Early Childhood

Dante was born somewhere in the southern parts of the Roxmore Planes to of the Kingdom of Navara. In 1549, at the age of 5 winters, both of his parents where killed by the The Inquisition. Dante himself was smuggled to Krath and from there to Port Valor and finally to Dorcica in the Vintian Imperium by a family friend named Oliver Jerovini who was teaching in a local school there.
 
Dante was promptly admitted to study in the local school of the Fellowship of The Ponderer. Despite the initial language gap, and after many hours of tutoring he graduated with honors in 1561. Later that summer he was offered a position of scribe in the Vintian Museum of Magical Heritage and after shot consideration he left for Vintia with Jerovini's blessing.
 

Living In Vintia

Compared to the relatively open spaces and slow pace of Dorcica, Vintia was a different beast. The city never seemed to pause or even slow down. While the city offered any number of attractions, deviations and forms of entertainment, Dante found that life as a scribe can be brutal. The hours where long and the pay was meager, what little he managed to save each month was quickly eaten up by the costs of simply living. As if not enough to be alone in the big city, Dante also had to deal with his new mentor more than eccentric behavior.
 
While absolutely brilliant, Tiberius Portoriani was not known for his social skills, or any other skill that did not involve a very complicated and deep field of research. Dante would often find himself going through piles of scrolls and journals, trying to make sense of his mentor's inconceivable scribbling. Tiberius' tendency to arrive at unannounced at his doorstep also did nothing to improve Dante's mental state.
 
By the end of his first year in Vintia, and with a mountain of papers behind him, Dante was more than ready to return back to Dorcia for the summer. While there, he exchanged his experiences with Oliver, walked the outskirts and documented the changes since he left. The first month went by and Dante began to be fearful of going back to Vintia. Knowing the labor that awaits him, he dreaded to see Tiberius again.
 
Despite his doubts, and with some convincing from Oliver, Dante return to Vintia. As soon as he arrived he was greeted by a new mountain of papers. Tiberius often said, "no rest for the wicked," and wicked he was. The man has probably never shut an eye during the summer break. With a heavy hearth Dante began to toil once more, curating his mentor's gibberish and fixing his grammatical errors.
 

The Breakthrough

On the 3rd of Latspri, 1565, after almost a full three years of living in Vintia and seeing nothing but calculations and theories, Dante was at wits ends. The moons illuminated the street under his window. Hoards of students, scribes, just like him, celebrating the end of another year, probably under less harsh mentors who actually deal with the artifacts they write about. And here he was, sitting in his musky room in the 4th floor, solving for one rojo after another. Eventually he fell asleep as magical fireworks and illusions danced merrily under his window.
 
In his dream, Dante stood in front of statue of The Ponderer. They where both trapped in a maze of epic proportions, stretching to infinity and beyond and made up entirely from the Tiberius' notes. Trying to get out of the mess, The Ponderer began re-arranging the notes, connecting them together with threads. He took old, nearly faded parchments and placed them next to brand new ones, easily making sense of the madman's writings. Waking up in a scare, he already had the theory ready in his mind, all he had to do is execute it.
 
He started gathering the notes as the magical flares and fireworks continue to dance next to his window. At first he pilled the articles by field, than by specific subjects and finally by length, putting the longest parts at the bottom of each stack. What started as an academic nightmare revealed its true glory in almost an instant. Intros written mere days ago for expositions from before the current decade, attached to a long paper written during a sabbatical a few years ago. Broken apart, the note are nearly meaningless, but when put together they reveal an extremely in depth and methodological study of the applications for arcane lensing in imbalanced astral pockets. Another collection provided a lengthy explanation of Junction Precession.
 
By the following week Dante had completed the first leg of their project. This newfound understanding into Tiberius' archaic methods proved to also be beneficial to their relationship. Dante quickly found that if you know how to accurately connect Tiberius' ramblings the man is a font of knowledge. Together the two achieved breakthrough after breakthrough, revealing the origins of long lost artifacts. Dante wished to go and explore these new found ruins but Tiberius kept refusing. Despite his refusals, for the first time since he arrived in Vintia, Dante would not return to Dorcica for the summer, as the two were hard at work, and making progress.
 

