Fated (Epilogue)

[tanadin]

 One year.
It's been one year since I posted the first chapter of Monstrous. The trilogy begins and ends today, on March first. I'm getting really emotional so I'll try to keep this short:

Thank you, all of you, for sticking with me this far. This is one of the proudest moments in my life so far. I've never done anything this MOMENTOUS before and I hope you all enjoyed this crazy ride as much as I have. I've loved the feedback and I've loved getting to know each and every one of my readers that comments, that joins P:M, that messages me.

This wouldn't have been possible without you guys, but especially not without jiminee (Jimmy) who convinced me to post Monstrous in the first place and r7 (Seven) for being a wonderful editor as well as a fantastic listener for when I just needed to yell about the trilogy for a couple of hours.

For those of you who want to keep reading what I'm writing, here's a link to the teaser for RiR, the first chapter of which will likely be posted in one to two weeks: https://saladlove.dreamwidth.org/44539.html

Let's get on with the end of this story shall we? Editing this was pretty difficult so there might be several errors (it's about 10k words long), apologies for that.

Chapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Map of the continent: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/Fated-map-544073443
Character status spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RKoeOLYhQctmZ5McNHc_kid0tjfb1BxyuD8i95FmFQE/edit?usp=sharing

Epilogue

Mindcrack territory, Vortex. December 7, year 783 Minecraftia time. Time instance 483Z.

Ten years later…

Vechs was running as quickly as he could, the only sound louder than his heartbeat being the sound of his feet pounding against the earth. He glanced behind him, seeing the dark shape approaching. His eyes widened and his tired body put on a new burst of speed, but it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t nearly fast enough to escape the claws of the Hostile as it descended upon him…

“TAG!” Specterveil bellowed as his claws lightly tapped Vechs’ back. “YOU’RE IT!” He flipped over himself and rocketed off in the other direction, zipping towards the river.

“No…fair!” Vechs panted as he slowed to a stop to catch his breath. “You were…flying!”

“I have to, I don’t have feet!” The Hostile protested. “You’re perfectly capable of flying, yourself!” He paused midair, blue eyes evaluating Vechs momentarily before he shot off once more.

Vechs was about to pursue Specterveil and the other four Hostiles playing when Aureylian stepped forward and tapped him on the shoulder. “Weren’t you planning on visiting Dalania?”

Vechs’ eyes widened. “Shit, that was today?”

“Yes, you great unsparkly banana.” Aureylian laughed at him. “Your mother is certain you’re late.”

“But…” Vechs glanced at the waiting Hostiles. “I have a game to finish.”

Aureylian held out her hand. “Tag me. I’ll finish it for you.”

Vechs grinned and slapped her hand. “Get ‘em.”

“Shit, run!” Glar’ren took off like an arrow from a bow the moment Aureylian started to charge at them, and the Hostiles scattered in every direction.

Vechs laughed quietly before turning and leaving the chunk to walk through Spawntown on his way to the portal. He paused when Blame stepped up beside him.

“You heading out?”

“Yeah. You want to come with?”

Blame looked hopeful. “Can I see Iirkolav?”

Vechs laughed. “Well, the wonderful king is the first person I’m off to see, so I imagine so.”

Blame grinned. “Then hell yes I’m coming with.”

Vechs smiled at him and nodded, leading the way to the portal out of the Vortex.

He took a deep breath of Minecraftia air when he appeared on the other side, glancing at Blame momentarily before leaving the room and entering the old meeting room. It hadn’t been used since before the Fall over two hundred years ago, but someone would occasionally come down and dust the place.

