z

Young Writers Society


12+ Violence

Three Fires

by Sundancer


Three Fires

Prologue

The air, smoky and plagued with soot and grime. The ground, coated with a fine layer of ash, and fires dotting the barren landscape. A swift-flowing stream of lava slunk along and into the vast oceans of the hellish biome. Weird-looking creatures just managed to survive. Men that were rotting had some of their pig-like features left, flying creatures that looked like giant squid floated around, inhaling the poisonous air and cubes of hardened magma jumped along sluggishly. A contrail of embers floated in a zig-zagging path across the ground. As it connected with a pillar of flame, the embers spread out and formed a giant shape. A shape with fiery wings; a long, snaky neck, withered fingers and two sets of eyes, but only one glaring around.

Swinging its head around, it spotted its victim: a loner pigman. It dissolved into its flame-form, and swiftly crossed the scorched ground. It morphed back into its dragon form and its tail swung at the head, its spikes reflecting the glint of lava. The pigman called out, but it was cut short with a sickening thunk. The other pigman watched as the dragon tore apart the carcass, and it devoured it in seconds. When it was done, it looked up and glared at the other bystanders, and said in a gravelly voice, ancient as time itself. “who’s next?”







Bonechiller Fortress

Crash! Clatter! That was the sound of the skeleton sparring sessions. One in particular, Prince Chromus, swept through waves of other warriors.

“Hya! Take that! And-” he stopped even as one rushed at him. “Y’know, this gets boring after a while.” He, without even looking, disarmed a fellow warrior and flung him away like a pesky fly. Another, he deflected a blow and it sent the shockwave strumming back through his blade, dizzying him.

“Session’s over, skellies!” King Rodimus bellowed. He then looked directly at Chromus, “I wish to have audience with you.”

At that, several skeletons whispered to him, “oooo, you’re in trouble now!”

“Chromus, know you’re not in trouble, as I heard some of those other idiots say. But I do have serious matters to discuss.”

Chromus wondered aloud, “sire, what is it you wish of me? Know I am fully capable of anything you ask me. For your sake, I will fight to the death.” His chain-link belt clinked as he shook with his tiny amount of fear and awe.

King Rodimus drew a shaky breath, “I wish for you to attend the Triple Fire Council, tonight.”

Chromus started, “t-tonight? B-but, I’m not even close to worthy of that privilege!”

Rodimus said, “I’m fully aware of your concern, but I know you’re worthy to this day of attending a Triple Fire meet. No questions asked. Period.”

As Chromus sauntered out of the throne room, his friend caught up with him, the one being Skullius, “yo! What happened? I heard you got called to King Rodimus for purposes unknown? Did ya’ get in trouble somehow?”

Chromus shoved him, “would I even be here right now if that was the case?”

Laughing, Skullius replied, “naw, you’re still alive, unfortunately for me. But, seriously, what was it?”

Chromus knew there was no hiding things from ever-persistent Skullius, “oh, okay! Let’s just say I was invited to the most important truced meetings ever made.”

This time, it was Skullius’ turn to to the shoving, “get out of here! You serious? Do you mean the Triple Fire Council?”

Nodding reluctantly, Chromus added, “and not necessarily voluntarily.”

“Ah, pulled into it, being prince and all. I see how it is.”

That night, just before Chromus and Rodimus left for the meet, all nether broke loose.

“Rodimus! Rodimus?” called Chromus. Rodimus was missing, and a pigman had been found with Rodimus’ sword pinning it to the wall through his heart. Chromus raced over the debris left by a vicious fight, and found another body amongst it all. It was Rodimus.

Chromus fell to his knees, “no. Nononononono. This can’t be real! Rodimus...” He heard someone burst into the room, and saw him kneeling. Not bothering to look up, the skeleton prince said, “Rodimus. He-He’s dead.” Then, he ran to the mangled pigman body, and grasped the sword, and pulled it out again. The body slumped to the ground.

“I- What happens now?” stuttered Chromus.

The skeleton advisor, named Ribz, said, “well, you’re the rightful heir to the throne so-”

“NO!”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I can’t be king. Ever.”

“And why is that?” asked Ribz politely.

“I can never replace him. He was my grandfather. I can never live to be as great as him, much less be greater.”

The Triple Fire Council

Chromus knew he had to fill in Rodimus’ place, so he decided to go to the council. He was given the King’s chestplate, crown and sword. He put them on with care, and swung Backbiter, the king’s shortsword. He quickly got a feel of how to fight with it.

After, and only after he got a feel for the sword, Chromus left for the meet. As he finally peeked around the corner of the room entrance, he saw many different creatures. The first leader his eyes fell upon was the End leader. His name, as he knew through many legends, was Lord Ender. On his back, noticed Chromus, was strapped a deadly-looking blade, about 3 to 4 feet long, with an obsidian blade and leather grip.

The next leader he saw was something like an enlarged and disfigured creeper: stereotypical head, four lanky legs and an unusually long neck. King Craydur of the creepers. He also saw an unusual ghast: King Strenanydas. He had a necklace that looked like ghast tentacles, and a scepter with a magical flame floating in the middle. It had an angry, bright-red look to it.

He saw many other leaders, but then, all of a sudden, the heavy doors blew open with a gust of hot, dry air. In walked a skeleton Chromus had never seen before, which was ironic because he had seen nearly every skeleton in existence. But never had he before beheld a mighty wither skeleton. He noticed his charcoal-black bones, cloak of flames, crown of thorns, and a chestplate with wither skull-shoulder pads. Reluctantly, he also noted the wicked-looking curved swords strapped to his back. Chromus’ blood chilled as the wither skeleton’s gaze fell upon him, “who is that? Where is Rodimus?”

Every set of eyes fell upon him, and they noticed his bone crown, his chestplate and sword. “Ah, uh. I am filling in for Rodimus for the moment.”

The wither king started at him, “he’s dead? So you killed him?”

Craydur butted in, “hey! I highly doubt that, Sssscythiuss. His eyesss are not one of a killer.”

The one who must be called Scythius growled, “I just had a grandson try to kill me a few weeks ago. Let’s just say he met a bitter end.”

Lord Ender slammed his fist upon the dark oak table, leaving it smoking with the end warrior’s touch, “enough! We’ve more important matter to discuss.”

Scythius glared at him, but said or did nothing, thankfully for everyone: it would’ve been a brutal fight. He slowly eased back into his seat at the long, dark oak table. But to Chromus’ dismay, he sat right next to him.

Ender folded his hands and said, “I have noticed a...strange pattern, lately. One of my advisors was found dead about three weeks ago. Then, your deputy, Scythius and now Rodimus. Every week, an important role is eliminated. I do believe, that someone, is here to wipe us out.”

Chromus just barely caught a look of knowing on Scythius’ face, but as he blinked, it disappeared. Chromus decided to have a word in the conversation, “uh, King Scythius? Do you, ah, know anything particular about this topic? I mean-” His voice failed him as he saw the look Scythius was giving him, “uh, I’ll just shut up now.”

But Scythius grunted, “you do have a point though. I may know something that might help with this. And Chromus, I suggest you don’t interrupt me, seeming as you have a way with words, as that is the only reason you’re alive right now.”

Strenanydas, the one who hadn’t spoken yet, said, “get on with it, mate!”Scythius just said, “The last time I met with the King of the Nether, he said these exact words, ‘everything is about to change.’” After that, I never saw him again, only messages requesting...peculiar things.”

Strenanydas pepped up, “indeed strange items. Such as the Star of the First Fire, the All-Seeing Eye and other random items just like that.”

As the other leaders argued and bickered over what this all could mean, Chromus just rested his head on his hands, he fell into a daze. He was slapped suddenly and realized they had been calling his name. “Huh? What? I’m here! What is it?”

Ender rolled his eyes, sighed, then continued, “do you...have anything else you want to share with the rest of us?”

Chromus racked his brain for anything that might be useful, but to no avail. “Uh, I don’t think so. Not anything that would be useful.”

Ender persisted, “are you sure? Any piece of of information that... is out of the ordinary?”

Again, Chromus tried to think of anything, but this time, one particular piece of information stuck with him. “Uh, maybe. I mean, this might be of any use but, I’ve felt a...a presence. I’ve felt something watching me, and I turn, and I think to myself, ‘I’m losing it.’ But then, I see a ripple in the air, and whatever it was is gone. Something, unearthly, is with us. I mean. It could be that I really was losing it-”

He was interrupted by Scythius, “nothing would surprise me anymore. If there is some sort of invisible being, we need to be even more alert, trust our instincts and never, ever, leave your people unguarded. Thank you, Chromus.”

