Chapter Text
Nothing built can last forever.
And every legend, no matter how great, fades with time.
With each passing year, more and more details are lost. Until all that remains are myths. Half-truths. To put it simply, lies. And yet in all the known universe, between here and the Far Lands, the legend of the Order of the Stone endures, unabridged, as self-evident fact.
Indeed, it is only a troubled land that has need for heroes and ours was fortunate to have, so long ago, four heroes such as these: Gabriel the Warrior, before whose sword all combatants would tremble. Ellegaard the Redstone Engineer, whose machines would spark an era of invention. Magnus the Rogue, who would channel his destructive creativity for the benefit of all. And Soren the Architect, Builder of Worlds and leader of the Order of the Stone.
These four friends together, would give so much to gain their rightful place as four heroes. Their greatest quest would take them on a dangerous journey to fight a mysterious creature known as the Ender Dragon. In the end, the Order of the Stone emerged victorious and the dragon was defeated. Their story complete, they slipped away into the pages of legends.
But when one story ends, another begins…
-
“Would you rather fight a hundred zombie-sized chickens, or ten chicken-sized zombies?”
“Huh?” The question knocked Jesse out of his focus, losing the grip on his sword as he glanced over to his friend with a look of confusion before continuing with his practice.
Olivia rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips before mimicking the boy, “ Huh?” Her coal-like eyes watch him mockingly; they’re pulled halfway closed with her eyelids like purple curtains, along with faultless eyebrows stitched together above. Round dark-red lips are pulled into a soft sneer, but without malice, against dark skin, and a straight nose bridge that leads to a wide but strangely button-like nose is scrunched up. She tilts her body down as if weighed by gravity on the right side, causing dark pigtails to droop down, and the lime beanie and goggles resting on the top of curly hair goes askew. As she slowly tilts, light bounces off pearl earrings to create an illusion of dancing pixies.
Jesse looked over again, the same lost look plastered on his face, “What?”
“It's just a dumb question, forget it.” She shook her head, the movement causing her pigtails to bounce around slightly. Jesse shrugged in return. Olivia walked past the boy, heading towards the lamp placed on a table behind him; Jesse had noticed her working on it for the past few days now. Connecting the last few parts with redstone dust while carefully avoiding her clean white shirt and apple-coloured tunic, the girl switched the topic, instead deciding to focus on something Jesse was more likely to pay attention to. “So… I've got the daylight sensor on the roof.”
“Mmm hmm…”
Glancing back at Jesse with a questioning look, one that showed her distrust in whether her friend was actually listening or not, she continued with her words, this time paying closer attention to Jesse, trying to see whether he was following, or tuning out every sound that wasn't the wooden thud of his sword clashing against the armour stand. “And if I did this right, these lamps should go off once it gets dark.”
“yeeep...”
Olivia sighed, her eyes directing back over to the wiring she was connecting in her hands. “I didn’t wanna just leave Reuben in here with nothing while we're at the building competition.”
“He's coming with us.” The sentence was short and direct. It’d cut to the point quicker than it should have. Jesse was dead set on his decision, so sure that it might've not even been a decision in his mind; he had probably assumed the pig was coming with the group to begin with.
Olivia’s eyes widened at his comment. Her hands dropped the wires, and she turned once more to look over at Jesse. “Really?”
Jesse paused mid swing, pulling his sword down to his side, sliding it into the scabbard attached around his waist and spinning around on his heels to face Olivia. “What kind of question is that? Of course he is!”
“Hey, I’m not saying he shouldn't come,” Olivia said, walking up to Jesse. Her footsteps lightly echoed, with the sound of gray leather boots, through the wooden foundation of the treehouse they were standing in, creating a familiar and comforting vibration through Jesse’s bones. “I'm not, but… don't you think it's a bit… odd? I mean, you take him with you everywhere you go.”
Reuben then ran up with some small stomps, tucking himself in between Jesse's legs, looking up towards him and Olivia, letting out an oink. Olivia looked down towards the pig, letting out a small smile before looking back at Jesse. "I think Reuben’s great. Really, I do but… I don't know… he kind of makes us look like, uh… amateurs?”
“Reuben’s my best friend,” He protested, crossing his arms.
Olivia gave him a long look and said flatly, “I thought I was your best friend.”
“You both are!”
The girl sighed in frustration. “I didn’t mean anything by it. Don't get me wrong, I love the little guy and I’m glad he’s coming…” She trailed off.
Jesse raised an eyebrow at the pause; he unhooked his arms, letting them both fall to his sides as he waited for the girl to continue.
“I just don’t wanna give people one more reason to call us ‘losers’. I’m just really getting sick of it, Jess, I’m tired of being a laughing stalk!” Olivia frowned, turning away from Jesse and walking back towards the lamp, tweaking around with it and fixing any last minute details. Her hands worked with great detail, without betrayal of her irritation.
Jesse walked up behind his friend, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Who cares what other people think, Olivia.”
