A Story of the Beginning (Revised Edition): Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary

By Jason Albano

(This is a prequel to "No Tears: Northern Company")

By 30 years old in 1527, Giovanni Salzano had fought his way across Europe for the better part of 13 years and countless wars. He had gained a reputation as a rugged, bullish fighter, loyal to the coin, and loyal to his employer if paid on time. He did the job that needed to be done.

But it was not always that way. Before 1514, Giovanni enjoyed a privileged life with his uncle Bonaventure, nephew Deangelo, and best friend Romano Tantillo in the Italian countryside near the Town of Salzano, the town of their namesake. With his uncle watching over them, Deangelo, Romano, and Giovanni formed friendships that would seem to last forever. Archery and swordsmanship competitions and romantic interests such as Felicia Vitali consumed Giovanni's free time outside of his vested education in the capital city of the Republic itself.

Giovanni's inheritance of the uniquely accumulated wealth and business interests of the gentry family of Salzano had been entrusted to his uncle after Giovanni's father, Corradeo, died in 1509 and his mother shortly after. Known as the "Two Salzanos", Giovanni and his cousin Deangelo are set to control the family's good name and riches in several months' time, Giovanni his father's wealth, estate, and part of the boutique wine business, while Deangelo his father Bonaventure's business interests in the boutique wine, sword-making, and ranching in Venice. This is set to happen upon Giovanni turning eighteen years old and Bonaventure assuming the rightful position of mayor to the namesake of the same town of their last name, a position that has been void of a Salzano for three generations and which lawlessness has overtaken the countryside and the town itself in recent years.

However, when Bonaventure's mercenary past catches up with the now retired mercenary in 1514, the 17 year old Giovanni Salzano learns what "family business" means...

(This book contains several references to alcohol and alcohol abuse, adult language, and violent wartime scenes.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781387630677

Book preview

Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary

A Story of the Beginning

Revised Edition

Author: Jason Joseph Albano

Copyright

The text, story, and fictional characters within Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary: A Story of the Beginning (Revised Edition) is the ownership and property of Jason Albano. © 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Jason Albano. All rights reserved.

Published by Jason Albano

ISBN 978-1-387-63067-7

(E-Book digital version; book structure slightly altered from paperback physical print version to meet digital standards.)

Email --- [e-mail]

***

Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary: A Story of the Beginning (Revised Edition) is a work of fiction. All material written in this book is based in a historical timeline with historical events, locations, organizations, and people integrated into fictional events, locations, organizations, and characters. Quotes and/or actions of historical events, locations, organizations, and/or people in this book should be taken (directly expressed) as fictional.

Nowhere within the writing of this literary art (book) and/or otherwise implied by the author does the author seek to bring damage to or skew the historical accuracy or lasting memory of historical events, locations, organizations, and/or persons with any malice intent. Any alternate portrayal of historical events, locations, organizations, and/or persons (aka alternate history/universe) is done with only fictional storytelling in context. All other instances thereof are purely accidental.

There are no direct quotes or copy of other work/material not my own, to the best of my knowledge, located in this text and/or without proper references to identify such instances.

REVISED EDITION

This Revised Edition is the grammar, punctuation, and structure corrected edition of the 2016 original book, "Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary: A Story of the Beginning". This 2022 edition also includes corrected historical information, proper references, extended chapters, and additional chapters to add depth to the overall story but does not change the basic story principles of the 2016 original book; as such, this book will remain a novelette in its original spirit and maintain its limited reach of story, although in function it is a short book in its 2022 edition. Because the Revised Edition will maintain the spirit of the 2016 original, certain enhancements, corrections, and changes were limited because of the original story structure.

This edition came about after I finished my 2021 book, Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary: No Tears (Northern Company), the follow-up book to the 2016 original. I had decided I wanted to go back and correct the many mistakes and, at times, cringe worthy writing of the 2016 book. The experiences gained and historical research that was put into the writing of No Tears (Northern Company) over 5 years gave me a new appreciation of what needed to be corrected with the 2016 book and what could be improved as well. Effort was put into connecting both the revised 2016/2022 book and the 2021 Northern Company, making notes of the connections in the footnotes section of each page as needed; footnotes were also added to explain the structural changes of the book from the 2016 original.

