He's pretty well known around the city of Rhy'Din as the guy who loves to drink, loves the ladies, and loves a good fight. But not much is known about the past of Dakota Steele. Where did he come from? Who is he? Does he have any family? I'm going to write a few paragraphs to try to tell a little more about his story.

Shikoba Joseph Steele was born on September 24th, 1974 in Jackson, Mississippi. His birth occured at 1:55 PM, and at 2:12 PM, Aiyana Maria Steele came into the world. The twins were born to lower class parents from the rural town of Natchez, Mississippi who didn't have much financially, but were as happy as they could be. They had been married for twelve years, and had long given up on the hope of ever having children when the news came. Being full blooded Choctaw Native Americans, Joseph and Caroline Steele wanted to give their children names which reflected their proud history, along with middle names that could be more widely accepted in today's culture.

It seems things have a funny way of working themselves out, because after going for so long without children, the Steeles suddenly found themselves with the responsibility of raising a boy and a girl. But they were extremely thankful to be blessed with two beautiful children after all these years.

Natchez was a small town, located on the Mississippi/Louisiana state line, and it was here that Shikoba and Aiyana grew up together, learned about life, and always watched out for each other. The Steele twins were truly as close as siblings could be.

Around the age of eleven, Shikoba had his first cigarette, and within weeks, he was addicted. Roughly a year later, he was given a beer for the first time, and it was a taste that he developed quickly. Aiyana always tried to convince him that the stuff was bad for him, but as a typical, rebellious preteen boy, he wasn't going to listen to anybody.

If there was one thing that Shikoba learned how to do, he learned how to fight. Growing up, he was looking for any reason to start a fight with any kid he could come across. He developed a hair trigger temper, along with an extremely profane vocabulary. By the time he was seventeen, he and his dad had gotten into more blowups with each other than either one of them cared to remember. On December 21, 1991, it finally came to a head between the two. Shikoba staggered in early that morning with the smell of Jack Daniel's on his breath. He had once again been gone all night, and Joseph couldn't take it anymore. He told Shikoba that he was breaking his mother's heart, he was breaking his sister's heart, and that he was no longer going to stand for it. Shikoba was told that he was no longer welcome, and it was time to leave. Shikoba flew into an absolute drunken rage, and for the first time, an all out brawl took place between the father and son. Tables were smashed, walls were left with holes in them, and throughout the entire, horrifying scene, Caroline and Aiyana stood there, screaming and begging for them to stop.

Finally, Aiyana could take it no more. She got herself in the middle of the two men, and in the midst of the violence, she caught an unintentional punch to the face from her twin brother.

When Shikoba punched, he punched hard. He had developed a deadly left hand that was capable of breaking bones with one strike, and he just sent a shot with everything he had which landed along the side of his beautiful twin sister's face. She collapsed in a heap, and Shikoba stood there in utter shock as Joseph and Caroline tended to her. The elder Steeles screamed at Shikoba that he may have just ruined Aiyana's future, as she was just beginning to delve into the world of modeling. Aiyana was an exotic beauty, and she had put together a portfolio which had begun to gain her quite a bit of attention.

There was nothing left for Shikoba to do but pack up what he could and leave.

He stayed where he could, night after night. Sometimes, a motel manager would take pity on him and allow him to stay a night in a vacant room. Those were the good nights. On most nights, he found himself sleeping wherever there was a space big enough for him to huddle up and try to stay warm.

His taste for alcohol remained strong, and whenever he could scrape up enough money, he'd help himself to a cold one. On one particular night, Shikoba found himself in a bar down in New Orleans, where he was celebrating his 21st birthday with a single bottle of Jack Daniel's. Some woman at the bar had caught his eye, so they started talking. Within minutes, the boyfriend tapped Shikoba on the shoulder and let him know quick that that was his woman. In typical Shikoba fashion, he told the guy to go f*** himself, and within a heartbeat, the brawl was on. Shikoba completely dominated the fight, as he never even allowed the other man to get a blow in.

Sitting there watching the scene unfold was a shady character by the name of Tony Graves, and he absolutely loved what he saw. After Shikoba was kicked out of the bar, Tony ran him down and asked him if he'd like to make some money using those skills.

It was then that Shikoba was introduced to the world of illegal underground fighting.

