A strong wind blew over the sands.
It wasn't like any strong wind felt before, either.
It was the strongest of winds. The big beauty of winds.
On a hot day like such in the middle of July, wind was your best friend in Anascentia since there was no better source of restoration from the heat. Ask any person – really, go ahead – and they would absolutely, one hundred percent guarantee that wind was your best friend during hot days in the middle of July.
Mercenaries had it pretty bad. Well, besides soldiers and scouts and what-not. Mercenaries were the middle men, always used as the bridge over the gap between soldiers and civilians. They were both, in reality, since they showed the most emotion from either party. Yeah, you could say that soldiers miss their home and civilians feel like a failure for not becoming soldiers – but that is exactly how a mercenary feels as well. Mercenaries left their family to go off and serve the various factions and bring in actual income. Bam, emotion from both parties in one.
Don't get me wrong, though – mercenaries didn't have it the worst. That award goes to scouts by a mile. Wait, make that two miles instead. Scouts were sent out into the field head on and were seen as simple decoys that could be used to get the upper hand despite how rare that chance would be. Soldiers might come in second, but mercenaries definitely came in third.
As I mentioned before, yes, there were factions long ago in Anascentia. Prior to the diabolical uprising of the Redstone Rebellion in the far east, another war had devoured the inner workings of the deserted digital world. When I say inner workings, I mean that it didn't really affect those in the larger cities like Imperial City, Babylon, or St. Rosemary. Instead, it heavily impacted the lives of the refugees and rogues that wandered the land in search of meaning.
One faction was called the Swing Faction. They wanted to bring down the disastrous Conley Faction quickly and in the most brutal manner possible. Out of all four factions, Swing Faction was the most affected by Conley's actions and that led to the bitter rivalry of theirs in the Dominion War.
Then there was the aforementioned Conley Faction, which consisted of mostly mercenaries. However, the amount of mercenaries in their faction began to cripple the gunpowder and gun industries that were just starting to get up and running throughout the world. This led to deeper complications in their order and greatly fueled The Dominion War (another factor was of the leader's ignorance, but that doesn't matter yet).
The other two were simply called Gavin and Ross Faction. They don't matter and merely served as the backbone to the war. What I mean by backbone is that they kept the war going – whenever the battles became far and few between Conley and Swing, they would fuel the tension and continue it on.
Really, they did that only to see who would come out on top.
These four factions weren't just districts that divided all of Anascentia (they were much smaller than that); they were how people were able to tell who was opposed to the new laws given out by Moderator Solomon in Imperial City. Two particular laws built up the four factions from the ground – the Gun Smoke Act and the Inhuman Act. It basically came down to each faction having different opinions on the overall laws.
Swing Faction disapproved of both laws.
Ross Faction approved of the Gun Smoke Act, but not the Inhuman Act.
Gavin Faction approved of the Inhuman Act, but not the Gun Smoke Act.
Guess where Conley Faction stood?
That's right – they approved of both.
Thus the Dominion War erupted in the underbelly of the Sand Sea. It was titled such by the Swing Faction itself for they thought that whoever would reign victorious would be eligible to change the laws and the rest of Anascentia for that matter. Conley Faction, since they utilized gunpowder and guns to a great extent, needed both laws to be active in order for their power to rise.
The Dominion War never caught the eye of the higher ups in the government. Moderator Solomon never even heardof the conflict. The only people who really knew of the war in the major cities were survivors of the various battles that occurred. Whether those refugees were left in Fontaine, Babylon, Yggdrasil, or Imperial City, they knew the tale and waited for the day when they would find people just like themselves and discuss their thoughts on each faction's motives.
When the war eventually shifted to where the Redstone Rebellion eventually established its main base, there was actually a town built there that was the original model of the base. The town was called Onyx and it was a large, independent city full of hope. Few knew of its existence unless they had wandered into the desert, got lost, and found the oasis of the future.
At the Battle of Onyx (also called "The Battle for Power") the town was devastated. Around 90% of the population was spared and they all had to scurry off through the hazardous desert to their next home. This led to a mysterious event called "The Great Influx" in which large groups of people (I mean massive groups of people) began to arrive in all the big name cities such as Babylon, St. Rosemary, and especiallyImperial City.
