User blog:Eureka Enderborn/The Enderborn Canon: Prologue

 Prologue

 Hi there. My name’s Eureka Enderborn, though if you’re reading this, you probably already know that. I was persuaded by some friends of mine to create this little book to detail my adventures. But, as all the best stories go, you’ve got to have a little exposition first. So, here goes.

 The world I come from and spend the most time in is Minecraftia, a wondrous world composed entirely of cubes. It’s a great place. Well, most of the time. It certainly didn’t start out great. You see, The world was created a long, long time ago, by the great being known only as Notch. Notch also had a brother, who is now known as Herobrine. Notch created the worlds, and the galaxy at large, while Herobrine worked with Notch to create the little details, like animals and grass and whatnot. When the world was finally created, however Herobrine steadily grew more and more jealous of Notch’s power and reign over all the lands. Herobrine desired to be a ruler himself, not his brother’s underling. Herobrine began to forge his own world, in secret. It was a world that reflected his increasingly evil spirit. It was a world of fire and death, and Herobrine placed a spell over it, a spell that would cause all evil souls that died in the universe to be trapped there, and under Herobrine’s command. Notch, however, was also working separate from Herobrine, and secretly. He created a realm known as the Farlands, and there he created a species of dimension-jumping, knowledge-seeking people known as the Endermen. These people were very wise, and very powerful. They far exceeded Herobrine’s power, but not his number. When Herobrine discovered the existence of the Endermen, he flew into a jealous rage, for he knew that he, as a creature of lower power and imagination, could never create something as wise and good as the Endermen. In his jealous rage, he revealed his corruption to his brother and declared war on both him and his people, the Endermen. His legions of damned souls marched out of his burning pits in the deep, and burned all wildlife in their path. Notch was horrified. He ordered his Endermen to assemble for war, and he marched out at the head of his army. He met Herobrine in a valley now known as the Valley of Blight. The two armies clashed in an epic duel. At the very center of the enormous battle, a storm raged. Inside this storm the two gods dueled. The battle raged for three years, until finally, Notch cast Herobrine down, and the remains of his army fled back to the Nether. Notch raised his fist preparing to strike down his evil brother. However, Notch was a good soul, a kind soul, and he couldn’t bear to kill his brother. So instead, he threw Herobrine down into the Nether, and sealed it. There Herobrine sat, imprisoned, for over a thousand years. However, in one last desperate act of anger and jealousy, Herobrine cast a spell, a spell that destroyed the Farlands, and bringing down all the cities of the Endermen. However, he was unable to destroy the race, and the Endermen took refuge in a pocket dimension that was named The End. It was an island of black and pale stone floating in endless dark. The Endermen lived there for an eternity afterwards, and it altered them. They became black-skinned, purple-eyed, and massive-jawed. They had purple sparks floating around their tall bodies, and water began to hurt them. They also took on the mysterious trait wherein if anyone looked at them, they would become angry, and even aggressive. However, they maintained their good nature, and their ability to teleport and dimension shift. Endermen can be found literally everywhere.

