Minecraft Junkie

Chapter 0.8

I remember when I first woke up on that lonely beach. I wandered far and wide, finding nothing but barren wilderness. Everything seemed so easy then. I delved deep caverns and hollowed a mountain home for myself; crafted grand canals and dammed great rivers. It was peaceful and serene and the sun seemed to shine forever. But splendor and peace eventually would lead to boredom and complacency and so I left in search for far lands in hopes of finding others in this alien landscape.

Chapter 1

I can't say how far I traveled; all I know is that, as if I were leaving Eden itself I felt the very strength begin to drain from my bones. No longer could I smash the very trees with my bare hands, nor leap from high cliffs without fear of breaking my legs at the bottom. It was when I finally began to see the error of leaving my beautiful home that I noticed the sun had moved. I stared, transfixed as if it were the first sunset I had ever witnessed and when it finally set that dread fell over me. Within the deep forests, dark shapes began to shift and scratch. I stared at those nightmarish forms in the distance... and then I heard the hiss.

Coughing dirt and dust I lifted my broken body and crawled within the crater that had formed around me. I scraped out dirt with shaking hands and entombed myself in hopes that whatever lurked in the distance hadn't heard the blast... and if they had heard would simply pass over. When I awoke I broke free to sunlight and crawled, battered and bruised, to the surface. Breaking branches from the trees I crafted a crude weapon and skewered a wild pig for breakfast. They say that the first meal after almost certain death tastes sweeter then any other - and I can attest that is the truth.

Once again I dug, and I built; entombing myself by night to rise in the morning and continue work on my stronghold. I built high, strong walls and lit torches along them. Finally when my new home was completed I stood atop my fortifications and looked out into the night. The fields around my sanctuary teemed with monstrosities of nightmarish shape and size and I watched from the battlements as the sun rose and burnt the mass of the horde to dust leaving keep me entrapped in the daylight.

But I would not be imprisoned. I dug beneath my modest domicile, lifting the very ores from unforgiving rock. I sweat, I forged and I worked metals so that I could better face my demonic wardens. Face them I did - and as I stood victorious in the first light of dawn I knew I could not stay there forever. But I would not let them have my hard work. The creatures like the one who ambushed me that first night were composed of sulfur - and I spent my last night there working a final surprise for those who sought my life. In the black of night when they seemed in greatest number I opened the heavy iron doors and taunted my foes into the tunnels I had burrowed. I fought them with an eye on time piece I had constructed in my long nights and when dawn approached I doubled around them and left; lighting the fuse on my way out. The dawn had never been heralded so gloriously.

Chapter 1.5 (ish)

I traveled by day and left by night, but woke every morning to the residuals of the night terrors. What supplies I brought with me dwindled, my metal armor and steel swords slowly replaced by hides and sharpened stick as the need arose. It was then, as it seemed my slip back to primeval life seemed absolute, that I finally found others. At first there was only two of us, then four, then eight. A community formed and we all declared our wandering must end. What started as a grouping of crude huts turned into a city and what started as a city became our fortress. We dug deep and built tall; mocking the undead as they scraped bony knuckles against our thick stone walls. We farmed, lived, loved and shared stories of from whence we came.

It was in those halcyon days that I first heard of the Farlands. While some of us were content to scrape what little civilization we could from the rough landscape others scouted far and wide, leaving for entire months at a time. Those who traveled furthest told of where the world ended... or rather a new world began. Hollow cliffs rose to the clouds; encasing an impassible maze of tunnels which sapped the very strength from your bones. It was our absolute boarder and if anything lay beyond it even the hardiest of us could not delve deep enough to tell.

It was during those days when rumor spread and plans for expeditions bloomed that they came. Our walls had thwarted the mindless dead but for every bit of hard work one person does there is always another that is willing to simply take it. Time and time again we fought the raiders off but with each raid they took a little more; burnt another home and ruined another crop. As we stood amidst the rubble of what once had been our lives we knew something had to be done.

Some left to create hidden communities deep within the unmolested wilderness, some stayed to rebuild - but as time wore on the attacks did not slacken and even those such as myself that wished to see our long efforts restored had to abandon all hope of redemption. Once again I laid a trap for those who would subdue me; but his time I felt no joy as I lit the fuse and ran into the night.

But we persevered; we spread to the four winds and we surpassed our previous feats by leaps and bounds. We discovered new lands and kept correspondence so that we would not lose touch with those who would build rather than destroy; eventually even reclaiming the decimated ruins of our first home to build a monument that would serve as a beacon of hope for even more travelers who came to our lands. Then history repeated itself.

Chapter 1.8

The earth shook and split, the mountains crumbled and we all fled our glorious structure in fear they would fall upon our heads. A blinding light enveloped the world and when the light faded we found ourselves all together yet again; but not in the world we once knew. But we would not be hindered. We had persevered before and we would do so again.

Once again we struck out expeditions and built what shelter we could - some practicing black arts to open portals to other worlds so that we could try and find what remained of the country we had built. Those that went through those portals never returned - and so the rest of us made do with what we had in front of us. This was a harsh world, which seemed to drain the strength from you if you did not take care of your body. But in this feral wilderness we became stronger. We ran faster, struck harder and our bows aimed true.

And then we found it. My small band came across the village and marveled at what we found. Surely it was built by hands much like our own, but by none we knew and had been left abandoned. At first we settled there, sending out scouts once again to seek better prospects. They traveled far and came back with disturbing news. The mythic Farlands had collapsed in on themselves and strange black creatures were moving across the countryside. They seemed to know nothing of our kind and ignored us, working slowly and methodically unless challenged directly.

Once again we scattered to the winds, believing they would descend upon us should we give them a target. I myself went out into the wilds. It was after weeks of searching I found the portal deep within a forest. No hope lay in this land and so I resigned myself to the possibility of death and stepped through.

Death would have been a sweet release. I was beset by fire hurling specters which destroyed the portal behind me and left to wander this new world. There was not sky, no earth, no plants - only barren rock and magma. It was layered but the layers seemed infinite and even in my despair I did not wish to travel deeper into this living hell. As I scraped by; all my training put to the test in this demonic realm, I found evidence of those who like me had traveled beyond the portal. All the portals destroyed from this side by the horrible ghasts which floated between the layers, hunting the lesser creatures which scurried to hiding like scared sheep at their passing. I took what I could and lived how I could until finally I came across a what I had been searching for.

The buildings were decimated and picked clean but in the center stood the portal, pristine and untouched. I gladly hurled myself through it. Once vertigo had subsided I looked around to see the village we had discovered. We had left it pristine but in our absence it had been decimated by those who would bring grief upon us. Weary I now crawl into the house I had once claimed as my own and scribble this upon what little paper they left un-torn and un-charred.

Sitting here, I begin to lose hope that anything shall ever be right again.