Dante's Immortality: Beginnings

by Antonio Terzini

  Herman’s eye began to twitch.

  He was only in this situation because the moron in front of him had lost an enchanted stone. He didn’t even have anything to do with the situation, he had only gone with Joseph to try and locate the item.

  Thinking about Joseph, he couldn’t help but wince.

  All things considered, I did get off pretty lightly… And at least the way back will be peaceful.

  “I didn’t even do anything wrong, and besides, what could I possibly learn from a school for commoners.”

  Herman groaned internally, the two weeks journey to the academy were going to be the longest two weeks of his life.

  * * *

  He didn’t understand why, or how, anyone travelled in Aleria. Anyone who did it of their own volition must be mad though.

  Shortly after leaving the dungeon, he headed down the dirt road towards Kenguard and was robbed. Twice. In one day.

  The first time wasn’t that bad, he imagined it was how most robberies went. Four rugged men stopped him, threatened him, then searched him. When that pleasant greeting was over, they let him go on his way. He didn’t have anything of value on him, aside from the enchanted stone. Which was hidden snugly inside one of Isaac’s boots, it wasn’t the most comfortable hiding place, but was well worth it when the bandits just let him go unmolested. After finding nothing, the dejected bandits even cursed himfor wasting their time. He could have easily dealt with the bandits, but still had some aversion to killing, especially needlessly.

  The second robbery went far differently.

  The group that robbed him the second time was made up of three scruffy men with patchy beards, they looked like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. They were even more gaunt than him, he actually felt bad for them. If he had any food, he would most likely have given it up willingly.

  The robbery progressed somewhat normally. The three men had already accomplished the ‘stopping him’ phase, and were well on their way to the to the ‘threaten’ stage. One of the men grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and began to threaten him, while the other two got ahead of themselves and began to rummage through the tattered clothes he had gotten from Isaac.

  That was when everything went to shit.

  He was about to tell the overzealous men rummaging through his clothing that he had nothing of value on him when he heard the sound of the air being pierced around him and several thunking noises.

  He had no idea what the noise was, or at least didn’t until the three men who were robbing him fell to the ground covered in arrows.

  In shock, Dante had turned to look in the direction that the arrows had come from. In the distance, an entire squadron of twenty guards on horseback were surrounding a carriage, six of which had bows, which were now aimed directly at him.

  How did they reach all the way over here with their bows?

  “In the name of House Calman, halt!”

  What did they think he was going to do, with six arrows from those archers pointed at him?

  Three of the men, who seemed to be the captain and two Warriors, broke off from the rest of the group and rode towards him. By the time the captain finally reached him, Dante’s hands were held well over his head in surrender, hoping none of the men with bows would get excited and perforate him with arrows like the dead robbers at his feet.

  He could have always used Blink to easily escape to the forest on the side of the road, but he already had one noble house trying to rope him in, and had no intentions of revealing his uniqueness to another if he could resolve the situation peacefully.

  The man who he presumed to be the captain was the first to speak. “State your name and business.”

  Dante was about to answer the man who was looking down on him from his horse, but was interrupted by a soft, soothing voice from the carriage. “Sir Andres, why have we stopped.”

  Sir Andres? Sir was a title given to combatants who were in service to nobles and given the honor of ‘knight’, usually only a title given to specialized combat Classifications. There shouldn’t be any knights in the Outer Edge region who were in the service of nobles.

  The captain who had been speaking to him turned back to the carriage. “There is nothing to concern yourself about my lady, we just stumbled upon some bandits in the middle of a robbery.”

  “Bandits? I want to see them.” A second voice sounded out from the carriage, this one distinctly more masculine, but still soft. The carriage door opened and a boy appeared from within, he seemed to be roughly around Dante’s age. The boy’s head was framed by short blond curls, his features were soft, but he still had the high cheekbones that clearly distinguished a noble.

  As the boy popped out of the carriage, his blue eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked around trying to identify the bandits. His gaze fell on Dante, and his eyes widened. “Wow! Do all bandits look like him? So cool!” The boy walked up to inspect Dante, who still had his hands held in surrender, and as the boy did, he brought more guards with him.

  Great…

  The interaction wasn’t going like he had hoped it would.

  “Hold on Alexander.” The most beautiful girl that he had ever seen walked out of the carriage. She closely resembled the boy; golden blond curls that tumbled over her shoulders, the same soft features, and perfectly high cheekbones. Her rapture-blue eyes and glossy completion accented her cute, dainty nose and pouty lips. He was mesmerized by her figure, which was brought out by a snug dress that perfectly fit her thin waist. Never, in his life, had he seen anyone so perfect. “You are always running off without me.”

  The girl lifted the hem of her dress as she chased after the boy, bringing the rest of the guards with her. He was now completely surrounded, six bows pointed toward his chest at point-blank range.

  When the captain saw the two of them, he frowned, then he motioned to the guard beside him to clear the three scruffy men’s corpses so they would be out of sight. “There were bandits, but we have already handled the situation. It would be best if you went back to the carriage.”

