Courage

wpid-veterans_day_2008_poster_1_1Sometimes, the national sentiment was one of resentment towards them, yet still they fought. Sometimes, the threat of the enemy seemed overwhelming, yet still they fought. Sometimes, they aimed their weapons through the haze of battle, only to see a family member aiming back, yet still they fought. Some came back battered and broken, all came back forever changed. Some gave, as Lincoln so eloquently put it, “… the last full measure of devotion …” All demonstrated that singular attribute that is as intangible as the air, yet is as powerful as tempered steel … courage.

What is courage? You can see it in the eyes, but you cannot grab it with your hands. You can feel it in your heart, but you cannot measure its weight. It is the greatest of things. It lives within us all, yet sometimes it is the most difficult of things to find. I wish I could say that I always know where to find it in my life, that when the moment comes, I can put aside fear and do what must be done. After all, that is what courage is: the ability to be afraid, and do it anyway.

Today we thank our veterans with all our hearts. All those brave souls who put themselves in harm’s way, that we might enjoy the fruits of the liberty they fought to protect. It is a day close to my heart, not because I am a part of that noble fellowship, but rather, because I am not. Our veterans have all done something that I did not; they courageously went forward and defended all of us who live under the auspices of freedom.

D.W. and I honor our veterans, honor all those warriors who have courageously faced an enemy, by trying to write characters that can in some way encapsulate the courage that our soldiers have so readily displayed. That is the beautiful thing about being storytellers. We can pay homage to the spirit of the warrior by lending some of it to our characters.

That is one of the reasons we write, to give a true accounting of the heroes we know ourselves to be, deep in our hearts. That is why we read, to hear the stories of people that are in some way like us, to inspire us to be more than we are. That is the beauty of storytelling. We can honor those brave souls who have come before us with tales that will live on long after we are gone. We can inspire. We can enthrall. We can thank.

Who are some of the heroes that you admire most? Who are some of the characters that inspire you?

This is your community, we want to hear from you.

NP-symbolIt was a small detachment of men that he had been assigned, no more than ten, all told. 

“Are the men ready?”

“They await only your command.”

“It will be given soon,” he assured her.  “But, let us not underestimate this foe. Despite our best laid plans, lives may well be lost this day.” 

“They all know full well the importance of our mission.  Any lives lost will be for the greater good,” she said with pride.

~Necromancers’ Pride (deleted excerpt)

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