J.L. Fountain

John Leon Fountain was born to a lesser noble family in the North Blue. He had a Mother, Father, and older sister. John grew up a fairly normal childhood for his family's status. He went to school, he played in the town's square, he got in trouble; the usual for a growing learning child. When John was 10, he and his family boarded a leisure ship for their family vacation. Several days through the voyage, the ship was wrecked by a massive storm. During the storm, John was struck in the head with a piece of debris. He lost consciousness and was swept overboard.

Next John woke up, he was surrounded by unfamiliar faces. He found himself on a ship that'd pulled him from the water, where he'd been floating on a large piece of wreckage. John shortly learns that this ship is in fact a pirate ship captained by a man by the name of Samuel MacAmbris. After some brief questioning and reading through previous editions of the News Coo, John learns that no other survivors of the ship had been found. After learning that the boy had no one else, MacAmbris decides to take John in as a member of the crew, bringing him on as a rigging-rat. It turned out that the strike to the head he'd received during the storm had caused his mind to become very intelligent for his age. With his new mental capacity, John found himself learning things quicker than most normally would. During his first year on the ship, John picked up his first gun- a simple flintlock pistol. Shortly it became apparent that John had a talent for shooting. MacAmbris heard about John's natural talent and decided to introduce him to Lisanne, the crew's Quartermaster and head gunner. MacAmbris put Lisanne in charge of teaching John as a marksman and taking care of the ranged weapons. Over the course of John's training and time with the crew, Lisanne became somewhat of a mentor and mother figure to John. Despite Lisanne's rigorous training and sometimes harsh punishments, she and John grew close.

After a whole five years on the ship, between training and several adventures, John had risen up as one of the top gunners on the ship. However, John had begun to notice the members of the crew slowing down. Many of them were often coughing. One night, the crew held a meeting excluding John. A few days shortly after the crew had met, they anchored at a small island in the West Blue called Toroa. Captain MacAmbris sat John down and explained that shortly before the crew had pulled John from the water, they had been seeking a treasure. However when they thought they'd found the treasure, it had been a trap with a poison that had been slowly killing the crew members over the past few years. Those past years they'd been searching for ways to cure their illness, however they didn't have any luck finding what they sought. The crew now didn't have much time left. They didn't want John to be there once they started passing. They wanted to give him a chance at a normal life, they'd set aside all the treasure that they'd amassed for John and set him on shore before relieving him of duty on the crew. John gave a teary eyed salute as his crew and family sailed off into the distance.  

John wandered his way into town and bought himself a building space. John decided that he'd work in what he knew, guns and bullets. John set up shop as a gunsmith, where he would craft guns and design specialty bullets. On the side he would also offer some basic metalworking and repairs. Business turned out to be pretty good. Sometimes even marines would come to him for weapons, much to his dismay. But he was a civilian now, not a pirate, though he still raised his prices for marines. In his free time, John still kept up his shooting practice and experimented with special bullets he'd keep for himself to use.