Chapter One: The Orphan

Our story begins with Dante facing his biggest fear: crowds.

    Dante was sweating like crazy. He was all dressed up in a nice tunic that his father had bought for him, and his nicest pair of pants, and cleaned new boots. The tunic was a nice moss green and complemented with red trimming, as was the colors of the Terrowin family. His foster mother Helena had made his pants for this special occasion. The occasion was his and his brothers’ choice to set off to Gredia Vu to join the army and keep safe the human race, or that’s what him and Arthas always dreamed about, ever since they were kids. They had decided this many months ago, and had been saving up money for the long journey.

     Gredia Vu was the country that they lived in, and was adjacent to only one other country: Albaston. The two countries were connected by a large bridge and intermediate islands, one of which was Stonebridge, the town where Dante and his family lived and was the last island before Gredia Vu. The counties were not only separated by water, but by a lot of culture. Albaston was a lot of wide-open plains and high mountains. The people were tougher, with most people working with their hands instead of their intelligence, and had a very infamously vicious and powerful army.

     Gredia Vu however, had very little mountains and many towns and cities. Most people here ran businesses and markets rather than farms. They shipped in their food rather than grow it. They bought horses rather than raise them. But at the same time, the towns helped each other. If one town had a lot of poverty, neighboring towns would try to help. The army was vast and strategically rather than low in numbers and vicious fighters. The boys picked here because Stonebridge was technically a part of Gredia Vu and they fit their personality type more than Albaston. Before they were allowed to leave however, Helena insisted on throwing her two boys a farewell celebration against the wishes of her foster son Dante.

     Dante was an orphan. He is average size for a human, five foot eleven inches, had brown messy hair, and blue eyes. As his father Zachariah tells him, a woman with a hood over her eyes came to them one day in the fields and begged them to take Dante. She said she had to go somewhere very important and needed them to watch over her boy. Dante was just born at the time. She said that if she didn’t come back to take care of Dante, for he was special. But there was nothing “special” about Dante.

     Dante hated crowds of people, and was very sheltered, ever since he was a boy. People think it is because he was adopted and had a fear of trying to fit in, but really, he was just a very secluded person. The only ones he was really open with were his foster family and a very select few. He always hated talking to crowds of people. One day his father brought him to the Abbey to speak in front of the governor and his council about the progress of their farm, and nearly threw up on the governor. Luckily however he was able to turn it to the side, and just get his shoes.

     He was even asked to give a speech to the workers on trying to increase production, and couldn’t get through a single sentence without having to stop and wipe his sweat off and repeat the sentence. Now he was supposed to go to a celebration filled with all the hands from their farm and the adjacent farms. It is custom to give a speech for your guests at a farewell gathering after receiving the gifts and goodbyes from those you knew. Dante tried to think ahead and write out a speech, but lost it that morning and couldn’t find it, and was in a panic. He just kept rocking back and forth in his wooden chair in the backroom thinking of what to do.

     His foster parents were farm heads; they were the business end of their farm. But that’s not to say that they were “high class” people. In fact some other farm heads looked them down on because they often went to work on the farm with the farm hands. This, on the other hand, made them very well loved by the workers.

            “Well little brother, aren’t I a fine looking specimen?” announced Arthas. He came out from his room with a huge grin on his face into the small room that Dante was waiting nervously in to go into the main room. Arthas was larger than Dante, at six foot five inches, bulky and strong build, had long blonde hair, and dark brown eyes. He was wearing similar garbs to Dante, but obviously a lot bigger. He also wore a hat that the eldest son traditionally wears at ceremonies like this. It was the same color as the tunic, and was pointed in the front and held single gray feathers on both sides. His hair was tied back into a ponytail to keep out of his face. Dante just let his hair down as messy as it ever was, and covered most of his forehead and part of his eyes, which he often brushed away. Arthas’ face was very defined, but still had a young look to it. Dante was often jealous of his brothers appearance compared to his own which he viewed as too small for a soldier.

    “Yes you look just like me. Maybe a bit larger…” Dante said, trying to push through a weak smile at his attempt at humor.

