New around here, hope this is the correct forum for this... Struggling to fill a hole in my story related to the antagonists backstory. My setting is mixed, but sci-fi fantasy should cover it, so can allow for flying craft, lasers, bombs, all that. A good king/leader rules over a powerful kingdom. His success can mostly be attributed to a key member of his forces, who I'll refer to as AgentX. AgentX leads a black ops-esque team and also has some kind of rare power (lets say The Force), which makes him the kings strongest asset and secret weapon. Ultimately AgentX will become the antagonist. At some point, the King is presented with a tough choice where sacrificing AgentX will save his kingdom. AgentX is sent (unbeknownst to him) on a suicide mission, either to his death or enemy capture. He survives/escapes the capture/attack and goes dark, spending years building up resources to retaliate against the king who he figures sold him out. What could the incident be that makes this good king sacrifice AgentX? Does he make a deal with his enemies? Does he use AgentX as bait for a killshot that would end a war? I want the king to be seen as good, but also for AgentX to have a credible cause for revenge.
Bloodline, fam before aristo friends, before friends, before colleagues, before subjects. Agent X developed a (side-story) crush on King's daughter (she requited). King knew of this, but X didn't know he knew. Agent X was too low tier and therefore had to go. Therego you introduce romance/intrigue aspect to otherwise v. blokey blood guts sounding synopsis ^
AgentX found out something he shouldn't have, e.g. the identity of the man in the iron mask, and so the king had to get rid of him. A neighbouring kingdom knows that AgentX led a mission against them and wants his head as part of a peace treaty. AgentX is so good at disrupting kingdoms, and so powerful, that the king is spooked and wants him gone in case he turns on him. A jealous courtier has been whispering lies and half truths about AgentX into the king's ear. AgentX worked for the king's father when he was younger, and the new king has now found out that he is responsible for something that he isn't happy about. The king is in love with AgentX, but can't admit it.
AgentX is the king's bastard oldest son. If the truth comes out, it'll tear the kingdom apart because some people will want him to be king. So the brat's gotta go.
King lusts after AgentX's beautiful wife and sends him to be sacrificed so he will be killed and the King can marry his wife. Lifted from the Bible, but good.
War and death change people. Theres a reason soldiers today have to go through a process to reintegrate back into society, and even then it doesn't always work. The king's devisions could easily be the result of growing concerns from military reports. It doesn't need to be a sudden thing. Often the best method is a gradual build-up to a climactic event. Trust your gut on this, it won't stear you wrong.
I like @SethLoki 's take upon it as a first option. It'd spice up things, a little doomed romance and make sense. Another, is the King's fear that AgentX is gaining too much popularity and power over the soldiers. A king starts feeling intimidated when a big part of his army shows signs of becoming more loyal to the army's general and soldiers tend to bond mostly with people they fought side by side with, meaning that often the generals (good ones) earned true respect, trust and loyalty over the army they lead than the king did and sometimes the king openly even lead these generals to suicide missions to eradicate them. I can imagine even a "good" king becoming paranoid at some point. Too much pressure. Personal relationships come second to ruling a kingdom with stability. Perhaps there's a backstory where his father (the King's) got slaughtered by a rebeling general that once was his closest friend.
Well, in the story of King David, he sends a man to the front lines because he slept with the man's wife, and so felt that was the best way to get the guy out of the way... Bet you didn't think the Bible was that interesting.
Does it have to be a suicide mission from the get-go? What if AgentX and his team start the mission trusting the kings army to provide cover at some point. It is the king's intention to help AgentX, but he is then confronted by someone (his ally/wife/opposing nations king or whoever would want to backstab agentX) that coerce the king into sacrificing AgentX to save his son, daughter, brother, or who/whatever. This would still betray AgentX, but makes the kings position much more understandable and justified. If the king knowingly sends a loyal agent to his death it will be challenging to portray the king as good imo.. Ofcourse, AgentX night have done something terrible which would justify the kings choice to some extent. But then AgentX is bad from the start and his resentment to the king is not justified, which -- if I understood your question correctly -- is what you are aiming for. Hope this helps you in any way!
