Alright, thanks for everyone suggestions. This is what I'm thinking.
Backstory: I am Endram Serpenthelm, son of the late Lord Elgram Serpenthelm. Brother to Lord Elban of Arnhold. My father was a soldier in the armies of the Duke of Melcat. He served him a long time, fighting against the other river kingdoms. For his long service, he was awarded a small piece of land that he had helped to capture from Cordelon. He named that land Arnhold. Years later he retired from the military and met a woman he fell in love with, by the name of Taiere, my mother. They married and made a proper holding of Arnhold. They built a small keep, and had peasants that lived on and worked their land for food, a guard of around 50 to keep the peace, led by guard captain Renn, my father's best friend, and a court wizard by the name Baltev. They weren't rich, but they had what they needed.
Two summers had passed, and Taiere had bore Lord Elgram two sons, myself and my younger brother, Elban. My father was overjoyed. The gods had not granted him one son, but two. It was then that Razmir chose to come. My father never spoke of Razmir much, but claims while he wasn't happy about accepting him as his new ruler, he didn't want to risk harm to his wife or children, so he went along with Razmir reluctantly. When he learned what had been done to the Duke and the capital, he was overcome with rage, and would have gone to try to kill Razmir himself had it not been for Renn, who locked him in a cell to prevent him from doing something rash. I'm glad he did. What could my father have done against a living god?
When my brother and I were young enough to start learning the ways of the world, my father always advised us that Razmir was evil, that he was no true god, only a pretender. I didn't listen. How could one that was so evil bring so much good to Razmiran, as the land had been called. He tripled the lands once held by the kingdom, and the other river kingdoms feared to attack. At Arnhold, we no longer had to worry about bandits, or other River Kingdoms coming to attack. And his power, how could his power not be that of a god? His skills amazed me, and from a young age, I did not play with swords or pretend I was a knight like my brother did, like my father wanted. I sought knowledge. I wanted to know the ways of the planar, of the lands outside of the River Kingdoms. Most of all, I wanted to know about magic.
My father saw that I was not to become a fighter such as he wanted, and although he wasn't happy about it, he tasked the court wizard Baltev to do his best to teach me what he could. Not just about magic, but about engineering, geography, everything a proper heir should know. My father hired a half orc, Grolaar, to try to teach me the ways of combat, but I was never really interested in that, preferring to study a good book, and I was always more proficient with a crossbow than a sword.
Magic was not as easy to learn as I had hoped. It seemed like I spent hours upon hours learning the smallest of spells. It took me months to learn to move a pound, but I endured. Meanwhile, my brother was ever becoming more the fighter, much to my father's pleasure, but he was not content. Elban saw the way that my father looked at me, and knew that even though Elban was everything my father wanted in an heir, he still favored me as his firstborn. But, Elban was the one loved by the people, he was dashing, he was strong, and they fueled his ego more than they knew. Through them, he felt he should be the ruler after my father passed.
My education ended early before I could learn anything very useful. My father was dying, my brother and I both knew it. My brother and I were not close, but I did not expect what came next. I was studying with Baltev when all of a sudden, the door opened. It was not uncommon for the old man to have visitors, but usually they were unarmed. Before I knew what was happening, I heard the familiar slam of a crossbow, the bolt striking him in the chest. Using what I had learned, I slammed the door closed, holding the man out, before going to the old man. "Endram..my life's work... the book...you have to find.." He didn't get to finish what he was saying as he had lost too much blood. I never spent enough time learning how to heal, and it was at that time I regretted it, as I couldn't save one of those I cared about most. It was then that the shouts began.
"The lord is dead! Endram is trying to sieze power!" I recognized the voice as one of my father's guards. Then I realized the truth of things. How could I argue that I was not the one to kill my father and Baltev? The only one who could confirm my story was dead, killed by my crossbow seemingly, which I had brought with me and left against the wall. I grabbed my crossbow, my spellbook, and what gold I could find and fled through a window into the forest.
One of the few people to not like my brother was Grolaar, who happened to be in the woods hunting as I was escaping. I quickly explained the situation to him, and together we fled, never to return to my home. It is now ruled by my traitorous brother Elban. I do not know what happened to guard captain Renn, but I Endrahm Serpenthelm pledge that one day, I will return and avenge the deaths of my father and mentor.
