Alright so today I cracked open this old fantasy book everyone talks about – Three Hearts, Three Lions. Heard it inspired D&D paladins and stuff. Honestly? The first few pages felt like hitting a brick wall. Names like “Holger Carlson” and “Alianora” bounced off my brain, and boom – dude gets yeeted into some crazy medieval monster world mid-airplane fight? My coffee went cold just staring at page five.
My Frustrating Start
I almost tossed it aside. Grabbed a notebook instead. Drew a dumb line down the middle: Earth Stuff vs Fantasy Land Stuff. Started scribbling:
- Holger (Earth): Engineer dude, fighting Nazis.
- Holger (Fantasy): Some returning hero? Has three hearts and three lions on his shield? Super strong against monsters.
Noticed tiny details kept popping back up. That weird “amulet” he found? Total shield against magic later. His engineering knowledge? Fixed a broken cart like a boss. Slowly clicked – his old life gave him cheat codes in this world.
The Lightbulb Moment
Seriously stuck for days on the “three hearts” thing. Sounded like bad poetry. Then I reread this argument between Holger and a wizard guy about Law versus Chaos. Law wasn’t about cops – more like order, logic, building things. Chaos? Wild magic, monsters, pure destruction. Holger literally stood between them.
Suddenly the hearts made sick sense:
- One heart for courage (fighting giant monsters? NBD).
- One heart for faith (believing Law could win against the creepy Chaos stuff crawling everywhere).
- One heart for… well, being human? His Earth memories, his doubts, missing his world.
The three lions? Symbols of Law holding back the Chaos dogs. Blew my mind how a WWII dude became this anchor holding two cosmic sides apart. Way deeper than just sword-swinging!
Why Bothering With the Notes Saved Me
If I hadn’t forced myself to write down the dumb stuff early on? Would’ve given up. Here’s what actually worked:
- Map the Double-Life: Jotting Earth Holger vs Fantasy Holger traits stopped me mixing them up.
- Track the Tiny Payoffs: His engineering skills popping up unexpectedly? Made the world feel smarter.
- Law/Chaos Isn’t Philosophy Class: It’s the literal fuel for EVERY conflict. See it as teams, not words.
- The Hearts are Actions: Not feelings. Courage = fights despite fear. Faith = keeps going when Chaos seems unstoppable. Human Heart = remembers why fighting matters.
Finished it last night. Kinda proud I didn’t bail. It’s messy, jumps around, but realizing Holger’s literally a bridge between worlds? His very existence holds reality together? That’s some cool old-school fantasy roots right there. My scratched notes look like mad scribbles, but damn, they saved the whole thing. Next time someone says it’s confusing, handing them my crumpled paper cheat sheet.