Lord Ender changed the subject dramatically, “so, Chromus. I do believe that, you, are the rightful heir to the throne. It seems you truly do belong here. Just keep in mind, Rodimus made mistakes too. It’s who we are. No one can be perfect. And thank you for attending tonight. Dismissed!”

With that, the council was over. Around the room, Chromus saw several portals open. One more each domain. One to the Bonechiller Fortress and the Otherworld, one to the Nether, and the last to the End. Scythius did not move from his place, and he appeared to be in deep thought.

Chromus decided he’d pushed his luck by questioning him in the first place, so he just left him to think. But as he started walking towards the portal, he was caught off-guard, “Chromus, if there is anything you’d like to tell me, just do it. Don’t hold back. After all, none can anymore.” With that, Scythius heaved upwards and out of his seat, and through the nether portal.

Changes Come

Chromus woke up with a start. And he remembered Rodimus, the council and the fact he was now king. He also had new respect for the kings Scythius and Ender. They were both so powerful, and everything about them yelled ‘I am the boss here!’

He knew that, since he had no sons or nephews, he had to appoint a new deputy. He had many candidates. But only one suited the job.

After the ceremony, he and his new deputy walked side-by-side, “so, Skullius, how do you think you’re going to do this?”

“Bro, I’m never gunna get used to this. Besides, you kind of put me on the spot! I have no friggin idea how to do this!”

Chromus just laughed, “how do you think I feel? I’m the freaking king of all skeletons! You’re just like an advisor, no offense. You just have to assign patrol parties, sentry duties etc. So you have it somewhat easy. Speaking of which, I suggest you do that right now.”

“Right, my king. Heh.” and Skullius raced off to do just that.

A few hours went by, and then something out of the ordinary happened.

“King Chromus! We’ve a problem! We have a... hostage?” shouted a guard.

Chromus bolted to the courtyard, where skeletons were gathered around a central point. Chromus shouldered his way through and came to the clearing. There, was a creature on top of a rather unlucky skeleton, whose arms were held behind him in a chickenwing. The newcomer looked up, and grumbled sarcastically, “yeesh, seems like this day can’t get any better, can it? And, who are you? The leader? That’s cool, sorry I kinda interrupted your daily work or whatever, you can move along.”

Chromus muttered, “hostage, huh? Okay, look kid, you stumbled into the wrong place. Just let him go, and you might leave this place alive. I really don’t like senseless killing.”

The kid just smiled, “you’re unique, aren’t you? I’ve never met a skeleton who hasn’t wanted to kill me. I suppose I’ll let him go.” He released the skeleton’s arms and moved away from him.

“What is your name?” inquired Chromus, warily.

“Quicksilver. I guess I haven’t been here a long time, so you could say I’m a noob.” laughed Quicksilver.

Chromus suddenly felt a sharp pain in his spine. He turned, and saw a quiver sticking out from his spine. He let out a soundless curse, and fell onto the ground. Quicksilver abruptly scanned the horizon, and his gaze settled upon a lone skeleton with his bow drawn.

“I-I’m s-sorry, Chromus.” Something hardened in the skeleton’s eyes, and he notched another arrow. .

A single skeleton cried out, “Skullius? Why?”

Chromus groaned as he heard Skullius’ name called out.

Quicksilver then muttered something, “something’s off. I can feel it.”

The skeleton who cried out asked, “how do you know?”

Quicksilver glared at him, “I don’t know. D’you have any other explanation? I think not. Something’s corrupted that Skullius! We also need to get Chromus help, unless you want another king within the hour!”

Chromus was stood up and led towards Bonechiller Fortress, but he shoved them away and slowly began walking to Skullius, “this isn’t you, whatever is in you, get out of him!”

“Never! He knows too much for me to leave him. He knows you.” snarled the corrupter.

“Who are you?”

The corrupter made Skullius smile and said, “I go by many names. Some call me Darkheart. Others Shadow. But many call me Herobrine. I’ve corrupted this world and intend to overtake it! And I’ll have no competition!”

Just then, a gaping maw opened in the sky and the portal emptied its contents: Endermen.

They formed perfect ranks, eyes peircing. A thin magenta mist swirled around the Enders, but it did not appear to affect their vision. Then, in a cloud of bright white mist, Lord Ender appeared, his chestplate gleaming, and sword bristling. “I don’t know who you are, or what you’re here for, but I know you and your cause is bad if you’re trying to kill a fellow king! Don’t kill that skeleton, but just restrain him!” He raised his sword as a silent signal, and the tiny Enderman army surged forwards. Only, Herobrine wasn’t finished. He, too, summoned an small army of zombies from nothing, and he drew Skullius’ bow, and fired at an unsuspecting Lord Ender. But he caught the arrow an inch from his head, “Rude. That’s no way to treat any king.” He teleported to Herobrine, and it was over. He had his enderman warriors hold him, and Lord Ender readied his blade.

Chromus yelled, “No! Don’t do it. That’s my friend in there...” his voice died as he saw Ender raise his sword, and bring it down. A flash of light followed, and glared out the scene that followed, but when it cleared, Chromus saw Skullius’ limp body. “Noooooo!” Ender glared at him, as if he wanted to slash him up too. He probably did, in fact. “He’s not dead, nimrod! Only stunned: something left him when I struck, and I felt its presence disappear. Even though I severed it from him, it’ll be back, corrupting more creatures. I must say it would be bad if it corrupted me or Scythius. Even you. It would be best if we have a strong alliance.”

Chromus groaned, “but how did you do that? I mean, the ‘severing.’”

Ender sighed, “we Enders have discovered magic so strong that if everyone had it, it would become doomsday, easily. My sword, and mine alone, can sever a soul from its still-living body. It’s a very quick and painful process. Had we been wrong about that Herobrine scum, he would’ve died on the spot. He’ll be out of commision, however, for a good period of time. Sorry for any collateral damage we may have caused.” He then disappeared in a haze of white mist, and his warriors soon followed.

“Guy really needs to work on his good-bye’s” muttered Chromus, and he passed out.

Into Fire

After Chromus recovered, which didn’t take long, he was wanting to report to Scythius and the rest of the council, but he knew the policy, and it stated there could only be one meet per moon cycle. He was frustrated about that. But then he realized that it said nothing about meeting each leader in private. He smiled.

He climbed down the rope ladder that was barely intact and into the cellar. He felt around in the darkness until he found a torch, and he lit it with a bone lighter. He held it up, and peered into the gloom. There! A dark obsidian portal, whose gateway hadn’t been used in a millenia. A took his bone lighter and lit the gateway. A whooshing sound filled the room as the gateway opened up a portal. He ducked inside, and felt his body disintegrating into many ones and zeroes. He knew, that if someone were to close the gateway now, his essence would be scattered across the world. He felt someone else jump in too, but had no way of telling who. He materialized in a long, dark nether brick hallway. He held up the torch he still clutched, and found a wither guard in his face.

He grasped his sword’s hilt, but released it, “I wish to speak with Lord Scythius, in private.”

The guard saw his bone crown and his sword, Backbiter, and lastly, his grim face, “absolutely, sire. Right this way.”

As they turned, a thump resonated through the narrow hallway. Chromus glanced back, and saw Quicksilver. Quicksilver groaned sarcastically as he brushed himself off, “ow. I didn’t know nether brick could be so welcoming.”

The guard saw too and he hefted his poisoned iron sword, “who’s that?”

Chromus groaned, “one of mine. Looks like he invited himself to the party. Quicksilver! Why’d you follow me?”

Quicksilver snorted, “I thought kings needed bodyguards, don’t they?”

Chromus growled, “not this one. Get back in there.”

“No. Not unless you’re coming.”

Chromus debated on sticking his sword down Quicksilver’s throat, but reasoned that it wouldn’t help his reputation as new leader, “fine. Just don’t say or do anything stupid.”“Oh, I invented stupid!” smirked Quicksilver.

