Description
Farson is a tall man, who wears his long black hair in a messy top knot as well as a red mask covering his entire face. Little is revealed of his history before he begins a revolution against the baronies of In-World, except that he began his career as a "harrier who began as a stage-robber in Garland and Desoy." He is first seen in issue #3 of The Gunslinger Born, where he is shown as having conquered the council-seat of one of the baronies of Mid-World, and taking bets on how far he can hit a dead man's head with the broad side of his sword.
When a door opens up in a nearby rock and Randall Flagg (Marten) steps out, Farson confronts him and asks him where his oil is. Marten says they must speak of that, among other things (presumably the presence of Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain in Mejis).
During a mission Roland Deschain, Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns uncover a plot by the local ranchers to supply oil to Farson. If Farson could refine that oil, he could use it to power ancient machines of war to wipe out the Gunslingers and the larger Monarchy they defended. Luckily, the three are able to burn the oil and keep Farson from getting it. They only postpone the fall of Gilead, however.
Little is revealed about the battle or battles in which John Farson brought down the gunslingers. The last great fight is the battle of Jericho Hill, when all of Roland's old friends die, with him barely escaping with his life. According to the book Wolves of the Calla, the enemy force Roland and his friends faced on Jericho Hill was a "savage remnant of John Farson's army". While Farson's ultimate fate is not yet clear, Roland says in The Waste Lands that most fled from Farson.
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