The Janissary

"He doesn't look all that tough," Evangeline said from her place at the high table.

"Looks ain't everything," Kormac grumbled into his ale. "Now stop staring at him. Last thing you want is one of them noting you, if he ain't already."

"He can't be more than 18 summers if he's a day," she said, taking a sip of her wine.

"And he's been a soldier for half of them," Kormac said, shaking his head. "Leave him be."

No sooner had the words left the grizzled sellsword's mouth than three men swaggered over to the boy with the scar on his chin. They were grinning rogues, rough-cut and sure of themselves, each of them dressed in gouged leather and scraped chain armor. One clapped his hand on the boy's shoulder hard enough to make it dip.

"I think you're lost, boy," he said, looking back at his two companions. "This is a place for men to take their meals. Now clear out before-"

The young man didn't waste time with words. He gripped the man's index and middle fingers, and twisted them hard. They snapped with a sound like breaking branches, and the man howled, snatching his hand back like he'd been burned. He scrabbled at his blade, hissing between his teeth as he realized the young man had crippled his dominant hand. He reached for his dagger with his off-hand, but the boy had turned on the bench, and he was already jerking the man's blade out of the sheath. Before anyone could think to stop him, he sank the steel into its previous owner's arm, just below where his pauldron protected him. He screamed again, leaping back as blood flowed. The boy let him go, and looked at the man's companions. They had their hands on their weapons, but whatever they saw in the young man's face made them reconsider their actions. They each took their injured companion by a shoulder, steering him out of the mess hall. The young man turned around, and went back to his meal as if nothing had happened.

"My god..." Evangeline said as the young man forked another bite of beef between his lips, chewing as if nothing had happened.

"Janissaries," Kormac said, shaking his head. "Given blood like mother's milk, taught to pray with steel, and kill the way they breathe. I don't know why he's here, and I don't want to know."

The Janissary

The idea of the janissary comes from the Ottoman Empire. Young boys were recruited as part of devsirme, which was a child levy enslavement. Boys would learn Turkish, they would be circumcised, converted to Islam, and they would remain utterly loyal to the Sultan, who was the only person they answered to. While not free, the janissaries were given salaries, as well as retirement if they made it that far, and they were trained to become elite warriors. They also couldn't marry before 40.

This sounds like something out of a fantasy story... but often times truth is stranger than fiction!

However, consider what a character would look like if they underwent the training of a janissary. If we're following the historical model, the recruits often came from the children of the nobility or gentry, meaning you could have a character born to privilege who had that life snatched from them... and if they survive, they could return home to the hall of their parents like a ghost. A warrior with a strange voice and far-away eyes who only vaguely remembers the customs and emotions of this place they were taken from so young... a child soldier who was also a hostage, proving the loyalty of the family they were taken from.

Alternatively, janissaries in your game might not seek those who came from important families to help strengthen the grip of an empire on a subjected colony... they might instead seek those with a particular power. If you wish a religious force then instead of an emperor they might serve a church, with the clerics, warpriests, and other divine casters recruited from an early age to be holy warriors. Or if arcane power is the weapon of choice for an empire, then the ruler might send servants to scour colonies and "allies" in order to find sorcerers to fill the ranks of his private guard, or to test all the most intelligent children so see who has the capacity to master the arts of the wizard. Or, once a levy's loyalty is established and their will broken to that of the emperor, do they take a vow to become a witch or warlock, acting on behalf of whatever patron it is backs the throne?

Then, of course, there's the question of whether your janissary is still in service to their position, or if they're retired... or gone AWOL.

All of these options have potential! For example, if the party is operating on the business of the church, the emperor, etc., then a janissary might be assigned to them to ensure the success of their missions. If someone else is in need of protection, or they have a background as an important noble, then having a janissary bodyguard might be a mark of that status that allows you to tie your backstory to another player character.

And if your janissary left without permission, well, then there's a perfectly good reason they'd want to keep a low profile, and it would explain why they might be willing to take up a position on a dangerous endeavor that travels quite far from their home... possibly even across the border, beyond the reach of the throne they once served!

Lastly, to go along with this week's unusual character concept, consider picking up a copy of my supplement 100 Fantasy Professions (That Aren't "Adventurer"), or one of my classic pieces 100 Random Mercenary Companies if you want something with the elite nature of the janissaries, but you want a slightly different twist on the execution!

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That's all for this week's Unusual Character Concepts post!

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