick II who painfully questioned her about the whereabouts of Johan. She insisted that Johan had died in a terrible accident. They eventually left but with dore warnings that they would be back should they find she had lied. Their hunt failed and, after two years, Anna's story was believed and Frederick II decided to stop wasting his money.
For Anna, Johan and Master Roland borught her to live out the rest of her days with them. The questioning had left her crippled but she final years were happy. For Johan, the hunt for him destroyed any lingering hope that there would ever be acceptance. If the elector could not tolerate the existance of his only bastard son, he would never accept a wizard.
From then on, Johan dedicated his life to building and growing the Shadow Network. Saving his fellow wizards and their families became his greatest purpose. He became known as The Dragonfly, the title given to the one wizard who started the network. To this day, he still works to keep them secret. His network has grown into a culture, a way of living for so many people. And he always will see to their protection.

Johan's Longevity

It has been realized by some than Johan has lived an innaturally long time. 370-something years old and still doing the same work since he was 21 will draw some notice from those who think to look. His documents claim he is a bastard grandson of the first Johan, but papers can be faked, especially with magic.
What no one knows is that Johan once traveled to a mystical place called the Gritty Bazaar. There, he had an interesting encounter with a very drunk Bacchus who gave him a flask that always refilled itself with a strange golden honey brandy. This brandy prolongs his life and heals him should he take ill or is injured.