Guidance of Legends

Written by Lisra Felltome

The day consisted us traveling the land towards our destination. We had long since left my home jungle. David had been silent, though his companion was pretty cheerful and humming to itself. Eventually, David spoke up.
"So... the Sapia... you guys just live out in a jungle?" he asked. I nodded. "What exactly do you do?"
"In time, David, you will come to know. We must reach the temple before I will tell you the story of our clan." He stayed silent again for several moments before speaking up again.
"Why did you do it?"
"Huh?" I responded in confusion.
"The whole war between the piglins and humanity. Why did you want that?" he questioned and I looked back at him.
"Well, it wasn't the war itself that I wanted. I wanted to meet you, and causing something like that seemed like the quickest option to do, so..." I replied. He scowled.
"But many lives could have been lost! How would you be able to live with that on your conscience?" he snapped.
"In time, hero, you will know the full story. For now, we must go." I told him, leaving him with questions no doubt. We continued until the sun dipped into the horizon, at which I told him to build a shelter and that I would be nearby as always. David used a few of the nearby trees to make a shelter, while I took my own shelter within the leaves of a large tree.
I leaned against the trunk and brought my hood back down, then pulled out a few loaves of bread to munch on while my rabbit and slime companions came out and relaxed on the branch. Feeling content, I relaxed myself and began to drift off to sleep.
By the time I awoke, it was early morning. I lifted my hood back up to let it help shelter my eyes from the bright sun and then placed my sleeping companions back into my inventory, then I jumped down from the tree. As I approached the shelter, David and his buddy emerged from it, both looking ready to keep going. We continued. I had some questions I wanted to ask him, so I did.
"So, David. You're the chosen hero. Tell me what that's like, knowing that you are someone who will play such a critical role for our world. No pressure, of course." I said that last part to him while giving him a smile.
"Well, I've always kind of known that I would have an important role. You see, years ago I had a master who trained me. He had known the path that I was set for." he revealed. A master, huh? I thought to myself.
"Ooo, tell me about this master of yours." I requested. He paused for a moment as he thought about what to say.
"Okay, so this may sound crazy, but he's like a skeletal ghost knight who only appears in my dreams. At least he did... After the Purge War ended, he wanted me to move past my grief, but I just couldn't... After that, he vanished, and I haven't seen him since." he told me. Some might find it difficult to believe such a story, but as a Sapian, it wasn't that hard to believe at all. I had heard about even crazier stories that turned out to be true. "From what I gather, he was apparently a legendary knight who was originally named Steve. He fought in some ancient war hundreds of years ago and lost his life in the Nether." Hearing this, my eyes widened. His description was pretty similar to the legend of... Could it possibly have been a coincidence? "Outside of that, I really don't know much about him."
"Interesting..." I muttered.
"Sound like anything you know?" he asked. I turned back to him and smiled.
"In time, Mr. Hero..." I said to him, purposefully vague. We continued and I asked him some more questions.
"So, what was life like before all this?" I questioned. He took another moment to think.
"Well, back then I was just a young boy growing up in Blockfield with my good friends, Emily and Andrew. Sometimes we would hang out and do things together, such as the time we tied Andrew's leg to a pig's." He smiled at the memory. "The pig would take him wherever it wanted and he quickly regretted it, hah. There was also the time when Emily and I tried to get some training in a day before the school in our village opened up for the first time, because the village bully, Drake, wanted to kick my butt on the first day. It was the first time I experienced my ability to... well, it's a long story. We ended up training until it was night and we barely managed to make it back to the village as the mobs were trying to kill us. I ended up having to cross a river, and I have a bit of trauma with drowneds, so it was really hard for me." he explained. "But we made it back alright, even if my parents were seriously angry." I was listening patiently as he recounted more of his life stories. He shared some more before the sun began to set once more.
We were in a roofed forest, so the surface wouldn't be safe even once morning arrived, so I helped David climbed up the trees and we stood above the forest. I decided to admire the night sky. My companions came out once more. I let down my hood and felt the nice moonlight hit my face. David wanted to set a campfire, but I assured him that nothing would be able to reach us even in the dark, and told him to simply admire the view. There was the occasional bat that managed to breach the leafy ceiling and flew around to get a look at us, but overall nothing could spawn up here that could harm us.
Bringing out some watermelon slices and steaks, I lay head back down on the foliage and listened to the occasional rattling of bones or hissing of arachnids as they moved around on the surface below us. I noticed David's allay come to my buddies this time, interested in what they were doing. Danis looked up at the flying creature curiously while Squishy showed a gleeful smile at their new friend. Seeing them interact brought a smile to my face, though it faded once I looked over at David. He had his purple hood down, and for the first time I could see his full face, with his light brown hair now visible. He was staring up at the moon, the light illuminating his face. A look of sadness covered it.
"What's wrong, David?" I asked him. He kept looking to the moon.
"It's just... been a little difficult for me. Remembering all the good times I had as a kid, and then remembering how things turned out afterwards... My best friend is dead, my girlfriend ended up having to go away and break things off... My father... killed by his own brother. And my mother... well... I ended up seeing her in her final moments, and the fear in her eyes." His voice trembled as he spoke and shook his head. "You just can't forget stuff like that. All of that happened in the same war. The world is so cruel sometimes, and sometimes I have to stop and think why I'm doing this in the first place..." It was clear that the war had taken much from him, and I felt sympathy for him.