    “But I am the better looking one when it comes to face, right little brother!” claimed Arthas, as he gripped him into a headlock. Arthas was the opposite of Dante when it came to public speaking, and wasn’t worried at all. People always praised him on his speaking talents. He was not only gifted in strength, but he had a gifted tongue as well. He was always the life of every event. He therefore was not sweating or intimidated in the least like Dante was.

    “Get off of me!” Dante said throwing him off, and falling out of the chair he was sitting in. He quickly jumped off the ground and brushed himself off, falling back into the panicked mood. Arthas noticed that Dante was in a sweat.

    Placing a hand on Dante’s shoulder Arthas said “Calm yourself Dante, it is just a casual gathering with friends from the farms. You have grown up with these people and talked in casual conversations with them since you were very young. You should be happy you will be able to talk to them before you leave them, and possibly never return.” The comforting, yet slightly brooding words that his brother said to him calmed him slightly, and sat back down in his chair. “Besides, you don’t want to be all sweaty when you make your farewell speech.” Arthas commented as he went back into his room. Dante froze. He felt sick again, and started sweating and rocking in his chair once again. As time went on, Arthas reemerged from the dressing room looking exactly as he did before.

    “Why did you go in there for?” Dante questioned

    “Can you not tell?” Arthas said, raising up one of his legs and pulling up his pant leg. “These socks go much better with my tunic, don’t you think?” Dante stared, thinking of how he could have possibly seen the socks when the pants were down, but nodded and agreed anyway.

    They are a nice pair of socks. Dante thought, smirking to himself. Arthas laughed and patted Dante on the back, and reassured him it was all going to be ok. Dante started to calm himself for the second time. He’s right, what am I so worried about? It’s just a small gathering with friends. Besides, the farewell speech doesn’t have to be that long anyway. He smiled to himself as his body listened to his pleas and stopped shaking and sweating. As he stood up, he heard the bell over the door ring, signaling that the first of the guests had arrived.

    “Ha ha, the firsts have arrived! Well, it is almost time for our party to begin!” Arthas laughed, grabbing Dante by his shoulder and pulled him close. “And by the Gods, I swear to you, by the end of this party, you will be nervous of crowds no more!” Dante shook his head in involuntary agreement. I’m sure… Dante thought.

    As time went on, the bell started to ring more frequently as guests poured into the large room on the other side of the door from Dante and Arthas. Soon, a crowd of voices consisting from congratulations to idle chitchat grew to sound like the roar of a crowd. Dante lost count of the number of times the bell had rung after. When the bell had stopped ringing for a good twenty minutes, Dante and Arthas’ mother Helena walked through the door and letting in the true volume of the crowd outside.

   “Nearly all the guests have arrived!” She said as she shut the door, muffling the voices once again. She walked towards the two boys and smiled at them. “You both look so handsome…” she said, and raised her hands and grabbed her two boys in a hugging embrace. Helena was nearing 50, and the stress of running an entire farm and doing the physical labor of one had started to take its toll. She was shorter than she once was and she was always tired in her eyes. Her hair was in a long, thick braid down the center of her back, and was light brown, matching the color of her eyes. Despite being tired, her eyes also showed traces of a woman who lived a long and happy life. Today, however, emotions of sadness and pride fighting each other swirled in her eyes.

    “Oh mother…” Arthas said as he hugged her back, and then stepped back and in attempt to try to lighten the mood once again said; “When do we not look handsome?” Dante hugged her and stepped back, saying nothing, trying to focus on how he would act when he was submerged in the crowd he was about to face.

     “Now both of you, I want you to talk to every person who comes to you, don’t sigh or turn them away because there will be a lot of them. This could be the last time you see a lot of them… And well I just want you both to behave yourselves. First we will have an hour of sitting around and talking, then we will have the speeches, and lastly the gift giving!” She said as she fixed wherever there was fold or wrinkle in their outfits. She was not smiling as she was once before, Dante noticed. Instead it almost seemed as if she was frowning. Finally with straightening Arthas’ hat, and patting of the excess dust and dirt from Dante’s shoulder where he had fallen, she said; “Ok boys… here we go.” She went to the door dragging Dante by his arm and Arthas following him, and opened it.

