Johnny Crack
When in doubt, go for their soul. I discovered my songs makes people pour out their soul. Time to make myself useful, and help my prince keep the kingdom healthy.
Private audience, overflowing emotions
Johnny Crack is not your run-of-the-mill bard. Far from it. Every time he's summoned to the brig, jailers tremble, inmates cower, even the surrounding rats flee. He's one kind of a bard, but if you ask him, he'll say he enjoys his chats with his fans. He gets to connect in a way very few people do. His music gets through the very soul of his audience, and extracts the surreal truth they're struggling to keep to themselves.
Johnny is known as the chief interrogator in Ishtar's stockade.
A raw talent
As far as people remember, Johnny has loved singing. The main issue being, most people hated it, because his songs were so on spot, they were reaching too far in, and made them uncomfortable. His parents couldn't bear it any longer, and moved away, leaving their son behind. He was 7. For a while, he struggled in the suburbs, stealing an apple here, a piece of bread there, until a patrol caught him red-handed, and threw him in prison for larceny, without any due process.
Johnny had a roof, proper food everyday, it was the first time in a while he felt home. Yea ... Home in a stockade. That's when the magic hit. Couple days later, a surprise inspection from the royal troops, escorting prince Mathias, found a child behind bars, and yet the child seemed happy, alive. When he saw the fresh guards arrive, his face lit up. He somehow knew it was his chance, and ... he started singing. The voice of an angel, in the body of a child. Two guards fell to their knees, crying. The others smiled like they never had before.
...
And that's when the magic hit. The other inmates, low-lives also arrested for larceny, B&E, and other petty crimes, started crying, and confessing to their crimes. A guard also confessed to theft, and falsely arresting a scapegoat to cover his tracks.
A new patron
Upon witnessing this, prince Mathias approached the child, inquiring about his crimes. A clear abuse of power having led to his imprisonment, the prince freed him. He fed him. Such a talent couldn't be ignored. A raw gem could be turned to reach magnificent heights. After a short chat, Johnny agreed to help the prince make the kingdom a better place.
He told me people might not like me. I had a gift that could help him. He was so bright, like a sun guiding me in the darkness, and he wanted me to sing for people. How could I refuse ? That's when he helped me train under a master bard from the College of Whispers. Masters of the mind, finders of secrets, I was to help him free the kingdom from corruption, and reduce crime. Of course I jumped on the occasion. He gave my life a new meaning, a new goal. If that meant singing, why the hell would I refuse?
Reaching for the unreachable, the bottom of the human soul
Training in the College of Whispers was harsh. However, compared to his previous life, trying to survive on his own, this new path could be compared to a holiday. Combining this newfound bliss, with his gift made it look like a breeze, and he mastered their craft within 8 years. By age 15, he was already skilled enough to draw secrets from the College Master, and the other students didn't dare cross Johnny anymore, being instilled with a deep terror of his words over time. After a short trip back to Ishtar, to meet with his benefactor, he decided to travel the world, to hone his skills, before coming back, and fulfill his destiny as the right hand of the prince, the future king of Ishtar.
Johnny started his journey heading south, towards Gork's desert. The heat, intense enough to drive people mad, only made it easier for him to reach them. Soon enough, he earned the favors of all barkeeps nearing the border of Gorkok Empire. Johnny's repertoire of songs spanning all across the board, he started experimenting with the atmosphere, and the efficiency of his soul-piercing words. Improv became his new hobby, matching the words to his audience, luring them in, and before they knew it, they were his pawns.
by HeroForge
Hey you, hey me ... Take a little walk, with me ...
At times, stranger, you think you're lost ...
And yet, you're the one people meet the most ...
But you're like, hey, me, ... come back to me !
You feel torn apart, oh yes you feel,
But, stranger, are you sure you know yourself ?
I tell you, oh yes you, don't trouble oneself,
I'm here, and not just another cogwheel !
You can, oh yes you can tell me a little thing,
Anything, just between us, you know,
Feel good, feel light, healing I can bestow,
Because you are, you know you are ... my everything...
Three years of travels, far beyond the kingdom he serves, earned him a network of contacts, spies, and a web of secrets surrounds them. However, none understood how much under his control they were, until the day he called onto them.