"If I may ask then, why are you doing this?" I asked him, sitting up and moving a little closer to him. His face became determined.
"After the war, I decided that I would follow my master's wishes, because I didn't want anyone to have to go through the hell that I did." he revealed, and I could hear the emotion in his voice. "No one deserves to watch their father be murdered by their sadistic uncle. I wanted to go on my own, but my sister decided she would take me under her wing, and that was nice and made me feel safe with her. But I didn't want her to suffer a horrible fate like many of the ones close to me, so when I saw that chance to leave, I had to take it." He then shook his fist, an angered expression on his face. "But I don't even know if she managed to get out of that tower as it was falling apart. It was a drastic decision that I immediately regretted. All I can do is hope." A single tear particle formed and slowly slid down his cheek as I listened patiently.
"Anyways, that's enough of me reciting the edgy poem that is my life. I've come to make peace with knowing that I'll be alone for a good while, at least until I defeat the Great Evil that my master warned me about. But it's not all bad, at least I still have her..." he said as the allay flew over to him, a look of concern on her face as it hugged him.
"What's her name?" I asked.
"Emma. Named her after my... friend..." He paused right before saying friend, and I had a feeling the two were closer than that. Perhaps Emma was the girlfriend he had mentioned that had to go away. "She keeps me company. She's pretty good at cheering me up when things get rough." he explained. I stared into the allay's face, which resembled David's own with less detail.
"Funny, I had heard about the allays' unusual ability to share the face of their masters, but it's something else to see it in person." I said. He looked back at the allay and stared into her face.
"Yeah, I was a bit surprised about it when I first saw it. I guess we just have a close bond." he replied, a small grin on his face. I turned to my companions and moved them over to us with my arms. Squishy tried to phase through my arm, but failed when I brought my second arm over to push him.
"These guys are Danis and Squishy. Danis the rabbit and Squishy the slime. They also keep me company while I'm out on my own." I told him. Danis squirmed in my grasp, I could tell he wanted to go back to messing around with Emma. David looked curious.
"How did you make friends with a slime?" he asked. I looked back at him and laughed.
"Easily. Don't you know? Slimes aren't actually bad. In fact, they love people. Whenever one comes after you, it just wants some attention-" As I spoke, I began pushing my arm down against Squishy several times until his jiggly body started to bounce up and down. His scowl went away and was replaced by a silent laughing. "Big slimes are just unlucky in that their slime is dangerous to humans, so they need to be split into little guys in order to become safe. And Squishy is the one that I stuck with."
"I see..." he replied as he went silent. A moment passed between us and I could see his thoughts were back to his internal problems. I thought back to the time when my mother had brought that knight back with her to the clan.
"You know, a wise man once said that the world was cruel, and that was just reality. But sometimes, it helps to put on a smile-" I put my own smile up to emphasize it, "because it makes things a little easier to deal with. It doesn't take away the pain, but it does help." He looked down for a moment, before I could see a slight smile form.
"I'll... remember that." he replied. "Thank you." I nodded in response.
"Now, try to get some sleep. The night's halfway over, and I don't want to be tugging a tired hero the way there." He laid down on the dense foliage and turned to his side away from me, covering his head with his hood once more. I moved back to my original place and laid myself back against the leaves, then reached over and grabbed the now-sleeping Squishy and moved him to be right under my head, and then laid my head down on him. The slime that would condense into more of a solid when he was sleeping made for a nice pillow that moved as he breathed. And I knew that when he awoke he would simply squirm away from me and wake me up, so I wasn't too worried about being slimed. With my nice comfy green pillow, I passed into a nice slumber.
I awoke upon Squishy moving his body out from beneath my head. He turned towards me and began jumping angrily. His angry face was so adorable. I moved to sit up.
"Sorry Squishy. You were sleeping and you just looked so comfy. I couldn't resist." I said, a slight smile on my face. He settled down and I looked over to David. He had been watching me the whole time. A little weird, but he seemed to be more introverted than extroverted. Perhaps he wasn't aware of it?
"Ready?" he asked. I nodded and put up my hood, calling Squishy and Danis into my inventory. We set off, determined to stick to walking across the leafy roof to avoid dealing with mobs that may have still been around beneath us. Moments passed before he spoke up again.
"This temple seems pretty far. I thought it would've been close to the village." he said.
"A long time ago, we used to have it close by the village. But it was destroyed, so we rebuilt it much further away. But we're almost there. We should reach it by tomorrow. We just need to reach the mountains." I promised.
Soon, the roofed forest came to an end, and we hopped down onto a savannah biome. It wasn't long before we came across an illager outpost-which surprised me. I didn't recall there being one the last time my mother took me to the temple. It must've been set up during the Purge War. Emma the allay began to shiver in fear at the sight of the construct and immediately flew into David's inventory to hide as he got his weapons out and insisted on taking the lead while we approached the structure. As we got closer, it became clear that the outpost had been abandoned, and he soon put away his sword and shield. His companion didn't come out though. I went ahead and climbed the tower from the outside while David went up from the inside and we reached the top to find a chest that contained only a few loaves of bread, a crossbow, and some dark oak logs. Pretty disappointing, but I figured there wouldn't be anything of real value left in an abandoned military base of the illagers. I let David take the loot and we continued on our way.
