_The Myth of Char Hero_

Charbile****

                    Seeing her take a pause the god Mentus leaped forth in plain 
                    view with orange, yellow, and red fires leaping before, 
                    behind, and all around proudly running off to each their own 
                    directions before expiring in the cold air, striking great 
                    contrast in front of the falling brown leaves in the dark 
                    forest that lay crowded in empty blackness behind. Charlotte 
                    saw this fierce image and made to run away but the great 
                    laughter of Mentus boomed into her very core, in rhythm to 
                    the beat of her heart, shaking the land around, paralyzing 
                    her where she stood. Not believing fiery demons would have 
                    such happy yet calm laughter, she stood defiant before the 
                    awesome being to see for herself what purpose this creature 
                    had about him. The mind of Mentus blazed and blazed, never 
                    stopping, and she quickly grew fond of his image in a few 
                    passing heartbeats of honest and open realization of him; 
                    she felt a sense of action in the powerful yet controlled 
                    flames splashing about his fine fur. Seeing with his own 
                    eyes the strong willed maiden standing before him with such 
                    courage, strength of mind, and resolve, without any hint of 
                    shame or fear, Mentus moved forward in slow determined steps 
                    to have her, stating everything right and real that she has 
                    found true in the world, contrary to what her community 
                    believed, to her frequent shouts of "Yes!" Thus the great 
                    Mentus seduced the bold Charlotte, he being seduced by her 
                    independence and force of will first, and her being seduced 
                    by his reasoning and understanding in turn.
 
 

                    Charlotte lived in her community during the day and sneaked 
                    back to the clearing in the dark forest at night to the arms 
                    of Mentus for three years. The first time of their meeting 
                    she thought his flames would burn her alive upon touch, and 
                    they did in a sense. His fire did not harm her but gave her 
                    warmth in the cold world, a warmth she cherished, a warmth 
                    of aliveness, a warmth not found in the community of 
                    Othershire.
 
 

                    Mentus left her after these three years and soon after that, 
                    she gave birth to twins: Char and Charbane. She kept them a 
                    secret from her community, for her community did not approve 
                    of her and had made it known that if she were ever to have 
                    something, she were to let everyone in Othershire have it 
                    also or be banished forever. This caused her much grief for 
                    she had grown to dislike the manner of her community with 
                    much more fiery a passion than they disliked her own, and so 
                    she hid her twins away from them in the forest clearing 
                    where she had built herself a house.
 
 

                    One day Char convinced his brother to come with him and 
                    follow their mother to Othershire, a place Char was curious 
                    about but forbidden to go. They watched as their mother 
                    walked into the town and quickly blended into the crowd of 
                    people walking in perfect lines and formations with each 
                    other, all putting forth the same foot in unison when 
                    walking as they came and left, sometimes jumping through 
                    great circular hoops to impress others. Char quickly noticed 
                    many circles there, some that ran in odd looking loop 
                    shames; all the paths, all the lines of the town were 
                    connected and circular in nature. Paths always returned to 
                    the spot at which they began, never to really go anywhere 
                    new.
 
 

                    By this time the divine overseer of Othershire, Facihumilis, 
                    had noticed the self thinking and observing Char and he 
                    frowned, sending two great, oversized red foxes to kill him. 
                    Char heard the loud yipping and shrieks from within the 
                    thick crowds of people and called for his brother, but his 
                    brother ignored him, instead he had wandered into town and 
                    was playing a game of 'it' with other children, laughing at 
                    and taunting the little girl who was now 'it' with his new 
                    found friends. Char saw that Charbane was lost in their 
                    world and seeing the two frenzied hounds approaching, he ran 
                    back into the forest. He jumped over the berry bushes, 
                    darted through the briar patches carefully avoiding the 
                    thorns, and sneaking under the dense foliage of all colors 
                    green he found a tree about to fall over from a decayed 
                    stem. The vulpine hounds were sniffing, moving their tall 
                    ears above them like birds of prey, and Char shouted as loud 
                    as he could sending the crimson foxes raging toward him. He 
                    smashed away the decayed trunk with his bare arm, 
                    outsmarting the bloodthirsty animals, killing them with the 
                    falling tree. Taking the furs from the animals, he fashioned 
                    clothes out of the two.
 