  The boy, Alexander, wasn’t deterred in the slightest. He stopped staring at Dante’s silver hair and red eyes for a brief moment to turn to Sir Andres. “If the situation has already been handled, then why isn’t it safe to be out here?” After that, he resumed his inspection, now feeling his silver hair while his hands were held up in surrender.

  As soon as Alexander touched his hair, all of the guards surrounding them drew their weapons. He felt cold sweat form on his back. He swore that Alexander was trying to kill him.

  The Sir Andres just let out a sigh. Then turned back to Dante. “Alright, let’s just get this debacle over with. What’s your name, and what’s your business travelling along this road?”

  He was more than willing to ‘get the debacle over with’ and didn’t waste any time. “My name is Dante, and I was travelling to Kenguard so that I can join a dungeon party when these bandits attacked me.” Dante indicated the three corpses which had been unceremoniously thrown off the side of the road.

  The beautiful girl, who was standing behind Alexander as he prodded Dante’s hair, gave him a charming smile. “We are going to Kenguard to join the academy too! You should come with us.”

  Everyone, including Dante, looked at the girl dumbstruck. Had she really just invited a random dirt ridden stranger to join her in a two-week long journey?

  Alexander seemed unsure for a brief moment, but then just nodded excitedly at her words. “What an excellent idea, we have yet to meet any locals, and this is a good opportunity to learn more about the Outer Edge region on the rest of our trip.”

  Learn more about the Outer Edge region?

  “We don’t have time to pick up random strangers, we have already been delayed.” Sir Andres was quick to intervene. He didn’t look confident though, he was rubbing his eyes as if he had just been inflicted with a sudden migraine.

  “But look at him, he was clearly hurt by the bandits.”

  At Layla’s word
s, Dante looked down at his appearance. His clothes were still tattered and covered in blood from his fight from the goblin, and his side was actually still in the process of clotting where he had gotten nicked. He looked rugged, to say the least, and in front of her gaze, he felt truly conscious of his appearance for the first time.

  “Yes.” Alexander nodded and spoke up. “Look at him. Dante was it? You’ll never make the application deadline for the academy if you travel all the way to Kenguard on foot.”

  He was slightly confused by her words. He had clearly stated that he was going to Kenguard to join a dungeon party, yet she thought he was going to some academy.

  Alexander seemed to misunderstand his confused expression. “The application deadline is in sixteen days. Even by carriage, we are cutting it close, if you try to walk there on foot, there is no way you’ll make it, and you’ll have to wait another three months.”

  “My lord, I don’t think it would be for the best to bring a stranger with us on the trip to Kenguard. Besides, he looks… strange.”

  Layla cut in, confused. “Is his appearance that uncommon in the Outer Edge region?”

  “Yes, very uncommon. I’ve never seen anyone who looks like him before, he may be dangerous.”

  She pointed at Alexander, who was for some reason still feeling and inspecting his hair, while his arms were still up in surrender. “He doesn’t seem dangerous, and besides I think his appearance is rather fetching.”

  Dante’s face instantly flared crimson, which elicited a giggle from Layla and a groan from Sir Andres.

  Layla crossed her arms over her chest, then pouted to Sir Andres. “It’s settled then, Dante will be joining us on our ride to Kenguard.”

  “But my lad-”

  Layla cut in. “Dante will be joining us, and that is final.”

  He was taken off-guard by Layla’s sudden change in tone, and how Sir Andres immediately backed down. “Forgive my insolence, my lady.”

  Layla’s smile was back. “It isn’t a big deal, go get him cleaned off before he joins us in the carriage.”

  The turn of events were more than confusing, he had only opened his mouth once, and now he was travelling with these strange people to Kenguard? Even worse, these people were clearly not from the Outer Edge region.

  Don’t tell me all the nobles in the Outer region are as strange as Edward Ailloss…

  Still, he allowed himself be dragged along, he found himself curious about the academy they were going to. If it was worth the time for nobles of the Outer region to travel to, he would definitely benefit as well.

  Yes, that was it. He just wanted more information on the academy they were talking about. His choice had nothing to do with how beautiful Layla was…

  Chapter 11

  Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 11

  He thought the carriage ride was going rather well.

  Apparently, the two siblings had been traveling towards Kenguard for over a month to get to the academy on time, and where ridiculously bored of being holed up inside of the carriage for the entirety of the journey. Everything made much more sense to him after that.

  He had been wondering why the two had practically kidnapped him off of the side of the road. When they saw a strange, red-eyed silver-haired boy, they couldn’t help but take him with them on their trip.

  Of course, their jubilation at a newfound companion didn’t last very long.

  Shortly after joining the two of them in the carriage, Sir Andres sent in two guards to sit on either side of him, completely halting any conversation.

  He wasn’t the one to end the conversation though. He was uncomfortable with the two guards being there, but all things considered, he found them to be a reasonable addition to the carriage. If Sir Andres hadn’t put guards inside the carriage, he would have questioned the man’s sanity.

