The Hero and the Tyrant

[Qwerts]

The Hero and the Tyrant


He sighed as he finally arrived in front of the door to the throne room. Made it, but somehow this seemed too easy. No guards in sight since he had introduced himself into the castle. He could only wonder if this was a trap, if there was demons and other atrocities in the room behind the door, and if actually HE was in there; the Tyrant of this kingdom. With a swift kick, the door opened and he rushed in, ready for anything... But this. The throne room laid in ruin, mold and stains on the royal carpet as well as on the bare stones. But at the end of the worn out carpet, on an impossible throne made of many tiny, dry branches was the man. Wearing his expressionless mask as always, his clothes seemingly as worn out as the rest of the room, barely lit by the lights of almost completely candles on two chandeliers. His head slowly lifted up, his mask seemingly looking at the Hero. “What do we have here?” The voice asked, familiar, yet alien, emotions well hidden, under the calm tone of voice of the man.

“I'm here to end the your reign of terror over this kingdom, Tyrant! Prepare to fight, as of tonight, the people of this land shall be free!” The Hero said, his hand tightening around the pommel of his sword.

The Tyrant let out a chuckle, somehow sounding hollow, as if he wasn't truly amused. “Oh, Hero. You want to free the people of the land? From me? But I don't see them complaining about me, do they?” He said on the same calm voice.

“They are too afraid of you to complain! But when you'll be gone, they shall be free!” The Hero answered, taking steps forward, toward the impossible throne and its occupant.

“Ah. Yes, they will, will they? Are you sure of that? Aren't they already free?” The Tyrant asked the Hero.

“You are a tyrant, therefore, if I end your life, they'll be free when, right now they aren't!” The Hero replied, coming closer to the Tyrant, keeping an eye for an ambush or a trap.

“But, I don't do anything to them. I never have! All I do is sit on this impossible throne day and night, night and day, a throne that shouldn't be able to stand under my own weight! The people of this land have all the food they need, and are free to buy anything and everything! I decreeted the taxes to be at minimal, to keep this kingdom in good shape, to fix the roads, the harbors, the bridges, to pay for the soldiers so they can protect them from any threats... I only have this title and this old worn out room to myself. And I do not ask for anything else.” The Tyrant answered, putting his right hand on the chin of his mask and also his own hidden by the mask.

“They are unhappy and want...” The Hero said, but was cut off by the move of the free hand of the Tyrant who started to speak. “They are? And it is because of me? I'm the one making them unhappy? I'm the one that force them to live their lives the way they do? Is my shadow SO powerful that they don't even dare to breath in their houses in fear I appear and slay them?” The Tyrant asked.

The Hero's blood was boiling as he heard the man tell him this! He was a Tyrant! It was normal that people were afraid of him! And as a Hero he had to defeat him! “Prepare to fight Tyrant!” The Hero said angrily at the man, his sword drawing closer to the man.

“I do not wish to fight you, Hero.”, the Tyrant said, “but you can kill me if you wish so.” The man said calmly.

The Hero froze in place hearing this. The Tyrant wouldn't fight for his life and even offered to the Hero to take it? But that wasn't heroic! That was plain cold murder! “I'm not a murderer!” The Hero spat out.

“Then walk out of here, Hero. You won't find anyone in this castle willing to fight you! The soldiers of this place are long gone, all of them either returned to their families or have kept the people of the kingdom safe as I said.” The Tyrant answered.

“But...” The Hero stammered.

“But what? The kingdom is falling apart? Corruption have taken hold of many high ranked officials? People live in fear? Chaos is upon this land? Is this it? This not of my doing, young hero. I am only sitting on the throne, night and day, day and night. I do not do anything else. And if things are said and done in my name, I have not cautioned any of them. Nobody came to see me for eons, only you who claim to want to free them. To be their hero. However, hero, even if you free them from me, will that feat save them from themselves?.” The Tyrant asked the hero.

“Free them from themselves!?!?!” The Hero asked, astonished, feeling he was the victim of the rambling of a mad man.