Once the wave of people had settled into Imperial City, controversy began almost instantly that some sort of conspiracy was amok. The refugees arrived and were taken in for questioning regarding where they came from and why they arrived in Imperial City at once. Everyone knew that revealing the existence of The Dominion War would cause great disaster for the rest of Anascentia, so they did their best to bullshit their way into a normal lifestyle.
An event that occurred during the interrogations of the refugees helped shape the future of two kind souls. An elderly man, who said his name was Scott and felt the need to remind everyone almost every second, pretended to be insane by making up imbecilic lies to help the other refugees. Later, on his deathbed, he said that "he felt that everyone else deserved a long and prosperous life."
The public funeral for Scott was held in the middle of November at a now-demolished funeral home in northeastern Imperial City. It was a nice one-story
building that catered to both believers of Notch and the Flower Zodiac. In that way it was controversial amongst extremists, but what isn't?
The funeral had begun at eleven in the morning and concluded at one in the afternoon. The lobby of the building was packed to the brim, surprising one quiet man and making him wonder about Scott's nobility. This man had short, untidy brown hair and nice brown eyes to match them. He had on a plain green shirt with blue jeans, but usually wore a leather jacket over it.
Another man stopped by the quiet man, who was sitting on wooden bench beside the exit, "Come on, the funeral is over. Let Scott rest in peace."
"How many people actually knew him?"
The other man began to count on his fingers, making the quiet man wonder even more how famous Scott was. The other man, who had long blond hair and wore a white suit, looked almost the same age as the quiet man, "Can't say for sure. Let's just go with the fact that Scott was a writer in his heyday."
"He wrote? What did he write? I used to read a lot. Maybe I might recognize him or something." The quite man stood up and pulled out a piece of paper from one of his jacket's pockets. He then pulled out a pencil (crudely crafted) and prepared to write.
"I think one of his books was called Aether. The other one…" The other man trailed off and went into deep thought. Really, once you knew the title of the book, you couldn't blame him. It was complex yet profound – a must read for all ages.
The quiet man nodded after writing down the first title and put away his paper, "Don't worry about it. I'll be sure to check it out." He began to walk towards the exit doors.
"Wait a minute," the other man said a bit louder, "I've seen you somewhere."
"You have?"
"Yeah. Were you one of the refugees from Onyx?"
"Uh-huh."
"That explains a lot. I remember seeing you during the evacuation."
"Yep, I think I might've seen you as well."
The other man smiled in realization, "Now I know why you're here. You were inspired by what Scott said during the interrogation week, weren't you? It's all right to admit it. I was moved by his words as well."
"Well, maybe just a little."
The two stopped and stared at each silently as the conversation died.
The quiet man smiled, "See you around."
Alright, the title of the book was Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself. Happy now?
"Yeah," The other man smiled back, "Likewise."
The quiet man walked out the building into the cloudy weather that was prominent in Anascentia during the transition from fall into winter. Sometimes it would rain; other times it would snow; other times it would storm; but sometimes it wouldn't be cloudy. Sometimes it would be sunny.
Only sometimes, though.
Speaking of Scott the writer, a particular chapter in his story Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself actually described a theory that was a major part of The Dominion War. Now, you might be wondering to yourself "If he's a famous writer that wrote about The Dominion War, then how did nobody else know about it?" Well, the truth is that they didn't. Scott was known for writing Aether, a fictional best-seller telling the tale of one boy in his mission into the Aether. More so, it was a commentary on equality, but that's beside the point.
The title Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himselfactually is derived from an event that Scott experienced as a child in the great city of Babylon. There was an election (this was before Babylon became less like all other governments) and in the end only two candidates remained – Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Ravage. Both were likable, handsome, and potential saviors of where the city of Babylon might go without a proper mayor.
Then the rumors began.
