Chapter 1
The sun was setting, painting the sea before him a deep shade of crimson. The setting of the sun and the sea calmed him, in a way. It was always peaceful. The waves would take his mind away from the raging thoughts inside and provided him with a rather unique quiet he considered...relaxing. This is where he usually spent the remainder of his days after a hard day's work from the mines. It was also probably the only place that accepted him.
He listened to the sound of the waves and reflected deeply, like he always did as he watched the sun sink lower into the sky. The only time he was ever upset was when he couldn't keep his promises.
Promises. He remembered the only friend he had in childhood, the only one to care for him, and his friend had never used Steve's mining skills at his own advantage like the others did. His friend was the only one to keep his promises. This made him mad, and he had withdrawn from the kingdoms, refusing to stand for any of them after they took the only thing of value from him.
Steve knew a lot of things. He knew how to survive, to mine, to fight, to thrive. He knew how to do this whether he was with someone or alone. Steve eventually came to the conclusion that people weren't meant to be trusted. Sure, some were good, but most he had met were bad. Well, only as far as his experiences could tell him. Not everyone appreciated the miner, not only because he has grown rather anti-social, but because he didn't stand for any kingdom. This infuriated many, as Steve went where he pleased, mined as he wished and kept what he found. He was very good at what he did, everything learned from experience starting at a young age, long before his parents left him. He didn't know why, but he couldn't think of a reason as to why he couldn't remember them, not even their names or what they looked like.
He sighed, getting up from the shoreline. He looked at the sea longingly before he turned and headed towards the forest. He didn't know why, but he resented seeing the moon. It shone with such a pure light on everything, leaving no shadow unlike the sun, who shone it's light on everything and left the shadow to cower behind everything.
He walked through the forest, not caring about the occasional groan of a zombie, or the missed shot of a skeleton. He just kept walking, he kept his head low to avoid angering the tall black mobs. They kept to their business and he kept to his unless provoked. He continued down the gravel road until he reached a wooden structure. It was a fine design, unique for the use of various items during its construction and certainly his greatest creation yet. He walked in the door and went to his chest, depositing his latest finds from the mines in it before he headed to lay down on his bed.
As he closed his eyes he looked at the window and saw an Endermen looking at him with curious green eyes. 'How curious. Green eyes.' He thought, looking deep into the emerald eyes. The Endermen slightly bared it's teeth. At first he thought it was going to get enraged and quickly lowered his eyes. To his surprise, however, it only disappeared calmly.
The miner shook his head and closed his eyes, wondering what kind of a surprise could enlighten his day, as most of his days now were mostly dull and most he didn't look forward to.
The first rays of the sun were shining in his eyes. He yawned before stretching and then heaved himself out of his bed. His warmth stayed in the bed, but the suns growing rays of light provided him with the heat he needed. He grabbed a quick breakfast, then took his mining materials and head out for another solitary adventure.
He walked through the forest and came across his cave. He went down with care and skill, avoiding the most pointy rocks and keeping a close eye for the dangerous mobs and for the precious minerals. He walked down the tunnels of the mine he had been in for so long now, and eventually came across a split in the tunnel where one of the two paths was already lit and safe, while the other was rather dark and treacherous. He traveled down to his original mining spot, following the torches that lined the stone wall on his right.
Today, he was hoping for something new, something he didn't already have. Steve hoped he would find something that would help him greatly for a while, truthfully, he was hoping to find some diamonds. The temperature started to drop, and the further down he went the colder it became. He moved closer to the torches, wanting to stay in the light and to keep warm, but down in the caves, he knew it wouldn't last long. Light both attracted and repelled the mobs that lurked everywhere. It alerted them of a human, and it told them that they would most likely be slain and, either way, they were dangerous and sometimes stupid.
He came to the ledge of the cave, revealing a sheer drop. At the bottom he could see the small amounts of light through the thick mist that ensorcelled the ravine. It was his favourite place. Beside him the water gently streamed downwards into the thick mist, allowing him to descend rather safely. He jumped in and carefully made his way down. Once on the bottom, he kept to the edges of the high walls that made the ravine, not wanting the chance to fall into the boiling lava a few blocks from him.
'I'll have to barricade this some time.' The miner thought to himself. He didn't want the risk of falling in, even with the water close by.
He was wandering down the path he had made for himself a long time ago, thinking of the song the dwarves used to sing as they mined, his father having taught it to him before his tragic depart. He started to hum the melody, then stated singing in a light, cheerful tone.
'Brothers of the mine rejoice!
Swing, swing, swing with me!
Raise your pick and raise your voice!
Sing, sing, sing with me!
Down and down into the deep,
Who knows what we'll find beneath?
Diamonds, rubies, gold and more,
Hidden in the mountain store.
Born underground,
Suckled from a teat of stone,
Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home.
Skin made of iron, steel in our bones
To dig and dig makes us free
Come on brothers sing with me!'
He kept humming the tune and occasionally, he would sing the words with his light voice. He liked singing. His voice was soft from the lack of speaking, but was strong when he wanted to sing. He was filled with joy when he started singing the main chorus of the song. He didn't know why, but it warmed his heart. It was the song of the dwarves, but he didn't care, he liked singing to himself. It was something he could do quite well while working and he didn't mind it. He hummed the chorus, knowing it wasn't right for him to sing it, as the song was composed by the dwarves.
'I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole,
Diggy, diggy hole, diggy diggy hole,
I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole,
Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole.'
He took great pleasure in singing this song as he mined for resources. The song rang true, the words echoing off the stone walls but not loud enough for anyone outside the cave to hear. He knew no one wanted to be near this particular cave, as some believe it is cursed with some powerful mob of some sort. Steve, however, wanted to see for himself. He continued with the song.
