| Bart Fatima, the would-be 19th King of Aveh, doesn't remember how most of his family died. He doesn't want to, either. He recalls bits and pieces as they come to him, sometimes during his sleep with the nightmares of the slaughter in Aveh, the one that took the lives of all the Fatimas save a handful who managed to escape the usurpation of the throne. These are dark memories, for he was very young, barely a year in age, when his father and mother were murdered and his half-brother, Sigurd, stolen away. Servants loyal to the throne, as well as his much older half-brother, managed to steal the young prince away from the palace and spare him the death and torment that awaited him there. Rumors were spread of his death, which made his getaway all that much more possible. His first years were spent in the desert, his caretakers becoming nomads to escape those soldiers still dispatched to find any of the Fatima dynasty who might have escaped the original slaughter. Eventually, they settled in an underground dwelling, a series of caverns located near the edge of the desert. It was here that the boy spent the majority of his childhood. Those dedicated to restoring the Fatima line to the throne turned it into a base for their activities, and soon enough they gave the underground dwelling a name: Yggridsil. Bart really had no childhood to speak of, there were scant few he could relate to, only his cousin Margie, who was also saved from the slaughter that night. From this place they attempted to groom the future king for his role, teaching him academics, courtly behavior, the history of Aveh, all the things he would need to know. Though he was apt and intelligent, easily absorbing the knowledge, getting him to sit still long enough to teach him anything proved to be the real task. Bart was a lively child, explorative and inquisitive, but he longed for something he could never have, the freedom to do as he pleased without someone fretting over him or deferring to him. He threw explosive temper tantrums and even tried running away a few times in an attempt to gain attention to this need, wanting someone -anyone- to give him some sort of boundaries, to discipline him. No one dared, for he was the future king of Aveh. It was Maison who eventually realized what was going on, and the first to give the royal brat what he royally deserved. A good spanking. Trouble ceased soon afterwards and life continued unabated. While Bart grew up and the years flew by, the resistance continued to work toward the eventual goal of restoring him to the throne. Those who had taken over the government in Aveh were not well liked by the people, who longed to see the true dynasty back as their ruler. King Edbart had not been a bad king, and many hoped that somehow, someone of his line remained alive. The resistance grew in number. The Sand Pirates didn't actually begin till Bart reached his teens. Always overly eager and impetuous, he began to want to do more than train and sit at a makeshift desk in front of old tomes and read. Once again it became nigh impossible to get the boy to sit still to continue teaching him. From the ranks of the resistance, he found eventual friends, the majority of them were still older than he, but Bart Fatima wasn't about to let something like that hold him back. Together, they began doing more than the resistance had dared to thus far, raiding the borders of Aveh. They never took much and -never- stole from the innocent citizens of Aveh, making the soldiers and lackeys of the new rulers of the country their primary targets. Eventually, they gave themselves the name 'Sand Pirates' and Bart himself loved taunting their targets, making sure their victims always knew who had taken them down and embarrassed them. Maison, and others dedicated to the protection and education of the young prince, didn't exactly approve of this, but neither did they discourage him. The supplies the pirates brought back to Yggridsil helped maintain the resistance. Still, Bart was always hotheaded and impetuous, rushing out into battle sometimes without thought to the consequences. More than once he came home with injuries that scared everyone who'd been charged with his care. Maison knew the boy was too old to spank, yet had no idea how to reign in his new found ways of rebelling. Aveh attempted to retaliate, but found their attackers to be far too wily to just wipe out. The Sand Pirates were like ground hogs, popped up out of no where, attacked and popped back into obscurity. Aveh's usurpers spread rumors of the pirates, declaring them outlaws and murderers. Most of those still loyal to the Fatimas knew this was not much more than propaganda and the disposed prince soon became Aveh's version of Robin Hood. Bart, needless to say, was having the time of his life, despite having a price on his head. This worried Maison, for they had spent so long maintaining that Bart was dead that he feared someone would discover the prince's true identity. If that were to occur, Aveh's new rulers would seek a swift and decisive end to the boy's life at all costs. He, and others like-minded, began to make plans to send the boy away, somewhere far from Aveh and the pirates, to make sure he was kept safe. Word of Sigurd also came to the resistance group, that he now stayed in Garden all the way on Balamb Isle. There was talk of sending Bart there, to stay with his brother until the day they would finally restore him to the throne. If Bart knew of these designs, well, he'd likely blow his top. Of course, above was the background for Bart when I first applied for him on Endless Dream, since then he's been sent off to Balamb to live with his brother, Sigurd and has proceeded to get into plenty of trouble. |