Right as the sun was setting, we finally reached the foot of a mountain, and the start of the mountain biome. There weren't any trees nearby, so I decided to bunker down with David as he dug into the side of the mountain, making a room large enough for us both to have room to ourselves before lighting it up with a torch. He then sealed the opening off with a door and we both stayed inside. I sat down with my legs crossed and leaned back against the stone wall, bringing my hood back down and revealing my dark hair. David's allay finally came out of his inventory for the first time since we arrived at the outpost and looked around, taking in the new environment it was in as it hovered right beside David's shoulder.
"If we're going to climb the mountains, we're going to need leather boots." he said as he placed down a crafting table. "I happen to have enough leather for both of us."
"That's fine, I don't need them." I assured him. He looked back at me doubtfully.
"Are you sure? You're kind of uh..." he said, gesturing to my feet. I gave him a confident grin.
"Yeah, no problem here. It won't be the first time I've walked barefoot in the snow and it won't be the last. And I can just use my staff to make sure I don't fall into any collapsing snow blocks." I explained, lifting my fire staff. He shrugged.
"Suit yourself then." he replied as he crafted leather boots and equipped them on top of his top layer boots. He then sat back against the stone wall.
"If I may ask, why are you barefoot? Is it some kind of religious thing?" he asked.
"Well, us lorekeepers are taught from a very young age that in order to use our special power of crafting, we need to be connected with the world at all times. Shoes just get in the way of that connection. I wouldn't say it's really a religious thing as much as it's just how it is." I explained to him. He nodded in understanding.
"So, your power is that you're able to craft things no one else is able to craft?" I nodded back to him.
"There is only one person per generation that has this power, and they are always a part of the Sapia, because it's passed down from parent to child." I informed him.
"Is there anything else you can tell me about the Sapia?" he asked. I shook my head.
"I know you're eager to know all about my people, but we gotta keep the fun for when we arrive at the temple." I looked into his eyes, and he looked away awkwardly after a moment. I leaned back and decided to try to get some sleep. The stone made it hard, it was not nearly as comfy to sleep in a stone chamber as it was on the log of a tree with bunches of leaves wrapping around you like a blanket. But eventually, I managed to drift off.
The next day, I awoke before David and got up to stretch. Then, I headed out of the door to admire the sun, only to realize that it had begun to rain. That meant that we would be climbing a mountain in the snow-which would be very cold and difficult to navigate, but as long as we stayed together, it would be fine.
David and the allay emerged from the shelter behind me, ready to head off.
"It's raining, which means it will be snowing up top. Which means that we'll need to stay together." I informed him. He looked uneasy.
"It's going to be very cold then, we should probably search for some cows and collect leather for warmth." I shook my head.
"No time, we need to reach the temple tonight. This has to be the first trial the Patron has given us." I replied as I put my hood back up, tighter than before, and then began to climb the mountain, purposefully moving slow so that David would be able to keep up with me. He sighed and went along with me.
A short while later, we were halfway up the first mountain when it began snowing. I shuddered upon feeling the cold, but readied myself with my fire staff, willing it to heat up as we would climb higher up the mountains. It was only going to get harder.
I carefully moved forwards once we started reaching full snow blocks on the mountain, using my staff to test the snow blocks and make sure they were solid. Every now and then, I'd hit a collapsed group of snow blocks and move around it. Once we reached the top of the mountain, I looked out over the view to see numerous mountains and could see a massive one in the distance. We were in a full mountain range, and the temple would be at the peak of the highest mountain. I glimpsed back at David and could see he was chilly, but was doing a good job hiding it. His allay, on the other hand, seemed to be having a rough time keeping up with us. I imagined that such a light creature would struggle with so much wind.
"Doing alright, Mr. Hero?" I hollered over the howling wind, which threatened to blow my hood down.
"I've been through worse." he hollered back.
"Good, because we're going over to there!" I pointed over to the peak. "You see that? That's the second highest mountain in all of Minecraftia! And we're going to climb it without much sheltering us against the storm!"
"Lisra, we need leather if we're going to survive that!" he insisted. I looked back at him with a smile.
"No need, watch!" I said as I lifted my hand and willed for the world to spawn in white wool, lots of it. I felt my connection to the world weaken, and I was only given a small amount, which confirmed to me that this was in fact meant to be a trial for us by the Patron. I then pushed what I was given together and found that I only had enough to make two woolen tunics. I handed one of them to David and we both put them on. I could feel a little bit of warmth from my body being stored within the tunic, which would help.
"Is that all you could make?" he asked, feeling the tunic.
"The Patron himself doesn't want us to use more. He's stopped my connection to the world while we're here. Let us go!" I ordered and we continued towards the great mountain.
It was hard to move through all the snow without falling in, and the snow particles pounding against our faces didn't make it much easier. And yes, my feet were getting cold, very cold. But we continued to tough it out, and by the time the sun was beginning to set, we made it to the start of the great mountain. I had been using my fire staff this whole time for warmth, but it wasn't enough. It had its limits and I was risking burning myself if I pushed it even hotter.
