Ragnarök hails from a kingdom of soquili far from the Kawani lands. He was both a prince and a knight, a position which would have been denied him if he had been the first born. He was, after all, only the spare --
his life was expendable. It didn't matter to him that he wasn't next in line to become leader, but he loathed to be treated as 'the spare.' It often seemed that was all he was to his parents; he didn't understand why they so obviously loved his older brother Ýmir more than him. It wasn't something he was able to really dissect until he was much older; it was hard for him as a child, of course, but as a young adult he could step back and view the situation objectively. Did they truly favor his brother more? Was it all in his head? Was he merely jealous? No. It showed in the way they scoffed at each new hobby he took on, in the way they allowed him to participate in Ýmir's studies but refused him extra help when he struggled. For a long time, it made him bitter -- angry. He stopped trying to prove himself to his parents and began to rebel. Whenever they had royal visitors, Ragnarök picked arguments with the stallions and flirted inappropriately with the mares. He brought up family drama to complete strangers, allowing the royal family to become the gossip whispered among the peasants. Through it all, though, he was never any happier, and while his parents were no longer ignoring him, all they were now was angry. He was banned from attending meetings and participating in royal business, and no longer included in Ýmir's tutoring sessions. Knights were assigned to watch over him to make sure he kept out of trouble. Then something Ragnarök had never considered happened: His parents had another son. Öxar would be the spare Ragnarök never was.
What's worse was that his parents seemed to have realized their mistakes; Öxar was treated as though he were a true heir the way Ragnarök never had. His parents didn't seem very interested in making amends, either.
Reply