She turned her head, looking at the boy; her eyebrows scrunched up, wrinkling her face. Her shoulders are stiff with disheartenment and plump lips are pursed into a thin line. She’s been thinking about this for a while, holding it inside a fragile bottle. They both watch each other in the silence after Jesse’s words for a few long seconds before she sighs, standing up straight. Jesse takes it as a hint to move his hand, and along with it, takes a step backwards.
“I- I know, it just… it wears you down” Olivia admitted, fully shifting her position to face Jesse, leaning back against the table whilst doing so. It was completely reasonable. They hadn't been the coolest group in Beacontown, and after being lame for so long, Jesse understood how upset Olivia must’ve felt. Jesse opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He looked down, racking his brain for anything he could say to make the girl feel better. The way she looked and the tone in her voice had made him feel so terrible. Olivia had always been there for him, as kids in the forest when they first met, as teens in school, and now, as they got ready to attend the Endercon building competition. After all that, it was his turn to cheer up Olivia. With that in mind, he had finally grasped onto a train of thought, or perhaps, a rope of salvation - one that could help him comfort his friend. Jesse looked back to her, grinning.
“You say you're not a loser, so prove it; prove it to everyone today. Olivia; you, me, and Axel, we're gonna win the building competition and show them all!” He encourages the girl, raising his voice and giving her a smile so determined that she couldn’t help the grin creeping up on her face in return. He always knew what to say to calm her, always had, even when their maturity were ones of small children
Pushing off the table with a soft smile she replies, “Yeah, Okay. Thanks, Jesse.”
A concerned oink coming from Reuben snaps them out of the moment, as a faint hissing sound could be heard near them. A very familiar, hissing sound.
“Do you hear that?” Jesse asks, his smile turning into a more worried look as he whips his head to the direction of the noise. A deep dread settles within his chest as he does so.
“Oh no… you don't think?” Olivia whispers, eyes widening and hair raising as she shifts slightly. Strangely enough, even with that small movement, the floorboards remained creaking.
The boy steps closer to the direction the sound was coming from, Olivia following shortly behind. He comes to the middle of the treehouse where the entrance of the place was neatly built, kneeling down next to the trapdoor to investigate. Jesse carefully leans towards the door when-
“Boom!” The trapdoor slams open with a rattle, causing another loud creak, and a large, hulking figure pops up; their head covered in a cheap, badly made creeper mask smelling strongly of plastic. The muscular figure wears a large, strangely designed green jacket with threads sticking out of it, as if it was worn through many years, and has experienced many things. Large hands covered with black fingerless gloves reach out towards them like the branches of a horrific tree of a frightening night. What ruins the image of a green monster are the tan pants leading down to worn and dirty sandals.
“Ah!” Jesse screams, falling backwards. Next to him, Reuben gives a similar reaction, squealing at the sight before toppling over in fear.
The figure begins laughing loudly, the sound reverberating off the walls, causing it to increase in volume. As it increases, it also increases in obnoxiousness; and the longer it lasts, the more ridiculous the joke seems. However, the howling soon dies out and he raises his hands to take off the mask. A dark unibrow is drawn in joy, mirth and laughter twinkling in deep chocolate eyes. The cheekbones on the figure are high, and a square face is framed with short, cropped pitch black locks. He smiles with a large happy grin, and he looks down a crooked roman nose that shows evidence of once being broken. “Hahaha! Oh, man you guys totally freaked out! That was awe-”
He's cut off by a now angry Reuben charging straight towards him, bumping him in the chest. The man grunts, placing a hand over the area, “Hey! Damn it, now I'm gonna smell like a pig at Endercon. I thought we were buddies, not cool dude.” He scowls at the pig.
“Axel, what the hell is wrong with you!” Olivia yells at the man. An angry look, similar to Reuben’s worn on her face.
Jesse picks himself up off the ground, brushes off his butt and then begins to run his fingers down his palms, in search of splinters to pluck out of his rough skin, which was caused by the amount of building and fighting he had done all through his life. “You had that coming, Axel.”
Axel makes a loud, exaggerated groan, rolling his head back all the way around before dropping it. Jesse shakes his head at his stupid friend before watching him pick his head back up and plead his case. “Awh man! I brought you good times, and now I’m being punished for it?”
Jesse let out a small incredulous squeak, flailing his arms around, stammering before coming up with a coherent sentence. “You scared us half to death!”
Axel laughed, making his way towards the shorter man, throwing an arm around his shoulder and pulling him in close. “C’mon, Jesse, nothin’ is fun if you're not scared half to death!” Axel smirked, causing Jesse to facepalm.
Olivia watched the scene from where she stood across from the boys, wondering how out of all the people she could meet, she ended up with these idiots. One who wore a costume that likely cost more than it was worth, and the other now donning a red print on his forehead and hand. She waited for the two to stop bickering, but quickly gave up when she noticed that their arguing did not show signs of ceasing any time soon. Olivia decided to change the conversation completely.
