Leder

Leder is a character in Mother 3. He is the bell ringer of Tazmily Village, and stands much taller than average humans. He doesn't talk to anyone. He is not mute; rather, he doesn't want to speak. The reason for his voluntary mute nature is revealed during Chapter 8.
==Leder's story==
All through Chapters 1 through 3 Leder remains silently standing right next to the bell, as it is his job to ring it, Chapter 3 it's the only time where the player can interact with him, although he doesn't speak, Fassad describes what he does and calls him by name, foreshadowing the connection between the two.
From Chapter 4 to Chapter 7 Leder mysteriously dissapears, although, given his later predicament it's implied he was taken prisoner. A Message Board has been built over where the Bell used to stand, Mike posted a note on the board questioning who even was Leder to begin with, as he never spoke with anyone. A man standing near The Message Board questions himself where Leder may be, and actually seems to think his name was actually "Beanstalk", he later recalls somehow still hearing the bell ring from time to time.
In Chapter 8, Leder appears (with a Stink Bug to record what is being said) and tells Lucas the story of the world, transcribed below. 
===The End of the World===
Long ago, there existed a world. A world different from what the people on these islands think of. This “world” was incredibly big. More people lived on this world than there are grains of sand on these Nowhere Islands. I know it may be hard to imagine, but such a world once existed. At some point, the world wound up destroyed. Naturally, it was humans who destroyed it. In the back of their minds, everyone had an inkling that it would happen at some point. And then it really did happen.
…And so, the world is no more.
===The White Ship===
Just before the end of the world, a “White Ship” came to these islands. On it were all the people of Tazmily Village… Aboard the White Ship were those few who had managed to escape the “world”. The people on the ship still went by their names from the previous world. This “White Ship” plan had been set in place before the world was destroyed. And, although they’re part of the world, these Nowhere Islands are a special place. They were the one place that would remain, even if the world was lost. The one and only place where people could survive. And so the White Ship arrived at these islands.
===The Dragon and the Magypsies===
The reason these islands are special is because they harbor a giant dragon nearly as large as the islands themselves. Long, long ago, people lived together with the Dragon. However, at some point in time, the people and the Dragon could no longer coexist. So, using the seven Needles, the Dragon was placed into a long, long sleep by the ancestors of the Magypsy people, who have lived here since ancient times. Ever since, the Magypsies have guarded the Needles, in an effort to prevent the Dragon from being woken until its power is truly needed. Thus, until the time of its awakening, the Dragon continued to sleep, as the power of the earth itself. And so, because of the tremendous energy of the Dragon hidden deep below, these islands were protected from the end of the world.
===Those Who Lost Everything===
Those who came here aboard the White Ship feared another “End of the World” more than anything else. They felt that the world’s destruction was a direct result of the way they had lived. The people of the White Ship discussed things at great length. They shared their wisdom and spoke with grave seriousness. And then they arrived at their conclusion. They decided to completely erase everyone’s memories of the previous “world” and start their lives over with new rules and new roles… In short, everyone would play out the ideal “story” that they had come up with. That is what happened. The people would restart their lives in a simple, peaceful village, in the kind of place they wished they had grown up in. They would erase their memory of everything: the world, their belongings, their rules… and then they would begin their new lives. Everyone’s old memories would be reset and replaced with their newly-created “story”. And thus the village of Tazmily came to be.
However, it was necessary to record the fact that the memory replacement had taken place. The Hummingbird Egg was the device used to store the memories of the White Ship people. Wess and his son Duster, both playing the roles of thieves, were set to take action should a dangerous situation occur. Remember when they went to Osohe Castle? They went there to retrieve the secret of the “People of the White Ship”. And there’s one other thing.
Me.
