What Is A Hero?

Upon returning home, the king met with the three generals, who were unknowing of the king's actions. "Greetings, sire!" General Vixodar exclaimed upon seeing his master.

"Greetings, General Vixodar," the king said, "It has been a rough two days." The king was taking off his coat and scarf while walking as he talked to the generals.

"Yes, my liege," stated General Wixtor, "We had been worried about you and sent out a scout to make sure you had made it safely."

"According to our scout," General Corlak said, "It appears that you were burying the dead. Of what purpose did you wish to fulfill? Had you hoped to please our Lord?"

"I did not," King Tellarius said, as he turned to face the three generals, "I did it because I felt it was humane. What we had done there was inhumane." The king used the word "we" in a specific sense. There were times when he felt of said "what you have done" or "what he has done," but he knew fully well that he was the commander that had ordered the destruction of the village. He may have been ignorant of what he was truly ordering when he ordered such destruction, but he was in full mental abilities when he ordered such an attack. It panged his heart whenever he indicated that he was responsible for what happened. He only tries to grudge through it and ignore it, although it seems to not help in the least. When repairing the villages and burying the dead, he seemed to always look down, not look others in the face or make eye contact, and he tried to do what was right without fully feeling the remorse and sadness that had now overwhelmed him.

The generals looked puzzled at the king's statement and the usage of the word "inhumane." "What do you mean?" asked the distinguished General Wixtor, "Do you feel that what you did was wrong?"

"What we did, the things we ordered and allowed, were barbaric," King Tellarius responded, still facing the three generals in a near like-interrogation scene.

"Are you sure you feel it is the best course of action to help out those villages?" asked the merciless General Corlak.

"I am absolutely sure," King Tellarius declared, almost proud and indignant of their attacks.

"If you help them build up, they may launch a counter attack!" the aggressive General Vixodar stated.

"I highly doubt it," the king said, "If we help these people and aid them in their construction, we only give them an admiration of us, and if not, then it is irrelevant. I can understand the hatred they have for us, considering what we have done to them." The generals looked almost stunned at the king's words. After a few brief moments of silence, the king said, "Now, if you excuse me, gentlemen, I must depart. I am tired and have another village to visit tomorrow. Bless you all." The king left, one general stating "Praise the king!" followed by a chorus, "Praise the king!"

That night, the king slept in his bed. It did not take very long for him to fall deep into dreams. The past two days had been full of hard work and with little rest. As the stars shone brightly that night, the night air combined with a cool breeze, the mind of King Tellarius left the realm of consciousness with a perfect contentness. The king knew his faults, what had to be done, and that he was working towards that. To him, this was the ultimate knowledge, and nothing could have made the night end more perfectly.

Upon awaking the next morning, the king examined his hand, finding the fingers balled up into a claw-like disfiguration. Moving his fingers and flexing those muscles caused an amount of discomfort and in some cases even pain. There were several cracks and cuts in his hands, as well. This had been from the work of the village he was at last night.