Chapter 17: Reconnaissance
As Steve walked on toward his house alone, he felt somewhat mixed emotions as he looked down at the map that was held within his hands.
Sure, he was a proper champion now. Sure, he was still working for Herobrine, but all at the same time, he felt as if his life was going both at a blinding-fast speed that was too much to handle and at a slow pace that was dragging on for ages. He knew that getting a "lower" title would only be his first stepping stone, but, as Almun said, it should've been enough, given that he'd done something that others wouldn't even attempt in fear for their lives.
It wasn't even like he'd ever have a realistic chance to get to even encounter the dragon, anyways. Herobrine was protecting it. He'd snap the miner's neck if he sensed that he had the intention of slaying it. Would befriending him even change that possible outcome, anyways? Sure, Herobrine was slightly warming up to him, but how long will that last? How much could he break down the other's walls before he said enough was enough? Would he manage to fully break through to the other? Can he get a higher title? Was he even worthy or strong enough to do either?
Shaking his head and unrolling the map, Steve began to look over its contents. He was beginning to doubt himself, and he really didn't need that right now.
The map was well-detailed, only slightly crinkled from use. Upon it was what appeared to be a large amount of the land, spreading out to at least the edge of the distant coastline. Where the ocean began, the edges of the map were met, and the rest was well-covered with forests, deserts, and other areas that he hadn't ever laid eyes on before. Placed in different spots were quick sketches of various towns and cities, with his in particular, Highland Village, circled with red. Close by it, he found what he believed to be the village that had been destroyed by Herobrine and his forces, which apparently was named Meadowland Village. His eyes wandering away from the village as the memory of what happened there began to overwhelm him, his gaze fell upon a larger spot upon the map that was in the opposite direction, which he found to be Litefall City.
Shifting his gaze between the three locations, he found himself becoming a bit amazed. On the map, the two villages and the city were all relatively close together, but his feet, his legs, and the rest of his body knew well that was not the case at all. Maybe it was because he'd been walking to each place one right after the other, but the distance between these areas was not reflected well on the map.
Apart from the three, there were other places on the map that were largely unfamiliar to him. Of course, every location apart from Highland was unfamiliar to him in general, but these were extra so. Maybe the others would know a bit more about them than he currently does? Most appeared to be villages and small camps, but there were quite a couple of grander locations upon the map that caught his eye. Which ones he wanted to travel to first, he wasn't sure that he had the authority to decide, but given the likely possibility that they would be going to all of them regardless, he didn't necessarily worry about being able to eventually see them or not.
Rolling up the map, Steve kept it within his hands as he made his way to the village mines, where the others had chosen to set up camp for the day. He'd offered them his house, but they were mostly reluctant given the possibility of his house somehow having cracks big enough to allow sunlight within it.
Entering the main cave with little hesitance, Steve took a deep breath as the familiar scent of underground nature met him. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of sufficient light the deeper he went in, Steve began looking around for the others, hoping to spot anything amongst the darkness that was out of the ordinary. While he was busy looking, he didn't notice that there was suddenly a new pair of footsteps walking alongside him until he caught the sight of light green out of the corner of his eye. Jumping back reflexively, Steve's hand hovered above the handle of his sword as he realized that the creature that had joined him was none other than Constiere, who was staring at him with silent laughter being reflected in his gaze.
"You okay?"
Letting out a shaky breath that did nothing to calm his rapidly beating heart, Steve stood up straight, giving the other a smile.
"Yeah. You almost scared me to death! Didn't even hear you walk up."
Constiere rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"Course you didn't! Now, c'mon. We're heading over here."
As Constiere began to lead the miner elsewhere, Steve looked at him with curiosity.
"Where, exactly?" Steve asked.
"Over in this ravine. Master said you two found it, and that nobody else has a chance of finding it without running into the mobs directly, so it's the safest place for now."
Thinking back to the first large portal that they'd found, Steve nodded his head, a somewhat clear image of the area coming to mind.
As the two went through the tunnel that led into the ravine from before, they were met with the sight of the others; primarily Herobrine as he stood in the center of the hanging platform, eyes fixed upon Steve in expectation.
Stopping a couple of feet in front of him, Steve stood quietly as he clutched the map in his hands.
"...Well?" Herobrine asked, looking directly at the piece of paper in his hands with a raised brow.
Holding out the map, Steve began to speak, though his gaze refused to meet the other's eyes.