I was hyperventilating and frigid, and so I grabbed onto David in a desperate embrace for warmth. He held me as well, and I could tell he was frozen to the bone. The allay flew beside us with a look of concern on its face as it struggled to keep with us due to the powerful wind. It didn't seem to be cold in any way, and for a moment I wondered if allays were even affected by temperatures.
"It's getting late... We need... to make a base in the mountain... and then continue... in the morning!" David hollered.
"NO!" I exclaimed, "This mountain is sacred... You cannot... mine into it!"
"Lisra... we're going to die... if we don't take shelter from the cold! It's... only going to get worse... once the moon rises..." he pointed out. While he spoke, Emma flew into his inventory to hide from the heavy winds. I shook my head.
"This mountain is sacred... to the Sapia... and... to the Patron... He has tasked us to climb it... not to mine it... This is our trial, David... Have faith..." I told him. We stood there trying to warm each other up for a moment before he responded.
"Fine... against my better judgement... Let's do this!" he declared, putting on an heroic look of determination.
David held onto me with one arm as he held his other over his face and began to brute force his way, marching through the heavy snow and intense wind. We reached the rock wall and he kept his tight grip on me as we began climbing from one block to the next, slowly climbing the high mountain. I stayed in his grasp with my fire staff doing its best to offer us the tiny amount of heat it could as the icy wind sliced past us. Then, I noticed the snow intensify to the point that we couldn't see much of anything.
"We're... in the clouds..." I mumbled, "The storm will be at its worst here..." He continued to keep his arm wrapped around me as he climbed, occasionally using his pickaxe to make leaps that he couldn't reach with his arms. We were both shivering to the point that it was affecting his ability to climb, as he attempted to make a jump and nearly fell, but didn't have a strong enough grip on me. I started to fall and let out a cry, but he quickly grasped onto my fire staff, straining against the weight. I grabbed the staff with my second hand for better support and was freely dangling.
"Don't... look down!" I heard him holler. I didn't answer, but I had no intentions of looking down, as I knew we had to be dozens of blocks in the air.
Almost immediately, a powerful gust blew past me, knocking me to the side and as my body made contact with the stone cliff, I ended up glancing down on accident. I could see that we were far above the base of the mountain, at least forty blocks. If I fell here, there was no hope for me.
"Oh Patron, please save me!" I stammered, my own life flashing before my eyes. I could hear a yell up ahead and the staff began moving upwards. I held on for dear life as I was slowly lifted for what felt like forever. Once I finally made it back onto solid ground, I fell to the ground, my body feeling like jelly. David knelt by me and attempted to get me up.
"Lisra, we did it! We reached the top!" he exclaimed excitedly. Hearing his words, I lifted my head up to see that there was no more mountain to climb. I was tempted to look over the side, but after what had just happened, I just sat with my arms wrapped around my legs. "We just passed above the cloud. No more storm, no more snow, no more cold." he pointed out. As he mentioned it, I realized that he was right. Though there was snow lining the mountaintop, it wasn't cold anymore. I felt a smile slowly come back to cover my face.
"We... we did it. We completed the first trial!" I stood back up and laughed. The moon was directly over us, but there were no mobs around us. Of course they weren't, it was by the will of the Patron that this mountain was protected from the creatures of darkness. And in the distance stood the temple. I pointed to it. "There it is. That's our destination. Let's go, Mr. Hero!" He nodded and we headed over to the temple. It appeared to be constructed largely of stone bricks, many of which had crumbled throughout the ages. On the way, Emma came out of David's inventory and flew right beside her companion, inspecting David to make sure he was okay. He gave her a hug and she bounced happily.
The temple had an open entrance. I was curious just how it looked from the inside. My mother used to take me to this place years ago, and we never got stuck from a storm, but we never went inside the temple itself. That honor was exclusive to the Elder Lorekeeper, if they ever had to go in for any reason, and the temple guardians, which seemed to be strangely absent.
We went down the decently-lit hallway. There were redstone lamps on the walls that were active, keeping the place from being too dark. As we went, I took off my hood and looked around. Eventually, we made it into an empty room at the end of the hall. In the middle of the room stood a stone tomb with an inscription carved into its surface. David looked at it with confusion.
"Um... what does that say?" he asked. I realized that it was in the old Ancient tongue.
"It's written in the language of the ancient builders. I'll translate it the best I can." I said as I focused on reading it.
"Thee who is't wouldst enter this most sacred constructeth, temple to the Great One. If it be true this text beest readeth to thee, thou art the one true hero of this world. Thee wilt endureth trials yond shall testeth thy power, thy mind, and thy soul in order to gain the hero's valor madeth physical. Wend forth, beest brave, and doth not falter." I translated, and then read the inscription beneath. "Through the lighteth cometh desire. From desire, there is willpower. With willpower cometh courage. It is with courage yond we overcome our fears. The lighteth shall saveth us all..."
"Whoa, what was that last part?" David asked. I held a focused face as I reread the inscription.
"It's the principles of the Sapia. An ancient phrase that has existed throughout the history of my clan." I closed my eyes and recited the principles.