They walked into a giant hall, decorated with mosaics and armour displays, but every piece of armor had seen battle, as though they were trophies from previous wars. Chromus peered into the smoky air, and through it, he thought he saw a figure sparring with something, or someone, else. Swords clashed and sent sparks flying, and grunts could be heard. But they stopped suddenly, and Chromus felt eyes fall on him. He knew of only one person’s gaze that made him feel like that. “Lord Scythius. I wish to talk...in private with you.” Chromus glared at Quicksilver standing in the shadows; a silent warning to get lost. He only smiled and shook his head. Chromus let out a groan, and started towards Scythius, and he whispered to the guard, “don’t let my subject get hurt or hurt something. He tends to be disobedient, so might have to tie him up somewhere.” The guard snickered and nodded, and grabbed Quicksilver and dragged him back down the hall. And Quicksilver, all the way he was wriggling around, attempting escape.

Chromus ducked into a smaller room with a long, dark obsidian table, and nether brick seats set around it. Scythius eased into the seat at the head to the table, and Chromus the other. “What do you need, Chromus? Why did you come on such short notice?”

Chromus spoke calmly, “because it is an urgent matter. Something just recently corrupted my deputy, and attempted to destroy me.” He turned so his spine, and the ghastly fracture, was showing to Scythius, “I just recieved this from my recent battle with someone who called himself Herobrine, only, he wasn’t much of a hero.”

Scythius listened to every detail intently, as though the thoughts could earn him immortality, “I see. But what makes you think something corrupted your deputy. Who says that he wasn’t really your ally, more of your enemy?”

“He’s been my friend ever since we saw each other. And that was when I was just fletched. I know him, and that wasn’t him.”

Scythius did not appear to be convinced, but said nothing more.

“Herobrine also mentioned the control of our realms, and the slaughter of the kings. Does this concern you?”

Scythius smirked, “does lava burn you to a crisp? Yes, of course! I can’t have my fellow kings be slaughtered without a fight. I will give my last breath for you, Chromus, as you’re the grandson of Rodimus. I will not hesitate to make the call no one wants to make.”

Chromus was dumbfounded, “what? For me? I’m not even a proper king!”

Scythius stood up and yelled, his voice cracking, “you’re as proper as they get! You came to me, and not many even dare to come here to this hellhole!” He sat down, and his voice evened. “We need you to be a king at this time. You may change everything we know to this day.”

Chromus whimpered silently, “sire, know I am not a great king-”

SLAM! The guard’s voice sounded out clear, but strained, “King Chromus, I couldn’t. I’m sorry, sire. OH! Lord Scythius... ah, maybe he can explain.” the guard nodded at Chromus, and whisked out of the room.

Chromus did just that, “SILVER! Get OUT of this room or I will shove my sword down your throat and make you eat it!”

Quicksilver yelped, but did not leave.

Chromus began to get up, but Scythius, surprisingly, held him back, “sir, who is that? Do you know him?”

Chromus wanted to shout ‘no! That nimrod is my slave!’, but decided against it, so he just clenched his jaw, and snarled through gritted teeth, “that, sire, is my nimrod ‘bodyguard.’”

Scythius just laughed, a sound Chromus thought he’d never hear, “seems over enthusiastic, doesn’t he?”

Scythius looked up saw Chromus dragging a bound Quicksilver to a corner. When Chromus was done, he was smiling like nothing had happened, “all done. We good now?”

Scythius just nodded, and Chromus sat down, grumbling about his ‘bodyguard.’

But as Chromus sat down, chains wrapped around his wrists, and he gasped, “what?! Why?”

Scythius just stood up, and walked to Quicksilver, unbound him, and led him back to a chair, where he sat down, and chains wrapped around his wrists, but Chromus’ disappeared, “state-of-the-art security. Sorry about that, I just didn’t want you to throttle him while I was doing that.”

Chromus laughed a screechy laugh, but Quicksilver did not get the joke, “who are you? Why did you free me, then strap me to this chair?” questioned Quicksilver.

Scythius leaned down, so his eyes were level with Quicksilver’s, “young man, I do not wish to shed blood right now, but you’ve intruded on a private meeting, between me, and Chromus. As to answer your question, I am Lord Scythius of the wither skeletons.”

Some of Quicksilver’s snarkiness disappeared as he heard Scythius speak, but he still had a defiant look in his eyes. “Oh, nice to meet you Scythius. Scary name by the way, I like it. My name’s Quicksilver. How’s your day goin’? Mine sucks so far.”

Scythius blinked, unamused.

Chromus whispered something to Scythius, and he nodded, “Quicksilver, your king has decided he is to go back to his realm, and we are to finish this discussion later, without you.” With that, Scythius handed something wrapped in cloth to Chromus, who looked puzzled, as though he did not know what was inside of the cloth, but he nodded and started towards the huge oak wood door, “we’re going, Quicksilver. I am sorry for the inconvenience you had to face.”

Quicksilver shrugged sheepishly, “I guess I kinda deserved it: I mean, I didn’t even know there were other kings, well, before now, so yeah.”

Rolling his eyes, Chromus dragged him back into the portal.

Words by Night...and War by Morning

It was a scrying bowl. As Chromus took it out of the pouch gently, he realized it was a scrying bowl. He ordered for some murky water to be placed in the bowl. As the water cleared, he saw a familiar face: Scythius.

He woke with a start. He glanced around the dark room, and saw hordes of zombie pigmen. He reached for his sword, and found it wasn’t there. He also found that his hands were tied behind his back. Then it came back to him: the night before. He was Scrying with Scythius, then Scythius’ image had blurred and he had heard a few garbled words, then something had hit him hard on this spinal fracture, the pain making him black out.

He heard an eerie chortle fill the dark room. It was coming from the corner of the room. It cut off with a gasp. Then a voice followed, “Chromus. I-I can’t hold him back. Careful, he-he’s back! He’s going to-” Quicksilver.

Chromus groaned, and he then felt a newfound energy insert in him. But with it, a cold feeling seeped into him. Then his limbs felt disconnected from his nervous system. He realized that his eyes had looked at Quicksilver, who was now being held down by several pigmen. Then, his voice, not his own, sounded out, “aha! This one feels a little different, but I can get used to it.” His worst fears had been confirmed; Herobrine had indeed returned, and corrupted him. Chromus fought back against the dark tendrils of Herobrine’s power, and won, but only for a split second, “Ender! Lord Ender! And Scythius. Can’t- urg. I’m sorry Quicksilver.” The tendrils were strong, stronger than Chromus had first thought, and they pushed down Cromus’ conscience.

Luckily, Quicksilver got the idea, and thrust a hand out of the dogpile, and threw an Ender Pearl. He disappeared and reappeared by the wall where it had landed, “I’ll come back, Chromus, I promise! Besides, I’m your bodyguard.” He smiled one of his sheepish smiles, and ran down the corridor. Chromus sighed internally with relief: he would soon be free. He noticed a second presence, and that he could sense his thoughts and feelings. He felt, ‘the power...oh the power this form has. Oh, he doesn’t know about it yet. This changes many things. Ender? Oh, I left that Skullius form just before the blade struck me, but unfortunately, it did not sever his soul. Hrm. I will merely do the same with this one. Yes...I see it all now...’ Shocked, Chromus withdrew from Herobrine’s thoughts. He had to break free, or his soul would be severed from his own body!

Many is One, and One is Many

Panting, Quicksilver reached Bonechiller Fortress. Many confused faces looked at him, but a few were suspicious, including Skullius’. ‘Wait, Skullius? He recovered that quickly? Wow. But I must tell them!’ “Everyone! I swear on my miserable life I did not kill Chromus. In fact, I carry news of him. He is alive, but-”

“He’s been possessed, hasn’t he? I know what that’s like.” It was Skullius, the deputy and friend of Chromus.

“Sir, I know you highly suspect me of killing him, but I did not. There are just some things that can’t be understood unless you’re there. I need to find Lord Ender, whoever that is, for some reason. And Scythius. I know who that is though...”

Skullius folded his arms, cocked his head snarkily and said, “I know Ender, everyone does, and he can help. And Scythius, I have no idea why he would wish for Scythius, but maybe he has his reasons.

Skullius nodded grimly, “I wasn’t...conscious, when it happened, but I know that Scythius and Chromus forged a bond like no one else had with the Wither king. I also hear he has allied and befriended the End warrior, Lord Ender. These are good, strong allies to have at this time. It is a time of war. And we must be willing to make the call no one else is willing to make.”

