I’m currently listening to an audiobook called Betrayer by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. It’s a book from the Warhammer 40k “Horus Heresy” series, which revolves around a massive civil war that rips apart mankind’s galactic empire. This book, and what I’ve read from the series in general, have really opened my eyes to how much I enjoy betrayal as a theme. In some stories you can see the betrayal coming from a mile away; it’s of no surprise that the blackhearted schemer betrays trust at the earliest opportunity. Those betrayals are shallow because the bonds between the characters were weak. What really makes excellent, tragic storytelling is when betrayal separates two people who were bound together with seemingly unbreakable ties. For me, the epitome of this kind of epic betrayal is found the fall of King Arthur and his court. The knights of the round table were champions of justice and chivalry, a brotherhood of warriors that could defeat any foe. The round table is destroyed, not by her enemies, but from within her ranks. Arthur is betrayed by his best knight, the one who most embodied his virtuous ideals. Betrayal topples Arthur’s kingdom when nothing else could and undermines the very virtues on which it was built. Betrayal destroys body and soul.
The “Horus Heresy” and its follow up series, “The Siege of Terra”, do a great job of conveying betrayal on a galactic scale. Sons turn against their father, and brother is set against brother. Friendships that we’ve seen blossom over multiple books are torn apart by the blood soaked hand of betrayal. The military fellowship that saw victory across thousands of worlds is shattered into bitter factions. Every good thing that was built has been cast down, as both the body and soul of a galactic empire are cast into hellfire.
The closer the bond, the higher the heights of success, the deeper and more brutally a great act of betrayal may cut. The Spartans at Thermopylae, who faced the infinite armies of Persia, were undone by the betrayal of a fellow Greek. Cuchulainn and Ferdia were raised and trained together. When they meet at the ford, they fight a long and bloody duel that ends with Ferdia’s death. Though Cuchulainn was the hero of the Tain, his victory over Ferdia feels more like a defeat. The great duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin in Star Wars is epic primarily because of Anakin’s great betrayal, summed up by Obi-Wan’s heart-broken reminder that they were “brothers”.
Fellowship is one of the most widely celebrated virtues, especially highlighted in tales of war or strife. Betrayal is the breaker of bonds, the shattering of fellowship and brotherhood, and thus leads to the most devastating tragedies. Similarly, betrayal is the great enemy of life’s greatest theme: love. How many heroes and heroines have been betrayed by a lover? Merlin, Arthur, Tristan, Sigurd, Heracles, Ariadne, and Sampson come to mind. Even more may be named that were betrayed by a close family member.
Betrayal is a great reversal, a swift and thunderous undoing or the rot that eats away at the foundations. Its dramatic and tragic. Betrayal makes us mourn and rage at what was lost, but also at the loss of what might have been. How long might Camelot have endured without betrayal? What feats could Cuchulainn and Ferdia have accomplished if they had worked together? Tragedy may arise from fate or accident, but betrayal always leaves us with a bitter taste because we know that it didn’t need to happen. Betrayal is a choice with full knowledge of the faith being broken. It puts in stark contrast the best and worst of humanity. Little else may be as ground-shaking as a well written betrayal. It’s hard for me to write betrayal because of my own emotional investment in the characters. Killing your darlings is one thing—having one darling kill the other along with all they’ve accomplished together is just brutal. It’s not easy, but I’m in search of top-tier heartbreak. Readers beware!