Apparently it was due for a dusting. Vechs didn’t remark on it, though, and walked with Blame to the back of the room, where there was a tunnel that had been built relatively recently heading east, in direct opposition to the original tunnel that went west. This tunnel was much, much longer, and Vechs wasn’t too pleased about the amount of walking they had ahead of them.

~~~

Vechs finally stopped walking as they reached the end of the tunnel, which seemed to end in just a smooth stone wall. He gently knocked on it and waited patiently for it to rumble and slowly slide downwards, revealing a wooden panel. A slit opened and two brown eyes gazed out at him.

“Who’s there?”

“Vechs and Blame. Let us in, Nak.”

Nak nodded to them and opened the panel, creating an opening into the room. He bowed. “Welcome, Mindcrackers Vechs and Blame.”

Blame moved past him without a second glance. Vechs smiled apologetically before following.

“King Iirkolav is in the next room.” Nak called after them, unnecessarily. They knew.

Iirkolav barely had time to look up from the paperwork he was reading before Blame almost knocked him out of his chair, hugging him tightly.

“Blame! I didn’t know you were coming!”

“Neither did I,” the Skullblade admitted, grinning. “But here I am.”

Iirkolav kissed him briefly before gently pushing him back so that he could stand. He grinned and shook Vechs’ hand. “It’s good to see you. You don’t visit.” He scolded.

Vechs grinned awkwardly. “Sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Other than Aureylian? Reviving the Hostiles to be on our side.”

Blame covered his ears. “I don’t need to hear this.”

Iirkolav’s eyes widened. “You’ve been doing what with the Hostiles?”

“I’ve been slowly reviving them from their orbs. Turns out that, without corruption, they are very loyal to me and are actually really interesting. I’ve been spending a lot of time with them lately and I’ve become pretty fond of them. They have no memory of what happened while they were corrupted, which I guess is for the best.”

Iirkolav nodded. “That’s good. They might remember why they disliked you in the first place.”

Vechs shrugged. “I’ve been keeping a close eye on them. Anyway, how are things going down here? How’s Dalania?”

“It’s just fine, for the most part. It’s still getting its act together but we’re a lot further along than I could have hoped. A lot of Dalanians made it out of the Shattering and were eager to return when the place was fixed and a Davion showed up to rule. They’re a bit curious as to where I came from but they figure the fact that I look just like you if some kind of omen that good times are ahead.”

“When are you going to return to the Vortex?” Blame asked. He looked hopeful, and he flipped Vechs off when he noticed his amused look.

Iirkolav sighed. “I don’t know. Sometime in the next few years, if I can. I’ll rule long enough to Dalania to get back on its feet, then I’ll ‘die’ and my lovely ‘sister’ Skera will take over. Fuck if I know what her plan for getting Davions on the throne after her is, but she’ll figure it out. Not my problem.” He shrugged.

“Well, I’ll leave you two be.” Vechs smirked slightly. “I’m sure you’d like the time alone. I’ll go check on the others, if that’s alright?”

“Feel free. You already saw Nak- poor guy. He blames himself entirely for Nia’s death. He’s devoted himself completely to protecting me. He wanted to protect Skera too, but she informed him that she’d turn him into a frog if he tried. I think he’s more scared of her than he’d like to admit so he’d been avoiding her ever since. Anyway, you can find people pretty much all over New Vexia. Mitven’s here in the castle- just head out the door and down the stairs. Second door on your right. She’ll be able to direct you to everyone.”

Vechs snorted before heading towards the door. “I’ll be sure to check in with everyone. Have fun, you two, and remember to use protection.” He was out the door before Blame could throw anything at him, laughing his way down the stairs and towards the door that Iirkolav had indicated.

When he entered, he paused at the sound of arguing. He looked around until he located a tall skettisren arguing with a shorter, gray-haired man about exactly how to treat a patient.  Upon closer inspection, the patient appeared to be Vian, who looked absolutely miserable and was cringing at the sound of their shouting.

“If you give him that, there’s a chance that his eyeballs will explode.” Mitven snapped, motioning wildly with her arms. “He’s allergic to shockleaf, remember?”