"Through the light comes hope. From hope, there is willpower. With willpower comes courage. It is with courage that we overcome our fears. The light will save us all..." As I said them, I could see the stone walls beginning to run with strands of white light. A humming sound started as they grew wider and wider until they enveloped the walls, and then when they vanished, three corridors were revealed. Hovering above the entrances were three icons: a raised fist, a pondering head, and an internal spirit. I turned back towards David.
"David, it's time for you to go through these trials. I believe in you." I told him with a final smile. "It's time for you to prove to the world that you are its savior." He nodded in understanding.
"It's been a good time, even if it started off rough. Thank you for everything." he said, smiling back. I nodded back and put my arm on his shoulder.
"Go show them, Mr. Hero!" I ordered and he turned and headed down the corridor with the raised fist. And then I waited in silence.
A moment later, I remembered something I had forgotten. I had made a promise that I would reveal to David the story of my people. I couldn't believe I had let something so crucial slip my mind! I needed to see him again so that I could get started, there would be much to tell him.
Suddenly, the floor began to glow as light ran across it, and then it sunk down, revealing a passageway. Somehow, I had the strong feeling that it would lead back David.
As the floor continued to fall, I jumped down and went into a corridor. It was completely dark, but I could see a light illuminated at the end of the hall. As I went along, I thought about everything I wanted to say. There would be much to talk about.
I jumped up into the Power Room and saw David. He looked as though he had just had an intense fight with something, though I had missed it. The light lit up the entire room, and I stood in clear sight of him and the allay. The allay let out a cheer at the sight of me again.
"Lisra?" he said inquisitively, but I ignored him.
"Long ago, there was a man who wanted happiness for the ones he loved..." I started, catching his attention. As I spoke, the wall on the other end of the room began to change, as light itself began to make images detailing my description. It formed a man with a smile, along with a woman and a pig. "He lived out in the wilderness, away from society. But one day, a wicked man arrived from a world of fire. This man sought to bring humanity to its knees." As I spoke, the light changed to show a similar looking man with extra emphasis on glowing white eyes emerging from a portal.
"The kind man wanted to protect the ones he loved, while the wicked man wanted vengeance against all humanity for having wronged him. The two battled against each other, the clashes were intense, but then the wicked man opened a portal into a new land-a different land, a land beyond our wildest imaginations. This land was the world of the Creator Notch himself, the land of the gods. And the kind man entered the portal in pursuit of the wicked man. They fought once more, and in the end the wicked man was subdued. But the kind man, seeing that the wicked man had been hurt and reacted in a way he did not want to, chose to spare the wicked man and allow him a new life where he could become... kind." The wall continued to show off the story as I explained it while David watched.
"The two men returned to Minecraftia and all was good. But then, years later, a new threat came in the form of a shadow. This shadow hid under a cloak at all times, never revealing its true self." The wall came to form a shadowy man with glowing red eyes covered in a white cloak. "This shadow wanted nothing more than destruction itself. It wanted to destroy the world in its entirety. And to do that, it wanted to destroy the kind man, who it saw as a threat to its plans. Wielding a magical machine capable of altering reality, it created a beast of unspeakable power, one that would seek to devour the world in its hunger." The wall created the image of an enderdragon that mutated as blocks surged into it, becoming a feral beast that let out a roar.
"The kind man, horrified at the destruction, knew that he could not stop the shadow until he found a way to stop the beast. With his friends, he set out to gain the blessings of four great giants of the land, who would awaken when he called upon them. And then, when that fateful day came, he raised his sacred blade to the sky and let forth a shout that resurrected the powerful titans. They attacked the beast with every bit of power they possessed, and put an end to the monster." The wall lights showed the great beast being attacked by the four giants. It let out a final cry as it was destroyed by the giants.
"The shadow, in its rage at the beast having been destroyed, escaped into the End world, where it once again used its machine to call upon yet another beast of unspeakable power. A creature of darkness itself, crafted from the collective misery and suffering of all life." The wall changed to show off a black figure, void of all the light in the room, laughing maniacally.
"The shadow, in its plea to team up with the creature, was betrayed and sealed into the very machine it had wielded by the creature. The kind man tried to face off against the creature, but its power was too great, and the kind man was on the cusp of defeat when he was rescued by the wicked man. The wicked man, who had chosen to do good, became the redeemed man, and he fought the creature with everything he could, but it wasn't enough, and in his final breaths, he gave his life to keep the creature trapped as the kind man brought the light to the creature, destroying it." I watched as the wall showed the battle between the kind man, the redeemed man, and the creature. The redeemed man turned into a spirit and faded away as the kind man fired an arrow of light into the creature, causing it to shriek in agony and fade away.
"That is where this portion of the story ends, David. You must move on to the next trial in order to hear more. You can do it, hero!" I cheered as I descended down into the hallway.
I felt in tune with the temple now that I had embraced the role of storyteller. Finally, I was fulfilling my role as a lorekeeper, and it felt as though the temple itself was guiding me to when the appropriate time to continue would be. As I explored the hallway, I realized that had a total of five entranced-two in the beginning and end, and three between. The three must've led into the three different rooms where the hero would be challenged. I put thought into the next story I was to tell the hero.