"He had one to spare."
As the demigod took the map within his hands and unrolled it, the others gathered and waited in anticipation for his response. After a few moments of silence, it came.
"...The closest city to us that we haven't yet gone to is Maemond Pond, and I say 'close' very lightly. It's a bit farther away from us right now if we depart from here instead of say, Litefall, but we're not going back to that complete eyesore, so we're going straight ahead from here. Come sundown, we start walking. Sorry, General Malgun." Herobrine casted a quick glance over to the skeleton.
Malgun shrugged in response to the other's apology.
"As long as we get there as soon as possible, it doesn't matter, really."
Looking back at the map, Herobrine continued.
"Maemond Pond isn't too remarkable, I believe. From my understanding, it's a waterlogged city with no knowledge of the End or the endermen, since its very existence prevents the endermen from drawing near, but its history has left it with access to a portal somewhere, I believe."
Steve raised a brow.
"...You believe?"
Herobrine let out a sigh.
"I haven't personally been there, but past reports from the silverfish have found that they've used forged blackstone for a few of their past projects. Evidence of stolen material. They've forgotten where the blackstone originates from, so they won't be needing the portal anytime soon, at least."
Steve nodded slowly, putting together what the other had said.
"From there, we make our way upward toward Brickston and Merry Glade. Those three cities combined will give us access to the destruction of three major portals. Though there are more than those three in this world, getting rid of them anyways should be quite enough for me to be able to regain a few more, or most, of my powers so that we aren't completely helpless in the event that we do stumble upon a group of Aethren divines. It will also significantly slow down any progress those champions have if they're looking for portals in particular, as well."
Constiere looked up at him curiously.
"By any chance, did the silverfish say anything about the big kingdom or whatever having a portal of their own?"
Herobrine thought to himself for a moment before shaking his head.
"That kingdom originated as a small village that prided itself on the richness of the Overworld. Not once have they pulled from the Nether to add to its structures. As far as the silverfish have seen and found, there are no portals within it."
Steve raised a slight brow at his words.
"...Then why would they raise champions to venture there? The Nether, I mean..."'
Herobrine shrugged.
"...Perhaps the reason why they've never drawn from the Nether is because they despise it. Humans tend to wish to destroy the things that they don't understand, nor particularly like, so perhaps they wish to go after the Nether portals because they believe all that they perceive as evil originates from there. Maybe they wish to finally sever mortal ties with the divines for all. Maybe they believe the dragon is the key to all that. Who knows what ulterior motive they have in wishing for the destruction of the dragon, they'll all fail, regardless."
Looking back down at the map, Herobrine sighed.
"...This will be a lot of travel given that I cannot teleport freely. I can't estimate when I'll be stable enough to handle it without much issue, but we have to move fast regardless."
Rolling up the map, Herobrine handed it off to Andvari, who immediately teleported away from the group. Herobrine then turned away, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he walked over to the remnants of the portal that had once stood upon the platform.
"...My biggest concern here is that the divines realize what we're trying to accomplish, and instead choose to rebuild the portals as we go along destroying them, rather than choose to simply follow us."
The other three that remained stared at him with interest.
"...But wouldn't that affect them too, sir?" Constiere asked, quietly.
"They don't care. As long as it affects me the most, they'll do it."
Silence followed his words for a moment until another sigh left his mouth quietly.
"...We're working with borrowed time at the moment. Minos has so far been the only one who managed to see me attempt to knock down a portal. I don't know if he's managed to connect the dots yet, or if he'll even say anything about it to anybody, but we only have a limited amount of time until we see the results of his decision."
The others nodded as Andvari teleported back into the space, joining them where they stood. Silence followed for a moment before Herobrine began to speak once again.
"...Andi, I apologize, but could you possibly gather the endermen and have them…" Herobrine paused, his gaze shifting to the ground as a look of slight regret and embarrassment overtook his features. "...Ugh, what am I saying? None of them have the capacity to do such a thing." The demigod's shoulders sunk a bit as his voice trailed off into a whisper.
"...Capacity to do what?" Steve looked at the enderman, gaze curious.
Andvari gave him a quick glance before looking back toward Herobrine.
"...I'm assuming that you wished for them to teleport us nearer, correct?"
Herobrine looked down at the destroyed portal.