“Did you bring the fireworks?”
“Of course I did! I even brought something for the little guy.” Axel grins, looking down at Reuben before pulling out a pig-sized Ender Dragon costume.
Jesse’s eyes widened at the sight. “Nice!” He cheered.
“You brought Reuben a disguise?” Olivia places a hand on her hip, looking towards Axel as he carefully puts the costume on Reuben, an unamused look painted on her face as she asks the question.
Axel looks over to his friend, confused at the disapproving look that was so clearly directed at him, and raises his hands to gesture wildly. “Umm, we're going to a convention. Somebody’s gonna be wearing a costume!”
Unlike Olivia, Reuben seemed thrilled with his new attire, letting out an excited squeal as he ran around the tree house, the wings of the costume flapping up and down as he did so. Jesse smiled warmly at the pig as he watched him jump around. “Oh my god, Axel, he looks awesome!” Jesse smiles, leaning down to pet Reuben who oinks in agreement at Jesse’s remark.
“Glad you think so; It only took me a million hours to build it,” Axel grumbles, leaning against the wall of the tree house. Olivia eyes him up and down, and then to the dust falling from the ceiling, before looking back to him.
“But you definitely brought the fireworks, right?” She repeats, except more persistent this time around.
Axel rolls his eyes and groans. “Yes! I'm ready, just waiting on you guys,” he says, pushing himself off the wall, walking back over to the trapdoor.
Olivia followed the man. Before leaving she looked back over to Reuben and crossed her arms. “If he was really your best friend, you wouldn’t let him go outside dressed like that.”
Jesse glanced over to the pig shaking his head. “The only thing more dangerous than putting a costume on a pig, Olivia.” He paused for a second, looking back over to the girl, “Is trying to take it off.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just hurry up and go grab your stuff!” Axel ushered his friend, before opening the door and climbing down the ladder, causing loud thumps and creaks the way down, followed by a louder thump as they heard him jump down a few rungs from the earth floor
Olivia followed suit. “We’ll meet you downstairs okay, Jess?”
“Okay!” He smiled, watching as she climbed down, closing the trapdoor behind her, leaving Jesse and Reuben together in the treehouse. Jesse then sighed, turning around and taking a good look at the surrounding area, before ultimately deciding to go through a few chests, looking for anything that could end up being useful.
As the brunet rummaged through the chests he found a few items he deemed worth taking with him; nothing too much as all he found was flint and steel along with a pair of shears, but it was still better than nothing. Jesse got up off his knees, dusting his hands simultaneously, and walked up to Reuben who had been watching him.
“You ready to go buddy?”
Reuben oinked in reply, jumping up at the question.
It forced a laugh out of Jesse’s throat, shaking his body as it faded out. As he continued to scan the treehouse, a poster caused him to turn round and head over to it idly. Standing a simple few feet away from it, he inspected the piece of decor that covered the wall. Gabriel - his idol - stared back at him with a proud grin, pearly whites invigorating him. His name is printed across the bottom of the poster with bold letters that caught one’s eye, which would then lead to one coming over to scrutinize the poster, which would then lead one to think about Gabriel, which would then lead to them to an inevitable and natural idolization for him. At least, in Jesse’s case, this is what has happened.
“One of these days, we’re gonna win, and when we do, people will look at us and say ‘Hey, there goes Jesse and Reuben, winners of the Endercon Building Competition!’” He declares, looking down to Reuben, who in turn gives him a look.
“Uh yeah, they really should change the name…” He scratched the back of his head. He washed away the thought, instead choosing to focus on something else. He kneels down to Reuben's height, or as close as he could get to his height, adjusting the mask of the ender dragon costume.
“C’mon Reuben, give me a dragon roar!” He encourages the pig, to which Reuben complies, using the best of his abilities to let out a squeal that sounded somewhat like a roar, or, at least, a good imitation of one.
“That’ll do, Reuben! That’ll do.”
Jesse walks over to the trapdoor, pulling it open. Reuben oinks, running up behind Jesse who gently picks him off the ground and holds him in his arms before carefully climbing down the ladder, closing the trapdoor behind him.
“That's everything,” Olivia says, as Jesse steps off the ladder onto the ground, and bends over to let Reuben go.
“Let's roll!” Axel cheers, energetically throwing an arm around Olivia who in turn, raises a brow, unimpressed with his choice of words. “Yeah dude, ‘roll!’” She says, mocking him.
Jesse chuckles at his friends’ antics. He watches as they bicker, bouncing back words laced with a tease and a laugh. He can’t help the fond smile that tugged at his cheeks and stretched his lips thin. He jumps forward and tugs Olivia by her arm, causing her feet to stumble backwards against the grass; her other arm grasping at Axel pulled him back with her also, making a human train that dragged and hobbled along the path.
“Let's go!” He announces brightly, and the group begins their walk - a march filled with shoving and staggering, in a line that zig zagged back and forth - to the building competition.