It all started with the mysterious person who called himself "The Happy Hippopotamus." This person published articles and began rumors that Mr. Arthur was a corrupted former rebel who was actually involved in a Redstone raid that had become one of the biggest crimes in history. As the news continued to escalate, Mr. Arthur confessed to more and more and eventually ended up killing himself. Before Mrs. Savage could even come into power, the civilians of Babylon decided to abolish the government they had and live on in a more independent manner.
The name Hippotamus was merely a shortened version of The Happy Hippopotamus; Scott chose it because it sounded cool and sophisticated. "The Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise" was merely a comparison between Mr. Arthur's bad effect on others like bacteria and he merely used a new identity to hide it all. The identity is actually the meaning behind "The Man Formerly Called Himself" and is a recurring theme in the rest of the story.
All in all, the story was semi-fiction. It was basedon the events that occurred long ago but merely put a twist on them. It was toward the middle of the story, where a journalist (the protagonist) decides to interview Martin (the corrupted individual formerly called himself) and Martin outright says the following:
"You can say it all but nobody can listen. Corruption isn't only happening in Babylon, you know. It happens everywhere and so few are aware! It is only a problem when they do become aware. That's when they see that punishment must commence. The criminal mustdie a painful death!" Martin spoke wickedly in the dark room where he hid during the reveal of his scandal, "It was their Occam's razor and it is ultimately the corruption itself as death is seen as the endgame for everyone. Somebody killed someone else? Let's kill them and make it fair. Except life isn't fair. Why try to make death, of all things, fair when life itself isn't? Life and death are one and the same; if one is fair, the other can't be unfair. However, they are both unfair and that is the absolute truth. When the Battle for Dominance began all those years ago, I knew that corruption was still invisible to the naked eye. Nobody truly understood anything and that's why I thought I could move on from what I had done in the past. My life was formed around a simple thing – a thing called the 'chaos theory' – that basically foretold something as the absolute truth. Much like an Occam's razor, I shaped my life around the absolute truth. Sadly, there is no absolute truth as everything is corrupted because life is unfair. Death is the end of the road – that is the only Occam's razor."
You see, "The Battle for Dominance" was his fictional title for his version of The Dominion War. He kept it vague so that the clueless would remain clueless and that those in the know would understand. He wrote that entire quote in order to relate The Dominion War and Mr. Arthur's downfall with the simple yet complex "chaos theory" that was basically the brother to the term "Occam's razor" in terms of meaning. In all honesty, what he said was true. The only absolute truth is that death lies at the end of life.
However, it can be argued that there is another.
It can be argued that the only absolute truth is that chaos theory is an absolute lie.
Indeed, that is the only absolute truth.
Herobrine was his name.
A lot of people called him "Steve" because of how generic he looked.
But his name was Herobrine. That was an absolute truth.
The quiet man, I mean. His name was Herobrine and still is.
Herobrine already checked all available bookstores and libraries in Imperial City besides one for Aether. The only one he had not looked into was the one at the college, which was going through a phase of remodeling. Who doesn't love that? Herobrine, of course. They had all these signs everywhere saying that "Fiction books have been moved to the historical section!" or "Science books have been moved to the nonfiction section!"
So what could Aether be listed under? Fiction? Historical fiction?
He checked both but couldn't find it. Could it be that the college had not the book in stock?
"Are you looking for something, dear?" The young yet mature librarian had asked politely from behind the front desk. She had perfect skin – surgery perhaps? – that really outshined her ginger hair and black dress uniform.
Herobrine looked over, holding a bunch of books that he found interesting, "I attended the funeral of an author named Scott and was hoping to find one of his novels here. It's called Aether, or so I was told."
"Scott Thomas, you mean? He should be located in the science section."
Herobrine thanked the librarian and proceeded to said science section where, lo and behold, both Aether and Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself, both by Scott Thomas, the acclaimed author, were. He picked out both of them and went to check them out. He exchanged a smile with the librarian and left, heading for the hotel that he had rented just off of the main street.
A figure had stepped out from beside the front door of the college as Herobrine exited. He nearly dropped his books out of the sudden and tripped down the steps. Looking up, he only saw the man from earlier that day with the blond hair. He helped Herobrine up and the two looked around cautiously, hoping that no one had seen what had just happened.
