Preparation

Niat-nuom was abuzz with activity under the noonday sun. Furnaces, workbenches, and anvils had been brought to the field by Kato and Fidel, and some of the more crafty Rebels were hard at work smelting steel, cutting leather, and chipping stone. Their craftsmanship transformed the raw materials into fine armour and weapons.

Kalvin watched eagerly as some warriors, coming home after their shifts switched, approached the courtyard and leaned against the stone wall, curious as to what was going on. A pleased smiled tugged at the corner of his mouth as a few looked at each other, then vaulted over the wall and trotted over to where they were working.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Kalvin said to a trio who were observing Klaudius as he scraped a knife along the body of a bow, carving it into shape. They turned and glanced at Kalvin in that strong, silent way expected of brave warriors.

"You seem intrigued by our work. Would you be willing to help us? We have a daring and noble mission to do, and we could use all the assistance we can acquire."

The threesome looked at each other, then at Kalvin, and then nodded solemnly.

"Bravery is our specialty."

"Hold still," a Rebel Enderwoman scolded Sylas as she attempted to fit a piece of steel torso armour on him. "I can't put this on if you don't stop squirming."

"It's uncomfortable," Sylas complained. "I'm not used to wearing heavy armour."

"You're going to need the best protection of anyone here if you're fighting the Ender-Dragon herself," the woman replied as she tightened the straps. "There. What do you think?"

Sylas stood up and examined his new suit of armour-a shell around his torso, dense chain-mail for leggings, a winged helm, and boots with tiny silver wings on the ankles. Each piece was forged expertly from steel, padded with sponge, and painted purple and black in a graceful leaf-and-vine pattern. The chest plate had slots in the back that a pair of elytra could be fastened into. Attached to his wrists and covering his hands were leather gauntlets dyed purple. He tested them by drawing his claws. As they slid out from their hiding-places inside his fingertips, they caught on steel sheathes that telescoped and covered the upperside of the claws, for protection during a fight. Finally, he had a black leather sword-belt running round his waist and over his shoulder. It had a scabbard on his hip, in which he stored his favourite blade that had felled many a zombie and quite a few skeletons and spiders.

Just then, Solarae teleported next to him from over on the other end of Niat-nuom. She'd been outfitted with a lighter armour fit for an archer-a leather shell over her torso and a chain-mail skirt. The leather had been painted in the same shade of purple and the same leaf pattern as Sylas' armour. She held a black ebony longbow in her right hand and used the other to sling a matching quiver full of arrows over her shoulder.

"You pull off the warrior woman look very well, Solarae." Sylas grinned.

"Why thank you, dear. You don't look so bad, yourself." Solarae smirked back at him.

"What about the Farlanders? How many are coming with us?"

"I've gathered all of the able-bodied men and women from the city," Solarae informed him. "Dominik and Ayva are staying with my parents while we're gone. Is the portal ready?"

"I don't know. Let's go check."

The company of End-venturers made their way through the city to the entry/exit gates, for the portal had been constructed beyond the outer walls and some ways away from the city. As they went along (walking instead of teleporting to keep the group together and prevent collisions) more and more Farlanders from the city joined the group, just as Solarae had said, widening their ranks from about thirty Rebels and guards to well over two hundred Enderpeople. And it wasn't just Enderpeople, too. They also had a cavalry of Ghasts and tall horses, and a team of tamed creepers.

Somehow, they managed to squeeze the entire company through the gates and out onto a cleared-out area of the woodland outside, where a team of portal geeks were tinkering with a large, shallow dish of obsidian (as they couldn't move bedrock) and checking to make sure the four modified Ender Crystals sunken into the glassy rock were functioning properly.

"Is the portal ready?" Solarae asked a geek prodding one of the crystals with a small metal tool. He set down his tool and slid his goggles up onto his forehead, then nodded at her.

"Yep. We had a bit of a technical error with this particular crystal, but it was nothing a little redstone wiring couldn't solve."

"Splendid," Solarae replied.

"All right, everyone!" Kalvin shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to be heard by everyone in the massive group. For once, he wished he had a voice as loud as Kato's, or that maybe Kato could be the spokesperson for the moment, but the chief had to stay behind to keep peace and order in the city. A patrol guard teleported over to Kalvin, handed him his shofar, saluted, and disappeared back into the group.

"Oh...Thank you, whoever that was." Kalvin put the end of the ram's horn to his mouth and spoke, which greatly amplified the sound. "The time has come to make our venture to the End. Sylas Sunvaez will be battling the Ender-Dragon. But the rest of us will have to contend with the lemmings that Follow the Dragon. I cannot guarantee that all of us will make it back home alive. In that respect, your sacrifices are greatly appreciated and we are eternally in your debt. Fight hard and well, brave men and women. My gratitude, and those of my brothers and sisters from the End, goes to your people."

Kalvin set the shofar down, to thunderous applause and cheers of "Yeeeeeeah!" and "We can do it!" and "Freedom for the End!" He couldn't help but smile at their willingness to come to their aid. He took a deep breath and approached the portal as the rest watched. He flashed one last smile to the group, then jumped in.

A/N

PREPARE FOR BATTLE.