Time for me to rave about Beyonders for a hot sec
Man... Jason Walker. What a character.
He spends most of the 2nd and 3rd book wondering if he's already served his purpose to the rebellion and if he's even got anything left to contribute to the cause that he believes in, and meanwhile everyone around him is like... ???!
This kid, this guy who thinks that he's expendable because he's not particularly skilled in any weapon or magic, this guy who is the reason for solidly HALF of the current rebellion EXISTING AT ALL, he thinks he's not doing enough?? Ferrin, Aram, Drake, Tark, and Ned (who wouldn't have re-joined the cause if he hadn't met Jason and realized Galloran was still alive in hiding) they're all here directly because of him.
Fucking... RACHEL?? Rachel said that she was willing to take the dangerous path in this world specifically because Jason was going to be there too, going with her. If she had come to Lyrian by herself and been given the option of going into hiding, she would have done that! She said so! She chose not to go into hiding because of Jason!
And, like, everyone knows. Everyone other than Jason himself knows that Jason is a fucking icon and leader amongst leaders. He's got the charisma, he's got the public image, he's got the history of feats to inspire hope and respect from the masses.
You already know the list: he showed up out of nowhere to become the Chancellor of the last "free" country on the continent, left the next morning with no word at all, went to Harthenham for like, a day, and then LEFT. Literally the first person ever to leave heaven on earth. Like, he's clearly just on his own fucking schedule, nobody in the entire world can predict this child's next move. And the next thing they hear from him? That he's been jailed in the inescapable dungeons of Felrook. And who do they hear this from? Jason himself, who's just... out. Walking around. No longer in Felrook. Like, can you even imagine? No wonder Aram thought he was a scammer when he tried to introduce himself as Jason of Caberton.
And like, he deserves all that respect! Because he actually does have a moral backbone of steel! He spends the whole 1st book doing everything to get home. He forgoes the allure of Harthenham, he risks the dangers of Felrook, he fucking looks an evil emperor in the eye, listening to threats of torture that will 'destroy his identity completely' and this fucking MADLAD has the GALL to say
"My identity would be more destroyed by joining you"
(And that's not the only time that he shows confidence in his identity and morals: if you reread the books, you'll notice that Jason never once questions his own character. For all that he's insecure about his skills, when it comes to thinking of himself as a good person fighting for a good cause, he is stalwart in that belief. Rachel is the one who's worried about being manipulated into betraying her friends, who's worried about being scared enough that she might make the wrong decision while convincing herself it's the right one.
Jason never once worries that he's been accidentally selfish, because he's extremely secure in who he is. When he says he would be destroyed by joining Maldor, he fucking means it.)
He does all that, and then when he's offered the opportunity to go home, he fights it with every fiber of his being, because he REFUSES to leave Rachel behind and doom the rebellion to failure without the critical information he has.
Harthenham would never had held either Jason or Rachel, because to them, getting back home to Earth was the true Harthenham. And Jason gives that up. He leaves Harthenham AND Earth. It's not just a matter of "oh, this paradise doesn't appeal to me in the way that it appeals to all of the other people trapped here, that's why I can escape and they can't" NO! He's just the sort of guy to forgo the spoils of his effort if there's still work to be done. It's not a matter of Harthenham being the wrong temptation, he's just not susceptible to temptation!
But you already knew all that, I didn't make this post to summarize book 1. I made this post for THIS point: when I say that everyone knows that he's an icon to the rebellion, I mean everyone. Galloran, while trying to get help from the Amar Kabal, says something like, "if I should die, I trust Jason of Caberton to continue in my stead."
He says that, about a random teenager he met less than a year ago. In front of his daughter and heir, as well as his most loyal squire. The two people most likely to carry the torch in Galloran's absence, his first follower from the old days, and his literal HEIR, and he's like "Jason's the second beating heart of this rebellion. He's in charge after me."
AND! Fucking Maldor himself acknowledges Jason! I know which example you're thinking of: that whole bit in the dungeons of Felrook where Maldor compares Jason to Galloran directly and says "nobody else has given me as much trouble as him... and now you" yeah yeah yeah but that can be brushed off as manipulation. I don't care about that. The scene that gets ME going is the one where he captures Jason a second time at the Last Inn and say, AND I QUOTE "Galloran has already bent the knee to me, and now that I have you, this rebellion is truly over."
NOW THAT I HAVE YOU, THIS REBELLION IS TRULY OVER.
Jason is surrounded by the best swordsmen and spies and archers in the world. Rachel, the only other person besides Maldor himself to display true power with magic, is there. Everyone has been captured, including political rivals from other countries. And he says to the kid who isn't any of those things "the rebellion ends with you"!!
Another piece of evidence! Maldor sends Torivors to invade the dreams of Rachel and Jason, to intimidate them into doing what he wants, right? To Rachel, he sends the message "Your parents have forgotten you, and your home will never feel like home again. You belong in Lyrian as my apprentice, and doing anything else will just upset and scare your loved ones"
What does he send to Jason? Fucking "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WORLD" He tries so so so hard to convince Jason that he should not have come back to Lyrian and that he is endangering his friends by staying here. He wants this child GONE. He treats Jason like such a huge a threat, moreso than the actual budding powerful witch that is Rachel! The one person who might be able to kill him one day! SHE gets to stay, but Jason HAS to go.
Because he loudly and proudly does what he thinks is right. Because he can't be bribed or intimidated. Because he draws people to himself and makes them believe in what he believes in. Because in a world with no martyrs, he's an undeniable hero.
Maldor and Galloran and everybody else in the world are all in agreement that the person most like Galloran is Jason of Caberton.
