Welcome to my first attempt at a Minecraft FanFiction. Before I continue, note that this will be in the Shadow of Israphel universe (from the Yogscast of course). I will throw hints of it here and there but it will focus mainly on the main character, for the first part at least.

Chapter 1: Pilot

20 years before the events of SoI...

"Miranda..." A stout and yet soft voice rang out, "This is my son we're talking about! Just because you have two sons already doesn't give us the incentive to give him away! You know who wants to train him!" He brushed his spiky hair out of the way, his two swords rubbing against his leg as they swished around their hilts.

"Haku, you don't understand." The one called Miranda shot back. "It's been only a week since we've had him, but you and I wanted a girl. Even the doctors said that it would be a girl!" She grabbed the handrail and stared down to the icy sea below. "Besides, he'll be with a better family who can raise him."

"I can raise him to be a great swordmaster and you, my dear, can raise him to be the best Skylord this land has ever seen!" He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Give him a chance!" He turned her around so he could stare into her indigo eyes.

Miranda gave a sigh. "No. I'm the ruler of this household. We send him away tomorrow!" She declared loudly.

"But Miranda-" His voice was stopped by a cold blade touching the his throat, the tip barely grazing it. Miranda gave him a furious look, her voice dangerously calm.

"We're sending him away. Tomorrow. Got. It?" She asked, shaking her blade once to intimidate him.

Haku gave a sigh. "Fine. We will." He put his hands up defensively. "Where will the send him though?" He kept his right hand on his sword hilt, just in case. "Not Mistral City. It's too shady. I don't want my son growing up there."

"Vikdal?"
Haku cocked his head. "The Skylord Capitol?" He stroked his beard in thought. "I guess it's possible. It's the only town that Skyhold has connections with anyways." He turned back into the house, but not before speaking up again.

"You sure about this?"

"I'm positive." Miranda turned away.

With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart, Haku turned to go visit his son. When he got to the room, the baby was asleep, his chest gently rising and falling with his soft heartbeat. He walked over to his son and cupped his head with his hand. His son's indigo eyes opened softly after fluttering and looked up at his father.

"I'm sorry...Taka."

One Week Later...

Walking along a stone brick pathway, surrounded by trees, bristling softly in the wind, and the voices of chattering and gossiping people, all talking about anything their minds drifted off to, a tall woman brushed her golden orange hair out of her reddened eyes. She felt the hand of her friend, a shorter woman, pat her on the shoulder.

"Infertile." The taller woman spoke. "I can't believe what I heard, Nina." She shook her head in disappointment. Just an hour ago, she had went to the doctor, in the hopes of hearing that she could birth a child. Unfortunately, the doctor informed her that, due to a genetic mishap, she would never be able to bear a child.

The one called Nina rubbed the back of her neck in thought, her hand cutting through her smooth, brown hair. She felt a pang of sympathy towards her long-time friend. She thought of something to day, and came up with it.

"I'm sure it'll be alright." She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Chin up, Amber. Can't you just adopt a son?"

The one called Amber gave a weary gaze towards her friend. "It's not the same. You know it's not the same." She blinked her indigo eyes in confusion. Why did it have to be this way? "Besides...I want a child that at least appears that he shares my genes." She closed her eyes for a second, shaking her head to clear her mind of anything bad thoughts that wanted to break free. "I want a boy. One who will represent the new generation of Skylords." She looked up to the sky where dozens upon dozens of sky ships drifted quaintly along the sky, like millions of low-lying clouds. Whether they had a purpose in Vikdal or not didn't mean anything to Amber. She loved flying, and feeling the wind rushing through her air aboard her aircraft Charisma.

Nina, a seasoned skylord, hummed in thought. "He won't have a father though."

Amber knew she made a good point. The boy, if she did end up adopting one, would have no father. Amber thought she had this curse upon her where she couldn't find a man suitable for her, no matter what happened. She figured it would be hard on the child to not have a father, but it would have to be that way.

"Alright..." Amber sighed in defeat. "But there's no adoption clinics here in Vikdal."