Tony saw dollar signs with this Indian kid, and within weeks, he had him signed up for his first fight. There was one thing that Tony didn't like about him, and that was the name. "Shikoba" was a name that just didn't strike fear into opponents, and besides, it sounded too damn foreign. So Tony asked him what he thought of the name "Dakota". It was still Native American, but it was easier to pronounce, and it just sounded more American. He didn't say it out loud, but it sounded more white, which was what he wanted.

Shikoba thought it over for a few seconds. He was of Choctaw blood, and if he took on a name that was the same name as a different tribe, it would be yet another insult to his family.

He loved it.

Shikoba Steele became Dakota Steele that night, and his underground legend grew. He became one of the most feared fighters alive, and as his fame increased, so did his bankroll.

However, the sheer brutality of these fights was taking its toll on his body, and he soon began to develop a need for painkillers just to be able to function. As it goes with drugs, one always leads to another, and within a couple of years, Dakota was a full blown addict. Cocaine had become his drug of choice over the years, and every dollar he was making with his winnings would go straight to his coke dealer in New Orleans. He put so many narcotics into his system, even Tony Graves was starting to wonder when Dakota's body would just completely shut down.

Between the constant beatings and blows to the head, along with the whiskey and continuous supply of cocaine that he was putting into his body, Dakota became nothing more than a shell of the fighter that Graves had discovered years and years ago. Like any good promoter would do when another dollar can't be squeezed out, he finally told Dakota that he had absolutely no more use for him.

Dakota didn't say a word.......at first.

Instead, he pulled out a 9mm pistol that he kept on him at all times, and pointed it straight between Graves' eyes.

"I got no more use for you, motherf****r...."

He shot Graves dead......at point blank range.

Dakota dropped the gun, suddenly unable to comprehend what he had just done.

In a sudden rush of panic, as he heard the police sirens closing in, he ran. Dakota didn't get too far however. He was hauled to the ground immediately by at least six of New Orleans' finest. But in typical Dakota fashion, he started fighting before they could get the cuffs on him. It only took a few seconds before he felt a nightstick crack against the side of his head, and from there, it was total darkness.

As his eyes fluttered open, instead of finding himself sitting in a jail cell, Dakota found himself waking up on the sidewalk of a city that he could definitely tell was NOT New Orleans.

He had no idea where the hell he was, and with the sight of wizards, dragons, and all sorts of people dressed in everything from medieval wear to modern day clothes, he thought he had finally OD'd on coke and had landed himself into a hallucination that was beyond all comprehension.

It took him several hours to finally comprehend the fact that, wherever the hell he was, this was as real as it could be. All he could do at this point was wander the streets and look for a place to sleep, as night was rapidly falling. Finally, he caught sight of what looked to be an inn. Upon closer look, there was indeed a sign which said, "Red Dragon Inn".

Entering the front door, he saw a what looked to be one helluva nice barroom, and inside of it, the scene looked just like the bar scene from Star Wars. Along with what looked to be normal people, there were freaks in this place that he couldn't begin to describe. He approached the person who looked to be the bartendress, and asked if there was a room available for the night. She turned out to be just as sweet as she could be, as she informed him that there was indeed room, and that he could stay for as long as he liked.

It took him weeks, but he finally began to get acclimated to his surroundings in this city that he discovered was named Rhy'Din.

He even started making a few friends, and he began having affairs with an untold number of women, quickly developing a reputation as a womanizer. There was one woman whose name was Rosie that seemed to stand out. Well, he'd never really been in love before, so when Rosie started showing the slightest bit of interest that actually seemed REAL, he was immediately smitten, and within days, they eloped and that was that. He was suddenly a married man within weeks of his arrival into Rhy'Din.

One problem, though...

Although he seemed to leave his troubles behind in New Orleans, his insatiable craving for narcotics followed him.

He quickly was able to find a drug dealer, and just like in his previous life, he once again found himself hooked, and unable to function without a hit of cocaine.

But this time, he found himself with a few true friends, and sick and tired of being sick and tired, he finally broke down and asked his buddy Brian Ravenlock to lock him up in one of the rooms in the Red Dragon Inn, and to not let him out for several days, no matter how much he might have pleaded. He knew this was the only way he was ever going to get clean, and he was determined to take on the hell he knew he was about to face.

The next several days consisted of pain and sickness like he had never before known.