 In the main world that Notch and Herobrine created, now known as Minecraftia, life was left alone to develop as it would. I have classified the history of Minecraftia by ages. Each age last 1000 years, and each is marked by the fall of a civilization, except for the first one. The first age I have called the beast age, as there was no sentient life at that time. The only place life didn’t last, or spread to, was the Valley of Blight, as the area had become desecrated by the huge war fought there. The second age is the age of the Orcs. I know not how the Orcs came to be, but all of a sudden there they were. They were not a people of great number, but they were powerfully magical indeed. They constructed villages of beautiful blue stone and bricks called Confluxes. Each house contained much magical equipment. The Orcs themselves were tall and well-built, blue-skinned, and they all had small tusks. They were accomplished hunters, but more than anything else they were practitioners of magic. Never before, nor never again, has a more inherently magically accomplished race walked the face of Minecraftia. The most magically accomplished Ender Mage might be more powerful than the most magically accomplished Orc, but the least magically accomplished Orc was more powerful than the least magically accomplished Enderman. The Orcs were a tribal species, and while brutal at times, they understood the importance of keeping the world in balance, and thus they destroyed very little, and killed only as much as they needed. However, Herobrine was to intervene again. In his mansion in the Nether, Herobrine perfected a spell he had been practicing for two thousand years. This spell would allow him to temporarily make a breach in Notch’s seal. Herobrine himself couldn’t pass through the breach, he could only project a semi-tangible image of himself, far less powerful, and that could only be maintained for ten minutes. Regardless of these drawbacks, Herobrine was determined to burn the world above. His armies marched out of the Nether and destroyed the Orcish civilization. However, one can occasionally find the remnants of one of their temples, or one of their Confluxes. Notch noticed what was going on, and the Endermen appeared to stop the Nether beasts from causing anymore destruction. Herobrine’s army was weakened by the Orcs, and the Endermen defeated the remnants with relative ease. Notch then cast another spell, severely weakening Herobrine’s seal-breaching spell. Notch’s spell made it so the breach would only open every 1000 years. Herobrine however, found a loophole at the last moment, and made it so that he could project the weak imprint of himself into the world above, for ten minutes once every five days. He spent those days haunting wanderers and adventurers for laughs. After the Orcish civilization fell, the Dwarven civilization rose up in the third age. These people were far more plentiful than the Orcs, though they had no magic. These people were accomplished warriors and miners, and they lived underground. The ruins of the Dwarven Capital, Kaladim, can be found in the Butcherblock Mountains to this day. Furthermore, their Mineshafts and underground fortresses can also be found, albeit in a similarly ruined state. They were far more wasteful than the Orcs, killing creatures without giving birth to new ones, and cutting down trees without planting new ones. Despite the size of the Dwarven empire, when the next 1,000 year landmark came around this species was wiped out even faster. Kaladim came under siege for several days, until Herobrine blew open the gates with a flick of his hand. Kaladim was overrun swiftly after that. Herobrine then caused the bodies and spirits of the slain Dwarves to rise up as zombies and ghosts, so that none would ever again colonize the old Dwarven capital. However, before he did so, the army that had entered Kaladim was in turn attacked by the armies of the Endermen, and Herobrine’s plan to utterly annihilate the world was thwarted once again. This marked the rise of the Elven civilization in the fourth age. The Elves were tall, graceful, and intelligent. There were four different breeds of Elves: the first was the High Elves, who lived on the island nation of Luminaria, and they were the most civilized of all the Elves. The next was the Night Elves, who lived in the cavernous city of Umbris. The third was the Silvan, or Wood Elves, who primarily lived in Silver Oak forest. There were also the Half-Elves, who were the byproduct of two different species of Elves mating. These Elves, given that they were not of any specific species, were not allowed in any of the capitals. The Elves were powerful warriors and magicians, and very very civilized. Far more civilized than the tribal Orcs, as well as the hole-digging Dwarves. They were, besides the Endermen of course, the paramount species to wander the Overworld. Their civilization was truly beautiful, with spectacular architecture, and the High Elves were the most beautiful of them all. Their island of Luminaria was a truly beautiful place, with wondrous flora and fauna, and a beautiful city. This is why, when Herobrine’s 1,000 years came around again, he destroyed this place by himself. The island of Luminaria can actually be found, totally submerged, and the ruins of those buildings that the High Elves built still sitting there. While Herobrine destroyed Luminaria, his vast armies worked on destroying Umbris, and all the villages and towns of the Elves. Umbris itself was totally caved in, not even ruins can be found. Then Herobrine and his armies converged on Silver Oak forest. However, something that Herobrine didn’t expect was the presence of the Endermen in Silver Oak forest. The combination of the Silvan Elves and the Enderman armies proved too much for Herobrine’s forces, and Herobrine was unable to fully destroy the Wood Elves. However, Silver Oak forest was ravaged. It was easily four times smaller than it had been, and all Silvan Elf buildings on the forest floor were destroyed, leaving only the treehouses in the treetops. The forest floor was, regrettably, corrupted by large spiders, and many of the other creatures that, due to the corruption of Herobrine, were now festering the Earth, such as zombies and skeletons and the nefarious Creeper. The Silvan Elves lived isolation there for many many years. However, while the Elves remained isolated, the world around them advanced into the fifth age. This age has three names: the age of survival, the age of civilization, and the age of the Testificate. This age was dominated by two species: the Testificates, who constructed many villages and simply attempted to survive, and the far less plentiful Humans, or Steves as they were commonly known. These Steves could do many things that the Testificates couldn’t, but the Testificates were generally smarter. The Testificates and the Steves worked together against the harsh night, which now festered with evils of all sorts. Zombies, Skeletons, massive spiders, Creepers, and the occasional Enderman scouts. The Testificates and Steves, while working together, had no real government. Each village was very isolated, and had little to know contact with other villages. The villagers worked together, and never did a problem spring up in terms of authority. However, the Testificates did have a ruler, of sorts. On a massive peninsula somewhere on the Overworld lies the Red City, which is the capital of the whole Testificate and Steve race. Strictly speaking, the Red City maintained a rather small kingdom, consisting of itself and a few other towns, but it held sway over all other villages in the entire world, and the King of the Red City was generally considered the King of the entire world. The Testificates worked with the Steves here to create clockwork beasts known as Iron Golems, which served as the perfect guards. Nigh invincible and immensely strong, these gentle giants loyally defended their villagers. However, one Testificate wasn’t quite satisfied, and worked for 80 years to use redstone and advanced clockworks to create the perfect Iron Golem. Nearing the end of his life, he gathered the most accomplished Redstone Wizards and started working on what he called the E.U.R.E.K.A. model intelligent defense and labor construct. He used the only bit of Titanium they had ever found on the world, and used a combination of redstone circuitry and clockworks to make the robot work. However, they lacked a power source to make the robot work. On his death bed, the Testificate inventor showed them the plans for his power source. It used a whole lot of scientific terms the rest had never heard of, but they installed this “miniaturized nuclear reactor core” into the robot.

