Hero

I'm standing here and I don't really know what I'm supposed to do. I mean, I've done all the right things...haven't I? They all told me,

"You did the right thing"

I did. I chose to come because it was the right thing to do. Was it? All I've really got is a sword. It's just an ordinary one, no magic powers or special qualities that you read about in stories. But what can a sword do against darkness?

When you read about darkness, you think that it's just another threat, another enemy that the good people have to bring down. At least, that's what I always thought. And that's alright because the good people always do kill the darkness and they always do come out as the victors. But when you're here...when you're actually standing here...oh, it's so different.

All the heroes I ever read about were just like me. They were farm boys who didn't know a trident from a gauntlet. But they weren't bad or anything. I mean, I don't think I'm really bad. I've done stupid things and I've said nasty things but not particularly bad things. We've all done that, right? We've all stood there and said things we didn't mean. And I've always said sorry afterwards. The heroes were the same. They were nice people. Then...somehow, they got dragged into a whole new world. And it's full of people who hate each other and want to hurt each other. They do horrible things just to incite the enemy. When you're a farm boy, how can you possibly know what it's like to have an enemy anyway?

Then great wise people talk to you as if you mean something, as if you're really important. That makes you feel wonderful. To think that wizards and mages, lords and ladies and all the high folk of the world think you're actually worth something. They say things like,

"You're our one"

and

"You can do this for us"

But when you look back on it...is it just because they want someone else to do it? I mean, obviously, there has to be a good and bad side or where would the story be? But...that's the thing that's worrying me most. What if there is another farm boy on the enemy's side, just like me, who doesn't know about warfare or hatred or what's really going on. Then he gets given a sword and told all the same things.

"You can do this for us"

And the sides are set. What if, when I get there, I come face-to-face with him? That would be the most frightening thing of all. Never mind the orcs. Never mind the dark elves. Never mind the men in their cloaks of evil. What if I have to fight with that boy who has gone through the same things as me? He won't cackle at me or wave his wand and try to kill me with a spell. He'll just be hiding behind his shield, looking out and staring at me. Just like me.

That would be that it's not the right thing to do. I wouldn't kill someone who's had to go through all the same things as me. If I'm not bad, then maybe he isn't bad either and we'd be two good people trying to kill each other. How can that be right?

But then, surely the wise folk would have checked. Maybe they've looked in their crystal balls and looking-glasses and made sure that there is no other farm boy.