The next time I felt ready, I came into the Mind Room and climbed up it. I looked at David, where he looked worried like he may have made the wrong decision as he stared at his allay, who stared back at him with concern. I spoke up once again and watched as the light on the wall shaped in accordance to my descriptions.
"Long ago, there was a catastrophic event. The Sun, an astral body that was responsible for giving us life, suddenly and without explanation began to fall towards the world." David noticed me and then the light as it began to shift to a great square of light slowly descending upon the Overworld.
"My people knew that if nothing was done, then the Overworld would be destroyed. And so, they prayed to the Patron to guide them. The Sapia sent their people all across the world, trying to find something, anything that could tell them how this happened. Then, one Sapian who sailed across the sea ended up reaching a series of islands, an island archipelago so far from any land that it wasn't on any maps. And surprisingly, there were people on these islands. And it was then that he spread the news of what had been happening to the Sun to the island leaders." The light formed a great sea, with a cluster of islands surrounding one massive one.
"The new chief of the largest island heard the news and wanted to do something to stop it. So he spoke with the Elder Guardian of their sea monument, and discovered that the Sun wasn't falling, it was being pulled to the surface, by a massive eye of ender. After finding this out, the boy set out to unlock the beacons of the six different islands. But in order to do so, he had to gain the blessings of the five other chiefs. In order to access the temple in which an artifact of the goddess capable of restoring the Sun lay, he had to get everyone of the six islands to stand in unity to get them to activate their beacons. He had to make negotiations to gain their trust and prevent the islands from going into another war against one another." The wall showed a boy working with the different leaders of the islands with their beacons behind them.
"Once he completed his task, the Sun was close enough to burn the surface, and he had the six beacons activate, firing their beams of light into the heavens and striking the eye of ender that had remained cleverly hidden above the island, invisible to the naked eye. A sacred temple to the people of the islands opened up once the six beacons were activated, and the boy ascended to it, gaining a trident of the goddess. From there, a stairway directly to the eye appeared, and the boy climbed it, fighting against the incinerating heat of the Sun before he attacked and destroyed the eye of ender, bringing the Sun back to its original place. The boy later became a great leader of his people." The wall showed the image of the boy climbing up a set of stairs as the Sun was burning the world below, before he reached the end, reaching an eye in the sky and striking it with his trident, causing it to explode with a shriek. The image then shifted to showing the boy ruling over his people with pride. After that, the wall went dark and I looked down at David as he looked back at me.
"There are two more stories. You're doing good, hero!" I rooted for him as I descended back down into the hallway and awaited for him to complete his third trial. I decided on the third story that I wanted to tell him.
The time eventually came, and I emerged into the Spirit Room. David didn't look any different, and I wondered what kind of trial he may have gone through. I spoke up again as the wall began glowing.
"Long ago, it was a time of unrest. A thousand-year prophecy was about to come to completion. A being would arrive in Minecraftia, one that could spell great fortune, or horrific disaster for humans. A being known as Novus, the judge of humanity. It was the Overworld itself given consciousness." The wall showed an image of the world coming together and rising into a single cube hovering above the surface. David watched the wall with interest.
"Many enemies of humanity knew that Novus was coming. They wanted to use it to destroy the humans. The Patron knew that something had to be done, or else Novus would be corrupted by them. He asked my people to send forward a champion. To send forward the most pure of heart, where Novus was set to appear. And that's what they set out to do. A most pure-hearted youth was prepared for the path that was set before him. However, tragedy struck, as the Sapia had been infiltrated by a cult bent on serving the god of the Nether, Venge. And the youth was killed. My people were filled with despair, as Novus was to rise with no one able to represent humanity."
"However, just as Novus was set to be birthed into the world, a hero appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. This hero would be the one to represent humanity, and so he was sent to a place at the heart of Minecraftia, the original chunks from which the world was built upon-at the coordinates 0, 0. And there were armies of illagers, cultists, and enslaved servants of Venge waiting for them." On the wall, the light shifted to show a lone warrior heading towards an army that was ready to kill.
"My people knew that the enemy would do anything to prevent the hero from reaching Novus, and so while the enemy had built armies, they had as well. They worked with the Diamond Kingdom, who would send many of their best soldiers with the most powerful of weaponry. It was brutal, many lost their lives. The cries of the fallen filled the sky, and many bodies were returned to the world. But in the end, the battle was won, the enemy retreated! However, Novus had been horrified of the violence that had occurred, and was about to take action when the champion was able to reach Novus and show it the best traits of humankind. Novus left, deciding that humans were worthy of existence. And that is how that story ends." I told him. As I had spoken, a wicked battle had played out on the wall before it was over, with many bodies covering the surface. The hero approached the single cube and the cube flew up into the sky, vanishing from sight. The wall then went dark and David looked back over to me.
"There is but one last story I will tell you, but first, you must listen to me. In case you may not have noticed, these three stories each have followed different themes. The first story followed the theme of Power, in which the kind man sought to use his to protect the ones he loved, while wicked man and the shadow sought to use theirs to strike at the world. While the wicked man came to change due to being given a second chance by the kind man, the shadow chose to continue to use its for destruction, and was ultimately punished for it."