Crack - Beginning of the doomed nickname
Crack wasn't his birthname, that's only how he came to be known while serving in Ishtar's brig. Countless tried to save their souls from his grasp. None succeeded... so far. As early as age 18, Johnny came back from his travels, with more knowledge about the crooked minds of society than he had hoped to discover. One special criminal required him to give it his all ... and that's what birthed his legend.
Two years back, an assassination attempt on King Camus Kadyl ended with the capture of the to-be murderer, a halfing hired for the royal kitchens, after the disappearance of a cook. The king has yet to fully recover, weakened by the attack. His two sons, Mathias & Nicolas, and the royal council are all attempting to fill the void left by his majesty's illness. No clue had been extracted from the assassin since the attempt. Months passed by, and all they knew was his fake name, used to book a room at the nearest inn : Varg Tarkovitch. Death penalty was withheld until further notice, in hopes of finding, one day, someone skilled enough to extract, motivations, patrons, maybe inner accomplices ? Alas, nothing. Until Johnny. As soon as word of his return reached Prince Mathias, Johnny was summoned to the royal prison, where Varg was under lock & key, under constant surveillance of nothing short of 6 guards, under daily rotation, grouping always scrambled. Corruption was rampant, but nothing was to happen to this one prisoner.
Johnny entered the block, escorted by the prince, his royal escort, and a guard responsible for questioning the prisoner. Johnny started playing a lute, singing for what seemed like an eternity, but lasted only minutes. Every verse, sweat dripping from Varg's forehead. That's when everyone knew. Poker-faced Varg was about to crack. A keen eye may have spotted the resident cat fleeing. Meanwhile, the rats quit trying to steal the leftover breadcrumbs, standing on their hind legs, tilting their heads from left to right, following the rhythm. Johnny, finishing his last beats, lyrics about the pain of the soul, speaking to the guilt, and physical pain, suddendly dropped his lute, slowly falling to the ground. He unsheathed his flute, and started breaking Varg's joints, like a drum. One could hear cracks echoing with the song's rhythm. It was surreal. Pain, and harmony, terror and relief, all at once, poured from the prisoner's cell. The guards were both horrified and impressed. Varg spilled his secrets ...
I was hired by the Hydra to kill the king. He was to die within the week, but I failed. I've been waiting for them to kill me these past two years, but they might have trusted I wouldn't talk .. Now that I have, they'll come for me. Thanks, little guy, my requiem was beautiful. You have freed me from my regrets, I can now go in peace. Farewell.
The Hydra ... A rumored dark organisation, trying to overthrow the monarchy, running rampant lately ... Evil intentions confirmed, to the prince's horror.
As Varg uttered these words, he threw himself at Johnny, left with no choice but to defend himself with his only weapon ... his flute. With a final, loud, crack ... Varg fell to the ground, the fated flute through his skull... He was declared dead on the spot. The cat calming down, rats scattering after any crumb they could find. The cell filled with a final silence, everyone left speechless. At least, they got some of the intel they needed, but the prisoner escaped on his own terms. He defeated them, in a last bravado.
To everyone's shock, Johnny waved his hand, and Varg's shadow jumped and covered him, transforming him into a reborn Varg. With a quick warning, he shouted "I'm still Johnny, it's just a trick I got, I can get some of his memories shortly after his death".... The next hour, he gave general details on Varg's background, real name (Roffe Charylitas), past jobs, everything he could that would help them retrack his steps ... This scene was both magical and terrifying, like twins saving the day in the middle of a slaughter.
by HeroForge
Current Status
Manning Ishtar's prison
Children
Gender
male
Eyes
Yellow
Hair
Short, red
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale green
Height
195 cm
Weight
78 kg
Nice article! I really like that he uses his music to get information out of people or even torture them! How is he perceived by the rest of the population now? Do they fear him? Respect him? And how did he react to becoming so well known and to what I presume is his new life in the palace?
Thanks :) Most of the population never heard of him before, but those who were in the same neighborhood before his first "imprisonment" remember the boy followed by pain, sorrow & drama :x He keeps to himself now, most people just hear of him but don't actually know it's him when they happen to see him!