Dion Starfire is a fictional character in Margaret Weis’ quadrilogy Star of the Guardians. Does Dion fit Campbell’s description of a hero? Did he have an extraordinary birth? Did he journey through the outer world to find himself? Did he possess some special gift? Was the end of his story Tragic? Humbling? Until I brought these questions to mind, I didn’t think of Dion Starfire as a hero. Now that I have; I believe him to be the epitome of the true modern hero.

Dion’s birth was not extraordinary, in the sense that his mother was not inseminated by an elephant or some divine being. His mother was a princess and his father was the Crown Prince of the Galaxy. What made his arrival to this life miraculous, was that he was born in the middle of the Coup the brought down the Monarchy. Only moments before, His uncle the King, and his father had been assassinated. His mother died shortly after giving birth to him and he was hidden from the galaxy for seventeen years.

On the path to finding his own identity, Dion went through many trials and tribulations. Here he was. This seventeen year old kid who had just witnessed the death of his mentor, a stranger taking him away from the only home he knew, and didn’t even know his last name. From there, Dion discovered he was the Crown Prince to a blood stained throne that no longer exists. He set out to rally the people together to over throw the current government. In order to return the galaxy to its former glory, just about all of the characters in the tale tested Dion to see if he is worthy of their loyalty. Of their allegiance.  He proved his mettle in battle, his loyalty to friends, and resolve in his decisions; and eventually became king of the galaxy; heralded as one the greatest kings the Galaxy had ever seen.

On his journey, Dion discovered he was a member of the Blood Royal, a member of the aristocrats that were genetically superior to the average person. Dion put it best in the first volume. “The idea came from the ancient philosopher Plato. he spoke about it in the Republic: ‘Then there must be a selection. Let us note among the guardians those who in their whole life show the greatest eagerness to do what is for the good of their country--’”  Dion was breed to be a king and that was what he was going to be, even though he was raised differently. Being a member of the Blood Royal, he under went a Rite of Passage. This passage marked the path of his destiny. His Rite of Passage revealed to him, that he could use the powers of the Blood Royal but they would turn against him. His most potent gift however, were his eyes. His were the kind that could peer into your soul, find his answers about you and then leave you feeling as though you were grazed by a comet.

“Nimis exalatus rex sedet in vertice--caveat ruinam!” Dion’s bastard brother came on to the scene in the final volume and very nearly killed him. The entire galaxy was on the knife edge of total annihilation. Dion was able to save his friends, and helped prevent the destruction of the galaxy. He didn’t leave that final confrontation unscathed however. He was knocked several pegs from the high pedestal he was placed. He realized that the people would demand his life, and he would give it. A little everyday. And the first thing to die would be his happiness. Though the ending isn’t as tragic as seemed to be. The epilogue stated Dion wasn’t supposed to survive the final confrontation, his role in the tale was the martyr. His tragic ending? To die an old man. To die without a hero’s death.

Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are:
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
   --Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses