[ WP ] He had done what so few men before him had done . He tried .

He grew up on stories of heroes and villains, on tales of the forces of good rising to defeat the forces of evil. They sang praises of adversity in the face of tall odds, and the immeasurable power of hope. These fantasies left him with little doubt of the inevitable victory of the just. 
 
 So when his people laid down their arms without a fight, he was in disbelief. 
 
 Rise up and defeat our aggressors, he would tell them. Hope and perseverance would carry them through the day, he would preach. Throw off the chains of oppression, he would rant to anyone who would listen. 
 
 But nobody lifted a hand. 
 
 It was then that he decided that he would be the hero. He would be the one about whom stories were written, the one who was faced with but the faintest chance of hope and carried through. He did what so few men before him had done. He tried. 
 
 He failed, and his example doomed his people to inaction for the rest of their days. 
 
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