- — Dom [1]
Dominic Hunter is a fire-user, a Stormholt scout of Fydorian origin, and one of the main characters in "The Crown & The Flame" series along with Kenna Rys. He is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 1.
Background
In Book 3, Chapter 6, his background is revealed:
At thirty-two years of age, Lord Arden, a Fydorian noble, married Idara, an inhabitant of the Blackspine Mountains who possessed pyrokinesis and whom he claims he met in a hunting trip around the area. He became unpopular with his people after his younger brother Horas, supposedly vying for the throne, began spreading rumors that Arden's wife was a fire witch.
Shortly after their first child was born, Arden died, and Horas placed the blame on his brother's wife, claiming witchcraft. He arranged for her arrest, but Idara, refusing trial for a crime she did not commit, fled with her son in the dead of night. Assassins disguised as soldiers caught her in the plains to the north of Stormholt, where she perished fighting them off.
The infant son, Dom, was later salvaged on Stormholt Castle's doorsteps, covered heavily in burns presumably from his mother's ordeal; Idara had already etched the brand onto his chest. Dom was raised by a castle servant and grew up with Rose and Trystan Blake as one of the castle workers, as well as serving as a scout. Sometime later, he would meet Kenna at the Beltane Festival.
Appearance
Dom has short, brown hair, light skin and blue eyes, and has the brand of fire on his chest. He dons a gray and black, long-sleeved, collared leather tunic with a deep neckline that partially reveals his brand, black gloves, black pants, and brown knee-high boots. He is toned and physically fit; according to many, Dom is very handsome.
In his dragon form, he has light blue scales with white spikes adorning his body, two horns facing backwards, massive light blue wings with a gray underside, and shiny dark blue eyes.
Personality
Dom is good-natured, witty, and kind. He remains generally cheerful despite Gabriel reminding him of his humble beginnings and Sei constantly jabbing insults at him. Despite being friendly and at times goofy, Dom reveals a sterner, more ferocious side when his friends, especially Kenna, are in trouble.
Trystan mentions that Dom is a flirt; he has charmed several girls into his bedroom, and this includes Rose. On that note, Dom is also vain, as he is aware of his attractiveness and often comments about it. One who likes to joke in any situation, his positivity and joviality are enough to soften stoic characters like Sei, or surprise cunning scientists like Hex, respectively. This remained even when he transformed into a dragon, and even when he is already a king and father.
In addition, Dom is rather impulsive: he attacked Vassilios haphazardly and thus burnt Kenna, swung at illusory enemies despite being told to calm down by Anu, attacked Helene when she arrived as an ally, and rushed out of Hex's airship only to find himself hundreds of feet above ground. However, he does not want to get others in trouble for it, seen when he motioned for Rose to stay hidden when Helene and Bartel caught him.
Dom is vengeful against those who dare harm his friends or stand against his ideals; he confronted a cowering Trystan for his treachery after Kenna's victory over Marco, furiously smited Bartel for killing his hawk and Margaret, and attempted to burn a reformed Hex on the spot after her surrender. Conversely he is aware of the effects of his powers and feels guilt and remorse whenever he involuntarily hurts someone: he bitterly regretted burning Kenna in Thorngate, and tried desperately to resist destroying Aurelia and burning innocent civilians, having a hard time apologizing to Annelyse for it.
Abilities
Fire Magic
As the son of a Blackspine woman, Dom has access to pyrokinesis. While initially unaware of this ability until Luther's invasion of Stormholt, Dom has the power to conjure blue flames from his hands, fueled initially and solely by rage. He is able to create small red wisps of fire involuntarily whenever he is angry, and after focusing his energy, can blast massive fireballs. After training with Sei (but before meeting Anu), his pyrokinesis improved to being able to split and shape fire into tendrils, and control heat remotely and absorbing it.
Dragon Transformation
After "completing" his training, Dom has the ability to transform into a massive dragon and back to human voluntarily. This form provides him flight, superhuman strength and durability, sharp talons, and the ability to exhale bluish-white fire. His power was amplified to the point where he could annihilate several airships with his breath.
The only drawback of this ability is that it has a time limit, draining Dom or any other user of energy if used extensively. His inexperience with reverting back to human led to Dom's capture by Hex.
Limited Heat Immunity
Dom, like other fire magic users, cannot feel nor be hurt by heat below a certain temperature, and this immunity is dependent upon their endurance and strengthened through training: the higher the temperature, the harder it is to resist. For instance, Dom cannot feel the bonfire he set up for his makeshift replica of the Beltane Festival. He is able to withstand at least temperatures as hot as lava.
Weapons Training
Being raised as a hunter and scout for Stormholt, Dom has had extensive training in wielding weapons, his skill to the extent that Kenna has not bested him "in over six summers".
Relationships
Love Interests
Kenna Rys
Kenna is Dom's first childhood friend, and he displays great loyalty towards her. He views her as a very close and dear friend, constantly worrying about her during her exile and becoming horrified and ashamed of himself after he accidentally burned her with his own fire. He is also one of her love interests. It's up to the player if Kenna and Dom become more than friends. In Chapter 17 of Book 3, if he is not chosen by Kenna as her betrothed, he does not start any relationship with any of his potential love interests despite it.
When he is with her, he is portrayed as having a very casual and even childish behavior toward the queen, which she reciprocates. Even after having married Kenna (via player's choice), he still retains his close and playful attitude towards her, seen near the ending.
