John Young

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John Young was a navigator for the Dutch East India Company in the 1720s. After meeting the British Assassin Edward Kenway in 1725, John defected from the company to assist Edward in his search for Angkor, the lost city of the Khmer Empire and an alleged Precursor site, becoming a close friend and confidant of the Assassin the process.

Biography

Meeting Edward Kenway

By February 1725, John had made a lot of money, though lost it all gambling in Macau, which made the poor man attempt to drown his sorrows by drinking heavily and boasting about discovering the ruins of the lost city of the Khmer Empire.

After arriving in Macau to search for the ruins, which the Assassins believed to house Pieces of Eden, Edward Kenway approached John in Burnt Brian's Pub and tried to question him about his alleged discovery of Angkor. Mistaking Edward for a debt collecter, John caused a brawl and fled the tavern, though he was eventually caught by the Assassin and revealed that it had been his friend Hendrik who had discovered the city. The pair were then attacked by a group of ninja, who sought to silence John, but they were quickly killed by Edward.

John and Edward on the run from the former's company mates

John identified their attackers as pirates from Cipango and took Edward to the Dutch East India Company's dormitory in the city, where Hendrik was staying, so that the Assassin could protect him in case he was similarly attacked. John was told to wait outside and watched as Edward climbed up to his friend's room.

Minutes later, John was startled by Edward, who had jumped out the window and into a cart of hay below. After explaining to a shocked John that Hendrik had been murdered, Edward revealed that there had been a "little misunderstanding," as Hendrik's company colleagues had mistaken Edward for his killer and were now chasing him. While attempting to escape their pursuers, Edward told John that their time together had come to an end and pushed him into a nearby alley to get him out of danger.

After being abandoned by Edward, John "indefinitely borrowed" a company ship and headed to the port of Macau, where Edward was fighting another group of ninja. John fired a cannonball towards them, killing the ninja, while Edward dived into the water alongside a local man named Zhang whom he had protected from the ninja.

Upon helping Edward and Zhang aboard his ship, John explained that he had decided to continue his adventure alongside the Assassin, feeling that it would be well worth it in the end, and that he could not return to the company, as he would be executed for the theft of the ship. Edward allowed John to accompany him and the two decided their next course of action would be to retrieve Hendrik's sea log, which could contain useful information to aid their search for Angkor.

Helping Zhang's village

John and Edward seeking shelter in Zhang's home

As the port was being patrolled by the navy following the earlier fight, Edward and John found it impossible to dock and were forced to wait and lay low for the time being. Zhang then offered to take them to a safe place where they could hide, as a sign of gratitude for Edward saving his life. Accepting his invite, they traveled to a village south of Macau, where the locals welcomed them and allowed them to stay as guests.

After settling in, Edward took John into the wilderness to hunt for food. There, John watched as Edward shot a deer and used its legs as bait to lure and kill two crocodiles, and was impressed by the Assassin's skills. The pair then returned to the village and shared their gains with the locals to repay their hospitality. However, the feast was interrupted by the worsening health of a local woman who was suffering from cholera.

After being informed by the villagers that many others were suffering from the same illness, John and Edward became determined to help them in any way they could. Believing that a solution of salt and sugar may ease the people's sickness, Edward decided to return to Macau alone to acquire the resources. John pointed him to a warehouse owned by Madam Lee, an affluential businesswoman, and watched as the Assassin departed the village and made his way back to the city.

Not long after Edward's departure, John, suspecting that the Assassin may get into trouble again, took his ship and sailed back to Macau as well, managing to dock into the port at night. There, he watched as Edward got chased on horseback by Dutch East India Company soldiers until eventually being cornered. Acting the same way he had done the last time Edward was in peril, John fired a cannonball at the soldiers, incapacitating them and allowing Edward to jump with his horse onto John's ship. The pair then sailed back to Zhang's village with the salt and sugar Edward had taken from Madam Lee's warehouse.

Edward explaining the Templars to John

Thanks to their remedy, many of the villagers were saved, although it was too late for Zhang's daughter, who was too sick and ended up passing away. Edward later expresseed his remorse to John, revealing that he also had a daughter. John tried to comfort him, saying that what had happened was fate, but Edward countered that people could change their fates, referencing his decision to leave his pirate days behind him and join the Assassins.

