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Uriel, though a spare to the King and Queen Funkazan, was a much wanted child to their expanding family. He would have no qualms about his early years. He wanted for nothing, had the affections of his parents, but most important of all to him was that he had a brother who loved him in all the ways a brother could. It was a bond that, at such a young age, he was not aware would be a lifeline for the more difficult years to follow. That’s not to say everything Uriel experienced in his life was of hopelessness and misery; there were many if not more highlights than troubles, even if they weren’t easily noticeable. It’s a detail, had he been writing an autobiography, he’d make clear.

He had a love for storytelling, both listening and later depicting. When it came time to learn to write, Uriel could not pick up a utensil fast enough. By the time he was nearing adolescence he was grade levels ahead in calligraphy and reading comprehension. Micah always had a willing eye and ear when he wanted thoughts on a piece of work or help with a subject matter that was a key element to his story. It was his older brother’s encouragement that kept him from giving up so easily. His parents, though proud that he was gifted with written word, believed his obsessions were as ridiculous as the stories he crafted – unrealistic and an unworthy pursuit for a prince. They even went as far as tearing out pages upon pages of script, notes, and illustrated references from his worn out notebooks to throw them into the fireplace. Uriel was hurt obviously at the destruction of his work and his parent’s disappointment, but was confused on why what he did was so wrong. Their library had what looked like millions of books but they weren’t throwing those into the flames or making discouraging statements about them as they did to him. Vindication came from a moment he would never forget. Micah put his own flesh at risk to pull out a draft of his making, causing a panic for their parents and other staff in the room. His brother was undamaged thanks to a newfound protective power. Though severely burned, Urial took the saved draft and pulled what he could from the parts of the pages that weren’t blackened by the flames. The incident had him work to be more careful with his documents and keep them secret, not only to keep them from the fire but to keep Micah from having to risk himself getting hurt again.

It wasn’t long after that Uriel discovered he had fire talents of his own, and it could not have been a more humiliating moment. He befriended a classmate with curly hair, a dimple in his left cheek and the ability to make his heart melt with a smile. In the middle of having an epiphany that maybe he didn’t only like girls, he accidentally set his own pants on fire. Initially thought to have been caused in relation to a new development of lactose intolerance, the younger Funkazan prince discovered after some trial and error that he could will something to catch fire. The strands of barb on his tutor’s quill, his bedroom curtains, the medicine being spoon-fed to him all fell victim to his experiment. Nothing more ever came of his friendship with that kid; he was acutely aware it was a no-no to have that kind of interest in one population of people.

Lost in his own world, Uriel never knew Funkazan was having conflict with other kingdoms until his parents called Micah and him in for a meeting about it. It was this day that he met two allies to the family, Jamal and Zahra. With them at his side, he would be joining the military and utilizing their talents for the war effort. At first, it was only him that was mentioned for enlistment. He did not want to go, but naively believed doing so would mend the relationship with his parents he somehow damaged. There was no expectation for Micah to enlist, nor did Uriel expect him to as he was the crown prince. When Micah announced that he would be enlisting as well, he objected. Perhaps too hard. He did not want Micah to fight in the war and die, and the thought of coming back to him not being there sounded like a bad nightmare. He insisted this arrangement was fine, and if one of them had to sit it out, his brother was the most logical choice.Micah did not relent though and both of them left to support the cause.

In boot camp it quickly became apparent that Uriel’s ability to make things suddenly catch fire would prove useful in the coming days, and he was partnered with another recruit in the hopes to create a more powerful weapon between them. The plan was a success and later on the front lines their efforts were shown to be very fruitful. It was during one night of celebration that his field partner made the first move with a sudden kiss on the lips when they were in private. Uriel did not have it in him to resist the slightly older man as he had been secretly pining for him since the day they met. He woke up the next morning on cloud nine. They were surrounded by the horrors of war but somehow this man had become a paradise away from that place when he was near. His eyes lit up as bright as his smiles and his smell of cedarwood and mint was intoxicating. Leaning on one another on the heavier days blossomed into a secret romance. Uriel’s head was filled with daydreams of life when they were done with the war.

Then all of those daydreams were shattered. They were found out in a moment of carelessness and promptly reported to superior officers. That morning was the last time he saw his lover. Being a prince allowed him to forgo consequences or file notations, and he was told he would receive an honorable discharge for his service. His partner would not be so lucky. They could kick him out of the military, Uriel knew, but they couldn’t stop him as a member of the royal family. The general’s tune quickly changed when he said he’d go to the media and out himself if they put anything damning on his partner’s record. No one wanted to have to explain to the King and Queen why the spread of private family matters couldn’t have been avoided. Uriel may have unintentionally set the general’s hair on fire in a moment of deep frustration too.

Uriel was allowed to come home, but the air was tense. His parents played off his military service as a success and refused to acknowledge the real reason he was back. The depression struck hard and he felt trapped in the palace while he mourned the loss of his field partner and their hopes and dreams. Micah, a constant in his life, was also absent and their home did not feel the same without him there to brighten it up. While he was in the comfort and security of their home, his older brother was out there fighting in the war he volunteered to join. He was more than capable of being out there with him, Jamal, and Zahra. So when Micah did return, it was all he could do to hug him and cry tears of joy that he was still alive. He was back, even if it was for a little while.

Like a dam breaking, he confessed the truth behind his discharge to Micah and months of bottled up emotions flooded out of him. It was enough that his older brother didn’t scold him and instead consoled him in the moment, especially when he lived with the underlying irrational fear that he would be cast aside by Micah like their parents did. The hole he was in didn’t feel so deep anymore and it only became more shallow as he found himself indulging in the things he loved before being shipped off to war. It helped fill in the days that he was lonely, and gave him more things to share with Micah and anyone else when they returned home.

His parents had uncovered a new manuscript, this time a longer piece with more detail, a piece of work he was really proud of. In the fire it went, and he watched as the edges blackened and curled under the heat and orange flame. Blind with distress over losing more written work, he punched a stone wall and fractured his fingers and wrist. While there was no damage to the wall, the impact was hard enough to cause a marble bust of one of his ancestor’s to fall from a high shelf and down toward him. Uriel held up his arms to shield himself and braced for the pain to come, but instead felt the bust bounce off of his arms and fall on his foot. Despite being in pain, he was surprised to find shiny red scales had covered both of his forearms. The King and Queen were astounded by the discovery as it had been a power an ancestor once possessed. The same ancestor whose heavy marble bust nearly killed him.

Uriel healed just in time to go to Utopia. Once again, it was an order, but this time his parents were more direct with their expectations of him, those expectations being that he work on becoming the kind of man they believed Funkazan needed. A man with an overall resemblance to Micah and not himself. He agreed, at least only to get them off his back. Utopia academy was far away, days of travel by carriage. He assumed people from Funkazan would send a representative to check on them from time to time, but would they really be aware of his activities at all hours? At least while he wasn’t under his parents’ thumbs, he could breathe easier and do things for himself, maybe get a better grip on who he was and who he needed to be for the future.