He was all they had . . .

In the face of a monster of a man, they were powerless.  The couldn’t run, they couldn’t hide, they couldn’t fight.  Every aspect of their lives were under his control.  It was obedience or oblivion.  When that monster of a man went down into a death spiral, he expected them to follow.

To break free they needed an outsider, a stranger, a mercenary.  They found him.

With all his troubles, and all his flaws, they found him.  With all his baggage, and even his reluctance, they cried for him.  It wasn’t only a question of would he do it, but could he.  It wasn’t only a matter of saving them, but of saving himself.