Very interested in this. Could I have a dullahan/'haunted' suit of armour? I was thinking a suit of armour that had been created thousands of years ago to protect an ancient empire that has now fallen. or a fairy (of the dark kind) that was originally meant to guard pilgrims on the road. Either way, they would have then betrayed their original purpose, breaking a blood vow- something extremely dishonourable. This would give people plenty of cause to distrust/hate him.

Also, I'm imagining the series of wars between the two kingdoms to be something like [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar]this[/url]. Am I correct in this?