Quicksilver, with eyes far off, suddenly snapped to attention. He heard a voice, but not his own. He heard someone speaking, but no mouths moving, ‘I can’t do the entire plan just yet. I still have to make some time for Chromus to get out of there. I hope that Ender doesn’t cut wrong and severs Chromus’ soul instead of Herobrine’s.’

Quicksilver said, “yeah. I’m pretty sure it would be uncomfortable.” Everyone looked at him like he had grown a second head, in which case it would’ve been lopped off. “What? What'd I do?”

Skullius crept up behind him and spoke softly, “I do hope that the severing goes well, but I never said anything out loud, Quicksilver.”

Quicksilver looked behind him, and around him, but saw no one else, “aw man. I think I’m losing it. I’m hearing voices now. Ugh, maybe it’s Herobrine speaking in my head. I don’t know!” He threw up his hands in despair, wondering if he had really heard someone out loud say that, or just was losing it.

But then he heard Skullius say, ‘man, this guy is starting to freak me out. I do hope he’s just guessing my thoughts and replying out loud.’

“Hey! I don’t like being the one who is freaked out, or the one freaking out other peeps, either, and I’m not trying to! Besides, I can’t read other’s thoughts!”

Skullius knocked Quicksilver to the ground, and leaned over him, “who are you?”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Quicksilver, nice day isn’t it?”

Skullius shoved Quicksilver into an upright position, “after this, you’re coming with me, no questions asked, period.” He turned and continued the meeting, while Quicksilver brushed himself off, slightly livid with himself...and Skullius.

Boom! The doors slammed shut, and Skullius demanded, “how did you know? You couldn’t just have guessed my thoughts. Who are you?” His thoughts continued as loud as his speech, ‘alright, here, guess my thoughts: I dare you to.’

Quicksilver opened his mouth in a silent remark, but promptly closed it, then spoke, “I-I can’t say I can guess your thoughts. For one: I have no idea how and if I’m doing it. Secondly: I can’t tell if you’re speaking out loud or what, right now.”

“Then you admit it: you can.” His outer voice synched with his inner voice, ‘GET OUT!!! OUT OUT OUT OUT!’

For Quicksilver, it was like receiving a bomb blast when you’re two feet from it, “ah, owwww. Don’t do that! That hurts. I don’t know why it hurts but-”

Skullius summed up the situation simply, “you’re a very unique person. Where do you come from?”

Quicksilver lowered his head, “I don’t know. I remember getting to this word of living skeletons and undead creatures, but everything before is blurry, as if I’m looking through a fogged up window.”

Skullius shook his head, “we’ll deal with that feature later, but right now we need to contact Ender and Scythius.”

He turned and pulled out a pouch with a small bowl in it, inscribed with ancient runes. He filled it with a murky water, and then the water cleared, but when it did, there were striking magenta eyes staring right back at him. The eyes of Ender, “what do you want Chro- Skullius? You’re-”

Skullius had on a slightly annoyed look, “awake? Yeah, now anyways...”

Ender spoke with a calm like nothing was wrong, “Chromus is captured and has been corrupted, forced to do Herobrine’s will. Also, the Nether King, as I have recently discovered, has been placed under Herobrine’s control. He is now more dangerous than ever, but that is the least of our worries. I could be one of your biggest threats if he does figure out what I am capable of. I will come as quickly as possible-

“And I am right here now.”

Skullius whirled and drew his chain-link style sword, “wha- Oh right. You can. Yeah okay. Sorry.” embarrassed, Skullius sheathed his sword while Lord Ender watched with cold amusement.

“Lead me to the fortress, Quicksilver, with the help of Scythius, too, and I will attempt to revive your friend to his former self.” murmured Ender.

Quicksilver looked up, startled, “uh...”

Skullius shrugged, “he will, since his life is practically on the line, I’m sure he’ll cooperate.” He glared at Quicksilver, who took a sudden interest in his boots.

Ender nodded, and gave Quicksilver a silent message, who then nodded in response, understanding perfectly, though he did not understand how.

“Sir, does it matter to you that I could perfectly understand your mental message?” inquired Quicksilver.

Ender sighed, “I knew that you had that ability, so that’s why I thought it. And besides, I’ve dealt with a psychic creature before.”

Something told Quicksilver that Lord Ender was not telling him everything, but did not press for further details, simply because he was dealing with powers that even he could not behold. “Alright, sorry. I guess I’ll get you to the fortress.”

Ender snorted, “not just me, you nimrod.”

Quicksilver stopped, and turned, surprised, “w-what do you mean?”

The doors blew open with a gust of air that smelled like smoke, and in walked a skeleton, charred and with a cloak of flames, “I got Ender’s message. I feared this would happen.” He glared at Quicksilver, “this the pipsqueak who’s guiding us?”

Quicksilver tried for a nervous smile, “heh, does it look like I gotta choice?”

Ender mused, “No, I guess you really don’t. Now let’s go before Herobrine assumes full control of Chromus.”

Storming in During the Perfect Storm

Halfway through their journey, the elements turned against them. Howling winds blew them back, lightning flashed, and to Ender’s dismay, rain fell in buckets.

“Was this a good idea? No. Was it freaking necessary? Yes, I suppose, and I hope it is.” growled Ender. His scaly skin hissed and steamed wherever the droplets of water made contact.

Scythius grunted. His fire cloak was not extinguished, but it seemed less intense than normal.

Quicksilver just strolled through it all, whistling a happy tune. But his tune silenced as a bolt struck the ground just meters from his feet. He let out a small whimper, but showed no other signs of being surprised.

More lightning flashed, more claps of thunder sounded out, loud and clear. Through the sheets of rain, they made out a structure, about 30 blocks tall, and one hundred wide, made of stone, nether brick and other hardened material. They noticed that wooden planks had been nailed onto the walls, crudely covering gaps. Pulling out an obsidian-crusted sword, Quicksilver cut through the boards as though they were water. “After you,” he politely gestured towards the hole.

As he looked to where the two leaders stood, he quickly realized they had other ideas, for they weren’t there. Quicksilver looked behind, and saw Lord Ender through the gap, waiting, and the flimsy oak door had been flattened, probably by Scythius. He sighed and crawled through the gap.

They rounded the corner of the hallway, and there stood two skeleton guards who wore iron helmets and bows drawn. Ender slipped his longsword from the straps, and Scythius took his two short swords and twirled them in a display of skill and control, “I’ll give you two options, you can fight, or you can simply allow us to cross.”

The skeletons looked at each other, scared out their minds clearly, and nodded, “I think we’ll pass on the fighting option. Here.” The one who spoke took a shaking hand and fit a rusty key into a lock encrusted with dirt. He gestured to the trio to move along. As the leaders did, they felt something pin them to the walls by their rib bones. They saw arrows lodged through the gaps and embedded in the stone. They looked and saw Quicksilver, with his power V bow aimed at them, but the arrows that would’ve been notched there were now embedded in the wall, “apologies, but I am merely making sure that you don’t cheat on your agreement. I’m sure that after Chromus has heard of you, you shall take a place that is not in a place like this prison. I’ll be sure of it.”

The skeletons just shuddered, but they remained quiet, for anyone who was able to put an arrow between their rib bones, was a master archer.

The already dark hallway gave way into pitch black darkness, of course, Scythius’ cloak kept it lit fairly well. Drawing their blades, the trio faced a lone skeleton: Chromus. An appalled look on his face he croaked, “get out of here! I can’t-no. Go, go GO! I can’t hold him...” Something in his gaze changed, and he smiled a devilish smile, “he warned you: turn back. Sadly, you don’t appear to be ready to. I will fix that.” Drawing the carved-bone blade from its sheath, Chromus leveled it at their heads.

Scythius went first. As Quicksilver watched, he then realized just how deadly the old skeleton could be. Scythius slowly pushed forward with his twin poisoned blades spinning in a whirlwind of death. Behind the back parry, X slice and a bunch of other moves Quicksilver did not recognize. Finally, when Herobrine was able to get in a blow, he hit hard. It sent Scythius skidding backwards, wincing. Herobrine smirked, “getting slow, old man. It’s time for you to retire.”

Scythius let out a huge guffaw, “you’re joking. We either fight to the death, or we win. You, you’re a pathetic excuse for a virus corrupter! You think you’re all high and mighty because you can get into other people? Fine. You’re also limited to what Chromus can do.”