“How am I s’posed to remember who’s allergic to what, huh?” Altren demanded, crossing his arms moodily. “And his eyes wouldn’t fuckin’ explode. That’s not how allergies work, shithead!”

“I was exaggerating! Don’t you know how language works?”

Vechs cleared this throat, making both of them look over at him. “Problems?”

Altren blinked. “Who the hell…”

Mitven elbowed him. “That’s Vechs, you dimwit. He visited a few times when we were first getting this place set up, remember?”

Altren blinked. “So that’s the other Iirkolav…”

“You’re stupid.” Vian growled from the bed he was lying on, pulling the blanket over his head.

“And you’re horribly ill.” Mitven told him. “And shouldn’t be talking.”

“I shouldn’t be listening to your bullshit, either, but here I am.”

Vechs snorted with laughter. “It looks like you guys still don’t know how to agree on how to treat people.”

“I’m a trained professional and he’s a guy who can make healing potions out of anything and thinks he’s an expert.” Mitven told him, crossing her arms. “I’m telling you, Altren, you have to use my method.”

“Fine, fine, we’ll do it your way! If he loses his vocal cords, it’s your fault.”

“It’s a shame you didn’t lose yours when I treated you for this. It would make my life so much easier.”

Altren grumbled moodily as he left the room to retrieve the mixture that Mitven had suggested, leaving the room much quieter than it was.

“So, what are you here for?” Mitven asked Vechs, looking at him curiously.

“I’m mostly just here to see how everyone’s doing. Iirkolav said you could point me in the direction of the others.”

“Yeah, I can do that. Adrian and Niel live near the edge of the city, by the main gate and right next to Onai and Axid. Shred, Samuel, Tarsen, Tim, and Tranpar all live near the south gate- yes, together, it’s really weird. Baltbee is in town this week, I think. He lives towards the center of the city- just follow the road from the south gate, it’s the last street to the right of the merchant’s square. Nak’s here in the castle but I’m pretty sure you’ve already seen him.”

“Thank you.” Vechs suddenly paused. “What about Nessy? Doesn’t she live here?”

“Um, not really. Sometimes she comes down from the Dragonlands and spends a few weeks in the castle, but she’s not here at the moment.”

“The Dragonlands?”

“Yeah. Mokdal and his mate kinda adopted her and their clan has kinda taken her in. She visits often, though, and she and Mokdal are a huge help. Mira might take you up there to see her if she’s up for it- I know she likes to see other dragons when she gets the chance. She and Shred are sometimes out at the various Skullblade territories, but they’re in town right now as far as I’m aware. Samuel and Tarsen just got back from a trip to the Vicious Wilds, as well.”

“The Wilds? Why were they there?”

Mitven snorted, trying to hold in laughter. “You’ll want to ask them yourself. It’s quite a tale and pretty embarrassing for Tarsen. Can’t say I’m sorry for him, though.”

Vechs raised an eyebrow, but Mitven didn’t elaborate. “Anyway, is that all you needed to know? I have a lot of work that needs doing, so…”

“Right, right. Sorry. Yeah, that was everything. Thank you, Mitven.”

“Anytime.” Mitven grinned at him before heading through the door that Altren had gone through, probably to yell at him some more. Vechs shook his head, amused, before heading out the door to go find the others.

It took several minutes for Vechs to find the main doorway leading out of the castle, but as he approached, someone suddenly dropped down directly in front of him, making him yelp and almost fall backwards.

The form in front of him laughed a bit, reaching out to steady him and keep him from falling. “Sorry. Altren told me you were here and I wanted to see if you were as jumpy as Iirkolav.” The figure pulled the mask down from his face, and that combined with his bright blue eyes made Vechs blink as he recognized him.

“Niel? Holy shit, I almost didn’t recognize you! You look…really different.”

Niel shrugged slightly and stepped back to give Vechs some personal space. He was slightly taller than he had been last time Vechs had seen him, and he looked a lot stronger. He stood differently as well, as if he was always ready to leap out of the way or charge into combat. His green outfit had been swapped for one that would help him blend into the city better, but he still possessed the camouflage cloak that Nessy had given him ten years ago. His eyes were the same, but they seemed a lot happier and not like he was constantly upset and scared. He seemed to have gotten into the habit of wearing a mask over his lower face, similarly to Etho, and his hair was shorter. It still had odd wisps of silver here and there, and it fascinated Vechs just like it had the first time he had seen the young boy in his orb. Two swords hung at Niel’s sides, but Vechs couldn’t tell what the blades were made out of.

