Minecraft: The Fallen
Chapter 1: Taking Inventory
The first thing I felt when I awoke in this world, was a gentle breeze.
As I slowly started to open my eyes, I realized that I was lying beneath a small tree, its shade shielding me from the rays of the rising sun. I could just about make out the bright, blue sky through the gaps between the vibrant green leaves.
Eventually coming to my senses, I got up from my previous position, clutching my head. I had a slight headache, but it wasn't too distracting, and it soon subsided. I took a look around to get acquainted with my surroundings.
I was surrounded by an expansive valley that was filled with red, blue and yellow flowers, that stretched all the way to the east. On the west, north, and south, was a vast ocean, meaning that this valley was actually in the middle of a peninsula. I couldn't see land beyond the glimmering waters, so I focused on the east once again.
Beyond the valley, loomed a tall mountain range that had snow on its peak, and a forest of oak and birch trees on its foot. After quietly taking in the immediate area, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity swell within me.
The fact that every element and every structure present, from the occasional cloud to the distant trees, was shaped by individual blocks, made me feel almost right at home - though I couldn't pinpoint why. That's not to say I felt relaxed though; I was still in a foreign land. But still, for some reason, I found solace in the shape of the materials this world was made out of.
Deciding that I had spent enough time sitting by idly, I started roaming around the landscape. After taking my first few steps in this world, which were wobbly and uneven, my eyes passively trailed towards the bottom of my vision.
In an instant, three bars of sorts faded in. The first one was comprised out of ten red hearts. What weirded me out the most about said hearts were the two marks each of them had. They resembled narrowed eyes, which made me feel uneasy.
The second one was similar, although instead of hearts, it depicted chicken legs. Lastly, the third one was a uniform dark green line. All of them were odd, but it didn't seem like I needed to pay much attention to them, as they faded away once I stopped looking at them.
I started heading toward the meadow to admire the view from a closer distance. I approached a small red flower, but when I tried to touch it, it shattered into pieces, leaving behind only a smaller copy of itself. Once again, I went to pick it up, but it completely vanished.
I looked down, left, and right, completely and utterly confused by the fact that the flower had seemingly exited the physical plane. I closed my eyes, trying to make sense of what happened, and that's when I saw it.
I was looking at what I could only describe as an inner pocket dimension, of sorts. Many gray squares which formed a grid were laid out in front of me. I instinctively referred to this grid, which would always appear whenever I focused on it, as 'the inventory'.
The grid wasn't the only thing that caught my eye. Something that grabbed my attention was a reflection of...myself? I apparently had short brown hair, blue eyes, tan skin and wore a light blue t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and dark gray shoes. Above my reflection, my name was displayed in white letters: 'Steve'.
...
'What a random name...'
Distractions aside, the flower was placed in one of the squares. When I directed my attention on it, its name, too, was revealed. 'Poppy'. I re-opened my eyes and found it resting in my right palm. It was light and had rubbery feel to it. I placed it back down on the grass, and it regained its original size. With that in mind, I decided to get a little bit experimental.
I tried touching various blocks, to see if the same thing would happen to those as with the flower. Although it took punches, rather than a simple touch like it did with the flower, the result was still the same: The blocks burst, shrank, and ended up in my inventory.
Once my curiosity was satiated, I opened up the inventory and took a more thorough look at it. In all, I had six oak wood logs, five dirt blocks, three sand blocks, and a single gravel block. Something that I found especially strange was when I would harvest the block that was supporting a sand or a gravel block, the former two would fall down, instead of floating in the air like any other block.
Back on topic, I took note of an odd symbol that depicted a green book next to my reflection. I shifted my awareness on it and a whole new compartment of my inventory opened up! Turns out, that book was a recipe book, and it showed all the various objects I could make with some of the materials I had in hand.
Curious, I converted some oak logs into oak planks and then some of those into sticks. One item in particular piqued my interest. It cost four oak planks and was called, the 'crafting table'. Little did I know that that block would become one of the most important in my journey.
Swiftly placing it down, I took note of its distinct design. Various tools were drawn on its sides, while a three-by-three grid marked the top side. I continued to inspect it, until my fingertips brushed a hidden compartment, which contained another recipe book, only this one was physical.
I couldn't read what its title was, but once I opened it, I was blown away by the sheer number of crafting recipes it had available. Everything from tools, like torches, shovels and pickaxes, to weapons like swords and bows, and even things like beds and boats! It was overwhelming, and I knew it would take me long while before I would get the hang of it.
I broke the crafting table like any other block, and started heading towards the forest at the foot of the mountains. Since wood was the most common material used for crafting items, it made sense to get lots of it.
I glanced at the sun and concluded it was around mid-day.
While I was making my way through the valley, I encountered the first living creature since I had woken up; a sheep! It had thick white wool and was peacefully munching some grass. As it would turn out, there were plenty of sheep in the near-by area.
I closed the distance between me and the first sheep I saw. Once it stopped eating, it turned around to look at me dead in the eyes, as though looking into my very soul. I felt a little weirded out, but it soon gave up on our staring contest and went along its way.
A slightly morbid thought crossed my mind; I would have to kill animals if I wanted to keep my stomach full, at least for a while. I felt somewhat bad, but I had to do this.
After I awkwardly and clumsily took down that sheep while trying to ignore its pained 'baas', it disintegrated into a white puff of smoke. What remained of it was some raw mutton, a block of white wool, as well as some green orbs, the purpose of which I didn't understand at the time.
I soon remembered the crafting recipe for a bed, and realized I was two wool blocks short. I didn't like the idea of sleeping under a tree again, especially since it would turn night relatively soon, and it would probably get cold. Shifting my gaze to the near-by flock, I...did what I had to do, and started heading towards the forest once again.
When I reached the forest and started punching a birch tree, I realized it would take a while to get a sufficient amount of it, as different blocks required different amounts of time to break down, depending on the material's durability. Recalling the wooden axe I had seen in the 'tools' department of the recipes, I assumed that crafting one would speed up the chopping process.
This is where I learned the difference between crafting while relying on my inventory, and while relying on the crafting table. The former was an internal, almost meditative process, while the latter required me to actually arrange the physical materials on the crafting table's grid into a correct pattern, as instructed by the recipe book. Interestingly enough, the latter method also gave me access to more complex recipes, perhaps because of the larger grid. Regardless, with my wooden axe in hand, I succeeded in collecting 32 birch logs.
I learned from my crafting skill that turning logs into planks would turn out to be pretty useful for construction, since I'd get the quadruple amount of building materials. With two stacks of birch planks, i.e., 128 blocks, I managed to build a serviceable shelter, right as the sun was starting to set. To be honest, it looked more like a cube rather than an actual shelter, but it would get the job done for a while.
Inside, I set up the crafting table and made a bed, even going as far as to color the covers using red dye I got from the poppy. Before I went to bed, the events of the day flashed by in my head. I didn't know what this world had in store for me, nor did I know where I was before I ended up in it. But despite that, I felt...strangely optimistic?
I managed to build a shelter relatively easily – sure, it took me all day, but still! It felt like there were no boundaries to what I could do! Nothing was stopping me from building a better shelter or experimenting with other tools and materials. A rush of excitement whirled up inside me, as I thought of all the potential builds I could build, and adventures I could have.
The freedom to do anything, with only the sky to serve as the limit... It seemed like a blessing...
I started getting exhausted though and went to bed, completely oblivious to all the monsters that were spawning outside my abode.