This time, it was Herobrine’s turn, “HAH! Even you don’t know the full extent of his power. How curious.” He grimaced as if something had smacked him, which someone might have, because Quicksilver was missing. And Scythius dared to hope that Chromus was fighting with all of his willpower.

Then it was Quicksilver’s turn. He was but a blur of black-and-silver as he slashed again and again on Herobrine. But Herobrine was impossibly fast. He dodged some of the blows, and parried another chunk of them. Blade flashing, eyes glowing, Herobrine struck again and again, until finally he feinted around to Quicksilver’s side...and sliced him open.

A fountain of blood spurted from his side. He felt no pain. Shock overwhelmed it. Falling to his knees, he collapsed. Herobrine raised Backbiter in means to kill him, but an arrow whistled through the air-and found a home in Herobrine’s stomach. He let out an animal-like howl of agony. Then he stopped suddenly, as Lord Ender clutched him by Chromus’ harness, and stared into his eyes. Then, in a blur of movement, the two went smashing through the ceiling, up, up up into the night sky.

Lighting flashing, rain pouring, Ender ignored it all and flung up Herobrine. He dash-slashed several times and then finished with a quick blow to send him flying towards the ground. Herobrine broke a new hole in the ceiling of the fortress, groaning. Ender landed with a thud, taking no damage. “I’m sorry, my friend.” He raised his sword, and the rest of the scene was shielded from view by Ender’s body. When he stepped away, Chromus laid still, his body battered and weak. Then, a greenish light flowed from his mouth. The green smoke took a somewhat human form. Its eyes snapped open, two bright suns, carrying every ounce of hatred. Then, they seemed to implode, and they were gone, as with the eerie vapor.

Scythius struggled to his feet, while Ender just slung Quicksilver over his back like a sack of potatoes. “Come now, Lord Scythius. While we End Warriors may be one of the most deadly of races, we can also be the most skillful in the art of healing.” Ender held up his hand, and a gaping maw opened up, a portal to the End. Motioning with his head, Ender beckoned to Scythius.

Scythius held Chromus in his arms, and passed through the portal. As he stepped out, he met a barren landscape, quite like home, except without the multi-million amount of fire and seas of lava. It instead heralded giant obsidian pillars, topped with crystals that glowed dimly in the Void air. The realm was but a series of many islands, with no bridges or roads connecting them. Coral-like plants sprouted from the pale yellow cobbled stone. In the distance, they could see a city of magenta, standing tall and strong. An End City. As they approached, they noticed that the End Warriors took an interest in them, watching cautiously, but as they saw intruders, their gazes hardened, and they felt for their blades. Ender noticed this, and he called out his signal to stand down. Everyone of them listened. Everyone except his deputy.

Erus teleported to Scythius and held a longer dagger at his throat. Heat radiated from his cloak of flames, and the glare Scythius gave Erus. This deterred him, but did not send him running for the hills. “Who are these strangers? What have you brought to us now?”

“Silence, Erus. You are not in command. And unless you stand down, I will be sure you never are!”

Clearly, Erus did not like this, but he did not argue. Instead, he settled for mumbling something inaudible.

“Get the healer. Now. Do not argue with me,” growled a furious Ender.

Rolling his eyes, Erus did as he was told, but with a lot of grumbling.

Soon They were in the hospitality of a rather short End Healer, being only two blocks tall. She whisked around the room, pouring liquids, checking many dials and thermostats at once. Finally, she was done with the mixture. She held up a vial gingerly in one hand, and another vial in the other. She said, “feed this to Chromus,” she held up one bottle, and then held up the other, “this one for...who is that?”

Ender replied, with no emotion in his voice, “Quicksilver, or so he tells me.”

The female End Healer nodded, “give this vial to Quicksilver. I’ve patched him up as well as I can, but he’s not an End Warrior, so I don’t know what works with him.”

Ender just solemnly nodded, “as do I. You did your best. You may stay, or you may leave.”

The she-End healer murmured, “I think it’d be best I stay, as to watch over our clients.”

After a few days of waiting, Scythius was the first to notice any sign of the ointments working. A groan alerted Scythius that someone was awake. He briskly turned, but it was Quicksilver who was awake, “oh. You’re awake.”

Quicksilver gave him a look, “you sound as though I should be dead, and you’d hoped I was dead. Gee, thanks. I only led a near-suicidal fight on Ch-Herobrine. I only saved you from being mauled.”

Now now, had Quicksilver not been in so fragile a condition, Scythius would’ve ripped out his internal organs and made them outer organs. He simply did not like something weaker than him snobbing over saving him. But he only growled, “watch your tongue, young sir, or I will rip it out.”

Valuing his tongue, Quicksilver muttered, “fine. You know, you’re not really that fun to be around.”

Scythius grunted, slightly amused.

Then, Lord Ender strolled in. “Are you gentlemen having a nice chat? Good. Coming around fine? Very good.” Ender went on like this for some time, answering his own questions asked. Finally, he came out of his daze and said, “oh dear, I’ve been rambling again haven’t I?”

By that time, Chromus shuffled in his cot, “ow. Everything hurts-” His voice died, but when he spoke again, it was deadly calm, “I am...in control? B-but how?” He sat up, to his amazement, by himself. He saw Scythius and Ender staring, and Quicksilver grinning like an idiot.

Scythius nodded respectfully, “awake at last. I was beginning to think you’d never wake.”

Chromus managed a weak smile, “aw come now, when have I ever disappointed?”

Quicksilver pointed out helpfully, “well, there was that one time-”

“Shut it.”

“C’mon. Really? You asked...” His voice died as he saw the looks. “Fine.”

Chromus zoned out as the two bickered, but a thought surfaced in his mind, seemingly random, nevertheless, he voiced his concerns, “Scythius. Do- do you happen to own a Nether Star?”

Scythius looked appalled, and he felt around his throat, then in his wither shoulder pads, “y-yes. I do. Or at least I did. But. But it’s gone!”

Chromus snapped his bony fingers, “that’s it! Do you remember the Triple Fire Council?”

Scythius understood nearly immediately, “though it sees like ages ago, yes, I do recall the strange requests such as the-” He understood further, and the possibilities scared him, “do you think it was Herobrine looking for those things?”

Chromus nodded grimly, “yes. Inevitably. I know his thoughts. He is searching for those items to...to resurrect himself.” He left out the part that Herobrine had revealed the fact he had greater power than ever imaginable, however.

“I feared that much. Therefore, I now understand why the Nether King requested the items he did.”

“Did you only get the two requests?” inquired Chromus.

Scythius snorted, “yup. Only two items: The Star of the First Fire and the All-Seeing Eye.”

Chromus racked his brain for what could be the all-seeing eye, but only one answer popped into mind, “could it be the Eye of the End?”

Ender nodded, “it is. I know only one that is powerful enough for his cause, though there are many. And I know exactly where it is.”

Everyone remained quiet. They didn’t need to share that fact, that, if Herobrine corrupted Ender, it’d be all over, for only Ender knew of its location.

****

So it Starts Here

Ender had ducked out of the room, feeling slightly awkward having intruding on the conversation between Scythius, Chromus and Quicksilver, so he had claimed to be going out to organize patrols: while in reality he was doing the patrol himself. He strolled into the Chorus Plant fields, peeking around each one cautiously. He was aware of someone watching him, but from what direction? He drew his longsword, and leveled it even with the ground above his head, his stance for preparing to fight. A cold like no other seeped into him, burning like fire, causing him to cry out. The shrill sound rang out among the fields, then was silent.

Clank. Shiff. Clank. Shiff. Chromus leaned against his sword, half-hopping on one uninjured foot, struggling to find balance. “Where is he? Does it seriously take this long to complete a patrol organization?”

Scythius grunted, “well, he could’ve gone on a patrol himself.”

Chromus winced, then spoke solemnly, “something could’ve happened. What if-”

Scythius laughed, “HA! Do you really think that the Lord of the End Warriors was taken down by a mob of monsters magically teleported here?”

Chromus fretted some more, “well, what if it wasn’t monsters?”

Scythius grew silent. He understood what Chromus was saying. He didn’t need more details to know what might have happened. But then their fears were eased when Ender came stumbling onto the balcony, hand on his temple.

Chromus startled, “Ender? What is it?” The unspoken question was clear: where is Herobrine?

