It's been about an hour since Jonas and I first departed on hogback from the village. We haven't talked much, simply because there wasn't much to say. Jonas saw what happened to me when I took the armor off. He did not speak, both to sympathize with my troubles and to restrain judgment.

Back when I didn't know Jonas as well, I used to be frustrated by the fact that Jonas spoke so little when I felt like I needed his consolation the most. One time when I was sad, I asked him why he seemed to not want to talk to me. His response has always stayed with me:

"Sometimes rubbing a wound with words does not help it heal; it causes abrasion, which widens the wound."

Jonas is a selfless and reflective man. He knows a lot about feelings, but he rarely talks about his own. Often I wonder what Jonas' life was like before he moved to town, but even though we are close friends, I feel as if asking him is a violation of the trust between us. What I do know about him is what he has told me over the years about his family, and even then mostly simple things such as family relation and occupation, which most people will gladly share with strangers on the first day of acquaintance. On one of the few occasions I felt compelled enough to talk to him about it, I asked him who his mother was, and he didn't even seem to understand the question. I was willing to be patient and earn his trust, and over the years some of his quietness and solemnity has rubbed off on me.

In stark contrast is Airlass, a funny girl with sarcasm loaded into her cheeks, and snide remarks for any occasion. She grew up in the same home town as I did, and we haven't moved since. She always has had a love for the outdoors and a discipline with her axe that rivals a warrior's training with a sword. She kills creepers, something I could never muster up the courage to do, with such speed and finesse, and then jokes about it afterward as if they weren't a threat. She is always full of energy and loves to talk. She also tends to become emotional very easily. Sometimes I can't tell if she seriously feels a certain way or if she's faking her emotions for sport. Airlass is rarely serious, but she always knows how to cheer me up, and she isn't hesitant to offer help to those who need it. It is very possible that Jonas asked Airlass to help look after the farm for us.

Airlass knows me well enough that she understands who Jonas truly is. Other good friends of mine, such as the librarian Dunjen, or the nurse Azura, are good people, but they see Jonas the way everyone else sees him: a monster with no sympathy for humanity... a case of nature where it is only a matter of time... while his corrupted mind struggles to grasp human concepts such as emotion, sympathy, trust, and loyalty... before his patience cracks, and he feels the inevitable urge to kill. This perception, as flawed and lacking of evidence it is, is held firmly by most of the people of the village. It has cost him his spot in the lines of market tents. It has inflicted him cuts and bruises from being pushed over simply from standing too close. It has marked him as the blame for when the monsters of the night are more aggressive than usual. It has left him alone as villagers forbid him from entering public buildings like the town hall and the schoolhouse. It is no small wonder why Jonas is so reserved about his past, when his present is marred by distrust.

The silence of the ride has made me reflective. I think back on what has happened between me and the book since I last talked to Jonas about it: the second nightmare, the skeleton hunt, the crafting, the hesitance to accept the armor, the third nightmare, and the coerced finishing and emotional attachment to the armor. What seemed like a relatively easygoing day physically, was a grueling and painful day mentally. Now that the two of us are alone, I feel it is a good time to tell Jonas the rest of the story.

"Hey, Jonas?" I call to him.

"What is it?" Jonas responds.

"I... I feel like I need to tell you what happened after the last afternoon I helped you with the corral."

"I'm listening."

I sigh, preparing to speak. "Well, when first I got back home from the corral, the book was insistent I complete the armor.

Jonas nods as he continues to ride on the hog just in front of me, at the same pace as mine. There is an occasional faint rustling in the trees.

"Then when I went to bed that night, I had another nightmare. It started off like a typical summer day. It was hot in some field with cows. There were some small trees, and the grass was golden brown.

"Then it got really weird. I actually started burning alive from the heat of the sun. I had to run under the trees to try and make it stop. It scared the bajeezus out of me.

"Then I woke up early that morning to hunt skeletons, so I could get enough bones to finish the rest of the armor."

Jonas nodded again. "That makes sense. You needed materials to make the rest of the armor, so you took some leather from the corral, and you took some bones from the skellies."

"Hold on... what? You mean I took leather from the corral?"

"Yea, you asked if you could have some leather, and I said yes."

"I... never remember doing that. That's very strange. I remember everything that happened at that day at the corral. I must have just forgotten... but somehow I feel as if... I never planned to do it. Somehow I just went along crafting with the leather as if I always had it."