"That's right," Nina raised a finger to mark her point, "But...there's one in Setokai the day after tomorrow. That would give you enough time to get there." She shrugged, indifferent. "You never know...you might end up finding the right child for you there."

"Maybe..." Amber drifted off slowly. She walked up to a long pathway that spiraled up into the sky and connected to a winding spiral and twists of sky bridges that seemed to extend endlessly. Every platform and the skybridge was kept afloat by spinning propellers, each powered by the wind. These propellers, a genius invention, also powered the top section of the town, while heat, produced by lava, powered the bottom part of the city.

"Well..." Amber looked up to the sky to see the sun barely touching the west horizon, beads of light shining after it. "I guess I'll head out tomorrow morning." She looked to Nina. "Will you come?"

"Probably not, no." Nina shrugged. "Remember, my ship is being repaired." She was surely right about that. Just a few days ago, Nina was piloting her smaller ship, Zodiac, when she accidentally scraped the side of someone's ship, more mainly, Captain Leary's ship Colossus. After a lot of explaining, and a successful mission of calming Captain Leary down, the damage was finally inspected. Nina was lucky she had brought in her ship, because she had scraped against the aesthetic spikes of Colossus and ripped one of the engines wide open. The cost actually wasn't that bad, since Captain Leary promised to pay for fifty percent of it, but her ship would have to be in the shop for a week.

"Right, right..." Amber gave a smile, "I forgot. Leary was quite upset with you."
"Well..." Nina let out a small giggle, "At least he's planning on paying for a lot of the damage. Don't force it too far with him, though. He's the top notch person of the army here in Vikdal."

"Yeah..." Amber cast her gaze to the sky, just in time to notice the precipice of the sun hitting the horizon, letting loose a stream of vibrant reds and oranges. "Well..." Amber shifted her head to the side, "I better go rest. It will be quite a long day tomorrow...and for the few next days."

The dawn gaze of the sunlight streamed through the windows overlooking the vast ocean, the thin ice sheets on top of it starting to melt because of the arrival of late spring. The rays of light hit Amber's closed eyes, and she didn't want to wake up, but the sunlight forced her to. That's why she always kept the windows open.

Reluctantly, she stepped out of bed and placed both feet on her birch flooring, stretching her arms and cracking her back in front of the window. She rubbed her eyes to remove the rest of the sleep that didn't leave with her mind loading her senses and looked outside. The bottom of the sun had barely reached the hillside. Amber wanted an early start so she would have enough time to make it to at least Mistral so she could spend the night there...hopefully.

With a sigh, she walked over to her messenger bag, where she always kept her travelling items inside. She had more, but according to her, you can never be over prepared. She took off her night gown, tossing it aside to the dirty clothes pile. She reached over into her chest and pulled out the clothes she was going to wear today, which were one of her white shirts, with her flying jacket, a leather-skin and cotton jacket, dyed a warm honey color. She placed her bag over her head, adjusting the sash. She was just about to run outside to the dock when she realized that her forehead felt rather cold. Of course it did. Turning a half circle on her heels, she ran back to her bedside table and grabbed her goggles. Nina called them steampunk looking, but it was the style of her graduating class. She adorned them over her head, adjusting them just slightly.

With that set in mind, she grabbed her house key and ran out the door, locking it behind her. Looking out to the sky, she noticed a few ships in the crisp morning air, but not too many. It would be an easy task to get out of town. She walked a little ways on the skybridge until she reached the dock where she parked her ship, Charisma, at. She opened up the gate that led to the side of the boat. She stepped over the small crack between the dock and her ship and stepped onto the ship, not even slightly moving as she boarded it. She waved over to the operator of that certain dock, calling to him to unbind the ropes that held the ship in place. He did without a single question, undoing the tight knots. He pulled the ropes in, making sure not to let the fall below. With a wave of thank you, Amber activated the engine on the ship, hearing it awaken and roar to life. She tested her wheel for steering the rudder on the ship, making sure it wasn't too stiff. It wasn't stiff at all, and so, with a good southeastern wind, the envelope of the ship took the wind and, with a turn of the wheel, the boat followed suit and moved to face the ocean. Casting a shadow over the morning ground, the plants sparkled with a fresh coating of dew. She placed her goggles firmly over her eyes, so the wind shear didn't catch her off guard, and with a tug of the lever, the ship gained speed and flew over the bountiful sea.