Ender looked miserable, “ouch. This headache came so fast, I had to come back here before completing the patrol myself.” He frowned before continuing, “I don’t feel any other presences, though, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Quicksilver, still in the doorway to the balcony, put on a grim face, but remained silent.

Scythius set a charred, bony hand on Ender’s shoulder, “my old friend, we should sit down and-”

“NO! I mean, no. I apologize, this headache is driving me crazy. I think I should go to my chamber, to relax. All this talk of war and sacrifice is stressing.” He tottered back into the large obsidian pillar that constructed the watchtower, a doorway appearing just as he touched the wall.

Quicksilver looked concerned, “we should come with you.”

Ender looked over his shoulder, “no. I’ll be fine. I just need time to think.”

As Ender continued to walk through the doorway, Quicksilver pulled his friends aside, “he’s not himself and his claims are false. I don’t know how I know, but I know something is off. From my perception, Ender is the guy who will make the calls no one else wants to. He’s the guy you can depend on, not the guy who runs and complains about a fight. I know that for a fact.”

Scythius closed his eyes, as though by doing so, he’d whisk away all of their problems. Chromus’ sword dug deeper into the stone floor, showing that Chromus was either in greater pain, or he was just furious. Maybe both.

Chromus swore under his breath, “so it’s over. We’re done! Herobrine has all of the components he needs. He’s won, and we’ve failed.”

The two kings and one user cut their way through the door that refused to open. They burst in, and found the room filled to the brim with fog. It cleared almost as soon as it made contact with the outside air. Bent over a table with a large map of the End. Black mini-pillars stood 3-D against the flat map. Bent over the map table was Ender, grumbling about different situations.

“Hey, Ender! C’mere.” Quicksilver shouted.

Ender looked cross as he turned and focused his gaze on Quicksilver.

Chromus stood a little taller as he prepared to ask Ender the first question, “who’s your deputy?”

“Is this some sort of joke?” demanded Ender.

Scythius scowled, “answer it.”

“Fine, Erus.”

Scythius asked the next, “who’s the Nether King?”

“Rotuku.” replied Ender all too confidently.

Quicksilver smiled, as he knew that the last question would surely stump him, “who is the one closest to your heart?”

Ender struggled inside his own conscience. Then, he heard the one question that struck him. He knew they were testing for Herobrine, and he knew that Herobrine was using his memory like a flipchart, sifting through it for the information he needed. But there was one he would protect with his life. He felt Herobrine’s essence try to pry him from that one piece of information, but he held fast as Herobrine tried to find the weak spot, only, there was no weak spot. Ender, like he knew, he’d protect this secret with his life. A few seconds later, Herobrine withdrew.

Ender replied, “my mind’s blanking. Sorry, must be the stress.”

Quicksilver smirked, “that’s proof enough!”

“Of what?”

Chromus smiled with triumph, “you, are not Lord Ender!”

Ender’s face twisted with anger, and he snapped his black fingers. From the shadows materialized three squads of zombies, who held back the two leaders and user. Soon, their hands were tied behind their backs and they looked on with remorseful hatred at Ender.

“You were correct! I have corrupted Ender and now I have the All-Seeing Eye! You cannot hope to win now.” screamed Herobrine. He side-stepped over to the corner of the room and tore the carpet from its place on the floor, revealing a transmutation circle. Herobrine chanted a few lines from a spell and soon, a magenta aura surrounded Ender and he screamed in agony. The light became so intense, Scythius, Chromus and Quicksilver had to look away. When the light faded, Ender was propped up against the map table, silent and limp. Smoke curled from a second form, but only its silhouette could be seen. It turned towards the group. Its eyes flared a brilliant white, then the form disappeared, the last thing to dissolve were his eyes, two miniature suns fading into nonexistence.

Chromus shouted, “Ender! Lord Ender? Are you okay?”

He heard a groan from Ender and he shifted uncomfortably, “guys. I can’t. I’m so sorry...” A dark blue liquid flowed from the left side of his head, probably blood. He kept one eye closed, and the other was dim, very dim. Had Ender jarred his head on the corner of the table? It was likely. Ender blinked his one good eye, “gah! I can’t... I can’t feel the left side of my face.”

Edith, the End Healer burst into the room, probably wondering about the smoke. She gasped as she took in the sight, “what happened? Is everyone okay?”

Quicksilver grumbled, “Herobrine happened, and no, everyone is not okay. Mr. Ender over there need some help, and it might behoove us if you let us go from these ropes.”

Edith nodded, “of course.” She drew an iron knife from her medical kit and cut the bindings, then hurried over to Ender and examined him. She let out a small whimper, “oh dear. This isn’t good, not at all.”

Chromus limped over to Edith and Ender, “what’s wrong? Is he- Wait, I know he’s conscience, that’s good right? Right?!”

Edith mused, “well yes. If he’s alive, brilliant. That’ll make it easier to heal him. Open the door to the emergency room, I need to get him lying down as soon as possible.”

A few hours later, Edith reported to the trio that Ender had requested their audience. They immediately said yes, since if he had requested something, he was awake.

As they stumbled into the room, they looked for Ender. He was laid out on a cot, and one half of his face was wrapped in bandages and they were soaked with dried blood. “Ah, there you are. I was wondering if you’d believe I’m already awake. Heh.”

Scythius jostled him by the shoulder, “what happened to you? You like you just thrown into the dirt, trampled by hordes of zombies and tossed into the Nether for disposal.”

Ender smiled weakly, “do you really want to know? I’ve been through hell and back it seems. My mind’s been tampered with and now I know you can’t trust me. I can’t just say ‘I’ve had worse.’”

Chromus folded his arms, “aw come on! You saying that I can’t be trusted too? Remember, I was corrupted too.”

Ender let a weak laugh escape, “you’re annoying, and hilarious. You know that right? Edith?”

Edith peeped in the room, “yes, milord?”

“May I-”

Edith pouted, “I spent a lot of time on that, but fine. If you feel you must and you can.”

Ender nodded, and removed the bandages. Beneath them, was his skin, coated in a fine layer of dried blood. And one eye blinked as he clear it of the dust that settled on it. The other, well, there was no other. Where his eye should’ve been, was a ghastly wound that sealed it shut. “Satisfied?”

Everyone gasped, but Edith remained silent, for she was the first to see this horrible wound. Ender solemnly said, “the All-seeing Eye, was mine. He took it. Now, thanks to me, he’s risen.”

Last Stand for the End

Quickly, every leader, even the Otherworld leaders, realized how serious the situation was. Herobrine was gathering the largest known zombie army ever known, and some claimed he had even enslaved the Dragon King to do his bidding, but everyone knew the dragon had made his own choice.

Sounds of preparation could be heard in every camp: hammers forging weapons; sword clashing as warriors touched up on their fighting skills. The battle for all of their world was going to be fought before the end of the new moon.

Chromus walked through rows of skeletons back at his fortress, correcting positions for the final battle.

Meanwhile, Scythius showed his subjects the best way to decapitate someone, and in the End Ender shouted commands from the battlements, examining the ranks for error, but there was none.

Strenanydis peered into his scrying bowl, examining the will-be battlefield. He thought aloud to himself, “why fight a battle I can’t hope to win. The dragon is under Herobrine’s control, either that or he’s made the choice himself. I see the Lord Ender himself, who is fighting against his master. Hah! A good warrior knows when to fight, when to talk and when to retreat. And it’s time to retreat.”

A mass gateway opened, and through it millions of soldiers, ready to fight for their future. Every race, it seemed, was somehow involved with the war. Skeleton’s bones clattered while they saluted their King, Chromus. Endermen formed perfect ranks behind Lord Ender. Wither skeletons pounded on their chest plates and twirled their weapons whenever they got bored, but somehow managed not to chop of their neighbor’s head while doing so. Creeper hissed, every last one of them, creating a sound like a twister tearing through a cornfield. Spiders clicked their mandibles, eager to rip into zombie flesh.

Scythius noticed the absence of Strenanydis, and it infuriated him: the fate of all their world teetered on an arrow shaft, and if you made one wrong move, you’d fall right off of it. Everyone needed to be here, not hiding in the Nether and hoping Herobrine wouldn’t find your fortress.

Another swirling portal opened at the opposite end of the End island. Out walked huge masses of zombies, crudely forming rows and rows of claws and shovels. Snarls could be heard across the End. On their flanks were zombie pigmen, brandishing golden swords at the ready. Sure, they weren’t organized as the End Warriors, but their sheer numbers were enough to take down even the most organized army.

