The character that has the most impact on a hero’s journey is without a doubt the mentor. The mentor is commonly portrayed as the “Wise Old Man”. Think of Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars, or Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. The mentor is there to give the hero the confidence, skills, or knowledge to move forward from the safe ordinary world and enter INTO THE UNKNOWN!!!
So what does crossing the threshold look like? This is a moment where the hero reaches a point of no return. This is the first moment when the hero must jump head first out of their comfort zone. This moment usually involves overcoming a small challenge or obstacle. The important thing to remember there is no going back.
Now that we have crossed the threshold and entered the adventure world we will need some more allies. There are a couple of similar characters you need to familiarize yourself with. First is the trickster or the fool. This is a person that follows the hero but is mostly there for comic relief. They bring humor and some goofy antics to ground the hero with a happy helper. Next, there’s a loyal sidekick. This is the hero’s ride or die. Think Sam from LOR or Ron Weasley from Harry Potter. The last Allie you need to know is my favorite “the shapeshifter”. This is a morally ambiguous character that is a wild card. One minute you think they are your loyal partner the next minute they are looking out only for themselves. The best shapeshifter is Han Solo.
We also begin to meet our hero’s enemies. There’s the common enemy like stormtroopers in Star Wars, or Orcs in Lord of the rings. Then there’s the threshold guardians. These are more difficult enemies that stand in the way of the hero from reaching a certain place or object. Then of course we have the main villain. This antagonist is on a mission to stop the hero at all costs.
It is important to know that in the Ordinary world you can experience all of these steps in different orders. The order is not what is most important. The most important part is that the step is there. That being said let’s meet our hero’s mentor.