Guide to the Arcane Realm

Heroes

A hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine), is someone who in the face of danger, combats adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength, often sacrificing his/her own personal concerns for their sense of the greater good. Heroism is not only a very admired trait since ancient times but has also been a profession and goal for many.

What makes a Hero or Heroine?

The first thing to do is clear up the problem of semantics. In this world, there are two definitions of a hero; subjective and objective.

The subjective definition is someone of great moral character who displays their strong, skill, courage and bravery in the face of danger and adversity.

The objective definition originally meant someone empowered by the gods to do their work in this world. Ever since the Samsara Pilgrimage, this definition now refers to any profession that involves rescuing people from danger or crime.

A hero can be any of the mortal intelligent races that exist in the world, though most have been natural and faye humanoids throughout history. For example, before and during the Ghulat Wars, Dwarves, Elves, and Gnomes, were the bulk of the hero races.

Types of Heroes

Classical

These heroes were raised by their town or lords to be warriors via rigorous training followed by being blessed by their patron deity. These heroes were known for taking on adventuring quests for treasure, controlling the populations of monsters by slaying them, etc resulting in personally glory as well as showing off the influence of the gods in the mortal world.

Many heroes took on adventuring classes during their training days, which they often honed to the highest degree, some even creating a new class with their expertise.

Rescuer

These type of heroes are employed in professions where their main job is to save lives in a dangerous environment. Many of these careers are within the law enforcement, fire department, emergency medical, coast guard, even military sectors.

Crimefighter

These heroes fight crime and the criminals who commit them, as well as protect the public from as much crime as possible. Typically this is accomplished by the crimefighter using mastered skills like martial arts, neijing, ritual magic, technological and forensic devices, espionage techniques, or unique powers like endowments. Crimefighters tend to assist local law enforcement forces although their are some vigilante forces acting as a sort of local militia.

Crimefighters often have a distinctive costume, often used to conceal the secret identity or as specific battle wear that is needed to fight and use their powers and abilities more efficiently. Costumes are often colorful to enhance the individual's visual appeal and frequently incorporate the crimefighter's name and theme.

History of Heroes

Favor of the Gods

Heroes came into existence not long after the deities created the Godrealms to reside in. Wanting to keep their influence the material world, they raised heroes to performed inspiring acts to ensure that people would continue deity worship. In conjunction, the clergy for the various deities made the training of heroes a central pillar of their strategy to prevent monsters/invaders from invading settlements and spreading their religions.

The usual route for becoming a hero seemed to be a combination of rigorous training and holy blessings. Heroes would typically be the very best warriors. Mortal beings chosen by fate (rather than a recruiter or drill sergeant) to become heroes may find their development watched over by a warrior class angel sent from a Godrealm, typically a valkyrie.

After the Gods

With most gods leaving their positions to dwell with the mortal races, the process of being empowered by deities became increasing rare. A shift began where an ideal hero wasn't simply someone chosen by the gods to fight evil, but anyone willing to selflessly protect and rescue others despite the risk to themselves. More occupations were created by public institutions modeled after this ideal in various sectors known as rescuers.

With the increase of population density and inequality in cities, came the increase of crimes as well. With that came heroes who specialized in combating those who perpetrated crimes that law enforcement had problems dealing with, the crimefighters.

A/N: Heroes are one of those near cultural universals of the world. There are a lot of ways that the people of this world help out and give back and being a hero is one of them.