Jonas passively listens as we continue ride along in the seemingly endless forest. We all forget things, I suppose.

"Anyways, then I went back home to craft the helmet. After working for several hours, I finally finished it, and that's when you came by. You seemed very worried."

"Well, of course," Jonas replies. "Your absence was a warning sign."

"Right, I suppose so." I continue to think back on what happened. "After you left, Ironbrawn came back with the lunch you made me. That was quite tasty."

Jonas smiles briefly.

"Then I went back to crafting, I made the skeleton leggings. At that point, I decided I didn't really want to go through with what the book wanted me to do. It was trying really hard to get me to do it. It kept telling me I was afraid. I thought I could get rid of it by throwing it in the closet, but... then I had another nightmare.

"It started off in an abandoned library. I walked around for a while, and I found this old reed-bound book. I think it was some sort of crafting research book, but it was boring so I didn't really want to read it.

"When I put it down and turned around, I saw an Enderman leaning right up against me. I looked directly into its eyes, and it started to scream. I tried not to break eye contact as I broke away, but then all of a sudden there were Endermen everywhere. At that point I tried to run away, but the floor just... disappeared... and I fell into the void. Then the dream ended."

"Wait! Hold on..." Jonas suddenly seemed alert. There was a degree of urgency in his voice. He pulled back on the reins of his hog, and turned it around to face me. I pulled back my reins as well, so we were facing each other while stationary. "Did you feel anything when you were in the void? What did it feel like?"

I never expected that kind of question, especially from Jonas. But he seems worried, so I should probably tell him. "Just the thought of it..." My mind struggles for a moment. "...is painful to remember. I remember an unbearable heat, hotter than any flame. I felt as if I lost all sense of certainty of what it meant to exist. The void felt like it was it was seeping into my consciousness and tearing it apart."

"No one could possibly give such a detailed description of what it feels like to be that deep within the void..." Jonas pauses. His purple eyes seem focused into the distance. "...without having experiencing it firsthand. That's what confuses me. Most humans couldn't possibly survive in the void long enough to feel that. Most creatures would burn to death very quickly and then just respawn. The same goes for just about any inanimate object. Only an Ender-being could survive that deep in the void, but they wouldn't feel any pain. Half-bloods don't feel the pain either. That's how I know." His eyes focused back on me. "If your book really was in the void, it should have disintegrated almost immediately."

The answer was profound; it surprised me. "I had no idea Endermen could survive in the void."

"Yes," Jonas nodded, "that's how they teleport. Somehow the book understood the connection between Endermen and the void. I'm not exactly sure how, but I think it may help us understand how the book came to you in the first place. If you don't mind, I'd like to hear more of what happened."

"Alright, then."

Truthfully, I don't want to go on. I don't want to bring up the painful memories again, but if it can help Jonas' cousin understand the book better and help me get rid of it once and for all, then it's worth the pain.

"When I finally gained consciousness again, it was as if I was already awake. It was late at night, and I suddenly realized I was standing in front of the crafting bench, and I had already crafted the skeleton boots, the final piece of the skeleton armor. It was as if the book had briefly taken over my consciousness. I think the book's control over me seems to have grown since I started crafting the armor. Sometimes I worry that even what I'm thinking right now isn't coming from my true self..." I consider telling Jonas about how I suddenly perceived him when the book took hold of me, but I'm afraid he may not trust me any more if I do. "Then the book convinced me to put the full suit of armor on and wear it to bed. I woke up hearing your knock on the door, and after I opened it, you saw how I acted. Somehow I couldn't go outside without the armor. I felt deathly afraid that I'd burn to death in the sunlight."

Jonas nodded again. "I see how it is. For some reason, the book wants you to keep wearing that armor. It's how it exercises its control over you."

"Exactly. But what I don't quite understand is: why? I don't quite understand why that armor is so valuable to it."

"Perhaps the armor has some sort of magical properties we don't quite understand yet."

"Yea, that makes sense."

Then I remember back when the book wanted me to ask Jonas' cousin enchant the armor. I consider telling Jonas this, but I decide not to. If I did, Jonas would never let me do it. I feel curious to know what would happen to the armor if it was enchanted... and I was wearing it.

It looks like it's going to be a long, long ride.