“A lot has changed since the Hostiles went down.” Niel told him, smiling. “I’ve learned a lot in that time, mostly from Shred, but some from other people as well, like my sister.”

Vechs raised an eyebrow. “Your sister?”

“Oh, yeah! Sara’s great. She was really young when I, uh, left home, and when she was old enough to set out on her own she wanted to find me. She didn’t really understand why I had been kicked out, and she was pretty surprised to learn that I’m married to one of the three living Davions.” He laughed a bit at that. “Plus I’m friends with Iirkolav and Skera, so that earned me some points in her book as well. She helps out around here sometimes- she’s kinda pissed at our lovely people for kicking me out when I was just a kid.” He shrugged a bit.

“Woah, hang on. You and Adrian are married?

“Well…yeah.” Niel laughed, slightly nervously. “Sorry we didn’t invite you, but you’re a bit busy being a god or whatever.”

“I’m a worldbuilder, not a god. I’m sure not immortal.”

“But you’re old.”

“Hey, watch it!” Vechs swatted at Niel, who gracefully moved out of the way. “I’m not that old!”

“Iirkolav says you’re almost three hundred! That’s old!”

“Iirkolav is an asshole.” Vechs crossed his arms.

“He gets that a lot. Hey, do you want to see Adrian? I know how to get to our home without having to go through the main streets and attracting a lot of attention. I think it’s best if the regular citizens aren’t confused by a lookalike of the king walking down the street.”

“Err, yeah. Lead the way.”

Niel led Vechs down a hallway to the left and through a door, taking him outside and down a small back street that was completely deserted. They went down that way for awhile before they moved out onto the main road, which, this close to the gate in the evening, was mostly deserted as well.

Vechs had raised an eyebrow at some odd sounds he had been hearing, but stopped walking when his eyes paused on the person making them.

A man with dark brown hair and rust-colored eyes was running around on the street in front of a couple of houses, making silly noises as if attempting to imitate a dragon. On his shoulders sat a young child, maybe three or four, giggling with his short arms extended as the man raced around, holding on tightly to the child to make sure he didn’t fall. Vechs blinked, and for a moment he could have sworn he saw shadows keeping the child in place.

Niel didn’t stop, though, and Vechs scrambled to catch up. As they approached, the man stopped and lifted to child down from his shoulders to hold him in his arms. He smiled as they stopped in front of him. He looked surprised to see Vechs, though.

“Vechs! I didn’t know you were coming today.” He shot a brief glare at the shadows. “Hm. Well, hello.”

“Onai? Holy shit.”

“Try not to swear in front of the kid.” Niel scolded.

“Right, right. Sorry.” He pushed his goggles up his face to get a better look at Onai. “I just didn’t expect any of you to have kids, honestly.”

Onai shrugged. “Well, this is my son, Raspen. Raspen, say hi to Vechs.”

Raspen stared at Vechs for a few seconds.

Onai sighed. “He’s shy.”

“Is he mute? I’m assuming that he’s Axid’s, right?”

“No, he’s not mute, and yes, he is.” Onai smiled slightly as he looked down at his son. “He’s just really shy about talking to strangers. He’ll sometimes sign to them, though.” He turned Raspen a little to look at Niel. “Look, see? It’s Niel. Wave to Niel, Raspen!”

Raspen waved a little, and Niel smiled and waved back. “Hey, little guy. Where’s your mom, huh?”

Raspen pointed at one of the houses.

“Is she in there?”

Raspen nodded, bouncing slightly in his father’s arms.

Onai looked towards his home and raised his voice. “Axid! Vechs is out here!”

Axid appeared from the doorway moments later, one eyebrow raised. She signed something that Vechs couldn’t make out to Onai before turning her attention to the worldbuilder, waving hello.

“Hello, Axid! I was just admiring your son. He’s very cute.”

Axid smiled and signed to him, which Onai translated.

[Thank you. I’m very proud of him.] She stepped forward and took Raspen from Onai, smiling at his happy squeals of “Mommy!”

Onai looked Vechs up and down, then suddenly looked at a patch of shadow with wide eyes. “I did not need to know that.”