"The second story followed a theme of Mind, where the young chief had to work together with the other chiefs and find useful solutions to activate the six beacons and unlock the temple. And lastly, the third story followed the theme of Spirit, in which a pure of heart hero appeared to show Novus that humans weren't evil." I explained to him. He looked a little confused, and I hoped the explanation or the stories hadn't been lost on him. My worries were proven unfounded when he nodded in understanding. "Come back into the main chamber, there is one more story to tell before you can have what you came here to claim." I went down and headed down the exit, remerging into the hallway a little ways back that led straight into the room with the tombstone. After a moment, David and his friend came into the room as well.
"So, the Sapia are a group of people who-" he started, but I quickly shushed him.
"I will tell you the final story. And then you will know the truth." I said with a smile.
"The kind man, after having defeated the creature of darkness, met with the Creator Notch. The Creator was dying, and he needed someone who would succeed him. He had chosen the kind man for that purpose. And so, the kind man set out to undergo trials in order to prove himself worthy of the task. He traveled to the four corners of the Overworld-seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, and hearing all that it had to offer, for it was the Creator's will that he would rule all of it."
"Over the course of his great mission, he encountered a woman who would choose to dedicate her life to his service, and she had others join her. These people would vow to serve the kind man and his will. For he was the son of the Creator Notch, and it was Creator Notch's will. And then, the daughter of the woman came to possess a unique power. The ability to make any desired item into reality." David listened patiently as I spoke.
"One day, a war broke out between the Nether and the Overworld. Another son of Creator Notch had sought to bring misery and suffering onto the people for wrongs he had faced in his life. This son of Creator Notch was a spirit who did not belong in the mortal plane, and he had created an army to serve his will. Dozens of Withers were made, and they spread their mist of death upon the Overworld."
"Thousands were killed, and the kind man returned to action, taking as many of them down as he could manage, but they were powerful, he was unable to face more than one at a time. But then, six champions appeared to aid the kind man, and they fought back against the Withers. Years passed, but then as the last Wither was killed, the kind man went into the depths of the Nether to confront the vengeful spirit. Knowing that this would be a battle he could lose, he ordered the six champions to seal the portal and destroy all portals into the Nether. None would be allowed in. And so, he faced off against the vengeful spirit, and put an end to his wickedness, but he was mortally wounded in his fight."
"The kind man perished, and from his death he was reborn, the Patron of Minecraftia. And from then on to the end of time, he would watch over mankind." I finished.
"So, you see now, don't you?" I asked him. He thought for a moment.
"So, the Sapia are people that worship the Patron, and the Patron is the kind man. The kind man fought and died in a war in the Nether." he mumbled.
"Just like..." I said, letting him put two and two together. His eyes widened.
"My... my master..." he said, his mouth left open as he tried to process the news. "My master... he is the Patron, isn't he?" I nodded and went up to him, putting my arm on his shoulder.
"In life, the kind man went by the name of Steve. So, when you told me that your master had fought in a war hundreds of years ago and died in the Nether and had the name Steve, it shocked me. But I am certain that he has been guiding you just as he has been guiding my people." I said. He looked into my eyes, and I could see there were a lot of thoughts going through his mind. I pointed over to the tombstone.
"And that right there is his grave. The grave of the mortal man that was once Steve Stonewall, the now-Patron of humanity." I pointed out. He looked back at it.
"That's so... wow... This whole time he..." I heard him mutter to himself.
A moment later, he straightened himself.
"Alright, what's next?" he asked. I brought my hand over to the wall and felt the world connect to me once more.
Suddenly, the roof opened up, and stairs formed seemingly out of air itself. I couldn't explain it in any other way than simply it was magic. I gestured for him to go first and then followed behind him.
We went up the stairs until we reached a well-lit room with two stone massive doors at the end. David stepped forward and many symbols began to glow across surface of the doors. They began to open up slowly and revealed an incredibly large room with gardens of flowers. His allay quickly flew into the room, passing by a waterfall that poured out of one of the walls that spilled into a spring. It took a brief interest in several allays that flew around and called to each other, carrying blocks of dirt, seeds, and flowers as they noticed the allay and then noticed us. Emma flew over to a huge pyramid of gold with a flashing beacon on top at the end of the room. She then began to circle around something with great interest that was suspended within the pulsing light. It was a diamond sword, but not any ordinary diamond sword. The diamond gems that lined its guard glowed with white lights. The ends of its guard had two points on each end-one pointed up and the other pointed down the sword length. And a faint purple aura flowed across its surface. It was the blade of legend itself. The Grand Sword, wielded by Steve himself.
The allays all went still and quiet as they began to stare at David while he approached the podium at the end of the room, his footsteps echoing in the silence, which was only interrupted by the water flow.
"Go get it David. Claim the sword of heroes..." I whispered as he climbed up the pyramid. He looked over to the hovering sword, an artifact that had seen many battles between the forces of light and darkness.
David raised his hand towards the weapon, close enough for the sword to fly into his hand. It hovered just out of his reach.
A moment passed. Nothing happened.
Another moment passed. Still nothing.
