"Hey, Dante. Do you know anything about the "family" system here in the kingdom? I don't know if I truly went over that with you yet."
"Not exactly... I noticed you and Xavien mentionin' something of the sort."
Terra turned to Dante as the three stood in a circle along the sidewalk. She felt that if there was any time for him to understand this, it would be before he got ready to enter the Academy as a student.
"Families are something that everyone typically belongs to, yes?"
"I'd assume so…"
"So, in hindsight, Families are established from the head, as your last name signifies which you belong to."
"...Go on…"
"Depending on the 'class" of your family, it establishes where you stand in society, especially here in the kingdom."
"...Uh huh...?"
"If you don't belong to a higher standing family, or just a regular one, you're seen as someone who's 'nameless."
Dante put his hand to his chin, thinking deeply about the information he was receiving. Though it sounded simple, he didn't know something was so important in the outside world. He wondered why it'd be so important before Terra continued.
"Nameless people typically have a harder time regarding many aspects, such as work or obtaining certain information. Though they can uproot the issue by being accepted into a family."
"Wait, you can be accepted into a family?"
"Yep! If the head allows, you can take people into your family, giving them the rights and level of access that other family members have. Even if you already have a family name, you can join a family through many means. Such as if you were joining gilded families that run like a guild or through hiring and work. Making things possible for even nameless to be added."
"Wow, that's a nifty system."
Terra pointed at Xavien, who seemed distracted by more students passing by; she continued to state more information.
"Even people like Xavien, who belong to a lower standing family, can be brought in by a family to raise their status. Like mine, the Farren family."
Xavien looked back, seemingly momentarily confused, until he realized the conversation and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, my family name doesn't hold much of a candle to Terra's. But it's convenient to be on good terms with hers. They basically took care of my basic needs and tuition. Though I've had to work for anything extra since Terra won't let me mooch off her.". He then nudged Terra's shoulder with his as she gave him an annoyed look. Dante considered such a thing necessary to the kingdom and how it'd affect him. He looked back to the two before speaking once more.
"So being nameless is really a disadvantage, isn't it?"
Terra tilted her head at the question since she believed that was probably the easiest thing to understand, but she began questioning something about his statement.
"Dante, do you have a family name? I mean, you stayed with Rita all of this time… You'd just take hers on, no?"
"I never knew if she had one."
Terra and Xavien looked at one another in shock as they both exclaimed.
"WHAT!?"
The sound of their yell caused a jolt of shock to Dante as they approached him. He'd never thought about asking since he never heard mention of her name or the mention of family names meaning so much in the first place. So, he felt he had minimal reason to question such a thing since it didn't matter too much.
"It's just not something that seemed too important. I don't even have one from what I know, and I've been fine all this time."
The two stared at him before they began to ponder. Dante tilted his head in confusion, and the two turned back to him and gave him an intense stare. Clearly, to Dante, this was a serious matter that needed to be resolved before they pressed on any further.
"Well, you need to belong to a family to attend the Academy; those are the rules… Do you really have no last name whatsoever?" Xavien questioned.
"Yep. No last name at all."
"That's troublesome…"
Terra suddenly brimmed with brightness as she looked at the two with full eyes. She figured out how to deal with their issue.
"Why not just come up with a name? You can always establish your family name when you gain residency in the kingdom. So why not do so when we set up your paperwork with the Academy…"
Terra continued to talk until a presence appeared behind her, seemingly out of thin air. A taller man in a well-kept suit appeared. His glasses shadowed his eyes with light as he seemed to push them upwards on his face.
"Did someone say paperwork? Or am I just hearing things…?"
Terra quickly turned around as the others jumped at the man's sudden appearance. Terra's eyes widened as the mysterious man's appearance began to look familiar before realizing who he was.