The Trials of a Hero - from Yohan

“No.”

“Still just no? You won’t even consider?” Yohan asked with the innocent eyes of a puppy, but a captain amongst the Guardians wasn’t moved by an inch.

“Frankly, I am appalled that a High Mender would request such a thing. You know the rules very well, sir.”

“Yes, yes, I know. Buuut, isn’t this a good thing? Think about it, an army of undying soldiers… You’ll need it!”

The Guardian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Sir, as I’ve told you for the past 45 minutes, the answer is no.”

“But—!”

“Out!”

And with that, Yohan was thrown out like he weighed nothing, landing on the dirt. He found the Guardians’ clapping to be unnecessary – what was so wrong with him trying to help out? He brushed off the mess from his clothes, and despite their “unappreciativeness,” he was back on his feet, eyes shining with determination.

“So be it, then! Onto the next station!” he declared.

However, that station rejected to deploy him as well.

And the next…

And the one after that.

By the end of the day, he was lying in the middle of the street, staring up at the painted sky with the sun setting over Seris’s quaint prairies, while being eyed as if he was some threatening drug addict. Roe was right – the Guardians wouldn’t allow for a Mender to save lives unlawfully, the Nexus dying or not. Loyal to the codes to the fullest, they were more stubborn than the other High Menders.

“Positive thoughts, Yohan, positive thoughts!” he said, patting his dimpled cheeks. “There’s always a way…”

Even surrounded by crumbled buildings and civilians left without shelter, he was still his optimistic self, his feelings unshared by the Guardians burdened by the abnormally severe weather. Where they saw dismay, Yohan saw opportunity – but as he finally accepted, he’d have to find it elsewhere instead of the stations.

“Absolutely not. There will be no healing of that sort without a High Weaver,” said an exasperated worker at the local apothecary. The door was slammed in his face.

“Sir, I’m sorry – but if you ask that again, I will have no choice but to get a Guardian to detain you,” warned a fellow Mender.

“Forsake the laws of the Nexus just to save my own life? I shall not be so selfish, please leave me to rest in peace…” croaked an old man on his death bed, whose family responded hostilely to a random stranger poking his head through the window and begging to come inside. Yohan fled as they generated their weapons.

It seemed he wouldn’t have any luck at those locations either.

Yohan moved as a sloth down one of the few streets in the Oston District where full rows of buildings were still intact, while his optimism molded into forlorn. If only it weren’t such a sleepy place, otherwise there’d be something distracting to cheer him up. Prior to the recession, he missed the bustle of Visea, the Guardians being too serious to have any nighttime entertainments – or any, for the matter.

“Nobody told me having a dream would be this difficult,” he moaned. “Can’t a poor man just save somebody from death!”

He spotted a mound on the ground in an alleyway, who he discovered to be a person. With a burst of excitement, Yohan asked, “Hello, beautiful madame! Do you happen to be dying!?”

“No. I’m just homeless.”

“DANG IT!”

“What are you screaming for?”

He jumped at the voice behind him, inches away from falling into the wall. But once he saw who was speaking, he spread out his arms and said,

“Oh, Roe! Nice to see you!”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Ah, I guess I’m just a bit stressed out… This whole ‘being a hero’ thing is impossible.”

“I told you this would be a waste, didn’t I?”

“Surely not! It just means I’ll need to try harder. Maybe try another district…”

Roe rolled her eyes, but in them was the slightest spark of amusement. Walking back into the moon and torch lit road, she called out, “I’m going to a tavern for a meal. You can join me if you want.”

He wasn’t all that hungry, but when thinking of the chance of drunks getting into a fight, one so bad they’d need a Mender… He could squeal, and was alongside her without a moment’s delay.

“I’d love to! I’m surprised you asked, to be honest. You don’t really seem like the people type.”

“I don’t dislike people.”

“Well, that sure is a relief!”

Just like the outdoors, the tavern was quiet, calm… And boring. Not one signal that a brawl was going to happen, all the Guardians minding their own business and conversing in hushed tones only when necessary. Yohan started crying. Roe sat up to leave already.

“Don’t leave me to suffer alone in my despair!” he wailed.

Roe seemed irate just under the surface as her tribesmen gave their “rowdy” table condemning stares.

“Will you pull yourself together and stop making a scene?” she whispered harshly. “Why are you even crying?”

“Because—” he blew his nose on a napkin, “How will I ever re-create that time at this rate?”

It was the image that kept him going – the bliss that entranced the nunnery when he restored Alec for Roe. He figured that was the best way to spend his last days, creating happiness and giving second chances wherever he went. With the decrease in people wanting Menders, he already expected it wouldn’t be easy… But these Guardians were ridiculous.

“Is it really so necessary?” Roe asked.

“Yes! Can’t you see? The world needs joy more than ever, and if I can help it, I’m gonna bring it to them.”

She pondered for a minute or two, looking him up and down. After what felt like ages, she said covertly, “If you’re wanting to bend the rules, then you’ll need a Guardian whose willing to do the same – which is me.”

Yohan’s chair pushed back as he hopped onto his feet, “Are you secretly on the verge of death!?”

“Ma’am, please handle your friend’s behavior. This is highly inappropriate,” said an unimpressed patron.

He shrunk back down to his seat as Roe glared at him like she was going to tear him limb-from-limb. “Ahem. Sorry.”

“No, I’m not dying… But I know of a place where you might have some luck— Don’t get too jumpy. I said might.”

“That’s good enough for me! Where is this ‘place?’”

“Somewhere… You’ll find out. But first, I’m starving – and since you embarrassed me, you’re paying.”

“Hey!”