It was well into the day, almost nighttime, when Amber arrived, finally, at land. The rolling hills, covered in fresh snow, overlooked a mountain, with a few holes adorning the side of it. Her boat passed over it, and she got a glimpse of a hole carved into the mountain, looking down into a grassy cave. It was a beautiful sight to see, but it was too distracting, for Amber looked back up and turned swiftly to the left, almost hitting the top of said mountain. She turned to see many trees, it's leafy tops swinging in the wind.

She turned her attention back to an icy sea, and, in the distance, a pathway of cobble leading to lights, breaking through the light of the setting sun.

Amber directed her boat towards the way of the city, but, realizing that she didn't have a parking permit, she found a flat area to land on. She pulled the lever that controlled the engine, and she heard it slow down and the boat slowly descended to the ground, kicking up a small dust cloud as it softly hit the ground. Amber moved the lever into a locked position, making sure the boat wouldn't fly off without her on it. She hopped off the boat, landing firmly on soft ground. She quickly sent a prayer up to Notch, thanking him for safe travel, and then began to walk towards the city.

"M'am...I'm sorry, but without a permit, I'm afraid I cannot let you into Mistral..." The guard spoke in a gruff voice. He stroked his beard in thought.

"But..." Amber looked to her feet, "I have my Skylord license, if that's enough." She reached into one of the various pockets in her bag and produced a card made out of a thick paper. The guard took it into his right hand and gave it a quick gaze. Her name and all the details she gave were right. One thing stuck out to him though.

"You're from Vikdal?" He asked, with surprise ringing in his voice.

"Yes..." Amber shifted her head to the side, like a confused dog, "Why do you ask?"
"Do you happen to know Captain Leary?"
An idea came to Amber as quickly as he said that. "Yes!" She confirmed. "He sent me here to meet up with him." She stuck her pointer finger up in an attitude. "You know...if you didn't let me in, he might-"

The guard began to panic. "O...oh yes ma'm. I apologize. You should have told me sooner that you were meeting Captain Leary here. Um..." He handed her back her license. "Please, go on ahead. Oh, and try the pub 'Talons and Claws' at the top of the city. The path is pretty straightforward."

"Thank you." Amber gave him a stout bow and walked into the city. As soon as she walked in, the sun setting lit the town up in a brilliant shades of orange and reds, and it turned the water in the square of the town a honey colored, as if it was the sweet substance itself. Amber enjoyed the sights, wishing she could capture it in her mind forever, but she was too distracted by the sky walkway, which looked far too treacherous, when she accidentally bumped into another Skylord, and both fell onto the cobblestone ground in pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Amber got up almost instantly and reached out a hand in an attempt to help Skylord up, handing him his goggles that had fallen off in said head on collision.

"Oh...it's...it's nothing." He took his goggles and adorned them upon his black hair, with blots of grey hair here and there. He was able to stand up on his own without Amber's help, his worn, steel sword dragging along the ground as he did so. He was a tall, stout man for his age, as Amber assumed he was at least old enough to be a grandfather. He spoke with a rich voice, and with a dash of humor.

"I don't recall seeing a face like yours around Mistral in my years that I've been here." He spoke, giving a warm smile.

"Ah...no!" Amber clasped her hands together, holding them to her chest. "I'm only staying the night here, for I must set out to Setokai tomorrow. Important matters I must attend to." She brushed the dirt she got on her clothes off, and she noticed that her goggles were missing. Gasping, she looked around until the Skylord stuck his hand out, her goggles swaying in his palm. Without a word, Amber took them and adorned them onto her forehead.

