A/N: Hey, Ender here. I would really like to hear from you guys on what you think of the story so far, I have trouble judging it accurately. This chapter may be a bit weird, I wrote part of it while watching the Mianite finale and there were a lot of feels. Also, at some point I will be working on a couple rewrites for Shadow's Story so that the entire story doesn't happen over the course of only six to eight months, which should give a lot of the lords much more reasonable ages. It should also actually give a reasonable time of when Fair-Weather Celebration would have taken place, considering that Herobrine and Shadow are banished within a week of each other and Shadow is in the Nether for most of that time. On with the chapter!
Ender's POV
"Are you sure you will be alright?" asked Shadow for like the eight time.
"Yes, I'm sure." I sighed, rolling my eyes. Flare snickered as he caught my gaze.
*You know he's just trying yo help.* said Mist, her sending failing to conceal her amusement.
Yes, but the same answer is not going to make us any safer around here. I said, turning my attention back to the others. Looking at everyone, it was hard to see us as a group that could change the fate of realms, although I figured that since we had done this before, it would be no more difficult than that. Seeing the others like this though, it made me realized how different our situation was now than it had been then. We had gotten lucky then, given that the Chaos lords had planned to leave about the time we showed up anyway. But this time, there would be no lucky break to keep us from the full force of fighting. We had to be ready at any point to give our all to protect the others of the realms because they were depending on us.
*It will be fine.* sent Flare, a fleeting touch that held traces of the doubt he held within himself as well. *We can handle this. We've just got to keep Notchie from bolting once we're down there. He's kind of totally freaked out about this whole thing.* Turning slightly I looked to where Notchie, the third member of our little travel group, stood uneasily next to Notch, close enough that the edge of his wing brushed against Notch's, providing some level of comfort to the younger lord.
"Have all your stuff?" asked Herobrine softly, gaze flicking up from where he had been focused on the floor. He had remained incredibly distant since he returned, even towards the few of his lords who had made it out of the Overworld. It was only around Notch that he seemed to perk up a bit, the presence of his twin boosting his strength enough to actually do things while his injuries continued to heal. Briefly I wondered how long he would stay in this near silent state before he recovered. It was unnerving for one I knew as a hyper and cheery lord who delighted in playing tricks on others to be seen so silent and still. The others were picking up on this as well, both Amelia and Cresilia disappearing together for hours to discuss their male counterparts. One development that had delighted Notch in the midst of all these morale lowering events had been that the Chaos lords had decided to travel to the Overworld as well, leaving several day sago by their own methods to do who knows what. They had left behind Teloxen though, a fact that no one had bothered to tell Notch yet, hoping that the younger Chaos lord would join the others before Notch was to ever find out.
"Come on Notchie." said Notch, giving the younger lord a light push towards the center of the room. Wide eyes nervous, Notchie turned to him.
"Do I have to?" he whispered, clasping his hands together behind his back.
"Yes." said Notch "We have already discussed this. Your companions will keep any Chaos lords from catching you. Isn't that right?" His gaze warned that any words of contradiction would not be met with kindness.
"I guess so." squeaked Notchie, the flashes of nervous color splashed across his wings betraying his true feelings.
*We shall not permit Vakara to take you hostage.* said Mist, intervening and getting straight to the point. To be honest, I was pretty sure the only reason that Notchie was coming with us rather than some other was that Notchie didn't want to have to deal with Herobrine and Jeb and Notchie, all of who seemed to require his attention for various reasons.
Notchie nodded reluctantly. "Come on." said Flare, flicking his tail up to rest on Notchie's shoulder. "I've got your armor and stuff, other than that we are ready." The young one nodded, closing his eyes. With a flash of light his wings disappeared, leaving him slightly off balance for a second. Flare followed suit, his true form soon replaced by its less suspecting Crafter version, his blaze wands safely concealed beneath appropriately styled Crafter garments. Trying to ignore the side long glances from the others, I shifted into my Crafter form, quickly reaching over my shoulder to zip closed the slits that usually allowed my wings through my shirt.
"Ready?" asked Flare, helping Notchie to put on his armor. I nodded, stepping towards the portal. A portal that I really, really hoped was built far enough from the other that we would not end up in Israphel's castle. Cautiously I stepped through, feeling the shift in magic as I went from the Aether to the Overworld, a shift much less drastic than that from the Nether to the Overworld.
As I stepped out, I blinked the dazzle from my eyes, the rising sun outlining a nearby Crafter settlement. "Let's hurry." said Flare, drawing a diamond sword as he glanced uneasily at a group of mobs looking our way. "If we run, we should be able to sneak into the town before anyone notices. They might look at us a bit strange if we suddenly show up just after dawn in full diamond gear."
"Why?" asked Notchie, gaze flicking towards the shadows nervously "Don't they do that kind of thing?"
"Mob hunters do." I said, keeping an eye on a group of creepers that were eying us "But they know each other and rarely hunt with outsiders. Also you look a bit young to be a mob hunter Notchie."
"But you said that Crafters get jobs when their like twenty." said Notchie indignantly "I'm older than that."
"Well you don't look it." said Flare "And that's the issue."
"Crafters don't live as long as Star lords Notchie." I said "Twenty is still a kid for your kind, but for them it is when they become an adult." Grabbing his shoulder, I jumped forward, pulling us both out of the way of several fired arrows. The longer we just stood here, the more mobs would start to attack us.
