GERM

Dante has spent his life in the secluded Village of Riverant, curious about the world beyond its walls but kept there and trained over the years by his caretaker, Rita, for his own safety. His questions about his true origins seem destined to remain unanswered—until two students, Terra and Xavien, arrive, drawn by rumors of a boy who is part man, part beast arrive to the village one day.

Offering Dante the chance to leave and discover not only what's outside of the walls, but his true heritage, they invite him to the Kingdom of Auradelle. A successful and prospering kingdom in the Eastern Region. But as a Dragonborn, Dante must face the challenges of blending into a society that not only fears, but will rid of his kind if found out. Will the two students be his key to freedom and what he's always wanted to know, or will the outside world prove more dangerous than he ever imagined and it all be for naught.

Only one way to find out...

SYPHER

"It's been some time since you've come back here. Hopefully, things have been well on your end."

"I've been OK. How about you and Mom…"

The two sat in silence as they looked away from one another slightly. The others noticed the awkwardness seated in the air. Terra's mother looked over to see me standing there and pointed to me.

"Who's that child behind you? He's awfully silent over there; it'd be rude not to introduce ourselves to one of our daughter's companions, would it not?"

She slowly walked over to Terra and Reno and bowed in my direction.

"Hello there, young one. My name is Natasha Farren; I'm Terra's mother. It's an honor to meet one of her trusted companions."

"Mom, the formalities aren't necessary…"

"No, no! I simply have to adhere to the formalities of-"

I slowly began to bow my head, as I've seen it done many times by the others throughout the last few days. It felt common courtesy to do so in the kingdom, so I followed suit.

"My name is Dante. I'm from Riverant Village, out by the Eurus Mountains."

As I looked up at the group, everyone's faces seemed shocked. I couldn't tell if I had done something wrong until her mother let out an audible gasp. Her eyes were focused solely on me as she approached quickly. The sudden reaction worried me as she got closer and in my face. She suddenly grabbed my hands and began to speak.

"I heard what happened there! Those adventurers were some bad apples, honestly. I'm sorry you had to go through their attack if you were there…"

Grant stepped up as he coughed loudly to gain their attention.

"Ahem… I've gathered that these three were the main reasons the adventurers were cared for. But that's just from what I've heard."

Her eyes widened as she looked at me with bright eyes. She suddenly pulled me into a hug, and I began to be smothered within her seemingly ample bosom. I could barely get a word out as her grip was too firm, almost as strong as Rita's.

"You defended your hometown so earnestly and bravely! I could only imagine what it was like having to defend. It must have taken all your strength to take on those three."

Terra walked over quickly, pulling me and her mother apart from her grasp. Seemingly annoyed at how everything was going, she stood in between the two of us.

"Yes, we ended up helping him defend his village…How we got there is complicated, but everything turned out fine, thanks to everyone's help."

"I see, I see," Natasha said, looking me up and down again. She then seemed to ponder something before asking me another question.

"Dante, what family do you belong to? You don't seem too familiar, as I've had vendors from Riverant come this way…"

I stood silently as the thought of families came along again. The family name had been significant to me from the talks before meeting with Grant.

"Would this change their view of me if I said I didn't belong to a family?"

I thought as time began to slow down. One of my many worries in arriving at the kingdom suddenly shined once more as my mouth quivered at the thought of answering this question.

"I… don't have a family name… I don't know of my mom and dad, but I'd been taken care of by—"

"You don't need to speak any more! You poor thing!"

Her eyes began to water, and tears suddenly fell down her face. She moved to Reno and buried her face into his chest, annoyedly rubbing the back of her head to comfort her. He looked at Terra and continued speaking, seemingly curious about the events.

"So it was true; that rumor was about your lot. You two were the rumored students; this is the nameless one that helped with said adventurers. That's the picture being painted here, right…?"

We looked at each other and nodded in agreement as we confirmed his question.

New Kid On The Block - Chapter 7