He screamed, he destroyed whatever furniture wasn't nailed to the floor, and he clawed at the doors and walls, begging to be let out. At some point during his misery, a beautiful young woman named Cassandra stood on the other side of the door, and she took it upon herself to talk to him, and try to calm him down. She became his saving grace, as the soothing sound of her voice did its job in calming his nerves. They'd sit there on the floor, on opposite sides of that locked door, and talk to each other. She had become a true friend to him.

He lost count of how many days he was in that room, but he woke up one morning to find himself feeling better than he had in years. It seemed that he had finally gotten past the withdrawal stage.

Dakota emerged from that room a new man, but his problems with alcohol continued to haunt him, and it ended up costing him his marriage to Rosie. A drunken brawl with his friend Brian took place in the alley behind the Inn, and just like his sister had been struck years earlier, Rosie found herself on the wrong end of a shot that was intended for Brian. Shortly thereafter, he left Rhy'Din, and ended up in a strange place called Bethesda. It was here that he ran into an old friend from Rhy'Din by the name of Charlotte. She was someone who had become his best friend, but they had lost contact with each other. Along with being his friend, she was also the now-former wife of Brian Ravenlock.

He was single....she was single....you do the math.

Friendship turned to romance, and Dakota embarked on his second marriage. This one was good, as he was more experienced with the right way to live everyday life than he'd been before. Time passed on, and they eventually returned to Rhy'Din with their four children, only one of which they had together. There was Thomas, which was the product of one of Dakota's many one night stands from when he first arrived into Rhy'Din. Then were was Aiden, whom Charlotte had adopted before marrying Dakota. Next was Elena, who was Charlotte and Brian's daughtern. And finally, there was little Megan, the daughter who Dakota and Charlotte gave birth to.

They settled down on a ranch with a plot of land. The acreage was an untold number in size. Life seemed to be good for a while. However, slowly but surely, the marriage began to deteriorate, and they reached the point to where they could no longer stand to be around one another. They split up, and on his first night away from home, he found a woman to spend the night with. He was hellbound and determined that he was either going to find a woman that night, or he was going to get higher than he ever had been before. Chiana Vitrano came along, and she served her purpose, if for only a night.

Time passed on, and after a long bout with depression over the family that he'd lost, he and Charlotte ran into each other. It was like the old flame had been instantly reignited, as they fell into each other's arms.

Just like before, things were good for a while. But within a couple of months, they learned that once the nostalgia had wore off, their love for each had truly died. What was broken couldn't be fixed, and with no tears, no cursing, and no screaming, Dakota quietly packed up his things and left. The only place he knew to go was back to the Red Dragon Inn, where he's now renting a room.

Sometimes, he lets his mind wander back to those days that he spent locked up in the room. He thinks about how Cassie sat there and talked to him, and how great of a friend she became to him. He thinks about some of the other friends that he's made in his time here, such as the ice mage by the name of Wyheree. There's also Erinalle Dunbridge, Jake Duncan, among a few others. His true friends are few and far between, but he keeps them close, and he would fight for every one of them. He is as loyal as they come, and if you make friends with Dakota Steele, you've found a man who will stand by you, even if you're completely in the wrong on whatever the situation may be.

He's never spoken of his twin sister to anybody since his arrival to Rhy'Din, not even to Charlotte. But he thinks of Aiyana often. He wonders how she's doing. He wonders if she's still as pretty as the day he last saw her sixteen years ago. He still hates himself over the fact that his last memory of his sister consists of her lying on the floor, trying to stay conscious after a brutal assault, however unintentional it may have been. He'd give anything to be able to see her again, and tell her how sorry he is for that fateful day. He truly hopes that she became the beautiful model he always knew she could be.

He's never once spoken of his birth name, either.

If you see him tonight in the Red Dragon Inn, chances are you'll see him with a beer in his hand and a smile on his face. Forgive him if he can't remember your name when you first meet him. His mind isn't quite what it used to be. All those years of violent strikes to the head, along with the continuous drug usage, has left his mind in less than perfect working condition. Back home in Natchez, he taught himself to play the guitar, and these days, there is nothing that moves him more than good music. He loves it when there's any kind of music being played in the inn, and occasionally, he'll get his acoustic out and play along with whoever might have the stage.

He knows that Rhy'Din has been his second chance at a good life, and although he's made plenty of mistakes in his time here, he's determined to stay on the right path.

Wow....this definitely took more than a few paragraphs, didn't it..? lol

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