"Thank you. Oh, my name is Amber." She gripped her goggles with both hands, when she wanted to rub it in someone's face that she was a Skylord. "Skylord...Amber."

"Well then...Skylord Amber." The male Skylord held out his weathered hand, giving a smile. "Baako. Skylord...Baako, at your service. I am in charge of the town, and when I'm not, my grandson watches it."
Amber was unsure of the northern custom of shaking hands, for in her town, bowing was just the same as hand shaking. Nevertheless, she gave a confused stare and reached her hand into his palm, feeling callouses. Baako took it warmly and shook her hand in response.

"You must be from Vikdal. Used to bowing?"

Amber looked up in surprise. "Y...yes! I am from Vikdal." She removed her hand from his hand and rubbed her head in a humorous mistaken way. "How'd you guess?"
"I know a certain Captain there." He replied. "Well...anyways, you say you're staying the night, no? I can show you a house, if you would like."

"A house?" Amber chuckled. "No, I can sleep in my boat."

Baako raised a grey eyebrow. "Are you positive."
Amber shook her head politely. "I'm sure. I always come prepared."
"Very well then." He shook his head. He then beckoned to one of the islands above, where lights were streaming out windows. "Did the guard tell you about the bar up there?"
"Yes, he did." Amber looked up to the island. "Is it a good pub?" She looked to the seasoned Skylord.
"Why, yes, it is." Baako responded. "Follow me, and I'll show you the way there." He then began to walk away, past the fountains and down a street of close-together buildings. Amber ran to catch up with him, but kept a short pace as she followed behind his back. He passed various shops and homes until he came to an opening and crossed a bridge, walking past a quaint little home and apartment buildings. He beckoned to the tower at the end of the block.

"Over there is the tower that will take you to the skybridge. It's pretty straightforward from there." He told Amber, who was catching breath. For a old Skylord, he walked pretty fast.

"Alri...alright then." She stood up, took off her goggles, wiped her forehead, and put her goggles back on. "Thank you for your help." She closed her eyes and smiled warmly, in which Baako returned the smile.

"Of course. Now then, I must be on my way. I have a trip to Skyhold to make. If you have anything to say about the city, refer it to my grandson."

"Oh, what's his-" But Amber didn't get a chance to finish before he sped off. She let her arm droop and gave a small smile. She would figure out his name later. She was about to turn around when she noticed a man step out of the single house on the corner, and addressed Baako warmly. She couldn't hear their conversation, but as soon as it started, it ended, and the man that came out of the house patted his sword and ran away, down the path that led out of the city.

Amber wondered in minor confusion who that man was, but nevertheless, she followed up the path and went up the tower, and when she got on the skybridge, she slowed down her pace as the bridge slightly creaked when she walked upon it, as if it would give way, and she hoped it wouldn't, for if it did, it would surely mean her demise.

After walking along a winding path of wooden paths, she finally arrived at the grassy island and walked inside the clearly man-made building. She kept a quiet step, in case the island, suspended by seemingly nothing, fell down to the ground.

Inside, well, it's what you would expect of a small bar. There were some signs that hung on the walls, advertising specific brews, a place or new weapon, or ever wanted posters of people. All around sat people of different places. Skylords, dwarves, normal people, and even a couple living skeletons, covered fully in armor so no one could tell what they were, though they seemed to not be hostile. Amber stepped inside and pulled up a seat in front of the mahogany bar, placing her goggles down on the table in respect, as she was taught to do throughout the land. The bartender, a Skylord, walked up. He didn't say anything, but gave a stare to Amber that informed her to request something.

"What'dya got on tap?" She asked, placing her right elbow onto the counter, resting her head in her hand.

"Just tell me anythin'" He responded, with a bit of harshness in his voice.

Amber raised a hand and moved it in such a way that expressed thought and annoyance, complete with a rolling of the eyes. "I don't know...anything dwarvish?"

"Yeah. Somethin' straight outta Stoneholm. Rocknor." He pulled a bottle out of a bucket of ice, placing it on the counter. It was a brown bottle, and the label on it was written in dwarvish. Of course, the dwarves had the best way of brewing any ale better, but it was quite costly to buy some from them. However, a little gold for them goes a long way.