 

                    And so, Char and his mother were banished from Othershire 
                    soon after, and Char became very depressed as he grew up 
                    among the growing plants and trees in the forest until he 
                    found a recluse named Selfus. Selfus too had been exiled 
                    from Othershire, though much longer ago, for refusing to 
                    give his bread to another man and refusing to take the bread 
                    of the other man upon his giving it to him, defying an 
                    ancient custom of Othershire. Selfus told Char many great 
                    things, but one thing caught his attention more than the 
                    rest and that was the legend of Logistica, the axe staff. 
                    Char wanted to find and use this weapon and so Selfus took 
                    him into the dark forest, and pointed one way down the path 
                    and said "Even though this path is the darkest of all, and 
                    you cannot see a foot ahead of you until you take a foot's 
                    step, this path leads to your prize if you are determined 
                    enough to follow it." He pointed down the path from whence 
                    they came and said, "Come back with me and to your mother if 
                    you are afraid of the unknown or are content in the life you 
                    have now." Char being very much depressed until finding 
                    Selfus and hearing of Logistica decided to take the darkest 
                    of paths to achieve gain and make his life more full and 
                    complete through action and accomplishment.
 
 

                    From here Char journeyed a great distance, knowing what he 
                    wanted and fighting many monsters in the dark forest to 
                    advance. Through cunning and the use of his mind, he 
                    defeated many beasts and overcame many trials: the huge 
                    empty shell Fear, surviving through the desert Boredom, the 
                    long and tangled worm Irreason, crossing the acid river 
                    Hopeless, and the poisoned double-headed ogre who mortals 
                    call Meek-eek, to name but a few. All during his journey, 
                    the god Facihumilis watched and made his trials more 
                    difficult and complex, becoming angrier at each victory Char 
                    made in his personal advancement.
 
 

                    Being away for ten years on his journey, without finding the 
                    legendary axe staff Logistica, he came home to his mother 
                    Charlotte and friend Selfus to rest. Facihumilis was shocked 
                    and bewildered by the actions of Char in light of his 
                    victories over himself, that he came to him in a flash of 
                    lightning from the heavens and the mighty god asked: 
                    "Relentless Char, it is I, Facihumilis, whose words resound 
                    from all collective groups of the deserving and humble, 
                    demanding answer for your recent action! Why have you quit 
                    fighting me? Why have you quit your journey for the axe? Why 
                    have you quit?"
 
 

                    To this Char took his right hand, tapped the side of his 
                    head, and spoke thus: "Why say you this to me, god? I have 
                    never fought you, you have only fought yourself over me. Why 
                    say you this to me, Facihumilis? I have never quit my 
                    journey for Logistica, for I have realized it has always 
                    been with me. Why say you this to me, immortal? I have never 
                    quit, so long as I am alive I will never quit myself." To 
                    this the god stared blankly, mouth agape, not understanding 
                    what Char said yet knowing that he surely stood before a 
                    mighty unbreakable hero, a man who was his own man, who 
                    lived his life for himself.
 
 

                    Facihumilis quit his grudge against Char and welcomed him 
                    and his mother and his friend back into Othershire, which 
                    was soon renamed Myshire in celebration of life and the 
                    exploits of Char. Facihumilis so greatly admired and 
                    respected Char that he gave him the hand of his first and 
                    only mortal daughter, Gloria, in marriage. The day after 
                    they were married, Char became ill; the wounds, poisons, and 
                    scars he received during his journey come back to him, 
                    crippling him with unbearable pain. The pain was so great 
                    that Char gathered all his strength and dragged himself into 
                    the dark forest outside of town, and was quickly devoured by 
                    an unknown and unworldly being, that had black roots firmly 
                    entrenched in the ground, and left as quickly as it had 
                    appeared. Everyone ran to look for Char upon noticing he was 
                    neither her nor there, but all they found were pieces of his 
                    fox clothing on the old farm area Charlotte cleared in the 
                    heart of the dark forest. They built a temple in his name 
                    there. Those who come to the temple say on the coldest of 
                    nights when out alone in the dark forest they can see the 
                    red-haired Char hero jumping over the berry bushes, darting 
                    through the briar patches in ethereal smoke, and sneaking 
                    beneath dense foliage of all colors green to vanish in a 
                    flash of fire.