|
|
Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
From the crucible of battle are heroes born, in defeating the villainous enemy there is glory to be had, and that makes it all worthwhile. At least, that's what the Glory Seeker believes.
Usually some sort of military officer, but not neccessarily so, he can be a crusading knight charging heedlessly into the fray, a lone desperado out to make a name for himself, a Bounty Hunter going after the toughtest targets. He may or may not enjoy the spoils of war, he may or may not believe in what he's fighting for, he may be a coward who is all talk or a Blood Knight who revels in the slaughter, but the defining trait of the Glory Seeker is that he craves the adoration of the masses and respect of his peers — and hates most of all not being respected. He might grow disillusioned after a while, or he might never learn. If met out of combat, may appear to be the Miles Gloriosus, but actual danger will reveal the truth.
Will sometimes say Think Nothing of It if he really didn't earn it — but don't count on it. Frequently found with In Harm's Way. Loves Famed in Story, and finds What You Are in the Dark and Secret Test of Character particularly hard.
Proud Warrior Race Guy is almost always a Glory Seeker. Contrast “Well Done Son” Guy, who wants one person's praise. Compare Martyrdom Culture, where being a Glory Seeker is considered a noble calling.
Super Trope of Glory Hound, who is not only after glory but quite willing to expend everyone else in order to get it. Or lie. Or any other act that will get him it.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Anime & Manga
- The eponymous character from Naruto is like this, at least initially. He's a lonely boy, and he wants to become Hokage so the rest of the townsfolk will respect him.
- Asuka in most Neon Genesis Evangelion continuities, often to the detriment of her own safety.
- Zeta Gundam's Jerid Messa, who joined the Titans in order to become famous Ace Pilot.
Comics
- In Astro City, Altar Boy's motive for becoming a hero is that superheroes are respected. He got wiser.
Fairy Tales
Film
Literature
Live Action TV
- An episode of Space: Above and Beyond involves a brother of one of the main characters enlist to fight the Chigs. He gets assigned to the unit headed by a known Glory Seeker. Needless to say, the episode doesn't end well.
Tabletop Games
Theatre
- In Pippin, Pippin takes after his Miles Gloriosus half-brother and becomes a glory-seeking warrior, but it doesn't take long for him to become disillusioned.
- The eponymous character of Ajax, and it doesn't end well for him.
Video Games
- King Cailan Theirin from Dragon Age: Origins. Utterly convinced that the Darkspawn invasion is his opportunity to carve out his place in legend, driving back the tide of evil alongside the Grey Wardens like in the songs of old. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to realize exactly where the world lies on the Sliding Scaleof Idealism Vs Cynicism. Though he might have managed it, albeit by the skin of his teeth, if his second-in-command hadn't chosen that exact moment to betray him, leave with his army, and leave his king for dead. Tough break, huh?
- To be fair, the second-in-command begged Cailan not to take part in the battle or, at least, not on the front lines. Cailan wouldn't hear of it, though. It's possible the second-in-command only wanted to get rid of the Wardens.
- Zeri from Valkyria Chronicles II seeks glory of heroic proportions, because he believes that if he does attain it, people would lighten up on their prejudice against the Darcsen.
- The player character in the web game Clash of the Dragons. He's very proud of his Heroic Lineage, and intends for his own story to be every bit as epic as his ancestor's. Despite fumbling a bit on the inside, he always manages to act in the most generically heroic way possible. The first chapter has him gleefully engaging in Ham-to-Ham Combat against a villain with similar motivations, and the finishing blow of another fight involved an unnecessary flip and ended with him walking into the sunset without a word to the crowd who was watching.
- Axton the Commando of Borderlands 2, whose glory-seeking ways eventually forced him to go AWOL and get divorced from his CO. It's also the reason why he became a Vault Hunter.
- In Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, after returning to Renais and seeing what has become of it under Orson's rule, Prince Ephraim realizes his rash decisions at the start of the war with Grado were less about protecting Renais and more about his own thirst for glory. When he's crowned King, he resolves to overcome this.
Web Original
- In JourneyQuest, Glorion seems to feel that anything that could potentially end in increasing his own glory is worthy of being done. He seems to feel anything he can describe as being done bravely qualifies.
Real Life
- A lot of famous explorers, mountaineers, and participants in similar recreations might qualify.
- Some famous military units seek out these kind of people.
Music
- Every DragonForce song ever. There's even a Drinking Game where you take a shot every time the singer says "glory" or "glorious".
- Manowar style themselves to be Horny Vikings, so naturally their songs usually feature bloody battles and tons of glory.
- HammerFall's song "Glory to the Brave", as well as a number of others, given that their gimmick is that they pretend to be Templars.
|
|
