Chapter 57: Troubles in the Ashen Fields
"Steve never bled during our journey, not once. Any injuries he suffered only ever emitted a dark vapor before they closed up. That alone made us question just what he was, if not an ordinary human. When he died, he didn't even leave behind a body. His corpse vanished within moments and dumped his inventory onto the ground, including what I now believe to have been a Genesis Core. It disappeared as well, and before my grief at the loss of my only friend could set in, he came outside from our shelter for the night, confused but very much alive."
"I was overjoyed, naturally. But that discovery was where things took a turn for the worse."
Overworld calendar: Month Six, Day Twenty-One
Matthew hit the wall with a hard grunt, shoved back by his captors once the world had reappeared before their eyes. Alice was pushed to his side, thankfully unharmed but clearly just as scared as he felt. Salsh was forced into an opposite corner from where they stood.
They had been brought to a dark, cramped room perhaps a chunk long and wide, made entirely of smooth basalt blocks. Two tall iron doors stood at either end, leading elsewhere in whatever compound they were trapped in. A pair of blue torches, one beside each door, were the only light fixtures the room had. The glow of bright green eyes- Salsh's and their captors' alike- provided just enough visibility for Matthew to count five other Endermen in the chamber with them.
He heard Salsh bark out something in Endish, then grunt when he suffered a strike to the face. Alice's hand slipped into his, and he held it tight as they flattened themselves against the wall, trying to avoid directly looking at the Enderman sizing them up.
"Are they with the Violet Gaze?" he thought, his heart racing. "Did we just walk into a trap?"
One of the doors opened, and in stepped an Enderman whose exoskeleton was mostly gray, with only a few specks of black remaining. Their posture was hunched, leading Matthew to wonder just how old they were. The Enderman examining him and Alice turned to deliver a report to the newcomer, who looked at Salsh and said something in Endish.
"She's their chieftess," he said aloud, apparently ignoring whatever she'd just told him. The Enderman closest to him raised a hand to strike him again, but the leader exclaimed something in a harsh growl, and he backed off.
Before long, another Enderman came through the doorway. They were shorter than the rest, barely any taller than Matthew, and their exoskeleton didn't seem fully developed, with traces of dark green around their joints and neck instead of pitch black. The chieftess said something, and they turned to Matthew with an awkward shudder.
"Overworld?"
"C-can you speak our language?" Alice asked, barely above a nervous whisper.
"Yes. I am Dunera'nolnasreis, or She Who Sings of Many Souls." Her voice was much lighter than Salsh's, but just as raspy. "I am a linguist of our tribe."
The chieftess barked an order, and Salsh hastily shot something back. The Enderman holding him against the wall growled.
"What're they saying?" Matthew asked, still holding Alice's hand.
Dunera looked around at everyone, and only spoke again after receiving a nod of approval from her leader. "Our scouts have brought you here believing your friend to be one of the Terman'eslar."
"The Acolytes," Salsh muttered. "She means the Violet Gaze."
Alice gulped, then spoke. "You know about them too? They're not our friends, we swear. I'm Alice, he's Matthew Oakeson… a-and Salsh isn't one of them!"
"No, I'm not. I am…" Salsh looked at the floor, with all eyes on him, and sighed. "I am… Salsh'namisherad, a Keeper of the Hallowed Grounds. Terman'esherad."
That only seemed to make their captors more tense. The chieftess said something which caused Dunera to flinch before she translated it. "The Cindered One believes you should know, the Terman'eslar have been seeking his kind for some time now."
"Seeking? Have they been here?" Matthew asked, his sense of worry tripling.
Dunera hissed. "They have not 'been' here, they are here. Our fair city has been occupied, and our people enslaved." She gestured at the rest of the Endermen in the room. "Some of us managed to escape, including the Cindered One, but we can't match the might of the Violet Gaze.
He wondered what stretch of luck had led them to blunder right into conquered territory. "Your city being…?"
"Dalloreis, home of the Terman'esreis," Dunera said. "In your tongue, Dwellers of the Ashen Fields."
Alice took a step away from the wall, though she didn't let go of Matthew's hand. "Maybe we can work together? Our plan is to try and rally tribes of Endermen to fight back against them, so why don't we team up?"
Her offer was translated to them. The Dwellers spoke to one another, and Salsh perked up considerably when the chieftess made a declaration.
"The Cindered One wishes to know more of your plan," Dunera repeated.
Matthew told them about their portal frame and the pearls and blaze rods needed to activate it. Once it was translated, more discussion followed, and he and Salsh shared a nervous glance while Alice squeezed his hand tighter. Eventually, the chieftess nodded and gave an order to her cohorts. The Endermen backed away from the three, finally giving them some space. All of the Dwellers save for Dunera and the Cindered One disappeared from the room.