Then, in a cloud of smoke appeared a figure with bright white eyes. Again, only a silhouette could be seen, but everyone could see him use the command to attack. The huge army surged forwards.

Ender, the main leader of the attack, held up his hand, “wait for it!” The opposing army continued to surge forwards. Every warrior readied their weapons. “Wait for it...” A few of the warriors became uneasy, but refused to break ranks. When the opposing army was but a few yard away, Ender’s eye flared bright, rivaling the Ender Dragon’s eyes, “now! Formation Eris flarus!” With that, at least half of his army disappeared, and then flanked the zombie army, digging in to cut them off, to isolate them for easy pickings. Sure, enough, the zombies depended on having their other legions by them for protection, because they panicked and were defeated easily.

Skeletons performed a routine even the novices learned, jumping over one line while they reloaded their bows, shot their own, and repeated, slowly advancing. Wither skellies took the brunt of the damage while dealing a whole lot more. Creepers led kamikaze missions, plunging deep into enemy territory, taking a few hits and promptly exploding, dealing many casualties for the other army. Spider lunged from above and bit into the zombies, some injecting poisons and others entangling unlucky victims in webs.

It didn’t take long for the opposing army’s commander to see how this would go. He growled to himself, “since these idiots don’t know how to do anything properly, I’ll just do it myself!” He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Chromus was more than busy. He was nearly overwhelmed, but seemed to be keeping his cool under a mob of zombies. Chromus blocked blow after blow, twisting and turning to dodge swings, then finally using a counter of his own. In this style, he cleared the area around him. Panting, he snarked, “yeah, okay. Who’s next?” he spun and his sword clanged against another. Looking down the opposing blade, he saw someone clothed in a tattered top, worn pants and wristguards. On top of it all, he had brilliant white eyes, like miniature suns, bright and filled with hatred. “Give up. You cannot begin to hope to win. The odds are impossible!” howled the armed figure.

Chromus laughed, “Herobrine, oh are you so wrong. I make everything possible, don’t I? So I can defeat you.” He let out a war cry and charged him. When their battle heated, Chromus felt another presence fighting with him. He needed not to even look at him when their moves fell into a rhythm, a sequence without flaw. They matched blow for blow perfectly, for this was the one Chromus had trained all his life with: Skullius.

Together, they drove their adversary to very edge of the Island. Herobrine knew he didn’t have much of a choice. Sure, it was risky, but he could do it. Smiling, he stepped off the cliff, and fell into darkness.

Skullius, in disbelief, stammered, “is- is it done? Have we-” But he suddenly stopped.

Chromus turned, “what’s wrong...” His voice died as he saw it. His shattered chainmail, and the dagger sticking through, puncturing it from the other side. He saw Skullius collapse and lie motionless. When he saw the assassin behind him, Chromus lost it.

Not even bothering to swing his sword, Chromus called upon every last ounce of hatred, fear and rage into one bony fist, and slammed it into Herobrine’s stomach. Later he would recall it was wreathed in lightning and white-hot flames. In half a second, Herobrine was on the opposite side of the island.

The war momentarily halted. Every warrior and every monster looked down the ditch that had been carved from the launching force, and to its source. There, stood Chromus, smoke curling from his bones and electricity sparking up and down his spine. A voice blasted through everyone’s mind, “eliminate them!”

That pretty much ended the threat of the opposing army. Since beholding the new-found power that Chromus owned, none wanted to be on the receiving end, so they turned and fled as far from the warriors as possible.

Herobrine lie still for a few seconds, but he looked up, his eyes flaring up to their full brightness. He stood up, braced against the pile of debris, and launched with full power like a cannonball. When Herobrine and Chromus’ swords met, a shockwave spread from the central area: for the two were in a deadlock. When they finally pushed away from each other, they engaged in a superfast assault: their blades producing sparks.

Again, Herobrine retreated, and suddenly Scythius was there, slamming Chromus out of the way. A shocked expression crossed his face as he felt himself being pushed out of the way. Then, a dragon leapt from the depths of the island and snagged Scythius into the air, then dragged him back down. As the dragon passed through the island, Scythius quickly figured out he didn’t have that same ability. He was slammed into the stone with a sickening crack, and lay still.

Herobrine, however, was far from satisfied, “What?! That should’ve killed you!” He didn’t notice the massive obsidian pillar behind him, or the inky black figure standing uptop. He was flung face first into the stone himself by a bolt of lightning, fired from Chromus’ sword, Backbiter. As he struggled to rise, someone fell on top of him and put a longsword through him, pinning him through his ribs and into the stone.

Not bothering to look up, Lord Ender snarled, “game over!”

A win-Lose situation

After Herobrine was sent to the Nether Prison, everyone was accounted for.

The casualties were surprisingly few, but some tolls that had been taken were large. This included the deaths of Queen Aris and King Craydur, as well as many other good soldiers.

After Chromus saw Herobrine gone, he rushed to Skullius’ side. “Oh no! You ain’t dying on me. I will kill you if you do.”

Ender was suddenly at his side, “sir, he isn’t coming back. It’s done. Besides, you’ve saved all of our realms. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Chromus nodded, and drew a diagonal line across his rib cage, the sign for good welfare and life.

Epilogue

Ender was assigning patrols after the war had ended, but saw something flicker in the gloom. A little trail of light flitted away from view. “Be right back, you can assign patrols Erus.” He teleported to where he’d last seen the mysterious light. It showed itself in a cavern below ground. Ender fingered his longs-word hilt as he skidded down the steep hill. As he cautiously crept around the corner of the cavern’s entrance, he saw the little sphere of light transform into a beautiful young woman.

“Come here, Ender of the End Warriors. I have a bone to pick with you.”

Lord Ender eyed the newcomer suspiciously, “how do I know you’re not here to kill me?”

The girl laughed, “ah ha ha ha! I wouldn’t intentionally do that. Not me.” her tone became very serious quickly, “I’ve come to bestow to you a gift for your bravery on the battlefield. I’ve already...tended to Scythius. He will live with gruesome scarring though. Now I just need to finish what I’ve started.”

Suddenly, the cavern entrance collapsed, and his abilities became strained. Ender began to voice his concerns, but the mysterious girl began to recite an incantation. As she did so, Ender began to feel foul. ‘I’ve exhausted a large portion of my energy, that’s why-’ Suddenly the process turned much more intense, and it took all of his willpower not to cry out. The pain lasted only a few seconds, but was enough to last a lifetime. Emerald-color smoke seeped from his body and then faded and it ceased to occur.

“What. Did. You. DO?!” shrieked Ender.

“I probably made you immortal.” she replied simply.

“Probably?”

The girl smiled and said, “my name is Ryara, just in case you don’t see me again. But let’s find out.”

Ender felt something puncture his torso, and he looked, and saw a dragon-bone blade. He hissed, “why you-” and fell to his knees. But then, he felt muscle grow back, bones repairing themselves, and skin seep over his ghastly wound, leaving but a scar.

Something like disappointment flickered across Ryara’s face, “huh, I guess it worked. Any mortal should’ve died instantly, or close enough.”

Ender stood shakily, and growled, “I have a mind like a steel vice. I will not forget this insult.” He disappeared in a haze of magenta mist.


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9 Reviews


Points: 196
Reviews: 9

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Sun May 29, 2016 5:13 pm
GusG wrote a review...



Right. Hello. Happy Review day and all that.

(NOTE: I will be making suggested changes. These are SUGGESTIONS, and are only my personal opinion. If you disagree, you are free to ignore them. I will also seem to be mostly negative. This is only because only the mistakes need changing, and therefore mentioning)



An overview to start with.

Your description is good. It creates vivid mental images, particularly in the prologue (which I loved), and you use some unusual words, which is always nice to see.

However, during the final battle and the build-up I got a bit confused by the plot. I'm not sure why. Everything seemed to be happening at once; the pace never seemed to slow down (Well done on the pace, by the way- it's difficult to keep it going). On the other hand, it might be a good idea to put in a few sections of description of the settings (which would also help the reader visualise the scene better), or some of the character's thoughts (aiding character development).


Now for some specifics. I've tried to group these into the main problems that keep coming up.

REPETITION
Of course, you have to repeat some words, but try to make the gap between re-using a word as large as possible. The size of this gap depends on how noticeable the word is: words that stand out need a larger gap. (this does NOT apply to repetition for emphasis, or if the repetition sounds right anyway). To find and avoid these, try reading it out loud, and parts that sound 'clunky' could generally do with re-writing.

