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Dante Malachai Nightwing
Squire of The Round Table
Growing up.
Dante Nightwing was born Malachi Dagan on October fourteenth to Jarrold and Calista Dagan in the lands of Philemon. He is the youngest son of four children. The youngest child overall, Aniah Dagan, was Ophelia's last born before she died. The Dagan family was prominent within Philemon and notable for their trait of relying heavily upon magic.
Jarrold forced all of the Dagan children into the magic field, so all four in their youth studied the magic books. Leviticus and Davion, Malachi's two brothers, thrived in the field of the mage, as did Aniah. But Malachi, who by the age of nine was taller and overall bigger than both of his brothers, did not do so well and became the butt of ridicule because of it.
However Malachi did spend a great deal of time in books, particularly ones that spoke of Knights and other (non-magical) warriors. So, it came as no surprise that he wanted to become a knight. Jarrold did not approve and, unable to accept that one of his sons were not skilled in magic, forced him to study more. He was not allowed to go beyond the castle walls lest he get any more ideas from those beyond it.
Semi-resigned to his occupational fate, he dove into the books. What he thrived on in particular, much to his father's approval, was not magic, but manners. Malachi had a way of manners that earned approval from the adults, particularly the nobility when the Dagan family was invited to some ball or another. What Malachi would not tell though, was that he learned his manners from the books of knighthood that he read constantly and relied upon the code of chivalry.
Ideas and Ideals.
Another art that Malachi thrived on was Languages, particularly Drow. His father had started teaching him on it when he was eleven, but by thirteen he was fluent, and could carry on full complex conversation in the tongue. Aside from that, he had also knew Latin (in order to read the bible and some magic spells), and learned a great deal of spanish and french. Though the rest of the Dagan siblings also knew Latin, only Malachi knew it well enough to be able to translate the more difficult words of some spells that the others were working on.
The more Malachi grew (he was 6'1", 200lbs by seventeen!), likewise did his desire to join the knighood as well as his older brothers' tendency to make fun of him for it. He still had not gotten better at magic over the years, and, even at the age of seventeen, he could barely recite a proper healing spell, much less the complex incantations the rest of his siblings were able to perform. However in the coming months and years, he would find that his life was to change drastically, whether he thought it to be good or bad.
The customs of Philemon were that the firstborn son of a family was to begin to take over his father's estates and family business at the age of eighteen. Those that were not a firstborn, who did not recieve a share of this inheritance, were to go out and find their own fortune, also at the age of eighteen. Davion had already left a year earlier, presumably to study magic in the north and Leviticus was already starting his duties as head of household. So, on Malachi's eighteenth birthday he was given some food, a travelling cloak and a new pair of boots and promptly sent away. Thus his journey into the world, for which he knew nothing of save for what was read in the old tomes in the library, began....
Stow Away.
The first year of Malachi's journey consisted of aimless wandering and exploring. From Philemon, he moved northward, stopping at every village he came to in order to learn about the lands he stood in. After spending a few days in a village he would move on. When he reached seas, he stowed away upon one of the ships docking that day and sailed over to the next lands. The ship in particular was named Lusitania. The people aboard were mostly if not all spaniards. Towards the third week of voyage, Malachi was caught on the ship. After much pleading to the Captain, Malachi was allowed to remain on the ship and in order to pay off his debt for stowing away, he became a temporary sailor. And so, over those nine weeks, Malachi worked hard on the ship. Though he did not get paid for it in gold, he did gain more physical strength, as well as knowledge about the lands they were sailing into. Apparently they were heading towards the Elven kingdom, of the name Lorien.
The Golden Wood.
Beyond those lands, they said, was a vast human kingdom. Towards the end of his first year he finally set first foot upon Lorien. By this time he was extremely low on money, and spent three months in the Elven lands, working odd jobs and earning gold. Elves are by nature wary of humans, but those that he worked with warmed up to him after the first two weeks. Once enough gold was accumulated Malachi once more packed his things and moved forward. Villages were few and far in between in these lands, so Malachi found himself more often than not sleeping out in the open, save for the few times he found a lone cabin to which some hermit offered their shelter to him. It did speed up his travel, and so in two week's time he found himself in the human kingdom the sailors spoke of...Trastamare. In a week's time Malachi found himself in on of Trastamare's major castles, Saint Aliquis.
A Dream Realized.
Saint Aliquis was a relatively large castle-city, but much different from Philemon. Foot soldiers guarded the castle from its high towers that oversaw the drawbridge. People flowed freely in and out of the Castle gates, and so Malachi thought that, much like in Lorien, he would remain just another traveller. However the Dagan name was a noble one even across the sea, and upon finding out of Malachi's surname, the King sent for him. The King would identify himself as Conon. After eating a hearty supper, Malachi spoke to the King of his dreams to become a knight, and the circumstances which brought him to the King's door. After much consideration, the King agreed to allow Malachi as one of the castle squires. A year later, Malachi recieved the knightly buffet and given the title of "Sir". For two years, Malachi remained within Saint Aliquist as a Knight-errant and was regarded as one of the best. However, Malachi's happiness was to be short lived.