 And that’s where I come in! See, they originally intended to build a whole bunch of E.U.R.E.K.A.s, but due to the immense difficulty and ridiculous cost of building one, I was the only one ever made. But one was really enough. I was worth twenty Iron Golems in battle, and I had the intelligence to beat a team of theoretical physicists at chess. I was an obedient robot, and I worked everywhere and did everything. At day I could be seen unloading ships at the docks, working on building or demolishing houses, working down in the mines, or patrolling outside the city for vagrants and barbarians. At night I stood vigilant before the gates of the Red City, working with the Red Knights against the zombie hordes. But one day, everything changed. I was visited by a being that my data banks classified as an “Enderman”. I knew that this being was no match for myself, but I also knew how dangerous he was. I resolved only to attack if he either tried to enter the city or made a hostile move. I prepared my extending wrist-blades for battle.

 The Enderman did approach, but didn’t attack. Instead, it whispered something in my ear.

 “Come and meet me in the laboratory where you were created. A great secret shall be revealed to you there. If you do not, the fate of this world will be put into jeopardy.”

 I debated long and hard about whether or not to believe him. But when morning came, curiosity came over me, and I entered the laboratory before anyone could give me a job. The Enderman was there, but he was now adorned in ornate purple armor, and was guarded by two very heavily armed and armored Endermen.

 “Well? What is it you want to tell me? And who are you?” I asked.

 “I am the Emperor of the Ender Imperium. And I need your help.”

 “Help with what?”

 “Long, long ago, we Endermen found something very interesting indeed. A Dragon egg.”

 “What? I thought that Dragons were a myth!”

 “As did we. We took it back to the End and hatched it, knowing that such a powerful and wise beast would be useful. And it was. It was kind, obedient, and very very helpful. When it grew to full size, it said that it would be even more useful in a position of leadership. We agreed to this, and the Dragon became our king. But that was when it revealed it’s true colors. It turned out that the Dragon, though wise and powerful indeed, was also a tyrant and power hungry. It had no respect for the sanctity of the build, the value of blocks, or even for life. It ordered the construction of immense towers, atop which were placed crystals that would make him invincible. He then ordered that many Endermen be displaced from the End to go invade the Overworld (which we now know as Minecraftia). However, when he did so, many Endermen who were quite unhappy with the way the Dragon was treating them decided to escape. We headed far far north, where there would be no liquid water to harm us, and we constructed an immense wall to protect our new domain.”

 “The Great Northern Wall? The thing which separates the north from the far north? Your people built that?”

 “Yes. Behind that wall you will find many fortresses and keeps. The largest of which is our capital, the fortress-city known as Voidkeep. From behind this great wall, and within these fortresses, we have been forging weapons and armour, taming beasts of war, practicing and developing new magics, and preparing for the final charge when we can take back our lands from that Dragon.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> “Hang on. Why are you telling me about this? What do you want my help for? It sounds like you have things under control!”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> “Under normal circumstances, I would have thought the same thing.But there is a prophecy about the Dragon. It’s very obscure, but the gist of it is that during the final battle for freedom, when the blood of Endermen stain the Endstone, and brother clashes with brother, a man who was not born but made shall strike down the tyrant lizard and free the people of the End for all eternity.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> “And I was…”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> “Born, not made. Eureka, I implore your help in freeing my people.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> At this point my intelligence strained against my programing. “I would very much like to help you, but I cannot leave from this city! It is a part of my primary programming that I must remain here and help the Testificates! I cannot override my base programming, much less my reason for existence.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> The Emperor considered this for a moment. “What if I were to override your programming, make you totally free and independant? Would you help us then?”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> “Of course, but you can’t! Believe me, the--”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:11pt;margin-bottom:11pt;"> The Emperor placed his hand on my head, and suddenly, I could feel all my limitations being removed, all my programs being deleted. I was entirely independent. I looked up at the Enderman with steel in my voice. “Let’s go slay a Dragon.”