|
Everyone has idols. This idol is often the person who has seemingly achieved a certain level of greatness or divinity that we have to come to praise their presence and follow their teachings. This person has often become a subconscious beacon of light for us to imitate, or even an active presence whose works we take to heart. This person has achieved a great deal of experience and intelligence that makes him stand out amongst the average man, and because of this we have come to hope to be just like him. He symbolizes our hope for personal success and triumph, our hope to become great and outstanding people ourselves. In many cases, it was by his guidance that we have become the Fool and started out on our journey into this world.
The Hierophant, our model for triumph, was the one who taught us that we can achieve greatness.
The Hierophant is said to be the one possessing great and profound knowledge, and teaches people in the ways of truth and greatness. His successes and experiences make him a great teacher to those who seek success and fortune in the world. He seems to holds secrets to success that few other people know and is willing to share to those deemed worthy of these secrets. Like the Emperor, is also a leader of men, but unlike the Emperor, understands that while he may lead he is also part of the team, and only by being part of the team can they find success over adversity.
The young Fool has a variety of teachers, but perhaps none more important than the Hierophant. He is often the most intelligent, wise and cunning of all his teachers, and could also have been the one true inspiration for him to journey beyond the confines of his home.
A mysterious blind seer who has lived through the ages has guided countless heroes like him. He has attained victory over the forces of Highland, battling against numbers twice his army's size. With skill and cunning they manage to fight them off, and such his army and his castle become the new headquarters from which a new war for freedom will be waged. It is a cause for celebration, but they know this is just the tip of the iceberg, and much more difficult battles lie ahead. It is here that Leknaat the blind seer of the starts appear again to counsel him. Our hero has once again aligned the Stars of Destiny to change the threads of fate, if he is able. She presents him with the Tablet of Destiny upon which the Stars who will fight beside him will be engraved. She will again appear before him to give counsel, eager to see once again if man can win against the cruelties of fate.
Perhaps, however, more than simply being an idol, it is the fall of the Hierophant that teaches the young Fool a greater lesson. The Hierophant reverses and the Fool learns: even great men fall. The Hierophant is himself human, and it is even more dangerous for a person such as him to go astray with all his knowledge and experience. He ends up misusing his power for greedy and ambitious ends. He begins to rule with fear and strength rather than trust and compassion. What happens when the Hierophant falls?
There is probably nothing more shocking than a fallen hero. Having escaped this polluted metropolis, the group takes a rest in a nearby town, and they ask our former Soldier to recount his story and that of the white haired swordsman they are seeking. He recounts how this man was his idol, the reason he joined Soldier. Two years after leaving his town he had become a Soldier and was put on a mission with his idol and mentor to inspect a reactor near his hometown. To make a long story short, they would unravel a mystery and conspiracy that would drive his hero into madness and despair. He learns of his past as a test subject and believe himself to be one of the "chosen race" hunted into extinction. In his madness he falls, slaughtering the villagers and disappearing into the flames of the reactor. This was the last time he saw him, until that night in the tower.
The hero in many tales has a idol he looks up to, almost to the level of a demigod. In many instances he or she will help him on his journey, drawing upon his own life experiences so that he may become the hero he can was practically meant to be. He would over him counsel and suggestions on how to proceed and how to operate, things that would prove invaluable to him. It is also possible that the Hierophant isn't as great as he expects him to be, if he has not downright fallen. If he has fallen, then he becomes the symbol of the fallen hero, fallen from grace and has become nothing like his former self. From here our hero sees what it is like to fall, and what must be done not become like the idol he once worshiped.
Because the Hierophant, for all his wisdom and grace, is still human.
|
RSS feed
iTunes