It was essential that one person retain memory of the previous world to sort of “keep watch” over things. I was the only one in the village of Tazmily who wasn’t given a role in the new “story”. The sound of my bell served as a “suggestion”, to keep everyone’s fabricated memories from reverting. My name “Leder” comes from the word “Leader”. No, no, that doesn’t mean I was anyone special. It was just that I was particularly taller than all the others. So, upon discussion, I was selected because it would be easier for me to stand out. Being so tall, people would want to come see me, you know? And so I was given the role of revealing these secrets when the time truly called for it. Although Tazmily Village exists in reality, it was originally created as part of a story.
===The Origin of Osohe===
Let me also talk about Osohe Castle. Apparently, long ago, a kingdom existed on this island, centered around the king of Osohe. However, when we arrived on the White Ship, the people of this kingdom were gone. It seems they had left the islands, fearing the Dragon’s eventual awakening someday. Before boarding the White Ship, Princess Kumatora was an infant who had lost her mother and father. Upon coming to these islands, she was given to the Magypsies to raise, and given the role of princess of Osohe Castle. Wess and Duster being her retainers was another part of the fabricated “story”. Osohe Castle is one of the few and precious relics of this island’s “past”. We crafted our story in haste, so the people inside it have very little “past” or “history”. Have you noticed no one in Tazmily can talk about things from 100 or 1000 years ago? In truth, we HAD wanted to create an entire plethora of myths and legends… but our story was made in such a hurry that we weren’t able to. It’s a real shame.
===The Intruder Known as Porky===
Truthfully, we had no idea how Tazmily Village would turn out. But things actually went rather well. The people who had arrived on the White Ship had fully taken to their new identities. They believed they had always lived together peacefully. It was when a person by the name of Porky stumbled upon these islands that everything started to go amok.
It seems he used a “Time Distorter” machine to travel through time and space at will. However, he was apparently shut out from all other times and spaces and tumbled into this era and these islands. Even worse, he used his Time Distorter to bring many people from other eras here. The Pigmasks, as well as everyone in New Pork City, were all brought here and brainwashed by Porky.
This Porky fellow seems to view these islands as his own personal “toy box”, with which he can do anything he wants. He would take animals apart and recombine them to make creepy, new “Chimeras”. As a child-like dictator, he began doing whatever he pleased, including building Thunder Tower and forming his own army. Porky eventually learned the White Ship secret because of a traitor among the Magypsies.
===The Dragon's Awakening===
This traitor was Locria, the seventh Magypsy, and the only one you haven’t met yet. After Locria joined forces with Porky, Porky learned about the White Ship people and the secret of the sleeping Dragon. Porky decided to pull the Needles to wake the Dragon, so he could use the power for himself. The Dragon is the power of the very earth itself, you see. It’s said that whoever pulls the sealing Needles will become the Dragon’s master. However, only a very select few are capable of pulling the Dragon’s Needles. Apparently, neither the Magypsies nor Porky have that capability. Yet, the Needles are being pulled now. That means Porky is somehow controlling someone who can control the Dragon’s power!
…We have to put a stop to Porky’s antics. If we don’t, the world will be completely destroyed again, and it will spell the true end for everything. For Porky, that might be the ultimate pleasure, but we can’t allow it to happen. We, the last handful of people there are, absolutely can’t allow it to happen. Lucas. It seems you’re a chosen one, with the ability to pull the Needles sealing the Dragon away. You MUST pull the Dark Dragon’s Needle with your own hands, and pass your heart on to the Dragon. Let this be my one and only order to you as your “leader”.
==Trivia==
*The music playing during Leder's story is Leder's Gymnopedie, which is an excerpt of the song Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie.
*Leder was much less tall in EarthBound 64.
*Leder's birthday is August 21. This comes from Volume 23 of the MOTHER 3 Times.
*The bell that Leder ring is officially named the "Bell of Repose" and Leder is called the "Bell Ringer". This is from the aforementioned volume of the MOTHER 3 Times.
== References ==
https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Mother_3/1999#The_MOTHER_3_Times_Volume_23
Category:Mother 3 Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Characters