Vincent Dunois is the youngest of seven
children, born in northern France. Of his seven siblings, he had five
sisters, and only one brother, Lucien, who was eight years his senior.
His brother never denied him the priviledge of tagging along with him
and his friends, since he was well aware that being constantly
surrounded by six females (including their mother) could grow somewhat
tiresome. Their father expertly escaped the overwhelming majority of
females in the household by spending much of his time dealing with
those who worked as suppliers for the family's small cafe.
With his brother to look out for him, Vincent had a very happy
childhood, managing to develop decent social skills - though he only
speaks openly and candidly when he feels comfortable around those he
is speaking with. His parents got along with eachother very well, and
it was rare to hear them argue. The only real arguing in the Dunois
household was between the children, and that was unavoidable,
especially with so many to share a bathroom.
The Dunois family had managed to avoid the uncovering of the fact they
had greatly exceeded the allowed number of births, and so there was a
great panic when the I.F. first approached them about Vincent.
However, the I.F. promised they would not be charged, nor would their
family be broken up, since they were willing to allow their youngest
child to attend the battle school. Vincent's parents breathed a sigh
of relief, but they would still leave him the ultimate decision of
whether he would like to stay or go.
Until he was brought up to battle school, Vincent attended a small
public school near his home, excelling in his classes (like all other
battle school students), showing a great interest in history and
mythology. He was ecstatic when he found out he had the choice to
attend battle school, due to his fascination in military history, he
could not think of anything better than attending the school where he
could learn to become a soldier. Not only would it fulfill his dreams,
but it would provide him with an education and experience the local
schools could not, and his parents would have been unable to afford.
The prospect of serving France later in his life, perhaps achieving a
successful military career, was enough to make him accept, without
thinking of the obvious consequences.
