Rykard is a momma's boy
Rykard left 2 abductor virgins in Raya Lucaria to protect his mom, which honestly tells us a lot about how he must have loved her, especially considering how one brings trespassers to the Volcano Manor so he could presumably rip them a new one. I like to think he and Ranni the most resented Radagon for leaving their mother (as we are told fuck all about Radahn's feelings about her), and was a big factor in why they wanted to destroy the Erdtree/Golden Order/Two Fingers (and gods in general in Rykard's case). That shit was personal.
I kinda wish we could get a special ending from Tanith having eaten him. I don't know how different it would be from the Frenzied Flame ending, which essentially honors Rykard's wishes of destroying the Golden Order with fire except without eating the gods and whatnot.