As John angrily called out Edward for never telling him he was married, their conversation was interrupted by Zhang and his wife who, alongside the rest of the villagers, wanted to thank them for their assistance and repay the favour. Edward initially wanted to decline, but after John told him it would be considered an insult in Chinese culture, he asked Zhang and his fellow labourers to become his informants in Macau, in the hopes of learning more about Madam Lee.

After the labourers learned that Madam Lee had come into possession of Hendrik's sea log, Edward volunteered to retrieve it alone. John directed him to Lee's private residence, the Mandarin's House, and took him back to Macau with his ship, waiting nearby while the Assassin infiltrated the Mandarin's House. Although Edward ultimately failed to retrieve the log, losing it to the Templars, he did manage to secure an alliance with Lee, who gifted him two chests of treasure and other goods.

Working for Madam Lee

Returning to Zhang's village, Edward and John offered Madam Lee's gifts to the locals before discussing their next move. The Assassin invited John to accompany him on his upcoming expedition to Angkor, to which the navigator enthusiastically accepted. He also told him about his plan to acquire more information in Macau by having Zhang and his fellow labourers act as his informants within the various trading companies across the city.

When Madam Lee's fleet later came under attack by pirates employed by her business rivals, Edward went to meet with John so that they could use his ship to defend it. Once they got close enough to one of Lee's ships that was under attack, John fired a cannonball at its mast to immobilize it, before taking Edward closer to the ship. This allowed the Assassin to board it and dispatch half of the pirate crew while scaring the rest into fleeing and abandoning their captain, Rupiya.

After Edward took Rupiya hostage, he and John brought him back to Zhang's village and had him locked up. While walking through the village, the two discussed the sudden improvement the locals had seen in their way of life thanks to Edward. John then asked the Assassin about his next course of action, to which Edward told him that he was going to inform Madam Lee of who had ordered the attacks on her ships: Master Sun.

Not long after, Edward enlisted John's help in outing the Far East Company, who were trying to frame Madam Lee's company for opium trafficking. At night, while Edward sneaked aboard one of the company's ships transporting opium, John fired a cannonball at the docks, igniting several barrels of oil and setting a warehouse on fire. He then made his escape while Edward took advantage of the distraction to retrieve several opium packages and expose the Far East Company's drug trafficking to the public.

Following his escape, John had a tied-up Rupiya lead him to the hideout of his former crew so that they could recruit them. John was able to find the place based on Rupiya's directions, whereupon he freed the pirate captain, allowing him to board his crew's ship and threaten them into returning to work for him.

John and Rupiya later sailed back to Macau to help Edward destroy the Far East Company's ship he had exposed for smuggling opium, to prevent any party interested in its cargo from stealing it. After Edward set off a firework to signal them to begin their attack, John and Rupiya destroyed the ship and the opium inside with their cannons. As Madam Lee was among those interested in the opium, this act marked the end of John and Edward's alliance with her.

Journey to Manila

Without Madam Lee's support, Edward later decided to form his own organization, the Zhang Wei Union, which promised to bring people together, protect them, and conduct business through ethical means. John was among the first people to be recruited into the organization, alongside Zhang and his fellow villagers, and Rupiya and his crew. After setting up their headquarters in the A-Ma Cultural Village, Edward, John and Zhang set out to find business opportunities in Macau, but were turned down by all the locals.

Eventually, the trio were approached by a merchant who was the owner of the vessel John and Edward had previously defended from pirates. After explaining that Madam Lee, Master Sun and the Far East Company had blacklisted them to prevent them from finding any clients, the merchant offered to hire them himself, as he required someone to escort his ship to Manila and back for a business endeavor.

Accepting the job, Edward, John and Zhang used Rupiya's ship to sail to the Philippines. Upon reaching Manila, John went to party with the locals and got drunk. However, he also managed to learn that the Dutch East India Company and the Far East Company had recently begun recruiting people for an expedition in Southeast Asia. Edward believed this to be a sign that the Templars were preparing to begin their search for Angkor, though he decided against doing the same, choosing to focus on building up their reputation first.