    The opened door revealed a huge crowd of scrambling people. Dante was able to recognize some faces; Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey, the neighbors, and their kids Alex, Pricella, and Pippen. There was Arthur, Jack, and Marcus, three brothers who lived and worked on an adjacent farm. They grew together in the same house, and grew to inherit their house where their parents had died. The only one that was married was Marcus, to a girl named Lily. Arthur’s wife had died some years ago, and had no children of his own. They were all nice guys, and Dante was actually glad he could have a chance to talk to them before he left. Next there was a man named Gin, who was the town’s bard. Dante always liked going to him and listening to his stories. Dante was actually good friends with Gin, and once he took him on one of his trips into Gredia Vu to a city, known as Mushings. It was completely surrounded by swamp land and so going there was hard and boring, however, once they entered the city, it was the most amazing thing Dante had ever seen. There were hundreds of people shopping in the markets, dancing to the sounds of traveling musicians and people up on boxes putting on speeches for the people around.

     There were bards that Gin went to talk to that had fabulous stories. Each of the bards, as Dante remembers, there were four, all tried to outdo the other with more daring and fabulous stories. They talked of elves and dwarves and many adventures. Some even talked of goblins and orcs and such terrifying stories, that Dante nearly considered not going to the army. However the most fascinating story was one that Gin had shared to the group that Dante had never heard before. He spoke of floating mountains sitting on clouds only anchored to the earthy by gigantic twenty-foot thick vines. Up on top the floating colossal rocks, roosted dragons of every color and size. “They were magnificent beasts,” Gin described. He told of how he saved an injured dragon from some mercenaries and nursed him. Later when the dragon was healed, he took him to the floating mountains to see his world. Gin described it as if it were a heaven on earth. There were giant trees, and waterfalls and clouds loomed under it so the sun always shined. The dragons flew around as they wanted, and bathed in the magnificent lakes under waterfalls. Gin explained that no humans were allowed on “Ya’Huae” as the dragons called it, for it was sacred and humans were considered inferior and polluted. He seemed to drift off randomly throughout the story, saying how it was so perfect and no humans have been there to harm it or pollute it. He said that now where else in the world had there been vegetation’s so beautiful or water so clear. Dante was so amazed at Gin’s description of this amazing place known only as “Ya’Huae.”

    The other Bards however, did not find it as amazing, and simply laughed at him. “You jest!” they yelled, and called him a liar. Gin fought back, swearing that his story was true, but the bards did not believe him. Gin promptly took Dante and calmly left the group of Bards, who Dante could hear laughing even as they left the group. When Dante confronted Gin about the story later that day all he had to say was; “What do you think? If you don’t figure it out ask me when you’re older.” Dante was not sure whether that meant that he was lying or not, but still believed, or rather hoped, that such a place existed.

    Maybe I should go ask him? Dante thought to himself. I never did ask him, and it has been over five years. As Dante went to squeeze through the crowd to go talk to him, he was stopped by a group of people all of them shouting things. The rest of the room realized that the two boys had come out of the room, and all the people started walking towards the two.

    The next hour went on longer than Dante could have ever dreamed of. Him and Arthas greeted and thanked the guests for coming, and repeated this process an uncountable amount of times throughout the night with each of the guests. Once Dante tried to squeeze his way out of the crowd, for the temptation of getting to talk to Gin was growing to be unbearable. He wanted to know before he set off if such a place, as what he described was true or not. However, as soon as he showed the slightest of sign of leaving the group, his mother took him by the ear and refused to let him go anywhere.

    “Sorry…” he said in a whisper that only his mother could hear.

    “Don’t worry, before we have the speeches, I’ll give you some time to go do whatever you were trying to do, just a little longer Hun.” Helena said smiling at him. Dante turned back to the crowd and continued to shake hands and hug all those who wished to wish him a safe journey on his way to go join the army. Finally when the time came for the speeches to begin, his mother made the announcement that they would have a small break first. Dante quickly thanked her, and ran over to wear Gin was sitting. He was searching all around, but finally he picked up on him. He was sitting at the corner table by himself; twirling around a cup of the strong rum his parents had a barrel of for the guests. He sat with his usual clothing, a tan tunic with green pants with a red hooded coat over it. He had his hood back, and his light brown hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. His hair however, was very short and the tail barely sagged in the back. His face was defined, but not like Arthas’ and had some minor scruffy facial hair, and hazy blue eyes. As Dante went to sit down he spoke:

    “Why are you coming here when you have so many screaming fans waiting to talk to you?” His mouth curved into a smirk and chuckled at his sarcasm. He had obviously had a few drinks. Dante was wondering whether this was an indicator to go away, or it was just his attempt at humor. He waited in his awkward half sit before Gin finally said “Well sit down then, you have to get to the speeches soon.” And took his glass a gulped down the last swallow of the rum. Dante sat down on the end, wondering what to say first. “Well?” Gin questioned him. Gin was never one for waiting around, but he wasn’t rude about it before. Something had him upset.

