The Experiment

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Durante degli Alighieri

Age

600 "or so"


Gender

Male

Race

Golem

Transeescence

0

Archetype

The Poet

Faction

???

Voiced By

???

Drawn By

???

Durante degli Alighieri, or The Experiment, or Dante, is a Dream Guide, specifically one that is available to Kazuki Kamata. He is the first draft of Auguste Rodin's Thinker, although he has been given life following Italian experiments in alchemy.

Backstory/History

Originally, the Thinker was meant to represent Dante as he contemplated another of Rodin's works, namely The Gates of Hell. Rodin however, had been largely unaware of Dante's history; in life, Dante had been a very good friend to Prince Guido Novello da Polenta, who was the lord of Ravenna. Dante's last service to Guido was that of a successful diplomatic meeting with Venice in 1321, the result of which was a peace treaty and trade agreement which would "last all eternity". Dante died immediately afterwards however, as he had contracted malaria while in Venice. Such was well until the 1400s. Venice became a war-torn city, having fought with the Ottoman Empire from 1423 to 1718. In the midst of this, Venice participated in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, fought with the Turks from 1644 to 1699, and was then conquered by Napoleon in 1796. In 1797, Napoleon signed Venice over to the Austrian state. Venice then became part of Napoleon's territory (Italy) again in accordance to the 1805 Treaty of Pressburg, and then became part of Austria again in 1815 as part of the Final Act of the Vienna Congress, and became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. This Kingdom suffered a similar war history until 1866, when it was ceded to Italy following the Peace of Prague.

In 1880, when Venetian alchemists heard that Rodin had completed a casting for a likeness of Dante, they paid Rodin a visit. They promised that Rodin would be revered until the end of time in exchange for this casting, and that the final draft of Dante be less accurate. Rodin agreed. The last drafts of the Thinker would be unclothed and far more muscular. These alchemists were strongly for an independent Venice, and had long realized that it would be nearly impossible to transmute one form of metal to another while turning a profit, nor would it be possible to create organisms with a soul from organic matter. Their plan was to reverse and combine the two concepts: imbue a soul into a purely metal being that could transmute organic matter into gold. The alchemists prepared for many problems; what would happen if the soul couldn't be found, what would happen if they didn't put enough mana into the sculpture, and so on. But for all their care, they were unprepared for one thing: success. To put it mildly, those alchemists were never heard from again. But what of the golem?

The golem was indeed Dante, but he had no reason to be alive. Even if he could accustom himself to the modern era, and even if he wouldn't be hunted down for being a living statue/scientific curiosity, he would be unable to truly produce art. He set about trying to kill himself several times, but never with any success. He was no magi, and even if he was, he would be 500 years behind. However, he did remember what he had written. In his epic Divine Comedy, Dante begins with a segment called Inferno, in which Dante is guided by Virgil into through Hell. Hell itself is depicted as circles of suffering within the Earth, and Dante figured he would be able to die if he literally became one with the center of the Earth. To abbreviate Dante's woeful tale, he is now part of the Earth's core. While Kazuki is unfamiliar with all of the details past 1880, his brain filled in the gaps and for the most part, the post-mortem golem can serve as a loyal (but unmotivated) ally.

Personality

Dante is solemn and firm as a person. Ordinarily, he'd "stop at nothing" to get what he wants, but there isn't anything he wants. He is loyal above all else.

Physical Appearance

Dante has the appearance of a bronze statue, depicting a somewhat-muscular but old man (Basically a less-flattering Thinker).

In-game Data

Powers and Abilities

Dante is a poet, but as a bronze statue, he isn't exactly subject to pain.

Design Notes