The Crypt of Darkness By Kirk Straughen

[Robert_Moriyama]

Perhaps not. Certainly his attempt to fight the shade of the ancient sorceror was futile. I suppose that the fall of Akoon might not have happened if his presence had not emboldened Jalala to enter the tomb, but otherwise, he really doesn't accomplish much here*.

This leads us to the question: does a character need to succeed in some sense at the task he must face in order to be a hero, or do we accept the more Japanese view that the attempt is itself heroic? The Spartans at Thermopylae only succeeded in delaying the Persians rather than defeating them outright, but that was enough for them to "win" -- it allowed enough time for a greater force to be raised, as well as providing a rallying cry (a la "Remember the Alamo", some thousands of miles and years distant).

(*The same has been said about Al Majius in (for example) "A Matter of Pride", where it is Githros's hidden presence that thwarts the final attack.)

[Robert_Moriyama]

That is, she was trying to get him out of trouble (apparently not for the first time), and minimize the damage his foolish act (entering the tomb of a sorceror far more powerful than any of the current Akoonians). Of course, I could be wrong.

(And I'm still not sure if Naewis was so much forgiving Jalala as he was relishing the chance to finally "get some"... Now, oddly enough, it seems that his "barbaric" culture probably dictated that he would treat Jalala better than she had ever treated him, so ... okay, it isn't that odd. (Remember, Europeans taught Native Americans to take scalps, then pointed to the practice as proof of the indigenous people's savagery.))