Firstly, credits to this guy on discord for creating this amazing fanfiction.
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I'll repost the fanfiction here because I want to analyze it as well.
He Doesn't Believe In The Way Of The Spear by DarkFlameMasteron discord ** **
Once upon a time in the land of Inamorta, Prince Atreyos, the youngest the Royal Siblings, had been appointed as the leader of the speartons at an impressively young age. Impressively? More like, ludicrously. At the time, he was greatly unpopular, maybe even unknown. He barely trained, never went to school, and doesn't believe in the way of the spear.
That is not even everything that made him look such an unfit leader. Unlike him, his siblings, who also became leaders at young ages, were at the very least skilled and familiar to their field and methodology. Atreyos, on the other hand, was aloof. How could they allow a deeply unqualified juvenile to take charge of what was supposed to show courage and bravery, boldness and loyalty, and to show an example of the way of the spear?
His predecessor, Prince Adicai, was the leader of the speartons after convincingly outmatching General Spearos in a duel. He was superior, courageous, brave, bold, loyal, and he believed in the way of the spear. Adicai was an excellent leader after Spearos with many looking up to him. He was more than fit for command, personally lead charges in battles, well respected by his soldiers, and died for his empire in a battle.
The death of Adicai was a great loss tp the empire as they no longer have a leader with the characteristics of Adicai or Spearos to lead the speartons. No longer did they have the leader who galvanizes his soldiers to charge in the heat of the battle. Now, they have a child who was basically the polar opposite of Adicai and Spearos. There was no expectations of him, just doubts.
This perception and treatment was unlike that of his siblings. While they too were young, they were skilled and understood their ways of their weapon. They lead in battle, contributed as though they were real trained soldiers, and proven their worth that they are fit to take command. Moreover, they were simply effective in battles, winning almost every time. They may or may not have an upper hand, but the results tells otherwise.
Atreyos was never close to the heroism or reputation of his siblings. Where it went well for everyone else, it had somehow went wrong for him as the least proven of the royal siblings. From an inspirational leader such as Spearos and Adicai to a young and inexperienced Atreyos. Although, he wasn't unaware of the general perception of him.
In a bid to prove himself, he lead a charge in a tough battle, a really tough battle. He lead his division into the heavily concentrated area of the battle, showing his boldness and willingness to die. It may had seem to be a suicide charge, but it resulted in the victory that changed the tempo of the war. It was as if he was contradicting the reputation of his.
From there on, the young prince showed his willingness to lead, displayed his boldness and loyalty, did dirty work himself. He worked tirelessly, almost always appearing in a disheveled uniform, not caring about it and concerned for what seems to matter. From here, Atreyos proved himself to be a capable soldier, if not, more so than his older siblings.
Atreyos, however, never truly changed himself. Despite his display of determination of tireless energy, he never will be on par with the talent of his predecessors or siblings. Atreyos had never wished to have been placed on a position that he found himself in, a position so high alongside people of high standards that belittled him. He was not the bold leader who was willing to die, but the helpless young soldier who wanted to die. He wasHe never truly talented or passionate in his so called specialty, did not dream to take command of the speartons, and doesn't believe in the way of the spear.
THE END
And no for my own interpretation of Atreyos combined with the fanfiction:
As an Atreyos fan, ever since Spearos describe him as "the boy who doesn't even train, he's never in school and worst of all, he doesn't believe in the way of spear."
It painted Atreyos as someone who was a lazy, incompetent and inexperienced boy. But from the cutscenes of SW3(spoiler warning), he speaks with controlled manner and involve himself in a fight against Wrathnar during the final boss fight with dedication, almost as if he embraced what the speartons stand for.
"Born to die, but not before them!"
In a way, we could see how much Atreyos change from what Spearos describe him to be.
And now I want to talk about the fanfiction's interpretation.
I honestly love it. Because it describes someone that changed but also not changed at the same time. I find that to fit someone like Atreyos. For now, we don't actually know the true reason why he's not as dedicated as his other siblings other than the fact that he's probably just lazy and naive but who knows? CJ might have something up his sleeve.
Back to my discussion, I really love how the last paragraph describe him and even before this fanfiction was made, I had the same characterization of Atreyos as well.
For him to suddenly to be put on a position that he never wants, leading people to their deaths is heavy weight to bare. Heck, at some point, I might suspect Atreyos to form like an impostor syndrome .I figured that he is less talented and passionate of his so called specialty unlike his other siblings. And from how he dressed in-game also shows his personality of indifference of his position as a general.
While his siblings wear a whole different look with pristine armor, weaponry and weapons, Atreyos never change his attire. His equipment shows signs of wear akin to his depiction in Endless Deads, as his helmet and shield are dented and his cape is tattered, and a noticeable gash can be seen on his helmet's eye hole. With his image alone, you can tell that he doesn't care about his position as he never wants it in the first place.
And that one line that almost made me tear up.
He was not the bold leader who was willing to die, but the helpless young soldier who wanted to die.
I think at some point in his experience as a general, he boldly charge towards the battle not only to defeat the enemies, but also lift the burdens from his shoulder by................
I think we all know where I'm getting at.
The point is, he is tired.
Nonetheless, despite everything along with the fact that he never wished to be put into his current position, he still try his best to lead the speartons in honor of his brother despite everyone's doubts on him.
Even if this characterization is wrong in canon as CJ haven't finished the entire campaign yet, we can all agree that Atreyos is an intriguing character. Combining the fact that we still didn't know what happened between him and Adicai.
I hope we get to see more of Atreyos's character in the future.