"We have the items you seek, but even if we were to join forces, our numbers would not be enough to drive out the Violet Gaze," Dunera relayed from her leader. "However, the Cindered One believes you can convince other allies to join us."
"More Endermen?" Alice asked, sounding more confident. "Sure, we can-"
The chieftess spoke again. Dunera jolted, looking back and forth to her and the trio. When she finally translated the message, she did so with a weary slump of her shoulders.
"No, not other Void Walkers. You two Walkers of the Blue Pain, you will be meeting with the Walkers of the Endless Blaze native to this region."
"Piglins," Salsh clarified.
"Yes, and I… I will be joining you to speak with them."
Geres'anmislar boasted a reputation of bringing lesser tribes to heel, and the Dwellers of the Ashen Fields had been no exception. Dalloreis was a city of several dozen Void Walkers, with few warriors and a territory consisting only of an old, derelict fortress surrounded by grim, sandy gray plains befitting the tribe. It was hardly the smallest of settlements, yet its meager population was a far cry from the numbers it had once sported.
That was the unfortunate reality for all Void tribes, as he knew well. Their race had suffered calamitous losses of life time after time, whether through infighting or under the tyrannical rule of the dark beasts. His family line had been fortunate enough to survive the conquest of the Infinite Void, and even more so to evade the wrath of the Wicked Two, yet the same could not be said for most others.
"So many lost… curse them, for all eternity!"
Their time had come and gone centuries ago, yet the two Walkers of the Bright Sky and Blue Pain had left their mark on the Void Walkers in horrifying fashion. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives had been snuffed out, their pearls stolen and their bodies left to decay, all by a pair of mere builders. Four hundred years since that gruesome era, and their population had never truly recovered.
Yet the most dismal time in the Void Walkers' history had ironically hinted at the true potential they could reach. If the many disparate tribes were to be united under a common purpose, there was no limit as to the power they could wield, or the resources they could claim. The Acolytes of the Violet Gaze had come together to share that very mentality, seeking an empire as strong as the dark beasts', only this time run by and for the Void Walkers themselves. Geres thought it almost darkly humorous that in slaying She of the Abyssal Tyranny, the Wicked Two had given their fractured race an opportunity to become even more powerful.
If only the rest of the Void Walkers could see such logic. The Dwellers of the Ashen Fields had access to many untapped resources, yet they'd refused to partake in the rebuilding of the empire, and therefore subjugation was the only fate available. Geres currently stood atop a short tower of their fortress city, observing the conquered citizens as they were made to dig beyond its walls. Violet Gaze soldiers stood guard over them and monitored their progress, occasionally dispensing a harsh reprimand or a hard strike when a laborer wasn't digging through the blocks of netherrack fast enough.
"If they'd only cooperated, they might have been spared such treatment."
"I thought I might find you here!"
Lurex'skonaslar joined him at the railing and looked over the subjugated Void Walkers. Her typical smug air was stronger than usual, not that Geres was willing to pay her more mind than was necessary.
"This has gone rather smoothly thanks to your help," she said. "You made even shorter work of their champion than I'd expected."
Geres stifled a laugh. The fiercest warrior the Ashen Dwellers had to offer had barely put up a fight against him, and he was currently digging with the rest of his tribesmen after a sound defeat. This time, Geres had been willing to restrain himself in battle- he'd only taken two fingers from his opponent.
"It was a trivial task," he replied. His expression soured. "But this assignment overall seems a waste of potential. I understand why Phoros'malmislar insists on keeping this region secure, but does it truly require my full hunting party?"
"You fail to think in the long-term, my friend," Lurex said. She held out a chunk of brown, jagged metal. "See here, this material is what we are really after. It may be found buried in the stone around us, and we can refine it into the strongest metal in the world. The Ashen Dwellers have squandered the resources of this place with their meager lifestyles, but under our command they will collect more of this treasure for us. Just imagine the armor you could make with enough of it!"
"And what benefit does all of this bring you?" he grunted, taking the ancient debris to inspect it for himself. "This could indeed be useful, but I assume you have some other motive for wanting control over this place."
Lurex swiped it back a moment later and placed it into a fold of her robe. "Very astute of you. I am interested in collecting the crystal tears of those flying white beasts. If your forces should happen to slay any, kindly deliver them to me for study. I believe they contain magical properties which could bolster our army tenfold."
"I will try and remember it."
She laughed. "Excellent. Now then, I believe I'll check in on our progress in terraforming the forest. Try not to break anything in my absence, won't you?"
Geres didn't say anything as she warped away, and instead silently returned to watching the laborers at the railing. One thing was on his mind: what could have been so important about those tears if Lurex was more interested in them than in the so-called ultimate armor?