"...I know that they lack the conscious thought to prevent them from injuring us during travel, but I don't want you to bear the burden of taking us all, either at once or one-by-one. I have no power. I...I managed to gain enough energy recently to teleport both me and Steven away from danger, but I can't withstand the after-effects enough to not completely fall apart. That occasion was a close call; I'd nearly cost us precious time with my rashness. Doing it repeatedly would render me...well, I'm not entirely sure what would happen, but it would not be kind."
The demigod turned around to face the others, his gaze dimmed significantly as a look of pure worry was held within them, though it did not reflect upon the rest of his face.
"...Shortcuts are appealing, but in our current situation, we cannot take them, and I hate that. I suppose I have only myself to blame for these circumstances."
Walking closer, Herobrine released his arms from their position across his chest.
"We'll make good use of the beast that Steven tamed, then. It may not be able to carry us all at once, but that beast was made for quick battle. Its sturdiness will be used for our advantage."
Constiere grinned.
"So we get to ride it into battle?!" He asked excitedly.
Herobrine shrugged with a small smirk upon his face.
"If it gets to that point, perhaps. It will most likely follow Steven's command more than anything, but if we encounter danger, I believe it will know well enough what to do about it."
Turning his attention toward Steve, Herobrine gave him a look filled with vast expectations that Steve wasn't entirely sure he could handle.
"...And I believe that you'll be able to further train it, correct?"
Without thinking much about what the other's words entailed, Steve nodded.
"Can't be too hard, right?"
With another smirk, Herobrine let out a breath of air that was akin to some sort of laughter.
"I'll expect a reasonable amount of progress from you, then."
Beginning to walk toward the entrance of the ravine, Herobrine let out a small chuckle.
"...Even if the divines catch up to us, we cannot allow them to reverse the progress that we have made so far. They're aware of the fact that a human is involved, so there might be reason to believe that they'll hesitate, despite Maxwell's wishes." Herobrine uttered the divine's name like it was venom upon his tongue, hoping to get rid of it as soon as possible so that it would no longer plague him.
Steve wanted to know who this Maxwell was. Even if he had a death warrant out for them, it would at least be nice to know who their supposed killer was.
Glancing back momentarily at Steve, Herobrine nodded over to the entrance as he waited for the other to join him.
"Come. There's still a while until sundown, and we can utilize that time to get you better acquainted with your beast. Generals, remain here."
The others acknowledged the demigod's command and remained in their place. Nodding slowly, Steve began to walk, his feet moving despite his wandering thoughts attempting to anchor him to the ground.
Maemond Pond. Brickston. Merry Glade. Three places he had never heard of before in his life, despite the fact that he'd lived in his village for a decent amount of valuable time; ten years, in fact. He could attribute his lack of knowledge to the overwhelming requirements of his profession, but had the circumstances been different, would he have even tried to look for cities outside of his own village? Would he have wandered about the wilds until he stumbled upon one? What were these cities like?
Maemond Pond sounded interesting enough on its own, being waterlogged and such, but what about Brickston? The place was more up towards the snowier biomes last he checked on the map, located somewhere amongst the mountains, so would he need to purchase another jacket in order to withstand the weather? Merry Glade was perhaps the most mysterious location of all, with a name that suggested a jubilant nature, but the lack of further information about the place perplexed him the most.
What was to say that those were all the locations that they would be stumbling upon, anyways? With the brief look of the map that he'd gotten before, he noticed that there were quite a few villages spread in-between the larger cities. What if those had portals as well? Herobrine may have had his eyes upon the bigger picture, but who was to say that he, a miner of all things, couldn't focus on the in-between? While his "leader" was focusing on diamonds, who's to say that he couldn't pick up the iron and gold in the meantime? Though he shuddered to think of what a fully-powered Herobrine would look like, he nevertheless wished to help the other. It might've been genuine concern for the other that was fueling his desire, or maybe a sense of self-preservation since the guy said he'd use his powers to protect them, but he wanted Herobrine to gain his strength back, if not to see what else earned the man's place among the direct hit list of the divines.
How many portals had to be built and activated in order to take such a guy down, anyways?
Staring at the other from behind with interest, Steve attempted to read his thoughts, finding himself wildly unsuccessful. The only way he'd ever have a chance to read the other was through his blinding gaze, and even then, the demigod only barely had visible enough pupils for him to gather any sort of emotion from. Frankly, Steve was shocked that the other even had pupils at all, but it still boggled his mind to find that the other wasn't capable of hiding his emotions completely. Every so often, his gaze betrayed him, and the miner wasn't sure that Herobrine was even aware of that fact. He'd briefly considered once before if the demigod was actually blind given the abnormality of his eyes, but the way he acted and moved, walked and fought, suggested otherwise.
