No New Heroes

This is something of a love/hate letter to overused tropes in both fantasy novels and old school Japanese Role-Playing games. Where a chosen one is "found" because of prophecy. It's always been so odd to me having read and played so many. I hope you all enjoy.

Forward: So I'd like to start this story off with a simple statement for all the people in the land. As someone who personally woke up one day and had my entire village razed to the ground and then was declared some person of prophecy. It is nonsense. These fortune tellers who walk around muttering to themselves about how a child of prophecy will be born. You should beat them in the streets for what they've done to me and anyone else like me.

I looked over at the bartender, "Oi! Next ten rounds for everyone in here are on me!" The whole tavern erupted into cheers. I looked out at all of them, "But you have to stay and listen to my story. So that hopefully some traveling wizard comes through your town asking about the child of prophecy you'll kick him in the head." The cheers died down a little as everyone looked at each other. I got it. They were confused. Me and a rag-tag group of people from all over the world had just saved the world. They were wondering why I would decry the very thing that led to this moment. Well I was going to tell them.

As the first round of drinks were being brought out I started my story, "I was from the small fishing village of Lamban. I had two normal loving parents. No heroes run in my family. I was twelve years old when my village burned to the ground. Not two days before a blind man had come through our town. He had touched the foreheads of all the children looking for the child of prophecy. So as to stop the growing evil in the world. Our parents all fretted but no child was found to be the one and so everything had gone back to normal.

I had gone out on my first solo fishing expedition and caught plenty of fat fish to bring home. As I was coming back home I was feeling proud and excited to see my father's face at my catch. I caught the smell of the fire before I saw it. When I did see it I began to weep. I brought the boat back as fast as I could. There were armed guards from the kingdom of Tican everywhere looking for something or someone. Of course I was spotted and dragged from my boat. They questioned me about the old blind man. Had he picked a child? If so, had they left together? I told them that no one had been picked. They tossed me away laughing and told me they would leave so I could try to save people.

By the time they left there was no saving anyone. I found my father before he died but he was in such a state of shock that he couldn't even say anything to me. I was twelve. Twelve years old and I just watched my whole village get brutally murdered. So when the old blind man came back to my town what do you think happened next? Of course I asked him if he had found the child of prophecy and he told me no. So I told him I wanted revenge so I would serve as his child of prophecy until he could find the real one. I could at least get the job started. All he did was grin and led me away to go train."

At this point someone in the tavern stood up. They pointed at me, "You chose to do this and you're complaining? How unbelievable!"

I jumped down from the little stage I had put myself on and drew my blade, "Again I would like to iterate that I was twelve. Everyone and everything I've ever known has just been ripped from me. Grown adults don't act rationally in situations like that. What the hell was I supposed to do at twelve?"

The guy sat down looking sheepish, "I guess that's a good point. I'd probably have done the same thing."

I put my sword away and sighed, "Listen I'm sorry. But you all have to understand how this happened. How it all went so unbelievably wrong. So anyways after that I was taken to go train with two other children who like me had their lives destroyed. For a full year we trained. Normally against extremely dangerous animals. We ended up destroying ecosystems during our training but that didn't matter. We had to get revenge. After that when we were 'ready' we went out into the world. Hunting down a single platoon of soldiers numbering forty strong. Three of us against forty. But again we're orphaned children who are bent on revenge. Numbers are for mathematicians not us.

When we found them we slaughtered them. All that training had paid off and now even if we hadn't been named as children of prophecy we sure felt like it. I mean three teenagers just took out forty full grown men. And not just beat them. We crushed them without a second thought." I looked out at everyone noticing that some people were getting uncomfortable. I leaned forward, "Your discomfort is warranted. I just told you that three children murdered forty soldiers in cold blood. But it's okay we're the good guys.

After that we went on a mini rampage. Hunting down every group of soldiers from Tican we could and we killed them. No mercy, no talking, and absolutely no problems for us. By the time we finally encountered a Captain we were about seven hundred people in." I noticed the whole tavern shifted a little away from me now. I got up and walked towards them, "What did I say that bothered all of you? Don't tell me you didn't know. Oh man yeah by the time this is done you're all going to be real uncomfortable if only seven hundred bothers you. So anyways we fought a Captain and we barely escaped with our lives. He was just too strong for us at that time.

