So, yes, the Book and I came to an agreement. The details were still a little loose, but the general gist of my business pitch was: "So, we both love this whole continued existing thing. We both view the accrual of power as beneficial to that. Suppose you were to give me access to some of that magical power of yours? You'll find I'm much more receptive than-"

"It is done," it agreed.

I didn't blame it. I had held power before, I was more likely to be interested in attaining it than some farmer. It would hardly have to manipulate me, if it even could. Even once I got home and we entered the Vanilla Craft, the entire plan was to build a settlement, establish a town. Maybe even a small nation. Otherwise, we might append ourselves to someone already powerful. That was without even thinking about my connections to Herobrine. At the very least, I was a valuable stepping stone for the book. At the most, I was a potential partner.

And that's how I started teleporting around. Initially, I felt it try and convince me that I was the one doing the warping, but I didn't buy it. I had no latent magical abilities and I doubted it would give me any of its actual power. It was only the illusion of control - a will beneath a will.

"You are catching on faster than he did," it snarked with authority.

"I'm a fast learner," I responded. "Believe me, you'll come to hate it."

And so I just told it where to teleport me instead of believing I could. Sadly, due to the rather rushed and high-stress nature of the arrangement I hadn't had an opportunity to establish all my defences, and the Book caught on to this pretty fast.

Throughout the fighting, I felt it circling my mind, looking for a point of entry through which to gain control, but I managed to retain enough focus to keep it at arm's length each time. I could feel it gaining access to small things though. Here, a face without a name or person attached. There, an event out of context. It wasn't gaining control, but it was gaining knowledge it could use against me. Shred by shred.

Then, I had the bright idea of going back for the crossbow and things became child's play. The second that endling collapsed beside Fristad and the blood spattered my face, the Book was impressed. It saw potential in my free will. I felt it retreat.

And so I kept up the fight, Shadow turned up with her magical orbs and then we were all running across the fields. Astro was at my side. Tyron was at the head, with Amanda and Warnado close behind. Steve, Jennifer and a panting Fristad formed a loose group off to our left. Shadow was trailing, seeming distracted by something. The shells were still striking the ground around us but they were less precise. I assume we were starting to get outside their effective range. I could see a growing group of endlings gathering on the village's edge, discussing their next move.

"So," shouted Astro. "You're using-"

"Yes I'm using the damned Book," I snapped. "We'll talk about this later."

I struggled to hear him as the wind was blowing against us, but I was pretty sure he sighed.

"We will also need to discuss matters further..." the Book warned.

"Stop trying to be ominous! Of course we will!"

Then, there was a large sound of warping, followed by several consecutive blasting sounds. A shell was flying right at us. Astro stopped, raised a hand and clumsily redirected it. I wasn't hurt, but the force of the explosion whipped my hair back, showered me with dust and knocked me off balance. Astro reached down to lift me and I saw Shadow waving to us, frantic. I grabbed his sleeve and willed the Book to bring us to her.

As we passed through the rift and arrived beside the tiny sorceress, another volley boomed. Again, one of the cannons was aiming right for us, and Astro only just raised a shield in time. The force of maintaining it physically pushed him back, his heels digging through the grass.

A ways off, just outside the village's borders, was a line of about five or so cannons, crewed undoubtedly by the forces of the Tower.

I turned to Shadow.

"What do you need? Give me the word and I can get us all over to the forest… I think."

My mental self gave the Book an inquiring look. It seemed caught between annoyance and smugness as it admitted: "Yes, that should be within our abilities."

Endlings were already starting to harass the group. One materialised and tripped Steve, who was already off-balance after narrowly dodging an artillery blast. It turned to finish him off, but Fristad bear-hugged it from behind, pinning its arms. The anti-magic from his suppressing vest must have stopped it from teleporting because it started thrashing desperately. Just as it broke free, Jennifer's arrow broke its skull.

Another shell struck Astro's shield.

Shadow said: "I need you to keep me protected for a few minutes, if you can do that I'll destroy the artillery. Normally I'd be faster but I still need to figure out some of the inner workings of this world so I don't accidentally do something regrettable."

I raised my crossbow and nodded at Astro. He dug in his heels and lowered the barrier, ready to respond to any assailants.

The first appeared. Another giant, like the one Tyron had struggled to kill so much just a few minutes ago, was placed before me by a stunted endling. It roared, but I felt no fear. I raised my fist, clenched it and the book engulfed the creature's head in the grey and purple flames of the void. I smiled, and set about my defence.