Finding that he indeed had become lost in his thoughts again, Steve finally noticed that the two had reached the exit of the mines.
Stepping out from the cave, Steve briefly paused to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness of the world beyond. Seeing as the other hadn't done the same, Steve followed him over to where he'd left Squash for the day, which was right next to the pond that was located right behind his house. Squash was currently asleep, head lowered upon the ground as the ravager let out deep, but calmed breaths.
As Steve slowed his approach in order to not startle the beast, Herobrine simply walked up to it without hesitation, looking down at it with interest. Squatting down beside the creature, Herobrine looked at its face for a moment before a small, uncharacteristically gentle smile appeared on his face, freezing Steve in his tracks.
"Hey, Squash? Time to get up." Came a kind, sweet tone from the other that stunned Steve even more. Though he hadn't paid much attention to it before, the miner noticed that the other had dropped his accent for the quiet words that left his mouth, slightly confusing Steve as he pondered the man's intentions.
As the beast fluttered its eyes open, it stretched out for a moment as it stood up slowly, looking around for a bit before its eyes fell upon Steve, and it quickly trotted over to where he was. Steve looked down at the creature with surprise briefly, but as he looked back up at the demigod, he found that the other's gentle expression fell as a quiet 'tch' left his mouth.
"...I thought that if I had your tone, the beast would come around to my guidance quicker...I suppose not, then." The other's voice was back to its normal, biting state, accent and all.
Steve stared at him in surprise.
That was his attempt to imitate him?...
…
…
He was good.
As Squash came up to him, he began to pet the creature gently, offering his morning hellos and afternoon greetings before casting his attention back up to Herobrine, who had gotten closer to him without him noticing. Herobrine looked directly at him, gaze unreadable and expression stoic.
"So...What are we gonna teach this thing?" Steve asked quietly, voice hesitant as he attempted to see how the other would react.
Herobrine continued to stare at him, expression unchanging.
"How was your promotion ceremony? Was it similar to your Appointment? Different?"
Slightly confused about the fact that their supposed beast-training session had turned into a simple conversation, Steve pondered to himself for a moment before he came to a realization.
Herobrine simply wanted to speak to him alone.
Continuing to pet Squash gently, Steve shrugged.
"...It was kinda the same. Same crowd, different title."
Herobrine closed his eyes as he nodded in response to the other's words.
"I see."
Silence came in between the two for a couple of moments, before Herobrine let out a small sigh of frustration as he looked at the other with slightly dimmed eyes.
"...I'd rather not go out in broad daylight despite the shade your house provides, but I wish to ask you something that I'd rather prefer the others not hear."
Steve looked at him with curiosity.
"...Hmm? What do you want to ask?"
Herobrine thought to himself for a moment before his voice suddenly got quiet, and his entire demeanor seemed to shrink in comparison to the commanding figure Steve was used to.
"...Do you wish to find favor among the gods?"
The question was strange and sudden, to Steve. Why was he asking this sort of question now?
"...In what way?"
"...In the way that champions do. You use your skills to impress the gods, and then they invite you to join their ranks in sheer awe of your abilities. Do you wish to impress them?"
Thinking to himself for a moment, Steve thought about his options before a shrug ultimately left him.
"I never wanted this in the first place, really. All I wanted to do was get a title and be done with it, so appealing to the divines never came to my mind. Appealing to my village came first." Steve finished with a chuckle, though the other's expression remained mostly the same.
"...Power is not something you desire? Do you not feel greed within your heart?"
Was the other interrogating him at the moment? For what? What crime did he commit?
"...Not really, I guess? I mean, I just want to go back to mining and whatever. I don't need a crown, or social standing, or anything like that. I don't know what I could even be greedy for, so not that, either."
Herobrine relaxed his posture, expression becoming a bit more blank.
"...Would it upset you to know that your lack of drive intrigues me? Other humans like yourself fight tooth and nail to gain favor, or raise ranks, or something of the sort, and yet here you are, saying that even with the help of the Overworld's most feared and powerful creature, you wish to remain nothing but human. No wishes of becoming a mortal divine, so to say." He paused. "...And yet, your wish for inaction will not come to fruition, because what you're doing for me will land you within the divine line of sight, and you will be judged for my crimes. You will not be able to return to the world you came from once we're finished, and yet, I'll still remove myself from your life, and that will be that. Wouldn't you like something in addition for your sacrifices? Your actions? Power? Wealth? Fame?"