"You all right? I didn't mean to startle you like that." The man asked respectfully.
"Yeah, I think so. Just a scrape or two here and there but nothing to worry about really," Herobrine smiled, "I… never got you name."
"Chaos," The man smiled, "I was actually wondering if you'd like to grab a drink or two. How about it, er, what's your name?"
"Herobrine," Herobrine stated, "And yes, let's drink."
Indeed, they drank. They spent several hours, then weeks, discussing their separate lives back in Onyx and how they had decided to change for the better and try to do all that they could while they were young. They talked about joining various non-profit organizations, supporting environmentalists, and trying to save the environment altogether.
So when Chaos announced that he was becoming a mercenary, Herobrine lost it.
"You're becoming one of them?" Herobrine could only repeat the statement. What else could he say or do? They were at a bar with other tougher men who would only laugh at the slightest drop of emotion from either one of them. He could only drink.
Chaos reached for his glass, which was half full, "I see many good things to come."
"Such as?"
"First of all, the opportunities."
He had a point, yet Herobrine wanted to hear more.
"Allow me to elaborate," Chaos finished off his drink and wiped his mouth with a napkin, "I spent all week researching about that environmentalist group you wanted to meet with. This led me to the political back bone of Anascentia and made me realize just how important the laws we make are. Conley Faction supports those laws, thus I support them. They need me. They'll wantme."
"Is this really a good idea? You're practically throwing your life away." Herobrine was legitimately worried despite only knowing Chaos for a few weeks.
Chaos looked Herobrine in the eye, "My life's importance matters only to me."
The two then left the bar after another pair of drinks and went straight for the front gates. Yes, Chaos had clearly and formally stated his plans for the future. What he failed to communicate, however, was the fact that he was leaving that night.
Just as the gate was opened and Chaos prepared to step out into the world beyond, Herobrine spoke up, "Walking across the desert in the middle of the night? That isn't like you. I've barely known you for a month and I already know you're smarter than that."
"If I'm smart enough to not go, then how am I not smart enough to survive on my own?" Chaos continued walking, confident in his plan to reach the camp of Conley Faction by morning.
"Because nobody is smart enough to survive on their own!" Herobrine ran forward, "That is why I'm going with you!"
"Please don't do this. You did not give your opinion on The Dominion War, so don't follow me simply because nobody else will accept you. Follow only if you believe so."
Herobrine stood his ground, "I will follow."
"Then don't follow me. Follow your beliefs."
The two continued together, following their beliefs.
The greatest ordeal of their early careers as mercenaries was of how they arrived at Conley Faction's camp just as the war had intensified. Conley had made quite the advance on the other factions, leading to an all-out assault. That one assault could change the future of all of Anascentia, and Herobrine and Chaos got caught right in the middle of it.
The first warning of a battle to them was the fact that a cannonball flew over them as they cross over high sand dunes. They had to repeatedly slide down each one of them and hide in the shadows to keep out of dodge of the massive boulders that could bring their premature deaths.
"Nobody is smart enough to survive on their own, eh?" Chaos began, looking to see if it was safe enough to keep travelling, "Well, we're not alone. How do we get out of this one?"
Herobrine looked across all possible horizons to travel to before noticing a red flag off in the distance, blowing gently in the wind, "Looks like a red flag over there. Did you say red belonged to Swing?"
"No, red was Conley. That's where we wanna go." Chaos ran forward towards the aforementioned red flag. Herobrine began to follow and soon the tents inside the camp came into sight. There was an abundance of soldiers walking around in a hurry obviously because of the incoming threat. Many dispatched into the desert; some in mine cart tanks, others completely alone.
Once the two reached the front gate of the camp, the urgency of the situation became even more evident as the men looked panicked. Eventually a taller, bulkier man emerged from a more distinct tent at the back of the camp. He had a "rock jaw" sort of face and wore a rather studded uniform. Every soldier around him stopped in their tracks and saluted.
The man approached Herobrine and Chaos, who stood in place, frightened by their awful timing in arrival. He reached onto his back and pulled out a steel sword, "You came at a horrible time. Where you come from? Another faction? Don't come here beggin' for mercy."