While sailing back to Macau in order to complete their contract, the crew caught sight of a pirate ship attacking a Dutch East India Company vessel. After Edward decided to take the pirate ship as a prize and ordered Rupiya to attack it, John jokingly commented that Edward's tenure as a legitimate businessman had been short-lived.

In the ensuing battle, John was left in charge of the crew as Edward took several men to board the pirate vessel via rowboat. John and Rupiya provided a distraction, bombarding the enemy ship with cannon fire, though the damages they inflicted proved too severe. As the pirate vessel caught fire and began to sink, Edward and the crew members who accompanied him were forced to abandon it.

Despite the loss of their prize, Edward and John did not come out of the battle empty-handed, as the former had managed to rescue several prisoners, including a Korean scholar and engineer named Yun Pyeong-Gyu. John was impressed by the man's vast knowledge and suggested to Edward that they recruit him. After Yun demonstrated his skills by fixing the wheel of the Dutch East India Company ship they had just rescued, Edward was similarly impressed and made Yun a proposition upon their return to Macau. Once Yun agreed to join their organization, John suggested that they all go drinking to celebrate.

Voyage to the Paracel Islands

When Edward accepted a job from Jan van Aert, the Dutch East India Company's chief navigator, to rid the Paracel Islands of pirates, John was surprised and questioned Edward's decision, believing the mission to be suicidal. However, the Assassin clarified to both John and Zhang that this was an opportunity to secure a partnership with the Dutch East India Company and expand their organization in the process. Edward then volunteered to complete the job alone, but John refused to let him get killed until they found Angkor, and insisted that he accompany him.

Prior to sailing to the islands, Edward enlisted Yun's services to create advanced weaponry for their mission, which John helped Edward and Yun with testing. Afterwards, John jokingly threatened to kill Rupiya in case he planned to abandon them, after the latter had expressed his doubts about the mission.

Edward's plan to destroy the pirates' stronghold required him and John to use a rowboat to arrive on the islands undetected. Afterwards, while Rupiya distracted the pirates by getting them drunk, the navigator and the Assassin planted explosives around the base. However, when Edward freed the pirates' prisoners, the commotion attracted the pirates' attention, initiating a gunfight. As Edward and John ran towards Rupiya's ship, the explosives they had planted detonated, destroying the pirates' compound.

Personality and traits

When Edward first met Johh, he thought very little of him, seeing him as nothing more than a drunkard and a gambler. This was not helped by John running away after mistaking Edward for a debt collector and admitting that he had stolen his story about Angkor from Hendrik, which made the navigator seem like a coward and a liar seeking only recognition.

However, Edward's impression of John improved signficantly after the latter stole a company ship which he used to rescue him. Because John had demonstrated courage by risking both his job for the Dutch East India Company and his life, Edward came to see the navigator in a more positive light and allowed him to accompany him. John was excited by the prospect of wealth at the end of their adventure, and even after Edward told him that the only thing he would likely gain from it was "a story worth a drink," he still enthusiastically accompanied the Assassin, due to having a "good feeling" about him.

During their time together, John and Edward grew to become close friends. While the two enjoyed teasing each other from time to time, such as Edward calling John a drunkard and a gambler to annoy him (usually resulting in an over-the-top reaction from John), they still respected and fully trusted each other. The Assassin trusted John enough to tell him details about his private life such as the existence of his daughter, and to invite him to accompany him on his expedition to Angkor. In turn, John also cared about Edward's well-being, coming to his rescue several times and even trying to comfort him whenever Edward was feeling down.

Equipment and skills

John's skills as a navigator rivaled those of Edward, who was an experienced seafarer in his own right. At one point, the Assassin called John the most skilled navigator he knew, even though he might have only done so to boost his confidence before an insult. In addition to his skills at the helm, John appeared to have some experience firing cannons, typically catching his enemies by surprise whenever he did so. Consequently, this tactic became a favorite of John's, and he used it to save Edward's life multiple times.

John was also multilingual, being able to speak a variety of languages including Dutch, Portuguese, Mandarin and Khmer. During one conversation with Edward, he claimed to have learned so many languages to be able to woo women from different parts of the world.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple

References

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