Was...was Herobrine suggesting that he extend the rewards of their agreement for Steve's benefit?
Did the other feel some sort of remorse for having him become involved? Was he attempting to simply read his personality in order to know what to expect from him? What was the reason for this conversation to take such a turn? Was this a loyalty test, or Herobrine's way of giving him another apology for the events he was now roped into?
Before he could think about it any longer and leave the other in pure silence, Steve shook his head.
"...All I want is an adventure, really. I wouldn't have survived past a couple of days or so without your help, so really, I don't ask for much." He shrugged with a smile on his face, leading the other to stare at him with what appeared to be shock.
Steve looked down at Squash, lifting his hands from the beast.
"Now, what are we gonna do about Squash?"
Looking down at the creature as well, Herobrine shook off his brief expression and began to look at the beast with some interest.
"...We'll have to work on getting her used to people other than yourself."
"Oh okay, that doesn't seem very-"
Steve froze as he went over what the other had said.
"...Her?" He asked, looking back up at Herobrine for an answer.
"...I haven't been around a lot of ravagers, but I have seen enough to know differences between them, for the most part."
Steve let out a quiet "Oh" as he went back to petting Squash, watching as the ravager's expression became one of content, once again.
Silence followed their words for a moment, before Herobrine broke it once again.
"...Do you at least wish to grow stronger?"
Steve blinked at the other's question, slightly surprised that he wanted to continue their previous conversation.
"...Isn't that the same as wanting power?"
"No. I'm asking if you wish to grow stronger, in order to fight the divines directly."
Steve froze, wide eyes looking directly at the demigod.
"...You're...not serious."
Herobrine looked directly into his fearful gaze.
"If you wish not to gain favor, you certainly wish to lose it, correct?"
Steve shook his head frantically.
"No! I just want to stay neutral!" He held up his hands in defense.
"You can't do that as long as you're with me. Either you fight for favor, or fight for your life."
Steve glared at him.
"You trying to shoulder the burden of being the bait on me?"
Herobrine returned his glare, albeit in a softer manner than what he was expecting.
"I am the strongest here, despite my diminished abilities. I've been able to go head-to-head with various different divines, and win. I am more than capable of training you to perfection. I do not want you to be so...helpless. Too many times now, you've frozen. You've hidden behind me. How long until the divines ignore my presence and go straight for you instead?"
Steve's shock returned to his features.
Herobrine continued.
"Our training so far has only covered how to counter humans in terms of movement, and for that, I apologize. Training you to fight the Aethren divines would benefit your growth in many ways. If you learn well enough, you'd be able to fight a mere mortal without any issues, as well."
Reaching to take Squash's reins, Herobrine grabbed a hold of them, much to the creature's dismay.
"...Should I tell you what I'm about to tell you, you must promise not to reveal it to anyone. Not Malgun, not Constiere, not Andvari, no one." Herobrine lowered his voice, gaze becoming overwhelmingly stern.
Shaking himself out of his own shock, Steve raised a slight brow at the other's suddenly hushed tone. What was the other about to tell him?
"...I promise."
"You say that like you had to consider the benefits of doing otherwise."
"N-no! I got caught up in my thoughts, I genuinely promise not to tell anyone. If I ever do, you...you can punish me for it." Steve held a hand over his heart in order to convince the other of his sincerity.
Letting out a sigh, Herobrine lowered his head.
"...In all truth, I believe that you have some sort of potential when it comes to fighting. Though you didn't land a major wound, you still managed a hit upon me, despite what little progress you've made since our previous training session. You seem to adapt rather quickly, and so I believe that training you to fight like a divine in order to take divines down wouldn't take too long."
Embarrassed, Herobrine looked off to the side.
"...You've impressed me."
If Steve had his eyes widen any further, he was sure that his eyeballs would fall right out from their sockets.
Herobrine's "secret" was that, in some way, he actually admired the miner. The secret he wished to hide from the others was that he had faith in the human.
The human. The mortal. The human. The living one.
Steve's expression melted into a kind smile as he thought more about the other's kind words, earning a small growl from the demigod as he went to lead Squash away.