  The ones who stopped all conversation were Alexander and Layla. As soon as the two guards stepped into the carriage Alexander stopped mid-sentence to glare at one of them, Layla then took the opportunity to glare at the other. After the two picked their targets, they were relentless. Not another word was uttered for the rest of the day, and he was quite happy to sit there ignored while the two guards next to him sat uncomfortably.

  That lasted until the carriage stopped to rest for the night, literally hours later.

  Layla was the first to step out of the carriage, arms crossed and a pout on her face. “Hmph, I’m sorry you had to go through that Dante. I have truly been embarrassed by the actions of my house guards.”

  Alexander followed after her, also with arms crossed and a pout. “Yes. We have truly brought dishonor upon House Calman.”

  Dante followed after them. He found the performance, which was clearly for Sir Andres, to be somewhat comical. “It wasn’t a problem. Actually, I found the trip to be quite enjoyable.”

  Layla snorted, turning to Sir Andres with her head tilted slightly up, as if to look down on the man that was almost a half-size taller than her. “Do you see how Dante behaves? That is what manners look like.”

  The last two to come out of the carriage were the two guards. They looked utterly defeated. As soon as they appeared, they hurriedly slumped away to help set up camp.

  Sir Andres expression didn’t change, he just stood arms crossed. “Your safety is more important than my manners.”

  Unlike earlier, Layla didn’t pull rank on Sir Andres, it seemed she knew how to pick he battles. She just stuck her tongue out at Sir Andres, then wordlessly grabbed Dante by the arm and led him to the small clearing where the rest of the guards began to set up tents. It almost seemed like she wanted to set up an interrogation.

  As soon as the guards had a small fire going for them, she plopped him down near it, then she and Alexander sat side by side, directly opposite of him, brimming with excitement.

  Layla was the first to ask a question, smiling at him. “So, where are you from?”

  “I’m from a small town, located somewhat close to here, called Alazel.” Dante wasn’t really sure if he liked where the line of questioning was starting, but he found it hard to resist Layla’s smile. “I’ve lived there for the past couple of years.”

  Alexander followed his answer up quickly. “Does everyone there look like you?”

  Dante winced. “No.”

  Layla swatted Alexander on the head. “It’s rude to point out someone’s differences.”

  “Oww!” He rubbed his head. “It’s also rude to hit me when your Strength is so much higher than my Constitution. Besides, how was I supposed to know?”

  Layla rolled her eyes. “Sir Andres is from the Outer Edge region, but he’s never seen anyone who looks like him, obviously.”

  He saw an opportunity to change the direction of the conversation, and took it by asking a question he already knew the answer to. “So, why did you come to the Outer Edge region?” He needed to find out more about the academy that they kept mentioning.

  Alexander’s head tilted slightly to the side. “We’re here to attend the academy, isn’t it the same for you?”

  In reply, Dante shook his head. “No, I was only traveling to Kenguard so that I could join a dungeon exploration party.”

  Alexander was still visibly confused. “How would you have joined a dungeon exploration party if you just got your Status, wouldn’t it be better for a commoner to join the academy?”

  He still didn’t understand the significance of the academy, or why it was better for him to join it instead of a dungeon exploration party. “I have only heard that Kenguard is located in the highest world essence density area in the Outer Edge region, and surrounded by dungeons, which is why I was traveling there. The first time that I have heard of this academy, was when you mentioned it earlier today.”

  Both of their eyebrows knitted together, then at the same time, they both looked to check his combatant’s glove. “Didn’t your local lord give you the option to go to the academy when he sent the new recruits?”

  Dante just
scratched his head. “Um… no.” Technically, the only people who even knew he had a combat Classification were Edward and Sam.

  He knew that when someone got a combat Classification, they either stayed with the city guard or left for adventuring, but he wasn’t really sure what that entailed.

  Layla still had a slightly confused expression on her face. “Do you have a strange combat Classification that’s not suited for fighting?”

  Alexander nodded hurriedly. “Yes, that must be it.” He turned back to Layla. “Why else wouldn’t they tell him.”

  Dante thought about how best to answer Layla’s question for a moment. He needed a way to get the conversation off of him and back onto the academy itself. Thus far, he had learned basically nothing except that he should have been invited upon getting a combat Classification. But even after thinking about where he should take the conversation for a moment, he had no idea what to say.

  “I think it might be unusual.” Dante shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to make it seem like a big deal. “So, why is the academy so important?”

  Of course, as soon as Layla heard his first answer, she completely ignored his question that followed. “You might have an unusual Classification? What is it?” She was staring at him intently, in a way that was somewhat frightening.

  Alexander surprised him by quickly cutting in. “I think that Sir Andres said that combatant’s in the Outer Edge region like to keep their Classifications hidden. Maybe we shouldn’t make him tell us.”

  Seeing an opportunity to switch the topic of conversation off of himself, he took it. “Do people in the Outer region not hide their Classifications?”

  “I suppose a few of the unaligned combatants do…” Layla’s eyes shifted upward in thought. “But in polite society, it is considered rude to try and hide your Classification. Besides, it wouldn’t matter anyway, there are too many spies in noble houses. Still, you won’t be able to continue to hide your Classification if you want to enroll in the academy.”