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This week I’m going to be discussing various themes and emotions that are within the next book Legends of Windemere: Curse of the Dark Wind.  As The Compass Key proved, delays seem to happen and I’d rather be clean than quick when it comes to this.  If anything, this gives people a taste of what’s to come.

A complaint had been made several times over the course of the series.  This was in regards to Luke Callindor and his ‘strength’.  Many people see him as the only central character, so they get annoyed when he is overshadowed by the others in terms of power.  This I’ll touch on in another post, but it leads into another complaint that always seems to turn up alongside it: a crying hero.

Luke demonstrates that he isn’t a cold-hearted warrior and is still rather immature as far as our traditional heroes go.  If he loses a friend or fails, he gets depressed and has even cried on a few occasions.  This seems to be a big ‘no-no’ for some reason, which has me curious as to why.  Nyx and Sari have been brought to tears just as often and nobody bats an eye.  Luke bawls after a heart-breaking event or needs to be consoled and he’s suddenly labeled as a ‘weak hero’.  This has led to him becoming a more emotionally open character, which makes him even more susceptible to getting hurt.

So, what does this have to do with the next book?  Well, Luke isn’t going to be at his emotional best here.  Events will push him to points where he’ll have childish outbursts and the truth is that this seems more natural for him.  He puts on this strong, brave front for most of the series, but imagine how hard it is to maintain that when you’re losing friends and feeling like you’re failing.  Then to get hit with something where you’re made to feel like you’re a burden?

The thing here is that something like this could make Luke come out stronger and that’s what I think people fail to realize.  The fact that he cries isn’t a sign that he’s weak, but that he’s human.  Our hardest moments are what make us grow as long as we don’t let them devour us.  Personally, I think it should be the same for fictional heroes.  Villains are routinely attacking a hero’s emotions because those are so fragile and no amount of armor or powers can really defend them.  That’s why the accusation that Luke is weak because he cries, mopes, whines, and shows that he’s upset is rather strange.  Would he be stronger if he was emotionally numb, perpetually angry, or let everything fester in his heart to explode later?

So, what do you think about heroes who cry and show emotion?  Do you think they’re weak?