So we tucked tail and we ran back to our hideout to the old man so he could advise us what to do next. Only we arrived just in time to find everything on fire. Once again everything we had come to know was torn from us but the old man had somehow escaped. So we ran and we set up a new hideout. Once again we trained by fighting extremely dangerous animals. In hindsight none of what I'm saying makes sense but we were young and full of a thirst to change things no matter the cost. It was during this time we all started experiencing our first signs of PTSD. Night terrors constantly of all the people we had slaughtered. That should have been my first clue this was all nonsense."

I took down my drink in one long gulp and motioned to the bartender for another, "But it was okay. Because we were children of prophecy and we were doing the right thing. We trained day in and day out. The old man would disappear for days at a time and would come back with new weapons and armor to reflect our improving skills. We didn't question how a blind man did these things because he was bringing us what we needed to complete our revenge. We almost never spoke to him and yet he was our greatest confidant. Maybe if we had we would have figured out what he was doing sooner.

After another six months of training and another ecosystem utterly ravished by all the things we killed we were ready. We left our hideout with new skills and weapons ready to fight a whole army if need be. Now at this point the three of us were thirteen years old. Barely teenagers and yet somehow we'd acquired a level of power comparable to fighting down wild beasts that roam the land and hundreds of trained soldiers. If that doesn't confuse or upset you then I want whatever drugs you are on."

I stopped again to drain another pitcher of beer. I motioned the bartender again for more, "We once again waged war across the land. Crushing any Tican soldiers who came across our path. Soon three children had somehow garnered the attention of an entire kingdom. So much so that they decided if they could crush us then the rest of the land would just lay down for them. That's when something in me changed. I'm not even sure what. All I know is that after the three of us had killed over ten thousand people something finally changed in me. I didn't want revenge anymore. I wanted this to be over.

As you all know I reached out to all the people in the land. I asked every able-bodied person to step forward with whatever weapons they could get a hold of. Me and my friends helped train you all without destroying the environment around us. Together we fought Tican and we won. I know that many of you in this room fought alongside me. That whole time the old blind man couldn't be found anywhere. We searched high and low for him when we could but couldn't find him. We helped bring actual peace to this land and we stopped the senseless bloodshed. But after that was when the real war started for me and my friends.

After Tican was subdued we finally found the old man again. He was wandering again looking for more children of prophecy. I of course stopped him and asked him why. We had won and peace had been restored to the land. Why was he hunting for anyone at this point? This was when I was told something that completely altered everything that had just happened. There never was a prophecy."

Several people in the crowd stood up now yelling at me, "What do you mean there was never a prophecy? Our fathers father's and those before them have all known of the prophecies. People, normally children destined to save our world from various evils while we the people were to try and hide. This central belief has shaped the entire development of our world and you're telling us it's a lie?"

I nodded vigorously, "Yes I absolutely am! Do you realize how ridiculous what you said sounded? Really think about it. Our entire world has developed on the premise that children will save the day. With literally no regard to the state and condition it leaves the children in. I don't sleep anymore! Not real sleep. Because I'm always on guard and even when I do sleep I'm plagued with nightmares! Simply being in this room with all of you in such close proximity is utterly terrifying to me! All because of a prophecy that was never real to begin with.

The old blind man was just one of many people in a cabal that are responsible for spreading the original word of the prophecy. Those people are the same ones who feed into every evil of our world. Causing the problems that require the children to rise up and strike them down. I would hope you are all asking why at this point? Because think about all of your lives. Until recently not a one of you had ever thought to defend yourself. If you had been attacked you would have just accepted it. Waited for a hero to come save you. Now though you know how to fight back.

Our world is going to change vastly because of this. All of you can now help to change the world. You don't need people like me anymore. I'm not a hero or a child of prophecy. I never was. I was a child who lost everything. I lost everything because the old man led the men of Tican to my village. He knew what they would do and he knew how it would affect me if I lived. He did this to the other children too. He through his actions and the actions of those like him have led to children like me losing their entire lives for nothing more than keeping the mass of people compliant."

I drowned my third mug slamming it down and then I sighed, "End this cycle. Let this be done. Let me and my friends be the last 'heroes' of the land. Be your own heros and kick the soothsayers out of town." I walked down from my little stage and dropped a massive bag of gold on the counter in front of the barkeep. "I said before that my real war had begun when I realized the old man had lied. That's because me and my friends are going to deal with them. No more prophecies. Save yourselves in the future." With that I walked out of the tavern with only silence behind me.

This was another experimental piece utilizing a lot more dialogue than action. If you enjoyed it then please like, subscribe, and feel free to leave a tip. Till next time.