    “Um… Well, remember all those years ago when we went to Mushings City?” Dante asked. Gin put the glass on the table, leaned forward and looked him in the eyes and replied; “Of course I do.” Dante didn’t know what Gin leaning forward was supposed to mean.

    “Well, you told of a story about dragons and floating mountains called… Ya’Huae was it? Well I asked you if the story was real, because the other bards said that it was lies, and you told me that you would tell me when I’m older. Well, this may be the last time I see you,” Gin seemed to wince, but maybe he was just sniffing…  “So I was wondering if you could tell me.” It all seemed to pour out at once. Dante wasn’t even able to control the speed, and as the sentence went on, it seemed to come out faster. Gin looked deep into his eyes, and almost made him feel uncomfortable.

    “If I remember correctly, I asked you what you thought first. Look into your heart, leave your sense and think only with what you feel, and answer me, then I will answer you.” The question struck Dante with surprise; he had totally forgotten everything about the discrepancies, even though he was just thinking about it. He closed his eyes, and imagined the place that Gin had described. He imagined the cloudy skies, the floating rocks, and magnificent flying dragons soaring over the sky. He refused to think of the impossibility of flying rocks, and huge vines, and all the flaws in the story, and only thought of the story. In only a minute, Dante had finished and had no doubt in his answer.

    “Yes, I do think it is true. It may sound like nonsense and all; magyk and fairy tales, and the thought that such huge rocks could fly. I believe you Gin. I don’t even think I can clearly tell you why. I have this feeling, deep down. Like some fire inside, one that is just telling me that it’s real. And no matter what anyone says that fire won’t really die down. I feel like it’s been there all along. Whenever I thought of the story, or whenever Arthas has told me it was nonsense and I told myself I believed him, it was still there. And every time I convinced myself, it was still there. So if it’s all the same to you, I don’t need to hear your answer. It won’t really change anything.” Dante leaned back, finally falling into a relaxed state. Gin sat there with only a half smile on his face. Underneath that half smile, however, Dante could sense a hint of respect. Gin, also laying back and throwing his legs up on a nearby stool as a footrest, went on.

    “Well then there is no need for me to explain to you what you already know. Now tell me, do you also believe in Magyk? Or should I say first, have you heard of it?” Gin asked. Dante did not know what to say in response. He had heard of it only in stories of what farmers have said. Some say it is a myth, and others say it was once real, but extinct today, and some say it is still real even today. However, Dante never really put much thought into it.

    “Well… I suppose so. I haven’t really put much thought into it.” Dante replied, and then the little hint of respect that Gin had seemed to fade.

    “What have you put thought into then? What of your upcoming trip, have you thought of that much? Do you have a map there, a guide perhaps? Do you have supplies, or anything planned out? You seem not to put too much thought into much.” Gin said, picking up his glass and handing it to a waitress Dante’s parents have hired who refilled it with more rum.

    “Well… We have supplies, water, food, and all the things we need. However… we don’t actually have a map. We don’t have a guide either, we were just planning to go from town to town and ask directions.” As these words left Dante’s lips, he knew he was going to get yelled at by Gin. He could feel his disappointment building on his shoulders and weighing him down.

    “You have no guide or map, eh? Well, I can’t say I’m surprised…” Gin said, scratching at his scruffy beard. At that point, Dante had an idea.

    “Hey! Why don’t you be our guide?” Dante asked. Gin’s feet fell off the table, and he almost fell over. He regained himself and looked at Dante with concern, but still smirking at the idea.