"We don't want mercy, sir. Just to support." Chaos said.
"Support? You come to join Conley?"
Herobrine and Chaos nodded.
"Then get out there and serve." The man pushed the duo back out onto the desert.
Damn. They didn't even get his name! Despite their dislike of the probable commander's attitude, he was right – they went to serve, so they'd better do as they originally wanted to. They went out into the desert, retrieving the weapons of the fallen and combating against their enemies from the Swing Faction. It became a grueling experience but rewarding, nonetheless.
Eventually it went on to late morning and the battle continued to rage throughout the desert. The winds that day were ferocious and caught many soldiers off guard, often blowing wind over them and drowning them in a mountain of sand. This led to the untimely end of the battle, where both factions receded, declaring a stalemate.
When Chaos and Herobrine returned, various weapons tied to their backs with leather, they saw the general and he did not look happy. He looked far from it, holding his steel sword with a solid grip, "You two were completely useless."
"Useless?" Chaos responded in a weak voice.
"Useless," the general repeated, "You come here, hoping to serve the Conley Faction, but only end up becoming pedestrians. What good are you when you only serve as pedestrians in a war zone?"
Herobrine stepped forward, "We're not pedestrians, we're mercenaries. We went out there, grabbing the weapons of those who gave their lives and delivered them to others like a mercenary would do. Death isn't what classifies a hero's rank; their preservation of life is."
The general grunted before sheathing his sword slowly, "Perhaps you are correct in where you stand. However, I wish to see more from you when we challenge Swing again. I don't want you to simply deliver weapons. I want you to usethe weapons. That's their purpose."
"Then we're allowed in?" Chaos asked.
"Why the hell not," the general sighed and turned away, "You can call me General Artemis. I'll serve you as long as you serve me. Deal with it." He walked back to his tent.
Thus Chaos and Herobrine were formally brought into the camp. They were given the grandest of clothing (for a soldier at the time) and treated like companions by the other soldiers. It wasn't too long before it felt like a brand new home to them. For once they felt comforted and not out of place like in Imperial City.
One night, in their tent, Herobrine awoke in the middle of a rainy night. Their tents were finely crafted so that rain wouldn't soak the materials and the soldiers inside. There was thunder roaring across the desert and there was the possibility of a flood (this was long before the drought had begun).
Nonetheless, Herobrine awoke and couldn't return to his slumber.
He reached to his sack at the end of his cot and pulled out a book titled Hippotamus and the Restless Case of the Bacterial Disguise of the Man Formerly Called Himself and began to re-read for the fifteenth time (exactlyfifteen times). The contents of the book were mesmerizing and often thought-provoking. Scott Thomas could very well have been the most influential person to Herobrine at the time.
"Can't sleep?" Chaos awoke slowly, staring at Herobrine in the dark.
Herobrine shook his head, reading using a glowstone lamp.
"This rain, man. It's killer." Chaos sat up all the way.
Herobrine nodded, "You should read some of Scott Thomas' work."
"Really? What's it about?"
"You, of all people, don't know what it's about? You suggested it to me."
"Yeah, I knew who he was."
Herobrine closed the book and turned out the light, "Well, these stories that he tells aren't exactly linear. They take these twists and turns and eventually meet at the end to prove a valid point. They're often points about humanity and revolution and such since, well, that's what Scott Thomas wanted all his life, apparently."
"Revolution?"
"He was the kind of guy who would tear down the government first chance he got."
Chaos stood up and walked out into the rain.
"Where do you think you're going?" Herobrine followed him curiously.
"Just feeling the rain."
The two stood out at the center of Conley Faction camp as the rain continued its endless downpour over Anascentia. While the sky was cloudy and grey, there was a slight hint of color. It was a subtle radiance that shined from red to blue to white to red and all through the colors of the rainbow. It was absolutely hypnotizing and a true spectacle of Mother Nature. Up to that point it was the greatest thing that Chaos and Herobrine had ever witnessed.
Now that was an absolute truth.