"Don't look at me like that. I'll wipe that expression clean off your face if you keep it up." Herobrine tugged the ravager's reins as she refused to budge for a moment.
The other's words suggested a threat, but his expression suggested that he was merely bluffing, if anything.
"...Can't help it, really." Steve shrugged.
"Oh, you'll help it if you know what's good for your health, Steven."
"Can you really blame me for smiling? You gave me a genuine compliment Brine, how could I not smile?"
The other froze at the careless misuse of his name, but said nothing about it, continuing to walk around to the front of the house.
Despite his lackluster attempts to erase his smile, Steve found that he couldn't force his face to drop it, his emotions bringing him on too big of a high. After a moment of constant fighting with himself, Steve began to follow after the other, silently apologizing for his continued expression.
The most that they managed to teach Squash was that Herobrine was there to help, not harm, her. The most Steve got to do was test his weight against the beast as it charged Herobrine with sheer anger, upset that he believed that he had any authority over the creature that Steve didn't (which he did). The demigod nimbly dodged the beast as it rushed him, never once even getting scraped by the beast's horns.
Before they even realized it, sundown had arrived, and the miner found himself alone as Herobrine went off to grab the others. As Steve waited for his return while standing next to Squash, he found his gaze trailing over to the lake in front of his house, eyes fixated upon the reflected image of the burning, beautiful orange-pink sky above them. There were faint traces of light blue, but as a whole, the sky was on fire.
Not too long ago, he'd be staring at the sight from the comfort of his home, hidden behind a curtain that he believed would protect him from the dangers of the night. Well, protect him from their awareness, at the very least. He'd watch the sun go down while eating his dinner, finish his meal, then stay up for a short while longer to watch the mobs roam freely before slipping off into his bedroom for the night.
Now, he'd be slipping off away toward that reflected image, going out into the world beyond as he searched for answers to questions that he didn't ask, but nevertheless wished to know the answers to. He only hoped that this time, he'd be able to watch the glorious sunset again in the future, once he made his return. Hopefully, if he managed to return.
Finding footsteps approaching him, Steve turned to find the others walking toward him, with Malgun as covered as ever. Constiere picked up his pace in order to claim his spot upon the ravager, climbing up slowly once again in order to actually be able to ride the beast without any problems. As Herobrine approached them, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring at Constiere in particular.
"Some of us need to guide the ravager, and others need to allow them to do so." Came his unamused tone.
Constiere let out a small whine.
"...Pleaaaase can I ride with bright-eyes? He let me do it last time!"
Herobrine thought to himself for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"...Do not be foolish. Behave yourself as you ride."
Steve was surprised by the sudden, authoritative tone the other was having with Constiere, but the boy didn't seem to mind, or even notice, as he nodded excitedly.
"Yes sir!"
Beginning to turn away, Herobrine held his palm upward, which Andvari noticed briefly before disappearing off, coming back with the map in his hands. Placing it within the other's palm, the enderman watched as Herobrine looked down at it briefly, before glancing back up to stare at the lake.
"...Maemond is this way. The sooner we set off, the closer we'll be to success." Beginning to walk, Herobrine led the way as the others began to follow.
Steve grabbed the reins that Squash had before climbing her back, making sure he didn't take up too much room in order to give Constiere some space and that he was seated properly before giving a quick tug of the reins in order to make the beast move. As Squash set off as well, Steve gave one last look over the village, noting how the streetlights within the place were beginning to slowly be lit. Though he wouldn't be present for the release of the golems, Steve let out a sigh of relief, happy that at least the village would be safe with him gone, even though he hadn't been actively protecting it for a while.
Today marked a new chapter in his journey, whether he was ready for it or not.
Here we have a slightly more chill chapter around, lol. Smaller, too, since I wanted to be able to get back into my regular update schedule sooner rather than later!
Now we can make the transition into the full story that I wanted originally for the fic. Second act time, maybe? Idk, lol I'm excited. I get to bring some more story bits out of the base draft for this fic!
Aight, time for fun facts!
1.) For confirmation, yes, some of the champions that are featured with the "Tales of the Lesser Divines" book were humans who gained favor of the gods and ascended into that sweet "Mortal Divine" status.
2.) Herobrine finds favor in those who manage to best him in some way during battle. He finds favor also in those with great wit.
Anyways, that's it for now! Leave a review if you have any thoughts!