With all those changes noted, however, there should be something said about the raw emotion and simplicity of that original 2016 book. While no longer in print as of 2022 as a stand-alone copy, the original book of A Story of the Beginning can still be read via the hardcover special edition version of Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary: No Tears (Northern Company).

Best Regards,

Jason Albano (2022)

BY JASON ALBANO

Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary Series

(By storyline order in series)

#0 A Story of the Beginning

Revised Edition (2022)

#1 No Tears (Northern Company)

#2 No Tears (Inheritance) --- COMING SOON!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Forerunner

Family of Salzano

Dramatis Personae

Prologue

Part I

Chapter 1 --- Innocence

Chapter 2  ---Change

Chapter 3  ---Obsequies

Part II

Chapter 4 --- Fiery Youth

Chapter 5  ---Sequester

Chapter 6  ---Skill & Gallantry

Chapter 7  ---Reconstruct

Chapter 8  ---Catalyst

Chapter 9  ---Death

Chapter 10  ---Fracture

Part III

Chapter 11  ---Origin

Chapter 12  ---Mercenary

Chapter 13  ---Opacity

Epilogue

References

About the Author

Dedicated to…

Joseph R. Ravitts & Jimmy Albano

Joseph was my guide, mentor, and volunteer editor/adviser on my 2016 original book, Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary: A Story of the Beginning. Joseph took a writer with enthusiasm to write and turned him into an author by my 2021 book, No Tears (Northern Company). The foundation that Joseph laid with A Story of the Beginning---never too much correction or harsh criticism---of allowing me to write and learn as I went, only giving suggestions and never demands, allowed me to become the writer I am today. And, ultimately, Joseph’s foundation is what allowed me to write this Revised Edition 5 years later.

Jimmy bought my very first book in 2016 of A Story of the Beginning. As my uncle, Jimmy has been a steadfast fortress of support and encouragement; since 2016, he always inquired of when my promised next book would come out, always giving me a boost of energy and excitement during the most difficult times of writing No Tears (Northern Company) over 5 years. Many, many times during the writing process of Northern Company, I felt that I was writing for him and him alone.

And a course a very special thank you to my amazing wife; she puts up with my nerding and writing (that should qualify her for sainthood).

INTRODUCTION

(A Brief Factual History of the Character)

I hope you enjoy reading this book of fictional characters & events interwoven into non-fictional characters and events of the 16th century as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is the first book entrusted to the greater title of Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary. The original 2016 book was titled the same as this book---A Story of the Beginning---while the 2021 second installment is identified as No Tears (Northern Company), and the upcoming third installment is titled No Tears (Inheritance). A Story of the Beginning (Revised Edition) is the official canon between it and the 2016 original of the same name; the Revised Edition takes the official canon stance of No Tears (Northern Company) which initially overruled the 2016 original and integrates the corrected canon accordingly to create a seamless reading experience between it and Northern Company.

The 2016 book was originally a small sampling of ideas, thoughts, and many years of characterization, roleplay, and historical research brought together and refined into a story about a singular character: Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary. The original concept of Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary came from a 2011 trip to the Colorado Renaissance Festival as a paying guest. While no photos remain of that first year, a 2012 photo is considered the original visual basis of the character.

The character of Giovanni Salzano has gone through several changes over more than a decade. Giovanni’s original concept from 2011 was as an adventurer, having no part as a mercenary in fact; briefly in 2011 and 2012, Salzano even became a pirate (and an adventurer---but still no mercenary)! While the added characterization of piracy was brief, that exploration period of the high seas paved the way for a staple of the character in later years: the cutlass sword.

At some point after the start of the New Year 2012, Salzano started to take form as we know him today: a traveling mercenary. A red shirt was adopted to show a pirate swag about the character (but would later be replaced by a green shirt by 2013---however the red shirt was never fully retired), as was a cutlass sword. A walking stick, hat, and cloak would be added to show the adventurer side of the character (the walking stick would disappear in 2012 but return in 2018). While an adventurer/mercenary, Salzano still did not have a name yet as of 2012; the first parts of any name came in April 2012, when I came upon a town in Italy called Salzano. Being Italian myself, I liked the ring of the name---Salzano---and the vague history of the town as explored in No Tears: Northern Company (2021) gave me the historical freedom to do what I wanted with the name without accidentally overstepping hard historical facts.