One example is in the prologue:

"Swinging its head around, it spotted its victim: a loner pigman"

Here you repeat 'its', which jars, and is also confusing- it can be hard to work out who is doing what. In this case you could change it to something like- 'Swinging its head around, it spotted a victim: one lone pigman ('a loner' is changed to 'one lone' to avoid repeating 'a').


I'll point out the other places where you repeated stuff, with possible re-phrasings, but I won't do any more explanations (unless useful), because that would be shameless point-scoring.

"It morphed back into its dragon form and its tail swung at the head, its spikes reflecting..."

'It morphed back into the dragon form and swung its tail at the head, (adjective) spikes reflecting...'


"“Chromus, know you’re not in trouble...”

“sire, what is it you wish of me? Know I am fully capable..."

Just cut the second 'know'

"A groan alerted Scythius that someone was awake. He briskly turned, but it was Quicksilver who was awake, “oh. You’re awake.”

alternatives include: conscious, aware, up, with us...

"Scythius would've ripped out his internal organs ... “watch your tongue, young sir, or I will rip it out.”"

"watch your tongue, young sir, or I will remove it for you."??? This one I should leave up to you entirely. I'm not sure what would fit in with his character, as you see it.

"“awake at last. I was beginning to think you’d never wake.”"

Other options as before.

"Herobrine was gathering the largest known zombie army ever known"

Probably a typo, but I'll point it out anyway.

"make the calls no one else wants to"

Phrases are very noticeable when repeated, so even though this only comes up three times in the piece, it could do with being changed.


CONVERSATION
In general, your speech is very good: relaxed and natural. However, in some places, what the characters say does not seem to match the mood.

For instance,
"“Session’s over, skellies!” King Rodimus bellowed"

For someone who is so important, and who is clearly feared, the apostrophe, and calling the skeletons 'skellies', feels a little too relaxed to me. Also, if he lives with the skeletons all the time, and is presumably one himself, would he feel the need to point this out? Wouldn't he just treat them like normal people. I don't go up to some one and say 'Hello, human being!', unless I want to be weird. (Which is a possibility.)

"Craydur butted in, “hey! I highly doubt that, Sssscythiuss. His eyesss are not one of a killer.”

Another example of slang in the wrong place, I think, particularly in contrast to the sinister ssssssssses.

Later on the relaxed speech is understandable, because the main characters have got to know each other.


PHRASING

Personal Pronouns.
These have to be used with care. Used badly, or with too many in one sentence, they can cause confusion, as I pointed out earlier.

Some examples are....

"a pigman had been found with Rodimus’ sword pinning it to the wall through his heart"

It is unclear here whose heart is meant. I know you can work it out from the context, but it is grammatically unclear, which makes the sentence sound awkward. You could try; 'a pigman had been found with Rodimus' sword through its heart, pinning it to the wall', or you could get rid of 'through his heart' altogether.

" Heat radiated from his cloak of flames, and the glare Scythius gave Erus"

This is easy to fix: just swap 'his' with 'Scythius', and replace 'Scythius' with 'he', because personal pronouns generally refer to a noun from earlier in the sentence.

"they felt something pin them to the walls by their rib bones"

When I first read this, I thought you meant Quicksilver had shot Scythius and Ender! Plot twist! You should replace 'they' with something like 'the two skeletons'.

General Phrasing

"He climbed down the rope ladder that was barely intact"

Because the rope ladder has not yet come into the story it should be 'a rope ladder'.

"into pitch black darkness, of course, Scythius’ cloak kept it lit fairly well"

This only a small problem, however, there should be a colon or a 'but' after 'darkness', not a comma.

"I don’t know what works with him.”... “as do I.""

Should be 'nor do I.'

"If you feel you must, and you can"

This is a bit ambiguous: you could either change it to '...then you can', or '....and you are able', depending on what you meant.

"Chromus felt another presence fighting with him"

'With' could mean for or against. An alternative is along-side.

"Emerald-color smoke seeped from his body and then faded and it ceased to occur"

I don't think you need the 'and ceased to occur' in there. The reader can deduce that from just 'then faded'.

STUFF I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND
these could be typos, or mistakes, or just references I don't get. (Of which there are many)

" an enlarged and disfigured creeper: stereotypical head, four lanky..."

I might be the only one, but I'm not entirely sure what a 'stereotypical' creeper head looks like.

"And Chromus, I suggest you don’t interrupt me, seeming as you have a way with words, as that is the only reason you’re alive right now.”

No clue. Sorry.

"the corrupter made Skullius smile and said"

A skeleton can't smile. 'seem to smile'?

"Ender Pearl"

This could be a reference, but I don't know what one of these is: it didn't come up in the rest of the story. Would I be correct in thinking it made Quicksilver teleport?

"blocks"

You used this as a measure of length. A reference?

"user"

This described Quicksilver (I think). Another reference?

"Strenanydis"


I do understand this, now, but when he came up the second time, I had forgotten who he was. Maybe you could remind the reader.


There were, as is to be expected in a piece this long, some typos, but you can find them yourself by running it through a word processor; there is no point in me picking them out.

All-in-all, pretty good. The plot was interesting, and you managed to create a whole world, completely different to our own, in a relativity small space (compared to a novel), which is a useful skill.

Sorry for writing such a gargantuan review, but it is a pretty long piece of writing. Just as a general tip, I recommend splitting things up into more manageable chapter sized chunks (your chapter titles were great, by the way!). I know why you didn't do that this time: you only had 200 when you joined (sorry, I forgot to give you a proper welcome. Hi!), and wanted to get it all published in one, but people will see the size of it and be put off, either not reviewing, or just reading a bit of it, and bluffing their way through a review.

Anyway, I've said enough.

Bye!




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Sat May 28, 2016 10:33 pm
RoyalHighness wrote a review...



Royal here for a review! WELCOME TO YWS I'M VERY EXCITED TO MEET YOU okay let's get to work, shall we?

Content

Spoiler! :
Wow, this was great! Awesome attention to detail, great characterization through dialogue, and I loved the way the action flowed. You have a serious talent! This is a great start to a huge, sprawling, and interesting fantasy series. I really hope you keep at this, because it's pretty cool.
My only thing is, Ender is the name of the main kid in Ender's Game. So whenever I see that name, I think of that book; if you're really attached to the name Ender, you can keep it of course, but I'd advise a slight alteration to make it distinguishable from the other (less awesome) Ender. Other than that, I liked the names and the characters in general.


Nitpicks
Spoiler! :

So, you have a bunch of places where it's a sentence, then a comma, and dialogue. In some places it works, but for the most part, that makes the sentence look like a run-on. So, for example, in this sentence:
Something like disappointment flickered across Ryara's face, "huh, I guess it worked. Any mortal should've died instantly, or close enough."

First, why is Ryara disappointed? If she made him immortal? Her motive there is a little confusing.
But back to the main point: you really need to put a period after "face," and capitalize the word "Huh." In fact, there are a lot of sentences in the dialogue that need to be capitalized. I'd go back through it carefully and try to find where you need to capitalize the things.
Also, when you have a dialogue attribution like "said" after a piece of dialogue, you need to put a comma after the dialogue, even if it's a full sentence. So this sentence:
"I probably made you immortal." she replied simply.

Becomes:
"I probably made you immortal," she replied simply.

And so on.
So go back through and really comb this piece for those mistakes, because this is a great piece, but it just needs those technical details ironed out.
Last thing: there are bits that have their own titles? Like "Epilogue," and "A win-Lose situation." But these aren't set apart from the rest of the piece, so they look like normal sentences until of course, they're not. So I'd bold or italicize or space them out, so we know those are titles of upcoming parts of the bits.
And next time when you have a piece that's this long, I'd publish each of the parts separately. It'll garner more reviews, and more people will follow it from beginning to end.


Overall, awesome job! I loved it! Write more; you have a seriously fantastic voice.




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Reviews: 79

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Fri May 27, 2016 10:50 pm
CateRose17 says...



You have put so many great details into this! The beginning was just fantastic:) It made me wonder and think. Good job.





I wondered why we put villains in our stories when we have plenty of them in real life; then I realized that maybe we wanted stories where the good guy wins.
— nogutsnoglory