I don't know how it was for Astro, but as far as I was concerned the battle that ensued was as fierce as it was glorious. I had never wielded such power before, and never with such karmic retribution. I came and went upon the field of battle, allowing my enemies to swing at me, only to rematerialise behind them and plant a crossbow bolt in their back. At my instruction the Book would summon small portals that reopened halfway across the battlefield and I would fire through them, giving the endlings no time to teleport before they were injured. And if one of those damned armoured endlings appeared, with their obstinate refusal to be injured, I would borrow the brilliant fires of the void to melt away their armour, and then peel away their scales with lightning until they lay dead. Peculiarly, the Book advised me not to use voidfire to try and kill them - apparently it would do them no harm.

Soon, the ground about Shadow was sodden with the blood of Ishinge's people, or whoever it was from whom they claimed descent in their worlds. Astro was helping too, naturally. He redirected shells left and right, and he could be counted on for his usual contribution of crushed ribs and snapped necks, but I was unstoppable. They couldn't land a scratch on me! I could kill battalions with this sort of power! I could challenge Divines! No one would harm us again!

"How do you feel about a permanent arrangement?" I had to stop myself laughing as I scattered a column of human mercenaries with a fireball.

"How do you feel about becoming a king?"

I felt the embers of delectable ambition enkindle within me. I distrusted them, but they warmed my little heart as I fired a bolt through a rift and it landed in the knee of an endling sneaking up on Astro. Astro, hearing his would-be assassin's screech, turned and decapitated it with ease. He took a moment to smile respectfully and nod at me before he turned his attention

"If it keeps them safe," I fed it a stream of images of my friends. Aaron, Secret, Cossack, Small, Astro as I knew him, Brit, little Mini, even Bokane and Gracey… "I would conquer nations."

And so it continued, until at last, with a great cry of effort, Shadow shouted her incantation and brought her hands down. The cannons all buckled under the weight of some invisible force, before burrowing into the earth, never to be repaired or repurposed.

I laughed openly. I saw a tall, proud-looking endling in heavy armour patrolling. He was greatly agitated with the loss of the cannons, barking orders at his human underlings. Out of meanness, I fired a crossbow bolt through a portal. It struck him on the back on the helmet and it looked around, presumably cursing whatever dared strike him. Then, as I was reloading, it materialised and threw a spear at me. I teleported behind him and struck him down with a burst of lightning. However, as I looked up from the smoking corpse, my jaw dropped. The diminutive figure of Shadow was on the ground, a spear through her abdomen.

With an almost eerie calm she pulled on the spear and rammed it into the ground next to her. "First I had to play the shy girl to distract the Ender, then I'm forced to use verbal components in my spell, now my robes get perforated. Not really my day."

"S-sorry," I yammered. For a few seconds I had been really wondering what I was going to tell Fire, particularly after that standoff earlier in the day. Then it hit me: "Did you say the Ender?"

My tone was grave and angry. An opportunity had presented itself. I would get Destiny her justice.

"Her emotional insecurity is none of our responsibility." The Book protested.

I pushed aside sympathy and reached into grim pragmatism.

"She is an obstacle. She will stop our little partnership. Or burn you. Possibly both," I warned. "If we bring her the Ender, who killed her beloved, she may yet come around to your continued presence."

The Book projected approval. "I like the way you think."

"What did I tell you about me learning quickly?"

Obscuring my thoughts from the Book, I mused about my people skills being so great they could bend the archest of manipulators.

I grabbed Astro and Shadow by the shoulder and teleported them over to the treeline. The others were faring well, with only a handful of endlings still in pursuit, mostly already wounded in some way and carrying on out of pride or defeatism. Warnado and Amanda were now at the head of the pack, Tyron having slowed down to finish off an endling he'd wounded. Steve, Jennifer and Fristad weren't far behind. We truly had started to thin the ranks, it seemed. They were almost in the clear. I felt reassured. And without their artillery overhead they no longer seemed as bold.

"I have a task to attend to in the village," I said to Shadow. "I take it you're in fit enough condition to carry on?"

"I'll be fine. I won't waste my time trying to dissuade you but still, try not to get yourself killed."

"Good," I nodded. I suddenly felt quite nervous. Excited but nervous. Warnado seemed to be smiling as he approached the treeline, laughing and panting in relief. He was only a minute's walk away, about to cross the last dividing fence.

To Astro I said, "If they come back, keep Warnado safe."

And with that, I stepped into the rift, setting off to take my prize.