Danusdi

Danusdi (b. June 2, 322), also called Acorn Dan, is a pantherine knight in the service of King Harroro of Alpatlian. Born the second son to a family of traveling merchants, Danusdi was sent to the common school for military training at the age of 7. He had a natural talent for war and at 16 was allowed to transfer to the Alpatlian calmecac to be trained alongside noble sons.

In his adolescence he won glory for himself by participating in flower wars and little-brother tournaments. He worked as an instructor in the calmecac for five years, before becoming the personal trainer for King Harroro.

Appearance and Personality
A lifetime of military training has given Danusdi a toned soldier's body. His skin has tanned to a warm copper. His brown eyes are perpetually hungry. Danusdi keeps himself clean and clean-shaven, but lets his hair grow out to his shoulders. In combat he grins constantly.

Danusdi is a risk-taker and possesses a keen mind for strategy and tactics. His personal combat skills are well-known. He is a show-off and eager for recognition by the nobility, though he retains a connection to the commoner class he was born into.

Early Life
Danusdi was born in Alpatlian on June 2, 324 years after the city's founding, in the reign of King Miquizah. His father was an ambitious, alcoholic, Alpatleco traveling merchant and his mother was half-Southern Sands nomad. Danusdi was beaten regularly by his father. He has an older brother and several sisters.

Danusdi traveled the Itlatla with his family as a little boy, picking up a number of languages, including Trader Talk and hand-singing. Danusdi's father ran into financial trouble and sent him to the common school when he was seven years old. The brutal training regime was intended to mold him into a common soldier. Danusdi excelled in hand-to-hand combat and earned fame winning little brother of war tournaments. In one of these tournaments he befriended Yuwetsi, a noble son who agreed to teach Danusdi what he was learning in the calmecac.

When he was 14 years old, North Coast pirates raided Alpatlian in response to King Miquizah's attack on Mayalu. This was Danusdi's first real war. He saved the life of Tazanehi, who endorsed his entrance into the Alpatlian Calmecac. Danusdi had no friends in the school because of his low heritage. Even Yuwetsi abandoned him to maintain his reputation. His instructors were harsh on him as well.

Career
Danusdi graduated from the Calmecac in 345, at the age of 21. As a merchant's son, he was barred from the ranks of the aquilines, instead becoming a pantherine.