Salsh and his new partners were brought through the deep tunnels of the Ashen Dwellers' underground hideaway, emerging from a narrow crevice in the netherrack caves to the east of Dalloreis. Ahead of them stretched a vast expanse of a teal fungal forest, one which seemed oddly out of place to the red and brown world around it. Alice, Matthew, and Dunera'nolnasreis took in the sight, while he turned to hear what the Dweller who'd brought them there had to say.
"Your destination is eastward," the sentry explained in Endish, pointing across the forest. "There is a fortress of Blaze Walkers out there; Dunera'nolnasreis will help you communicate with them. The Cindered One has declared you are to secure their assistance no matter the cost."
They'd been provided with a heap of gold nuggets and ingots, more than Salsh and his new companions had dug up together in the past two weeks.
"Simple enough," he said, "I only hope this offering will suffice for them."
He turned to leave, but the Dweller put a hand on his shoulder before he could join the others. "The Cindered One has advice for you, Groundskeeper. We do not know why the Acolytes are so interested in your tribe, but you would do well not to hide the truth from us if you are aware of it." He glanced at Alice and Matthew. "Or from your friends, for that matter."
The Dweller teleported away after that. Salsh looked at the ground, weighing up his options. He knew the reason for their fixation very well, but could he admit it? Was he ready to live up to the shame, whether it be in front of the Dwellers or his…
"...my… friends…?"
Did they mean that much to him? They got along, certainly, and he couldn't say he minded their presence, but would he call himself their friend?
"Salsh, let's go!" called Matthew.
It was a question he could worry about another time. He caught up to the others and set off with them, following Dunera into the teal undergrowth. The forest's atmosphere felt bizarrely familiar. It was much cooler than the rest of the Nether, and the warped fungi were noticeably shriveled. Salsh took a deep breath and found the scent to be minty and sweet, reminding him of the wild chorus groves in his home dimension. He wasn't sure if the Overworlders could smell the foliage as well as he could, but their puzzled stares proved they at least knew something was strange about the area.
"I haven't been to the Nether in a long time, but I remember the forests being red," said Alice.
"The Terman'eslar have corrupted this place," Dunera explained, looking at the fungi with a disgusted frown. "Even before their occupation of Dalloreis, they were employing strange devices to transform the environment here."
"I can't even imagine what this would look like back in the Overworld," Matthew said, shuddering.
Salsh grunted. "All the more reason for us to foil their plans. None of our homes will be safe if they are allowed to proceed."
The trek eventually brought them to an edge of the forest, past which was a craggy netherrack cliffside overlooking a valley below. Their destination was impossible to miss: the crumbling, dilapidated remains of what had once been a castle stood built into the opposite wall, its bricks as black as an Enderman's exoskeleton. A few dozen Piglins milled about in front of it. They took notice of the group as they made their way down a steep path on the cliff face, with a few guards drawing golden blades.
"I can communicate with them. Please remain here until I signal for you," said Dunera once they'd reached the bottom.
In no hurry to get any nearer, Salsh came to a halt while she teleported ahead of them. He watched Alice and Matthew draw handfuls of gold ingots from their inventories, ready to offer them to their potential new allies, and picked one out from his leather pouch.
Dunera approached the Piglins at the forefront and began making a series of gestures with her hands. Salsh had half expected her to try and replicate their deep snorts, yet the unspoken language she was employing appeared to get the point across, because one of the guards was responding in kind with his own signs. Something clearly wasn't right, however, as the Piglin's body language was aggressive, marked with rough, quick movements. He and his fellows were glaring at her, occasionally letting out low grunts.
Before long, Dunera warped back over to them with a nervous sigh. "This is not looking favorable. It seems a few Acolytes have taken over their bastion with an army of skeletons, but I am not sure how that is even possible…"
An unpleasant memory came back to Salsh. "One of their warriors, the same who took my arm, attacked me with a group of undead soldiers. He'd used a bottle of some strange gaseous matter to influence their behavior."
"Never heard of a potion like that," said Alice, "but I would've liked to see how it happened. Well, maybe we can help the Piglins clear out the skeletons?" She cracked a smile. "We've fought those plenty of times by now."
There was a commotion from the Piglins. They were looking up at the bastion, atop which a lone Enderwoman in a long, golden cloth robe had appeared. She looked out at the crowd, and then her eyes landed on Salsh's group. Even from such a distance, he could tell she was staring at the bandaged stump of his right arm. He saw her gaze move onto Alice and Matthew.
"Surely another Acolyte… does she recognize us? Did Geres'anmislar- oh, no…"
The Enderwoman disappeared. A moment later, the bastion's heavy stone doors were flung open, and out lurched a horde of skeletons and undead, half-rotting Piglins, all with glowing purple eyes.
But they weren't all the Acolyte had deployed. Shaking the ground with each step, a truly enormous Void Walker with grossly elongated arms appeared in the doorway. Its clawed hands, each as large as its entire head, were already slick with the greenish blood of Piglins.
The giant let out a guttural laugh, and its undead army charged.