“Yes, free them of themselves. You seem to claim I'm the key to all the disasters that strike this land. However, if it is so, then, how come only you and you only have come to face me? How come there's no rebellion? The people of this land go on with their lives, not caring about me, sitting on my impossible throne! The fear they have is only imposed on them by themselves! The things they've stopped to do, they only stopped to do them themselves! Some, like you may blame me, perhaps all of them, but none, beside you ever did anything to change this! Am I really the cause, or only the excuse they decided to have to explain why they restrict themselves, why they don't change things?” The Tyrant asked on his eerily calm tone.

The Hero slowly, pulled down his blade, trying to understand what the Tyrant was saying. “You are telling me that you're not at fault here!?!?!”

“Yes, that's what I'm telling you, young one! They all know that I sit here, day and night, night and day, and they all know that I'm the only one in this castle. But they need someone to blame for all of their own wrong decisions, theirs own greed, their hate of one another, they need me to be the one at blame, directly, or not, for what they don't dare to do!” The Tyrant said, his hand now scratching the back of his head.

“But you are sitting in the kingdom's throne!” The Hero said.

“Indeed I am. But look at it. All made up of those tiny dead branches. If they came and took one branch off at one point the throne would crumble down and I'd soon be on the floor.”

“Well, then, I'll take one branch now! Then I'll go back in town and tell them to come and all take one, until you're on the floor! Then you won't have any rights to rule the kingdom!” The young Hero said.

“Oh? I guess that could be a good idea. Then you'd rule this land?” The Tyrant asked in a mocking tone.

“Of course not!”

“Well, then you'll go and get people to make my impossible throne crumble down and leave? The who will rule, if you don't? A wise Queen? A greedy King? A council of people that will prioritized themselves and their families over the rest of the citizens of the kingdom?” The Tyrant asked.

“I... I do not know...” The Hero stammered.

“So, to free the people from me, you're willing to let someone else, someone that may be even worst than me take over this kingdom, as you only want to be the hero who have freed the kingdom from myself and nothing more?” The Tyrant asked the Hero.

“I...” The Hero said.

“I see... So, you have no idea about who will replace me. About what they'll do. You could as well open the place for a person who will bring a golden age to this kingdom, or one that will open the gates of Hell on it.”

“But if I don't do anything...”

“Yes, if you don't do a thing, I'll still be sitting night and day, day and night on my impossible throne. However, if you do something, you may open Pandora's box!” The Tyrant said on his eerily calm tone.

“But I don't want to live in this kingdom the way it is!” The Hero said.

“Then, go away and go live into another kingdom!”

“I travelled a lot and I hated all the other kingdom. None of them were right. None of them shared my ideals, my values...”

“So, we're back to the beginning. Kill me and take my place and shape this place to your desires. Or get out of this room and find a place in the green forest where you can live out your life in your own ideal, your own values without anybody troubling you.” The Tyrant said to the Hero.

“But... I do not want to live the life of a hermit. ... And I do not want to kill a man who do not wish to fight!” The Hero answered.

“Then... I guess you can live your life just like all of the people of this kingdom. Blaming me, who do nothing but sit night and day, day and night upon my impossible throne, made of tiny dry death branches that support my weight, but that shouldn't be able to. I cannot help you, hero.” The Tyrant said, waiting to see what would happen next.

Without a word, the Hero let go of his sword and turned around, exiting the throne room, more disturbed than after a fight against demons, undeads and unnamed atrocities. He had come to slain the Tyrant to free people that didn't want to be freed, to be a hero, but leave the the power to other that he didn't knew if they'd create a perfect kingdom or wreck havoc on it. He wanted to make this place a better place, but now understood that if he was the only one wanting so, it wouldn't change anything. He left completely depressed.

After he left, I got up from my impossible throne and closed the door behind him. Then I took his sword and threw it away in the moat, before going back to sit on my impossible throne. For day and night, night and day. Waiting...


END


This may have many meanings and you may see more than one. Or just one. Something a little bit philosophical. Or not. I just felt like writting and this is the result. Inspired by the new "war" in Irak as well as my observations on the human race and life. It seems dark, it seems depress, yet I'm not. I'm happier than I ever been since... Before 2006 or so. I'm also feeling highly better than when any of you got to know me. However, I am highly disappointed in humanity...