He brought out his right hand and faced down in concentration. Then, the blade moved quickly into both of his hands and his head moved up as he grasped the blade. I heard myself gasp in joy as I felt tears form in my eyes. Emma the allay shrieked gleefully.
David swung the sword to one side, then to another, presumably to feel its weight in his hands, and then held the blade to his forehead, feeling the surface against him. Then, he brought it up to the sky and with a flash, the beacon's light changed from white to a bright blue light. The allays all began to cheer and toss the items they were holding into the air.
"I-I did it..." I cried as he turned back and began to climb down the pyramids. "I brought the sword to its master..." More tears came down as I sobbed with joy. I didn't believe that I was experiencing this. Just last week, I had wondered if I would be searching my entire life for the hero only to fail like my mother and many before her, and yet here I was experiencing history. Experiencing the knighting of the one true hero by the Patron.
David came to stand before me, the Grand Sword in his hand as he looked over at me with a hint of a smile on his face. Emma hovered right beside the sword, mesmerized by its design.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, his smile growing. I kept crying, feeling the tear particles slide down my face.
"No..." I told him as I broke down sobbing. "I just-I... I never thought this day would actually come... When we lorekeepers are trained to go out in search of the hero of prophecy... we are taught to expect disappointment and to accept the high chance that we won't be the ones to succeed... To actually be here standing with the holder of that blade, knowing that generations of lorekeepers could not find the one meant to hold it... it just... feels very surreal." I said as I wiped the tears from my face. "David, you know what this means, right? You're locked in. Now, you can't deviate from the path that the Patron has set you on. From here on, no matter what happens, you will have the Grand Sword to wield." I informed him. He nodded and held the sword up, admiring the blade's surface.
"If only my dad were here... He was a huge sword enthusiast, it would've probably blown his mind seeing me hold this blade." he said with a chuckle. I nodded and grinned.
"Now, David, let's go. We've gotten everything that you need from here." I told him. He nodded, and we set out to leave the temple. As we went along, the stone bricks of the walls flowed with a blue energy that followed David. No longer white light, but blue. It seemed as though all light within the temple had changed now that the sword had been claimed. I knew that the Patron was watching us right now, seeing us off.
We left the temple, and it may have been my imagination, but the world in general felt a little more at peace. While we had been walking, I had time to think about what I wanted to say to him. I went ahead to sit at the edge of the mountain, overlooking the world. It was morning, the sun had risen enough for the mobs way far below to begin to burn in its great light. I could see the savannah we had came from, as well as an ocean in the far east. There was also a plain that connected the two. The clouds lazily floated by, no hint of the storm that had been there before. David joined me and sat right beside me, admiring the same view. The allay stayed on his shoulder. A moment passed before I spoke up.
"You've gotten everything that you need. One day, maybe soon, you'll have to fight against the Great Evil that will rise and threaten our world." I said as I continued staring down below. "You've already gone through a lot, but even though you have that sword, there's still more you'll have to go through. The life of a hero is never easy..." He stayed silent as I spoke.
"A few days ago, you had asked how I would be able to live knowing that I would have caused a war between the Nether and the Overworld on my conscience... Well, the truth is, I don't think I could... The day that I made that deal with that lieutenant to colonize the Nether, knowing what would happen, I felt... scummy... I remembered the grief my mother had gone through after she brought in her last knight, finding out that he wasn't the one. And I guess I just didn't want to be like that... But even still, knowing what would happen, I felt like a villain. I felt like I was doing something that the Patron would be disappointed in, as well as everyone in the Sapia." I continued as he quietly listened.
"I had already investigated a good amount of the heroes from the Purge War, and was only able to bring a few of them back to the clan, and none of them had been the one. So... I..." I had trouble with the words that were to come next. "I figured, well, if there was a new war, maybe there would be new heroes, in case the ones that I investigated weren't the one." I gave him a moment to think before turning to look at him.
"I don't blame you at all if you don't like me anymore. And if you wanted to turn me in, I... I guess I wouldn't resist..." I told him. "I already got what I wanted. You're ready to be the savior of humanity. What happens to me doesn't matter. But it's your choice." I could tell he was deep in thoughts.
"My dad once told me that who you were does not matter. What's truly important is what you are. It's something I've thought a lot about ever since I decided to go off on my own. The question is, what are you?" he asked me. I thought about it for a moment.
"What am I... Well, I'm a lorekeeper of the Sapia." I said. He shook his head.
"I asked what are you?" he repeated. "More specifically, who are you?" I thought a little more.
"I am Lisra Felltome, a girl with a special power who wants to do right and live up to the greatness of her ancestors." I responded.
"And what are you going to do now?" he questioned. I looked back into his green eyes.
"I'll go back to my people, and I will live my life knowing that I aided and brought the hero to the tool he needs to fight the Great Evil. And try to make up for what past me did by giving back to people that would have been hurt by my actions." I told him. He nodded and smiled.
"Then go." he ordered. I smiled back, grateful for the second chance that he was giving me. And then I got up and pulled out my staff. After a moment of hesitation, I knelt back down to give him a kiss on the side of his head, to which he reacted with surprise as his face began to turn a slight shade of red. I got back up and put on my hood, and then began climbing down the mountain. And I was hopeful for the future, now that the world had its protector ready for the approaching threat.