A year later, in 2013, the name of Salzano the Traveling Mercenary took form and later that year Giovanni was added as a first name; by the end of the summer of 2013, the name of Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary came to life. In the years of 2013 through 2016 the character of Giovanni Salzano took on many timeline changes, from the character originally being in the 1760s since 2011 to the 1630s in 2013, 1618-1630 in 2014, and then 1571-1590s again in 2014. By 2015, a birthday was assigned to Giovanni, born 1497 in the Republic of Venice and both that birthday and place of birth has not changed since 2015. By 2016, a relative end of story date was given to Giovanni in the year of 1545, giving the character a tentative lifespan of 48 years (1497-1545), but as of 2021 that 1545 year has not been set yet as a hard end date or just the years The Traveling Mercenary would have been most active historically. Speaking of The Traveling Mercenary, the moniker would become a staple of the character going forward from 2021, being the character’s marketed moniker moving forward on all social media, website, audio & movie productions, and both physical & digital literature.

Between the years of 2015 and 2016, the modern foundation of Giovanni Salzano as we know him today---a mercenary operating in the early to mid-1500s---took shape. While the four to five years prior to this since 2011 had been exploring the character and changing various aspects of his backstory and general appearance, 2015 (especially) really cemented the core concepts of Giovanni Salzano the Traveling Mercenary with 2016 correcting, finalizing, and polishing any last-minute details. The original 2016 book of A Story of the Beginning put those 2015-2016 foundational concepts into a written, copyrighted form and gave the character an undisputed foundation to work from.

However, it was the prologue of the 2021 book, No Tears (Northern Company), that book-ended the character from the original 2011 concept to the finalized 2021 concept and really gave me the spark as an author and as the creator of The Traveling Mercenary to fill in the blanks from 1514 to 1545 (age 17 to age 48; 31 years). To see what the character had become in that 1545 prologue---the dirty, jaded, and empty mercenary---from his 1509 beginnings as a youth with the world before him, was ripe for storytelling, exploration, and unbelievable depth. With the completion of No Tears (Northern Company) in 2021, I felt the overriding urge to revisit the original 2016 A Story of the Beginning in 2022 and rewrite it to reflect the success, accuracy, and fulfillment of No Tears (Northern Company)…simply because of a prologue.

Best Regards,

Jason Albano (author)

2022; Colorado Springs, Colorado

Forerunner

He was loyal to the coin. Not much can be said of other men’s convictions. When we asked him to be a hero, he was. When we needed him to be a villain---he was that too. Sometimes, what is right and what is wrong is a hard thing. Are we God to judge a man’s actions of good or evil? Or is God the Judge and pray you, the Redeemer of men’s souls like Salzano’s?

Pope Clement VII

(16th century)¹

Family of Salzano

The origin of the family of Salzano is uncertain, other than it is first mentioned and thought to have started in some form of existence after 193 and before 1283² ³, although no clear dates are given.⁴ The family’s mention is oftentimes associated with the Compagnia Mercenaria Libera del Grande Imperium⁵ under Roman allegiance, with their male family members oftentimes cited as specially trained mercenaries and highly regarded among their peers as part of the Elite Imperiale⁶. After the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Free Mercenary Company would serve Il fedele eterno di Roma⁷ exclusively.

By the final collapse of the Roman Empire in 1453, the most sacred of traditions of the Free Mercenary Company of the Greater Imperium were seen as useless, outdated, and obsolete and their elite barbarian mercenary ranks under Roman control were allowed to slowly dwindle, the expectation of a male offspring no longer a requirement for retirement from the ranks once the traditional brandings had covered both forearms to mark successful assignments under Il Contratto⁸. By the late 1400s, only the most skilled bloodlines of the Greater Imperium ranks remained under employment with The Faithful Eternal of Rome: the original Barbarian bloodline, the most elite of the Franks families, the most dangerous of the Greek families, and the legendary Roman bloodline: Brutus, Vayssière, Aetos, and Salzano.

As of 1514, only 3 males with the last name of Salzano remain alive, their bloodline seemingly vanishing