The Expedition

In early spring of 1566, during his 4th year in Vintia, Tiberius invites Dante to join him to a nearby Darseran dig site the two have previously help locate. The trip was a phenomenal success. The several artifacts that were found will provide enough research to occupy an entire sect for the foreseeable future. Tiberius however, was not pleased, and frustratingly enough, refused to share his thoughts with anyone else.
 

The Opening of The Maw

on the 3rd of Midsum 1568, Dante and Tiberius return to Vintia from a short expedition to the Commonwealth of Luthen, only to find the harbor district almost completely devastated from a series of earthquakes. While not having a direct hand in the matter, Tiberius confessed to feel guilty, citing he knew about the "hole in the world."
 
Dante spent the next 2 years researching another mystery. Tiberius, once simply dumping the entirety of his work on Dante, began to become somewhat selective in what he passed to his apprentices, Dante included. After a long period of no new insight or clear goals, Tiberius simply declared the project was complete and that their team is moving forward.
 
The following years have proven productive. Dante became Tiberius second, managing his research and overseeing the rest of the apprentices. Tiberius would also confine with him and regularly ask for advice. The once mentor-student relationship has slowly became a fast and lasting friendship. Even with this founded friendship, Tiberius never revealed why he was upset in the Darseran dig site or what the mysterious project was about.
 

Tiberius Goes Missing

Sometime in early Midfal of 1571 and without prior warning Tiberius stopped showing up at the lab. Asking around Dante only managed to find that he was "working on a personal project." With his mentor eccentric behavior as the explanation, Dante resumed his duties, assuming Tiberius was again lost within his thoughts in some remote dig site.
 
In Erlfal the following year Dante received a very short and concise letter from his mentor urging him to meet him in Navara, deep within Lake Kadia and the Kadian Dominion lands. The reason for the unexpected, and certainty dangerous journey was simply cited as an "important discovery we must see through."
 

In the Kadian Dominion

Deciding to go look for Tiberius, Dante once again found himself being smuggled across borders. Living the imperium towards the Republic of Krath proved to be easy enough, but crossing from the republic and into the dominion proved less easy. Dante quickly found out the tales of zero tolerance for any deity outside of the Dogma of The Four were not exaggerated. Masquerading as a priest of Talador he finally crossed the border into the Kingdom of Navara.
 
Wherever he went, he found evidence of Tiberius presence. From town to town, roadside inn to roadside inn, Tiberius left a clear trail for his apprentice to follow. Hidden in specific books or by letters handed to innkeepers, these half coded messages showed the way, but not the final destination or even the purpose of the journey. The trail was pointing towards Navara, with signs that Tiberius left for Ammand after that.
 
Arriving at the city of Navara, Dante found conflicting evidence. In a hastily written message, his mentor mentioned he has chosen to suddenly change his course and head east towards the Archduchy of Taldir and the Northern Amadels instead of west towards the Kingdom of Ader. Once again, no reason was given.
 
Dante finally arrived to Taldirin in Midwin 1572. As he did in every town prior, he first went to the city's most famous tavern, the Stonehill Inn. As luck would have it, Tiberius has left a message for Dante with a local hunter named Falcon, claiming to wait for him in a particular spot just east of Taldir's Gate. Not wasting time, Dante ventured forward, leaving Taldirin behind as he rode towards the mountains.
 

The Lair

Sometime between leaving Taldirin and arriving at Debye Pass, Dante was captured. Along with several others, he was trapped while his mind is being used against him. Locked in an endless nightmare he and his new acquaintances were slowly eaten alive. Eventually they managed to break out of the horror and flee the trap that was evidently set by an injured mind flayer.
 
Roaming the caverns, Dante and the group found another survivor, nearly completely amnesiac save for his name and statue, Patric Guaspard the Arch Duke of Taldir. No knowing if he speaks the truth or not, they take him along anyway. Along the way they stumble upon another group escorting a cleric of Eyre on a mission to bestow a curse on his brother, Aryon Villus Siggurddock. After a very stormy night, and a ritual that left the cleric as a pile of ashes, the group continues west towards Taldirin.
 

The Dragon

On the 20th of Midspri, as they make their way back, Dante and the group witness a strange monolith, only for him to be kidnapped by a lady referring to herself as Venadora. After a short interrogation, Venadora reveals herself to be a Gold Dragon and implores Dante to find her missing brother. She than s him to Taldirin, where he materialized a day later on a bed in the Drake's Wind in front of Bran Ashmore who accompanied him on the road back.