Dante

### Strengths

The generation and manipulation of fire; agility; the ability to endure fire without injury

### Relationships

Michael (tamer)Mars (teammate)Courage (bitter rival)

## Meta Info

### Designer / Creator

BluAirSky(designed with assistance from PáquinhaProductions)

**Dante** is the main protagonist of *The Dhavas.* In appearance, he is a cream-colored rabbit-like mani with red ears and hair. He is Michael's primary mani, and the two are the main characters of the story.

## Biography

Dante was born in northern Arberre, just after the death of Eve, the previous incarnation of the Tenth Dhava. Born free in a very small, independent colony of similar manis, he became lost at a young age, before being found by an employee of the mani care center owned by Dr. Patel. After being notified of Dante's intelligence, Dr. Patel personally oversaw much of Dante's childhood, letting him read books and learn how to write. At this time, Dante named himself, despite having already received a nickname; Dr. Patel learned of his name and accepted it.

On Dante's fifteenth birthday, he is given to a tamer, fourteen-year-old Michael Gallagher. Dr. Patel having been a friend since childhood of Michael's father, Dr. Patel knew of Michael's intelligence and sensitivity, believing Michael to be a good choice for Dante's tamer. Dante was initially heavily opposed to this, but quickly became warm toward Michael's non-interfering personality.

## Role in *The Dhavas*

**Arberre Saga**

Dante plays a large part in the Arberre Saga, although Michael's role is more significant relative to the other parts of the story. He is the agrima (first mani) given to Michael; the two have a tumultuous relationship that frequently dips from high to low throughout the arc. Although the two are understanding and generally respectful to each other, Michael is increasingly overwhelmed by Dante's power, which often goes too far in battle, while Dante feels frustrated by the fact that he must fight and that, since he does, he does not have full free rein. In this arc, he also forges strong friendships with Mars, another one of Michael's manis, as well as Pontius, a mani belonging to Michael's traveling companion Kenji. He begins to become enamored with Mars, but keeps his distance out of fears of complicating things; his friendship with Pontius, on the other hand, has a strong tinge of friendly rivalry.

**Corona Saga**

Dante continues as the captain of Michael's team throughout his travels in Corona; in fact, it is in this part where Michael and Dante act more as equals than tamer and agrima. Dante forms a strong bond with Cielo's mani Virgil over their mutual desire to find fulfillment in their lives as manis, although they often explore this desire by stretching the boundaries of fighting.

**Icchata's Arc**

Dante only appears in the bookends of this part; the part is mostly a flashback focusing on Icchata, a mani who died more than a century before Dante's birth, although it is framed as a retelling made by Dante.

## Personality

Dante's personality changes throughout the series as he changes through multiple sub-incarnations and different circumstances.

Generally, Dante outwardly appears to be reserved and confident, although his true nature is shown through inner monologues and moments where he is pushed emotionally to the brink. Uncertainties about his past, and worries about his future, often dominate his train of thought, causing him to act impulsively due to his lack of regard for the present in any given moment. His interactions with other manis, humans, or other beings are typically awkward and curt, although he appears generally unaware of this. In contrast, there are moments where he seems to show more normal emotion, usually in moments of shock, danger, or other moments of high stress.

## Relationships

**With Michael**

Dante and Michael share a relatively-peaceful - if often punctuated by tension or disagreements - relationship. Michael sees Dante as powerful and smart, but believes that Dante is often compensating for something through his overdramatic actions. Dante, on the other hand, views Michael as smart and civil but too reserved and perhaps, too naïve to control him. Dante has an underlying desire to control more of the direction in which Michael's taming journey is taking him. Despite this, on a day-to-day basis, the two have a positive relationship and are trusting of each other. They have both shown willingness to put themselves on the line to help the other.

**With Pontius**

Dante generally holds a disdain for Pontius, even if there is a shimmer of admiration hidden somewhere within his hatred. Pontius' flirty behavior and growing fixation on his fire powers turns Dante away, and Dante generally despises working with him. Pontius holds a much higher opinion of Dante, but his awareness of Dante's weariness is apparent in his tone in approaching Dante. The two have shown the ability to overcome their differences in certain situations, especially those where Pontius' demeanor is more serious.

## Trivia

- Dante was the first character to be created for the series, and is very loosely based off a species of fire rabbits created for *Fantasy Monsters*, a previous Pokémon-inspired universe created years ago.

- Dante's design has changed more than any other character; his original design had floppy ears and markings under his eye resembling the Eye of Horus.

- Dante's signature shirt contains a stylized version of the Chinese character 火 ("fire").

- Dante is of virtually the same height as Michael, not including his ears.