"None of those people gave a damn about what had become of me," he wrote, when reminiscing about his birth family. In Port of Shadows he remembered that his mother occasionally threatened to rip off his arm and brain him with it, and that his sisters more often received this same threat. He would inherit this trait, albeit to a lesser extent. He recalled hiding under tables as a child when his father would have his frequent, but brief, flashes of explosive rage.
The handful of details of his birth family paint an unhappy picture.Īs he traveled south in Shadow Games, he wrote that he was born in a "great crossroads of trade routes" just south of the city of Padora, which is less than 300 miles south of Beryl (the largest of the Jewel Cities). Because of his natural curiosity and his role as Annalist, Croaker directly inserted himself into many of the Black Company's more significant operations.īefore The Black Company Early family life Ĭroaker revealed few details about his life in the time before the Company was in service to the Syndic of Beryl. He is the narrator of: all three Books of the North Shadow Games Soldiers Live significant portions of Port of Shadows and, all but 1 of the short stories (excluding only " Chasing Midnight"). He does resume his duties as physician and Annalist until his final encounter with the ancient golem Shivetya.Ī remarkable polyglot, Croaker became conversational (and sometimes literate) in numerous languages throughout his travels, including the Jewel Cities dialect, Forsberger, Darling's finger speech, the language of Juniper, and the Taglian language. Upon his release, he no longer considers himself mentally sound, so he surrenders command. He remains in command until being imprisoned in the cave of the ancients underneath the fortress with no name by Soulcatcher. He is commissioned to become the Liberator of Taglios, and with the help of his wife Lady, prosecutes the Shadowmaster wars to eventual victory. Heading toward Khatovar, he leads the group on an odyssey through the southern continent. Croaker eventually begins an enduring romance with the Lady, which persists despite dramatic developments.įollowing the reduction of the Black Company to merely six men after the final battle with the Dominator, Croaker is voted to become Captain.
beginning with romantic infatuation, then maturing to abiding aversion, genuine fear, cautious ambivalence, and finally, true love. Throughout the Books of the North, his opinions of her evolve as his experiences mount up. It is during this period that he first meets the Lady, the empress of the northern empire.
He was established as the Company's primary physician and also its respected Annalist by the time the Company is in service to the Syndic of Beryl, and, he served in these capacities through the Battle of the Barrowland. Croaker is one of the central figures of the Black Company during the roughly 40 year period of its history explored in the Books of the North, the Books of the South, and the Books of Glittering Stone.