The First Great Battle
In every great warrior's life, in the travels of every famed minstrel or wandering sorceress, there is an epic moment where the protagonist faces a fearsome battle, a harsh reality, or a magic trial of such proportions that it will not soon be forgotten. But what happens to our heroes once they have reached this zenith? Do they go on to live rich, fulfilled lives, the cliche "happily ever after"? Do they pick up their travels right where they left off as if nothing happened? Do they marry, raise children and a small vegetable garden? Or do they spend the next few years of their lives coming to terms with the terrible tribulations they have faced?
Perhaps it is a mixture of all of these. Perhaps, day by day, hour by hour, these wondrous people continue to move forward with their changed lives. They pick up broken pieces, mend shattered hearts, mourn loved one lost in war, and struggle ever onward to the next equally challenging day. But always, always I believe they carry that first calamity in their heart and soul: the moment where they first learned what it meant to truly love and be loved, the second they first learned what defeat means, or the hour when they held the hand of their dying kinsman.
Our heroes will be ever looking back, every compensating, ever wanting for the simple life before they became an extraordinary person. Time mends many things, and eases many wounds, but time can never take the memory of that first great battle.
Perhaps it is a mixture of all of these. Perhaps, day by day, hour by hour, these wondrous people continue to move forward with their changed lives. They pick up broken pieces, mend shattered hearts, mourn loved one lost in war, and struggle ever onward to the next equally challenging day. But always, always I believe they carry that first calamity in their heart and soul: the moment where they first learned what it meant to truly love and be loved, the second they first learned what defeat means, or the hour when they held the hand of their dying kinsman.
Our heroes will be ever looking back, every compensating, ever wanting for the simple life before they became an extraordinary person. Time mends many things, and eases many wounds, but time can never take the memory of that first great battle.