     “Ha! Me? Be your guide?! You must be joking, right? Why on earth would I travel with you into the bowels of Gredia Vu to the army headquarters just so you can serve as a military dog?” Gin reserved himself, realizing that he may have been a little harsh, and while he may have felt a little sorry, he sure did not show it. Dante sat puzzled for a second, then continued:

    “What do you have against the military? Without an army a country would be in chaos. I mean, they save people, they stand for justice… what’s better than being in the army?” Dante replied. Dante often thought that the army would give him a chance to be somebody. He wanted to be a hero, and defend the weak and slay the evil. He often dreamt of riding into battle and a huge warhorse, wearing shining silver armor and wielding a huge glowing sword. He would ride with his brothers in arms and slay hordes of orcs and goblins, and dark creatures of the like. No matter how big or how strong, or how tough the battle would be, he always pulled through and saved the city.

     “You think that all soldiers are heroes fighting for the good of the people, but in reality you are blind to the fact that some, if not most, soldiers here are truly dogs! They pillage and plunder and take innocent lives with no remorse, just so they can see their mediocre paycheck at the end of the day. Do you ever stop to think in your little daydreams, after you slay a man who had been attacking a village, that you just ended a man’s life? Whether this man was doing bad things or not, he was simply doing what you will be doing, fighting for his country under ‘orders’ and ‘beliefs.’ No matter what that man had done, he was still human and had a family. While I agree that fighting is a part of the world, and must be done in certain circumstances to maintain peace and survive, it is not something to dream about. There is no honor in killing because a man in armor and a badge told you to do so. I will not stop you from becoming a soldier, but I will not help you on your way to become a slave to the military.” Gin picked up his glass, which had been refilled by one of the waiters at the party while Gin had been lecturing Dante. Dante looked down at his hands on his lap. Gin was, unfortunately, right. Dante did always dream about paladins and fighting the dark, but never thought of the horrid aspects of war. And the thought of killing a man with family, it made him sick. If a man killed Arthas, he would certainly hunt the man down, and think of him only as a monster. However, Dante could not shake the idea of becoming a knight.

    “Gin… What happened to make you talk about the army this way? I mean, I understand that war is not as honorable and fun as boys dream of, but they are not all bad people…” Gin sighed, and looked at Dante.

    “I only say things because unlike you, I have experienced it. I have seen entire villages razed to the ground; men, women, children, all killed mercilessly before my very eyes. The worst part of it all, I am sorry to say, is that I was a part of it at one point in my life. However, I left as soon as I realized what it was all about. I lost many of my friends in the war. Most died, and the rest became no better than animals. I myself felt the enjoyment of war…” Gin took a little pause at this line. His face spaced out and he seemed, to Dante, sunken and empty. “But unlike, my friends, I was able to leave the war with my life and my sanity. I dread the day I ever joined the army, however, without it I would not be the man I am today. I learned very valuable lessons, but at a very… costly price. I only do not wish you to go through the same horrors I went through.” Dante felt somewhat grateful to have Gin worry about him, but also annoyed that he was grouping all soldiers like he was. Dante however, could not help but feel sorry for the bard. There were many thoughts and emotions going on in Dante’s head right now, and did not know what to do. He had rarely looked up from his hands during Gins speech. He looked up with a weak smile.

    “Gin, I am sorry about what you went through, but you misjudge soldiers. Not all go just for a paycheck or just to kill. Arthas and I are prime examples. I will go to the army, and I will prove to you that there are good soldiers, and I will be one of them…” Dante said. Gin sighed once more and looked at Dante, his eyes soft now, unlike their usual sharp look.

    “You are destined for greater things, lad. You could be so much more if you only looked deeper than what you are. But enough serious talk, this is a celebration, no? Today should be a day of joy and merriment. Tomorrow will be sad as it is, so let’s just have fun, eh?” Gin finished his drink and stood up. “Besides, I believe your father is going to announce the speeches.” Dante stood and turned around. Gin was right; his father walked up on the elevated platform and rang a cowbell to catch the attention of the guests. Slowly, people quieted down and walked closer to the platform. Dante and Gin stood up simultaneously and walked to the front. Gin stayed near the back of the group, while Dante made his way up next to the platform.

Reviews

[JR Darewood]

I like that you've got a realist's take on war, something that can be kinda rare in fantasy. One constructive criticism, when you started describing Greta Vu in the beginning, i kinda wanted it to be thicker, as if you're there in the moment.