Post by Dante Vance on Sept 4, 2020 15:22:51 GMT -5
Face Claim: Niko Ohlsson
Player: Lux/Lynx
CHARACTER NAME: Dante Vance
AGE: 39
BIRTHDAY: September 23rd
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Teronna
APPEARANCE: Dante stands at an even, 6-feet tall, and weighs in at 165lbs. Being the active man that he is, his body is built well despite his lean appearance.
Dante somehow manages to capture ‘rugged’ and ‘well put together’ all at once. His nearly dark brown hair, in which a few grey strands have started to appear, is kept a bit longer towards the front than in the back and is mostly left to do whatever it pleases on any given day. Thick eyebrows sit heavy over his bright, green eyes and his facial hair barely passes for kempt. Even so, when adorning any combination of finer clothing - and getting a decent grooming in at the least - his entire appearance comes together nicely, making him look as if he’s just another well-off nobleman. He does prefer a more casual style, however, with nothing more than a simple pair of pants and a shirt.
MARITAL STATUS: Divorced/Single
FAMILY TIES:
Rita Vance - Mother[61]
Daniel Vance - Father[65]
Annette Colson - Ex-wife[35]
Thomas Vance - Son[13]
POSITION/OCCUPATION: Military
TITLE/RANK: Captain
GRAMARYE GIFT: None
PERSONALITY: On the outside, Dante comes off as gruff - callous even - and hard to read. He’s a man of few words, but when he does speak, it is casual, monotonous. He doesn’t indulge idle chit-chat, but rather prefers conversations that get the gears turning and makes people think. Being something of a critical thinker, oftentimes brooding away during his very short spurts of spare time, Dante tends to ask questions and reach conclusions that others may not typically think of. He’s always exploring the various ‘what-ifs’ on any given subject which can lead to some very interesting theories.
More often than not, Dante is straight-forward and to the point. Laughing and joking around like any other person might do just isn’t something you’ll ever get out of him. You’ll be lucky to get a smile, sympathetic or otherwise. He’s quite the serious one, and tends to mean exactly what he says, exactly how he says it. There is never any reason to question what his words mean as he’s always very clear and concise.
Dante is no-nonsense, engages nothing he perceives as a waste of time, and follows orders dutifully - within reason. He is a man that values loyalty, valiance, and intelligence above all else. Dedicated and ambitious, it’s no surprise he’s come so far in his military career, and even less of a surprise how much pride he takes in serving his great kingdom. While you won’t hear him boast passionately about it, he’ll certainly tell you in his usual, matter-of-fact, deadpan tone that he simply loves his kingdom and would make any sacrifice to defend it.
HISTORY: Dante’s lineage is Teronnian, all the way back to his ancestors - according to the stories he was told as a child - with both Mystics and non-mystics within the family line. While he himself did not inherit anything special, one of his parents did. His father had always had an overly keen eye, it seemed. There wasn’t a detail that went unnoticed. It was a surprising stroke of luck that his father’s gramarye was easy enough to hide and did not change their day-to-day life when Teronna suddenly turned sour.
Dante was a young fourteen when the riots erupted. He watched the senseless murder of Mystics, several non-mystics also falling in battle as those with gramayres fought for their lives. He bore witness to a paranoid king that would stop at nothing to keep his throne secure. Or so, that is what Dante believes. What king would slaughter their people, mystic or not, under the guise of kingdom security when all had been well before? In the heat of it all, Dante was able to secure the lives of a few mystics by guiding them to the safest paths out of the kingdom. However, at such a young age, and with his family’s own safety on the line for harboring and smuggling mystics - his father being one of them - against the King’s orders, it was all he could do..
All his life, his parents taught him that a life was a life, no matter how different that life may seem to be. It taught him to be compassionate, always wanting to do the right thing, no matter what. Dante never discriminated. He saw each individual as just that; an individual, with their own unique lives and stories to tell. Perhaps that’s why it never made much sense when he joined the military at the earliest age possible, seemingly a hypocrite to his core beliefs when adorning his military uniform. But he had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Dante proved himself loyal to his comrades and kingdom. He fought alongside them, carrying out orders as he was told, using his own judgement when he deemed it necessary. Away from witnessing eyes, Dante often let Mystics live, even falsely clearing areas to his team in the event he came across Mystics that were only trying to survive. His cunning and precision coupled with his straight-forward personality made him easy to trust when he said the job was done. It created no question, no doubt in his superiors’ minds. In fact, he was almost renowned.
Around the age of 21, after being promoted to Corporal, Dante met a young woman by the name of Annette at a ball to celebrate a royal affair. An up-and-coming noblewoman, she was lovely, cultured, and intelligent. The two of them seemed to have an instant, blossoming romance and after two short years of courtship, they were betrothed, getting married shortly after.
While Dante was away quite often, their love for each other never seemed to falter. That is, until Thomas was born. The weight of raising a child for the now 22-year old Annette and not having her husband there to help and comfort her put strain on their relationship, though they still tried their hardest to make it work. They loved each other dearly, loved their son even more and Dante was a great father. But with each day that Dante was barely home or not home at all, their connection seemed to burn out.
It seemed Dante didn’t notice the lack of enthusiasm his wife used to share when he’d return home, nor did he notice how withdrawn she’d become. He was too focused on his career, too preoccupied with moving up the military ladder. In all this, he’d assumed his wife and son would always be there, that they’d wait until his position was a little more steady, a little more satisfactory. But alas, Annette did not wait. Feeling like her own husband was a stranger, the two were divorced when Thomas was only 10-years old. Even in the grief, it seemed there was a blessing to be had as well as Dante was soon promoted to Lieutenant shortly after the divorce.
His son had chosen to live with his mother, but Dante visited often, even if Annette would have preferred him not to. While Dante wished that they could have made their marriage work, that he might have done things a little differently, it also provided him freedom and more room to move. More time to focus on his ambitions. Soon, all things came to fruition when Dante was promoted to Captain shortly after his 39th birthday. Since then, he’s seen to it that Thomas becomes a capable young man and he and Annette appear to be on slightly better terms these days, though it’s still very apparent that Dante is as devout as ever to his career.
Fun Facts:
- He has never drank alcohol or otherwise used any recreational substance in his life. He even avoids caffeine and sweets.
- He hopes to one day help Teronna achieve peace with the Mystics so that everyone may live alongside one another like they once did. This is a secret only he knows.
- He has played a hand in some Mystics being spared.
- Dante’s motto is: “Think for yourself.” He often stresses this to his men before battle or carrying out orders.
- Dante and Annette divorced just over three years ago.
- Does not do well with being intimate or getting close to people, hence part of the reason why his marriage failed.
- Almost always has an expression that borders on the scowling side of the spectrum.
- Does not dance. At all. For any reason. Ask Annette what her only gripe at their wedding was.