"Come on." I said.
"But what about the portal?" asked Notchie "It's glowing and pretty tall, someone is sure to notice it. And its kind of our only way to get home."
"Well, technically Mirexal is down here somewhere." Pointed out Flare.
"There are some vines and leaves over here." I said, sprinting over towards a small marshy area and pulling out a pair of shears to harvest the foliage. The harvest of leaves revealed something strange when several large blocks of sand fell through the gap in the leaf cover. "What the heck?" I gasped, climbing atop the blocks to see where they had come from.
"What's up there?" called Flare, watching Notchie anxiously poke one of the newly fallen blocks of sand.
"I think you better see this." I replied. There simply were no words to describe accurately what lay before me. It looked as if someone had taken a normal part forest, part plains biome, and dropped a desert atop it, leaving every block two to four blocks deep in sand. Long pale gray streaks ran through the sand, barely noticeable on the individual blocks but clear when seen on such a scale. Cacti and small, scrubby brown bushes seemed to be the only vegetation atop this strange arrangement, the places where the sand had ended up on top of trees revealing small patches of stringy grass and leaves that looked all but dead. Flare poked his head around one of the leaf blocks, his bright orange-red hair showing up sharply against the light colored sand.
"What happened here?" gasped Flare.
"Chaos desert." said Notchie, crawling up the sand blocks to join us.
"What so you mean?" asked Flare "This could be something else."
"What other kind of desert do you know of that just appears on top of another biome like this?" he asked, gesturing at the sand covered biome for emphasis, flicking a strand of hair out of his eyes.
A shudder ran through the tree we sat in and Notchie's eyes widened as he tried to steady himself and only succeeded in falling through the hole he had climbed.
"What do we have here?" a voice from below asked, followed by an alarmed cry from Notchie. Exchanging glances with Flare, I carefully moved towards the hole in the treetop, motioning for Flare to follow. We had promised to keep Notchie safe after all. Looking down, I could not see very much of what was going on, the blocks of sand concealing what was happening. Drawing my diamond sword I carefully dropped down, landing on the block with only a small puff of sand to indicate my fall. Hurriedly I slipped behind a curtain of vines, focusing on where two armor clad figures stood over a clearly terrified Notchie.
"What are we going to do with this child?" asked one "Our shift is not done yet, and he can hardly come with us. A mob would take him out almost instantly."
"Be patient Karpath." the other, presumably older figure said "It is unlikely that anyone this young is traveling alone. We just have to wait until the others are confident enough to show themselves."
"I guess so." murmured Karpath "Hopefully they don't take too long. The others will only wait so long for us before they eat breakfast."
"There is more to life than breakfast Karpath." the older man chided.
"Yeah, but its like I get so little to eat anyway with all the shortages, I don't exactly want to miss the little that I get."
"Learn to suffer in silence then, complaining will do nothing."
"But father!"
"No buts Karpath. Your argumentative attitude is probably keeping them away anyhow, so if you want to get home, I would advise being quiet." Glaring at the man who was apparently his father, Karpath stood glaring into the foliage, probably not seeing all that much judging by his narrowed eyes.
*It does not seem as if they are hostile.* sent mist slowly, taking in the scene before us *And we are looking to mix with Crafters. Perhaps this would be a good time to begin.*
Alright. But Flare stays hidden for now. Then if trouble comes, we have a plan B. Still clutching my blade, I pushed the curtain of vines aside, sending the green tendrils swinging. Karpath jumped back at my sudden appearance, but his father seemed unphased by my sudden appearance, a slight smile crossing his lips as I emerged.
*Be careful.* sent Mist *This one is clever. He knew you were there, though there is no strong magic within him.*
I will. I sent, approaching the two Crafters.
"Is this one with you?" the older one asked, nodding towards Notchie who had turned his terror filled eyes on me.
"Yes." I sighed "He likes to run off."
"I fell." he sniffed, picking himself off the ground "It hurt."
"You'll be okay." Looking over him quickly, I could see no injuries. His armor seemed to have protected him from the worst of the fall.
"So what are you doing so close to the sand?" the older man asked "It's not safe."
"We were traveling." I said, wracking my brain for a coherent story to explain why we were there."
*Its things like this we should have done before leaving the Aether rather than having Shadow ask if we were ready over and over.* chimed Mist, obviously amused.
"It got late and well we were out here with no where else to go. So we traveled through the night and ended up seeing the torches from the settlement over there. Trying to get to it took us this close to the sand."
"Karpath, what do you think of their story?" the older Crafter asked.
Karpath blinked "I don't know" he shrugged "It seems true enough."
"What about when you add that to what's over there?" he asked, pointing towards the clearing behind us."
"A portal?" gasped Karpath, eyes widening "Wow! I've never seen one before."
"They were never common in the first place." the older Crafter said "But now they are almost completely a myth." Turning to me, he said "It is clear that you are not who you say you are. I think you better come with me before you get yourself into any more trouble."
"Maybe you're right." I said uneasily. *Follow us.* I sent to Flare *And make sure not to be seen.*
A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Please consider leaving a review or questions for the characters. I hope you have a great day and I shall see you all next chapter. Bye! :D