Attilius Di Natale

Oberyn and Attilius returned to Canahs on 23rd July 275 AC and were welcomed by the representatives of the major families of Lys. Even the families that were not directly involved in the benefits of the three islands within the Stepstones send participants to welcome one of the more famous sellswords regiments. They all wanted to leave a good impression on the second son of Dorne and the hero of the arena. But their real target was the young son of the Di Natale family. Their eyes became red by the thought of all the benefits they missed because they didn't receive an invitation. Isabella was already bothered by all the noble families as they received way more invitations to banquets and dances in the last couple of weeks than at ordinary times.

As everyone waited for Emilio di Natale to welcome the heroes of Lys back home a figure suddenly rushed out of the crowd and straight into the arms of Attilius. Anika was already crying, and she desperately hugged her husband who left her for over half a year. She spent every day trying to focus on her son by the idea of potentially becoming a widow and losing all the happiness she finally gained after many years of being a courtesan and never knowing what might happen the next day, kept her awake at night. The few nights of sleep she gained had been filled with nightmares of receiving Attilius' death notice.

The poor woman cried for five minutes straight and only stopped after falling asleep in the hands of the man she dearly missed for so many months. Attilius obviously was deeply disturbed and ashamed by the situation of his wife. He would have never believed to cause such a large trauma upon the woman he dearly loved and that gifted him a son and continuation of his life. He instantly made the decision to tone down his thirst for adventure for the coming years and focus back on his family and the training of the Di Natale soldiers.

After the sad but heartwarming part was finally finished Emilio di Natale formally welcomed Oberyn back and cheers broke out in the port of Canahs. There was a grand welcome banquet at the Di Natale estate, which has been grandly decorated and was full of happiness and laughter. When the most important leaders of the Red Viper Regiment and the representatives of the noble families gathered in the biggest banquet hall, Amando Di Natale made an announcement that would soon shock everybody in the mercenary circle:

"On behalf of the Di Natale family I would like to announce that Attilius, the first gladiator of Lys, will now have the honor to carry the family name of the House Di Natale. Because of the honor he brought to the family and the resources he gained for the family with his life on the line he his and family will from now on and forever be a part of House Di Natale. Additionally, he will gain a certain percentage in all the businesses we will develop in the three islands of the Stepstones. House Di Natale will never forget the hero's that shed blood for the honor and fortune of our family. Long live Attilius Di Natale!"

While a commotion of cheers and surprise broke out across the banquet hall, as something like this has never happened before, Attilius stood up full of surprise and with tears in his eyes. Even though he was the hero of the arena, even though the house of Di Natale gifted him freedom, in this feudal society he was still always frowned upon. No noble would ever forget that int he ends, he was a little orphan and a slave to begin with. Even though he was happy with what he achieved, he still was secretly extremely unhappy that he hid a hidden ceiling and just couldn't receive the same treatment. But Amando di Natale suddenly broke this cage, that trapped Attilius invisibly. He welcomed him not only in the House of Di Natale but in the ruling power of this society, in the circle of nobles. He was moved:

"Thank you, my lord, for the honor House Di Natale grants me. I swear on behalf of the blood flowing in my veins, I will always keep the honor of House Di Natale in my heart. If the family needs me, my sword will never rest. Long live Di Natale".

"Long live Di Natale", screamed all the Guardians and their family in response.

Victor watched all this happening with please. It was his idea to include soldiers trained by the family in House Di Natale, if they loyalty was assured, and they made major contributions to the family. House Di Natale was still too small in numbers and only relying on Isabella and Victors generation would be a very slow process. Introducing a few extremely talented and powerful individuals would improve the family at a faster rate and keep a certain family dynamic. If you wanted to gain the resources of the family, you needed to compete with talented individuals introduced into the family. House Di Natale would never support any second-generation wastes.

Amando's speech was not yet finished, and he continued:

"House Di Natale will also not forget all the hard work of the regular Red Viper regiment. The slave soldiers of Di Natale conquered three islands and showed to the Stepstones but also to the Known World the quality of House Di Natale and the value of our soldier training. I hereby announce that all slave soldiers will be set free as a reward for the bravery they showed and achievements they made. House Di Natale will grant them with a piece of land on the islands they conquered and will furthermore pay to build a house for all of them. They will be included into the ranks of Attilius Di Natale's private soldiers and guard the three islands of the Stepstones, but not only as a duty, but also because it is their future home. Long live Di Natale!"

Oberyn and Attilius were extremely delighted as the announcement finished. They have already thought about how to set their brothers free, but were to disturbed to bring it up, as they were the private property of House Di Natale, a very valuable property at that. But over the course of the last months, they all trusted their backs to one another's, and they became life and death brothers. Now hearing that all their worries were relieved and that they gained so many benefits, the mood of everybody instantly reached the climax! Laughter and happiness never once stopped for the whole night and House Di Natale celebrated another memorable night.