"Thanks much." Amber took it, and opened the top of it with a bottle opener she always kept on her. She downed a little of it, and it tasted rather oakey, with a hint of malt. Just the way she liked it.

However, she almost spit it out when she heard the voice next to her.

"Amber. Never thought I'd see you here." A deep and commanding voice spoke.

Amber opened her eyes a bit wider, and she choked on a bit of the brew, coughing and unable to swallow the brew. The deep voice man gave a large laugh and slapped her on the back, making her swallow the mix of the beer and spit. She gave a deep breath in and out.

"By Notch's beard...Captain Leary, please don't scare me like that!" She gave a mix of a cough and a laugh.

"My bad, I didn't think you'd be so scared of me." Leary gave a laugh, adjusting his dark brown goggles above his neat and tidy hair. He placed a muscled arm on the counter, tapping his gloved fingers in a rhythmic pattern. "How's that Nina fellow of yours doing?"
"Nina?" Amber was still slightly dazed. "Yeah, she's doing fine. I gave her my small boat to borrow until hers gets repaired. You should take off those spikes on your ship."

"Nah..." Leary sighed, "It's Nina who should watch where's she going." He gave a laugh. "Anyways, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, well I have to go to Setokai tomorrow." Amber began, "For personal matters."
"Personal matters, n'eh?" Leary cracked his back. "Like?"
"Well...it's personal." Amber shook her head. "I don't want to say." She took another sip of the alcoholic beverage. As soon as she did, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around to the left to noise a...rather odd looking Skylord.

For one thing, he looked young, and he had a black jacket on. The thing that stuck out to Amber, though, was that his cheeks were bright red for a consumption of alcohol, and when he spoke, he spoke with a drunken slur.

"Hey baby, what's 'ur name?" He asked. "'m'mere and tell me'h."

"Uh..." Amber brushed his hand off of her shoulder, which proceeded to sway almost lifelessly. "I'd rather not..."

"Non...sen...sss." The Skylord spoke. "Hey, 'ur new t' town. Mind'f I show 'ya 'round town?

"No, I'm fine, thanks." Amber stood up and began to walk out of the bar, until he felt the hand grab her shirt, and firmly.

"C'm n'w, it'll be easy." He took off running, dragging Amber behind her, much to her displeasure.

It wasn't long until they got into the main square, surrounded by the four fountains, that Amber could get her breath back and shouted a loud "Help!", but she continued to be dragged, so she begged again.

"Please, anyone, help!" She shouted in complete distress. She struggled from the Skylord's grip, and eventually got out and rolled away, hitting her back into one of the fountains hard.

That got a lot of the various people's attentions, especially the one that dragged her.

"'stard! I'll teach'cha to r'll 'way from me'h!" From his torn scabbard, he drew a long, yet formidable steel sword with ease and began to run, half drunkenly, towards Amber, who couldn't roll away at all. She closed her eyes and prepared for pain...but it never came.

Instead, she opened her eyes, and saw that a rather new and durable steel blade, infused with diamond, for it gave off a blue, aqua color in the nighttime lights.

"She said leave her alone." The figure spoke, knocking the sword out of the Skylord's hand, sending it spinning and landing firmly into the cobbled ground. In response, the Skylord ran up to his sword and picked it up, without ease, and held it, swaying back and forth.

"Rrr.." The drunken mess growled in displeasure. "I don' know who y'are, bu' th' girl belon'...t'...t' me'h!"

"No, she does not." The figure swung the blunt edge of his sword onto his shoulder, his cloak, which was tied firmly around his waist, fluttered with his movement, revealing another sword, this one made purely out of diamond. He displayed no emotion as he spoke. "I would leave her alone if I were you."

"Nu'uh...'m showin' her 'round town!" He spoke, swinging his blade in a pissed manner.

