ACoTaR Au 2
Ander
Human.
The son of a Lord and Noble that served Queen Briallyn's family. However, he sent Andrew, called Ander, to serve and learn from Queen Vassa's family when he was young.
When Vassa objected to helping Hybern, she confided in Ander, and he supported her objection. So he does live with some level of guilt for what became of her.
However, his older half brother Marcus, remained with their father in Briallyn's court. As such, he allied with her, and convinced her to convince the others to get rid of Vassa, depose Ander as her second in command and regent, and appoint Marcus himself in his place. Upon Vassa's abduction, Ander would have become the regent and defacto ruler, but this of course, was granted to Marcus. He believed the Queens were his puppets, but they believed him to be theirs.
Ander was tortured after this and sentenced to death. However, he managed to get word over the wall to a Fae ally, High Lord Éanon. Éanon in turn reached out to his friends, Miryam & Drakon. They snuck into Vassa's lands, smuggled Ander out of the dungeon, and brought him with them to the safety of Cretea. There, Ander comes to serve the pair, and also learns to work as a blacksmith.
However, he knew that his sworn duty and friendship compelhim to find a way to find, rescue, free, and reinstate Vassa.
This is all the more strong, as at first, he believed the Queens had had her killed. But he learned from Éanon that she was alive and bound to Koschei. He tries to work with Lucien to free her, and potentially even goes to the Archeron estate to meet with her, Lucien, and Jurian.
But as much as he loves Vassa as his queen and friend, he feels much happier in Cretea than he ever did in her kingdom. Plus, he knows that as long as his brother and the other queens are alive, he can't return without being killed. He knows the best chance he has of helping Vassa's people is to defeat them first, and bring her home.
Marcus, already influential by the time Briallyn took the throne, only gained more power after the deaths of Hybern and Briallyn. He goads on a lot of their actions.
Ander and Marcus's father, Alexios, died when Ander was 6. So he was with Vassa's family since he was very young. His mother was a lady to Vassa's mother, so she had a way in. And she convinced her husband to send Andrew and herself there so he could learn the ways of nobles.
This was, of course, to help Ander's political career, but it was more to get Ander and Chrysafia herself away from Alexios and Marcus.
After Marcus takes over following Vassa's abduction, he murders his stepmother. This was just before Ander's 15th birthday. Though in main verse, Ander is 30 and fled at 15, he's likely in his 20s here.
After his brother took over and before his arrest, Ander tried to help the people in any way he could. But soon after, all of Vassa's loyal nobles were rounded up and killed, imprisoned, or exiled and rendered powerless.
Ander was arrested and charged with theft and treason, then locked up, tortured, and sentenced to death. This was because he can't across a starving family, and have them the last of his valuables and money to help them flee the kingdom, instead of turning it over to his brother and the Queens. He was caught by Marcus's spies.
Alexios was ruthless, bloodthirsty, and cruel. Marcus was the illegitimate product of an assualt on a young scullery maid, who disappeared after his birth. Lady Chrysafia was forced to marry him. She did her best to shield both boys, and loved them both as her sons. But as time went on, even she could no longer deny that Marcus was even worse than his father had been, while Ander had taken after her. She didn't want Ander to be in danger, as he was the legitimate son, and would inherit everything. So she convinced Alexios it would be beneficial to him and Ander to send him to train in her home kingdom, under Vassa's father. He agreed.
Eventually, Marcus is killed. The Queens may or may not be defeated and Vassa may or may not be freed. That can be plotted on an individual basis. But regardless, Ander never returns permanently to the continent. He instead stays in Cretea, or goes to the Fae side of Prythain.
He joins Miryam, Drakon, and Éanon in the final battle against Hybern.