'The sunlight will not reach this low,
Deep, deep in the mine.
Never seen the blue moon glow,
Dwarves won't fly so high.
Fill a glass and down some mead!
Stuff your bellies at the feast!
Stumble home and fall asleep,
Dreaming in our mountain keep.
Born underground,
Grown inside a rocky womb.
The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb.
Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom!
We do not ear what lies beneath,
We can never dig too deep.'
Steve again hummed the chorus, twice this time, feeling rather happy. He had a strong tie to the song, seeing as he loved to sing it with his father when he was a child, who believed the humans were once close cousins of the dwarves. He kept walking, stopping to grab the rather common coal ore, before resuming his walk. His words again bounced off the walls, making it sound like there actually was a chorus of dwarves singing happily while mining away.
'Unlike us humans,' Steve thought bitterly, 'the dwarves cherished the resources they gained from their mines under the mountains. We kept it greedily for ourselves, only wanting to become stronger for no reason at all.' The miner huffed angrily, but nonetheless continued singing the cheerful tune of the dwarves.
'Born underground,
Suckled from a teat of stone.
Raised in the dark,
The safety of our mountain home.
Skin made of iron, steel in our bones,
To dig and dig makes us free!
Come on brothers sing with me!'
Steve hummed the chorus twice again before reaching the end of his torch-lit cave. He was happy, having sung a mining song and found a few ores despite his rough week. Many people had tried to steal some of his stuff, but others simply insulted him. The kings however, were his greatest worry, for they could chose to send assassins after him. Everyone made him uncomfortable, so he strayed from society, becoming independent after Casroth...well. That's an event of the past he hoped not to remember. It was dreadful, but Casroth did more than prove the true intentions of the kings and their kingdoms. When Steve was done mining and about to head back to the top, he felt a cool current of gentle air come from behind him. It was possible it was a draft, but it would've been warm with the lava around.
He turned around and put his hand on the wall. It was moist, cold and sent a shiver down the miner's back. A strange sensation pulsed from the wall, coming off in what seemed like layers of pure energy. He felt something similar once, when he built his first portal.
'Why would anybody build a portal all the way down here?' He thought to himself. He reached a hand out and touched the surface of the stone again, pulling his hand back in shock. It couldn't be a portal, it didn't even feel remotely the same at all. This was pure and raw energy, coming from something more powerful than a Nether portal. Then again, it didn't even feel like a portal at all.
'So what could it be? What could worth hiding in this unexplored and possibly abandoned mine?' He thought to himself again. This was strange. He'd ventured here before, but had never felt the sensation until a few moments ago. It chilled him. His inventory was full, so he made a quick decision. He'd come back tomorrow. The mobs were growing agitated at his presence, so he would have to leave soon anyways.
He marked the spot with two torches, to make sure he wouldn't pass it by accident. He went back up to the surface, where he noticed the sun was starting to go down in the sky. He quickly made his way through the forest, taking an alternate route than the one that led to his house. He kept walking, his pace growing quicker as the sun touched the horizon. He broke into a run and soon burst out of the trees to stumble into an old cemetery. He made his way to the only tomb that held a name on the somewhat fresh surface of the stone.
His friend had been killed in the useless slaughter of an enraged king back when the miner had supported a rather prosperous kingdom. He had brought his friend out of the kingdom, as he was then gravely injured. He tried to get him back to full health, but it was something his friend was unable to do with his sickened body. Even despite being the previous Brainmaster for the kingdom, he was rejected for helping the only family he had, it being Steve. His friend was smart, yet that enraged the king. Now here he was. Buried six feet under the miners feet. He closed his eyes in respect for his fallen friend, then bend down and ran his hand across the smooth surface of the stone, whipping the grime that had accumulated on the stone over time off the name.
A single name spread across the surface, clear, easy to read with etched letters stretching from one end of the stone to the other.
"Rest in peace, my brother." Steve said, holding his hand to his heart while lowering his head. He usually never spoke, but this was always the exception. "Forgive me...Casroth."
He rubbed his neck, slipping the chain off and opened the metallic jewel that hung from the thin golden chain. A picture of two men stood on one side, their names carved on the other. He looked at the picture. One of the people was Steve, he was smiling happily with his arm wrapped around the other man. His face was a little shadowed, but he could never forget his features. He had always been pale and sickly, but he was kind and always offered his help and services. The man was always strong, despite his incurable sickness. That's what Steve had been drawn to. And his friend was drawn to him as well. As soon as they met, the two men could never be separated. They would miss each other too much otherwise.
The miners eyes watered a little, he missed his friend terribly. He quickly brushed the tears away before they could fall, and looked at the hanging jewel again. He looked at the names that had been carved to look intertwined into each other. It was barely recognizable, but he knew what was written.
'Steve and Casroth, brothers forever'.
He closed the jewel, and slipped the necklace back on his neck. Another jewel lay near him, similar to his own. He took a quick look. Steve had put Casroth's own jewel on his grave, or otherwise called the Standing Stone, to let him at least have something to represent him if any one came across his Stone.
The last light of the sun shone brightly on Casroth's jewel, making the transparent silver jewel turn a light shade of golden. Steve's jewel was hidden, as his back was turned from the sun, and so it instead turned a darker shade of grey as darkness crawled over the land.
He raised himself to his feet, taking one last look at the Standing Stone he made for his friend before turning to face the darkness as he headed home, trying to overcome the event that ultimately led to his friends - and possibly his own - death. In a way.
"Good - bye...my brother."