Being the second child can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing would be to have more freedom to seek your own destiny than the heir, who has to learn what is needed to know to take over ruling. The curse is that no matter what you do, people will always compare you to your older sibling. And being that second child was how life would be for Sylvain.
He was born the second son of Maris and Cynthia al’Ramar, a bit over three years younger than his brother Jean-Paul. To this day, his older sibling is one of the people he looks up to, even with the older prince’s reputation. Family is very important to him, and he would do whatever his parents or his brother and sisters would ask of him, if it is something he is capable of doing.
It took quite a bit of time before he said his first words, but ever since he could crawl, and later walk, he was one of those children that was constantly on the move, driving the people set to watch him insane. This thanks to his constant moving around, both on the ground and climbing trees and such when he grew older. For example, there was a time when he was about three years old, when he had managed to slip away from those supposed to be watching him, and managed to climb a bit into one of the higher trees in the garden. Throughout his childhood, he just did not seem to be able to sit still.
Another thing that seemed to be an effect of his inability to sit still was that he also seemed to have quite a liking for nature and the wilderness, and was always very happy each time he was allowed to go out into the woods and such. When he got older, he learned a bit about how to survive in the woods, and hunting and similar activities, which became one of his favorite things to do, whenever he felt the need to just be himself, and be able to rest.
As he grew older, it became quite clear that he was not that good material to make a knight of, but he still got the training in weapons use befitting someone of his station. From those lessons it was clear that the weapon he favored the most was the bow, as well as knowing enough of the usage of blades to be able to defend himself when needed. In addition to the weapons training, his lessons were the normal ones, with stewardship as well as the other things a young prince was expected to learn. There were also a few other things that he’s taken an interest in, such as philosophy and religion.
While he never will be considered competent enough at military matters to command entire armies like his brother, Sylvain has at various times led smaller groups of archers in dealing with bandit groups and raiders from the Icenaila tribes and similar threats. Some would find it hard to believe that the soft spoken young man who always seemed so calm and quiet had it in him to lead, but for such small groups of people in the few fields of military he knows well, he can do so with a bit of confidence.
About the time when he was nineteen, it started. Unlike when he was younger and could go out in the woods every now and then, just for a few hours, he started heading out there for days, even weeks at the time, hunting, hiking and just experiencing the wilds. While his parents, the King and Queen might not like how he headed off all of a sudden, they realized that he was a completely different people if he didn’t get to go. He might even be very uncharacteristically enraged. So they let him have those trips, but made it clear that if they needed him for other things, he could not go.
They still tried to find some way of keeping him from going on those trips so often, and not long after he had turned 24, they thought they might have found what they were looking for. During an official function, Sylvain was seated next to a young lady of house D’Tremaine, named Antonia, and it was clear that the two of them enjoyed the time spent together. Thinking that this might be someone who could get their son’s wanderlust to pass, the Queen and King made sure that within a short time, their second son was married to the young lady.
For many people, getting married is something that takes quite a bit of getting used to, and it was no different for Sylvain. In the beginning, he felt like all his freedom had been ripped from him, because while he had always known the day would come, he had not wanted to get married at all. Having this other person living in the same rooms, wanting to have some of his time and all that made him quite uncomfortable.
So he did what he always had done when things seemed to close in on him, and he needed to clear his mind. He packed his bags, and he ran off. Leaving behind a very confused and hurt wife, he headed off to the wilderness, to think about his new life situation. And it was there, on a cold winter night by a fire, that he realized this was not something he could simply run away from. He was a married man now, and had to face that, but he also felt he had to make Antonia see his need for going off like that once in a while.
Returning to Lyioness, he went straight back to the quarters he shared with his wife, and faced the anger her confusion had turned into. Patiently, he let her rage first, then proceeded with one of the hardest things he had ever done as he explained why he went away, and how he needed to do so from time to time. He also told her how he was ready to begin the new chapter in his, no in both of their lives now, and begged her to forgive him for running off like he had. And in the end, she had forgiven him, and it seemed she had started to understand the need for his frequent absences.
Over the next few years, the effect that his parents had been looking for when they arranged his marriage has actually happened, and lately, he only goes off on those trips a few times each year, unlike the very frequent times before. He has also come to care deeply for his wife, and their son, Etienne, who was born a few years after they were married.
Aside from travelling, the one way he’s managed to keep some of that wanderlust at bay is something very few people will know. He has taken to writing poetry, having a small collection of his writings hidden away. Only a very few people have been allowed to see the poems, as he describes them as his ultimate moments of weakness.