A delayed form of secret helper is the guardian who turns to your protagonist s side after the protagonists shows them mercy or aids them. The final type of threshold guardian is more difficult to define and fight, because they are the protagonist's own fears, hatred and obsessions A wise hero or heroine recognises such guardians as signals that they are progressing. Each guardian represents tests of new skills or beliefs, and act as warm-ups for the great confrontation, often known in romance writing circles as The Black Moment. Heralds act to signal change and invite the character to answer the call to adventure. Their job is to motivate the hero into action, despite the hero s frequent desire to maintain the status quo.
Heralds can be people, objects or acts of nature.
They may be positive, neutral or negative. We usually encounter the Herald in the first stages of the journey, although this archetype can be used to signal major direction changes later in the plot. The Shapeshifter archetype is hard to describe by its very nature but in essence it acts to bring uncertainty and tension into a story, by changing appearance, mood, or behavior. In a romance, the hero and heroine can both be shapeshifters, adapting as external and internal demands require. Secondary characters may be Shapeshifters as well, turning from Mentor to Herald to Trickster to Villain and back through the cycle in turn.