The swordsmaster stood up calmly. He didn't speak a word. He looked over to Amber who, as he noticed, had a scrape on her knee, but it wasn't too bad. He took her hand without a word and helped her up.

"Please, Skylord, be careful around him. He get's drunk a lot." The swordmaster spoke, spinning his blade around in his hand.
Who...who is he?" Amber asked nervously.

Before the swordmaster could answer, a smaller, yet stout Skylord ran between the two, holding up both arms between them, steel sword in hand.

"Enough!" He spoke in the same rich voice that Baako had. He had a white shirt on, with a blue coat on top of it, a few of his badges displayed proudly onto it. He had a pair of dark brown goggles on his head, in the same style as Amber. He also had the beginnings of a moustache.

"Both of you, quit it!" He shouted. "Especially you, Vitali!"

THe drunken Skylord, who was apparently named Vitali, scowled furiously at the blue-coated Skylord. "Stay out of this, boy."

"Boy? I am no boy! I am the watcher of the town when my grandfather cannot watch it!"

"Shut up!" Vitali shouted in fury. He charged the blue-coated Skylord, but the swordmaster jumped in front of him, taking a long and stinging hit to the shoulder. He jumped back with surprising speed, grabbing his shoulder. He saw that the wound wasn't that bad, and he grabbed his pure diamond sword, taking a second to gaze at the blue aura it seemed to emanate.

Amber could take it no longer. She stood up with as much strength as she could muster and ran in front of the swordmaster.

"Please! Enough!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, pushing the swordmaster aside. "I don't want any fighting, please!"

That was followed by a few seconds of silence, until the swordmaster got in front of Amber, patting her on the shoulder.

"Listen to her, Vitali. Let's not fight if we need not to." He spoke, shifting his gaze over to the blue-coated Skylord, then back to Vitali, who gave a growl and put his sword away. He didn't take one step until he fell backwards, passed out.

The swordmaster gave a sigh and put away his diamond sword, the blue gaze it cast fading with it. He walked up to the blue-coated Skylord.

"I thank you, Lysander."

"Of course, Deserno." The one supposedly called Lysander responded, who preceded to cross his arms in thought. "That female Skylord over there was bound to react eventually." He looked over to her. "You better make sure she's okay." He gave a curt nod, before walking off, sheathing his sword in his scabbard.

The one called Deserno walked over to Amber, and looked at her for a second, before fixing her goggles, which had went crooked during the whole mishap.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Deserno. I am both a Skylord and a Swordmaster."

Amber was still quite shaken up from the whole thing, so she was speechless, until the swordmaster poked her in the nose.

"Excuse me, are you quite alright, miss?" He asked, shifting his head to the side, confused and worried at the same time.

"Y...yes, I think so." Amber spoke with a shaken voice. She was about to speak again when she heard Deserno wince in pain and grab his right shoulder. Amber could see that there was blood starting to stain his white shirt a deep red color.

"Y...you're bleeding!" She shouted. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah..." He snorted. "I've had worse injuries." He still looked like he was in pain.

Amber grabbed his left hand and lifted it up to look at his injuries. It wasn't that bad, but it was quite deep.

"Please." She took his arm. "Come to my ship. I can heal that with ease."

The swordmaster looked into her indigo eyes. "'You sure?"
"Positive."

Deserno smiled warmly. "Lead the way then."

Amber gave a nod, and, with a turn of her heels, she began to make her way back to the entrance of the city, Deserno dead on her heels. The swordmaster had felt that feeling before. The feeling of meeting someone, and having them make your skin crawl and your blood boil. It was a feeling of attachment; love. He wasn't sure if this Amber girl felt it towards him, but one thing was for sure, in his mind. He could see himself with Amber.

He gave a smirk. After all...she is just like her. That woman he knew naught but a few weeks ago. That woman who was taken from him by, well...his Master. Called her a weakness.

His smirk faded. In his mind, Amber was no weakness. She could be of some use to him. All he had to do was play his cards right, and if he did, Amber would truly love him for what he was.

A protector. A hero. A teacher, and most importantly of all...not a tool.