Rose Blake
Dom and Rose are good friends, and she helps him on his mission against the Nevrakis. She has a crush on him, and he will accept Rose's feelings if the player chooses to. Rose does not appear in Book 2, and no matter the player's choices, in Book 3, Shadow Rose reveals that Dom and Rose are not a couple.
Sei Rhuka
Despite her initially cold demeanor towards him, Dom warms up to Sei in the dungeons. The player can choose to flirt with Sei but she will seem unresponsive to his advances. She is shown to care for him in her own way, as shown after Anu failed him during training and after he was captured in the Battle of the Bay. She is one of Dominic's potential love interests.
Will Jackson
The player can choose to pursue a sexual relationship with Will Jackson after he expresses his feelings for Dom in Book 3, Chapter 14. He listens eagerly to Will's recollection of his memories with his son or his wife.
Friends
Margaret Blake
Margaret rescues Dom from the Nevrakis soldiers by introducing his as her son. He takes her as his mother and grieves deeply upon her death.
Trystan Blake
Dom regards Trystan as his brother and good friend. After Margaret's death, Trystan is scared that Dom will put Rose in a dangerous situation, so he turns on Dom and gives him up to the Nevrakis soldiers.
Anu Rhuka
Anu is Dom's mentor. Based on the player's choice, Anu can be an ally in Book 2. If the player does not recruit Anu, Anu is said to be disappointed in Dom.
Raydan Lykel
Raydan found a book in the library of Fydoria about Dom's parents. He can leave it or keep it (diamond). If he keeps it, he will give it to Dom, showing concern over Dom's need of solace about his background.
Whitlock
Dom seems to be good friends with Whitlock.
Enemies
Bartel Gremley
Bartel is responsible for killing Dom's pet hawk when Dom tried to deliver a warning to Kenna. As he was also after Kenna, Bartel was one of Dom's major enemies in Book 1. Upon witnessing him kill the hawk, Dom attempted to burn him alive, and again after he threatened to kill Rose. Bartel was later burned to death when he confronted Dom. On the other hand, Bartel saw Dom as nothing more than a castle servant, and was very condescending towards him while unaware of the latter's fire magic.
Hex
Hex earned Dom's wrath after using Sei, a woman who also wields fire magic, to attack Kenna's soldiers. His hatred then grew deeper when the woman captured him, Sei, and other Blackspine Mountains inhabitants as her pets. Even though he escaped, Dom found himself captured yet again by the scientist and being used against Kenna and her army. Upon his eventual freedom from her clutches, Dom was furious enough to try and burn Hex upon sight.
Hex conversely was very sarcastic towards Dom, patronizing him as her 'pet' and seeing him no more than a tool. She treats him badly, letting him free only to rampage under her command, and making him live on powdered bones and algae. She would not hesitate to electrocute him should he attempt to think of fire without her consent.
She does not appreciate his humor. Even after her capture and defection to Kenna, Hex still had a difficult time seeing Dom as an ally.
Prince Marco Nevrakis
Dom despises Marco for chasing after Kenna's head during her exile. Apart from hating him behind closed doors, Dom did not have a chance to confront the Prince.
King Luther Nevrakis
Likewise, Dom hates Luther as he is the principal cause for the deaths and suffering of his loved ones, and he took it upon himself to figure out what his plans for Kenna are.
Empress Azura
Dom does not like Azura at all, but his hatred for her is not as intense as that for his other enemies. He is nonetheless supportive of Kenna's cause and offered to kill Azura on his own during their parlay.
Family
Arden and Idara
Lord Arden Alcantar
Lord Arden is implied to be Dom's father and is the eldest son of a wealthy and influential Fydorian noble. When he died shortly after Dom's birth, his brother accused his wife of casting a spell that killed him (which is implied to be a plot to obtain Arden's inheritance and titles rather than be passed on to his son). While there is no definite illustration of him in the story, Raydan comments that "he looks exactly like Dom".
Idara
Idara is an inhabitant of the Blackspine Mountains and the mother of Dominic Hunter. Like Sei, Anu, and Anton, she possesses the power of fire which she passed on to her son, and, according to Sei's explanation, she is the one who etched Dom's brand onto his chest. It is unclear where she left Dom and how he ended up under the care of Margaret Blake.
Other Looks
Trivia
- Dom is shown on the cover of "The Crown & The Flame, Book 1" as a human, and on "The Crown & The Flame, Book 2" and "The Crown & The Flame, Book 3" as a dragon.
- Dom makes a cameo appearance in The Freshman, Book 3. This incarnation, however, is simply a Hollywood actor playing Dom, as The Crown and the Flame is a popular TV series in other Choices stories. Although as friendly as the real Dom, the actor is a stereotypical SoCal personality, showing a liking for fad diets and ridiculous superfoods.
- He bears a resemblance to actor Bradley James.
- It is revealed by Kenna that as a child, Dom was once bullied by a guard's son named Caleb, who abruptly stopped after Kenna threatened to have him executed.
- If you ask King Liam "Just how fantastical are we talking?" in reference to the past of Cordonia in The Royal Romance, Book 3, Chapter 2, Liam tells you of a rumor that one of the earliest coats of armor had a blue dragon on it, a reference to Dom in his dragon form. This, in addition to Kenna's portrait in the royal dining room, is yet further evidence that Cordonia is tied to Stormholt's history.
- In Book 2 Chapter 8, in the Spirit World alternate reality where Kenna is not a princess, she and Dom own a tavern called "The Staggering Stag", and apparently he was the one who came up with the name.
References
- ↑ The Crown & The Flame, Book 3, Chapter 15 At Jorrin's lack of sportsmanship.