“What?” Vechs asked, frowning. “What did they say?”

“Nothing I needed to know.” Onai looked at Vechs, clearly disturbed. “Let’s just say your counterpart disturbs me.”

Vechs was about to press him for information when Niel tapped his shoulder. “Onai won’t tell you anything that he doesn’t want to. You wanted to see Adrian, didn’t you?”

“You can get him if you’d like.” Onai put in. “I’d like to talk to Vechs for awhile more, but not about that.”

Niel shrugged and opened the door to the house they were standing in front of, stepping in and shouting something about Vechs up the stairs. There was the sound of someone running, then a loud thumping sound as if they had fallen over.

“I’m okay!” Adrian called and charged down the stairs, almost running into a wall, before scrambling to turn and come out the door. “I’m okay.” He repeated, pausing when he noticed Vechs. “Shit, Niel, I thought you were joking!”

“Shit!”  Raspen repeated cheerfully, getting Adrian some venomous looks from the kid’s parents.

“Woops. Sorry.”

“I’m going to sew your mouth shut one of these days.” Onai told him, rolling his eyes.

Adrian was about to retort when Vechs cleared his throat. “Oh, right, right. Hi.”

“Hey. How have you been?”

“Um…okay, I guess. I…still miss Nia, a lot, but I can control my monstrous form now! Mostly.”

Onai snorted. “You half-destroyed a tower last week.”

“I was mad, okay?”

Vechs rolled his eyes. “You might want to ask Iirkolav for help with that.”

“I would, but he’s always so busy all the time. I guess being king does that to you.” Adrian shivered. “I’d never want to be king.”

“You’re third in line for the throne.” Niel told him, grinning.

“Ack! Don’t remind me!” Adrian covered his eyes. “I’m not a Davion if I close my eyes.”

“Yes, you are. The cape proves it.”

Adrian uncovered his eyes to glare at his cloak. “Traitor.”

Niel snorted in laughter. “You say that a lot to it, hmm?”

Adrian flushed with embarrassment. “Look, the tree incident was not my fault, all right?”

“Tree incident?” Vechs questioned.

“We should move on.” Vechs looked over at Onai and noted that he was a bit red as well. “We all make mistakes and, er, that was not one of my finest moments.”

Axid raised an eyebrow at him and carefully set Raspen down on the ground, making sure he was standing before signing to him.

“I’ll…tell you later.” Onai cleared his throat a few times, and wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. “Anyway, it was nice talking to you, Vechs, but I think Raspen needs a nap.” He took his son’s hand and led him inside.

Vechs looked over at Adrian curiously. “Tree incident?” He repeated.

Adrian shook his head. “Nope. This knight ain’t talking.”

“You’re a knight?”

“Bloodknight Adrian Davion.” Adrian grinned at him. “I kick ass.”

Axid signed something to him and he spluttered in embarrassment, turning red once more. Niel turned a similar shade but giggled hysterically instead.

“What? What did she say?” Vechs demanded.

“She said that he does other things to asses, too, just ask me.” Niel was overcome by another fit of somewhat embarrassed giggles while Adrian hid his face in his hands.

“I swear I don’t know you people.” He mumbled.

“That’s why you’re married to a complete stranger.” Niel nudged him and grinned.

Vechs rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m glad everyone’s doing well. There’s just a bunch more people I need to check up on.”

Niel shot him a concerned look. “You haven’t been to Samuel’s house, yet, right?”

“Nope.”

“Well, you’ll find pretty much everyone else there.”

Vechs blinked.

“I guess people get attached to Samuel. They don’t move out once they move in.” Adrian shrugged.

“Want me to show you where it is?”

“I’d appreciate that, yeah.”

“Don’t take too long.” Adrian warned. “You’re cooking dinner.”

Niel pouted. “Aw, man! Why?”

“Because you’re a little shit and mentioned the tree incident again!”

Niel shrugged. “Yeah, okay, that’s fair. Come on, Vechs. I need to get home to burn dinner as fast as humanly possible to make Adrian cook anyway.”

Vechs snorted in laughter. “If you say so. Bye, guys!” He followed Niel down the street as he waved to Adrian and Axid, shaking his head slightly.

The descendants were just as weird as the Mindcrackers, if not more so.

It took them several minutes to reach their destination, and Vechs sure knew it when he saw it.

Beside one of the houses on a street was a cleared area with grass, a small pond, and a couple of young trees. Curled up in that grassy area was what appeared to be a large mound of shadow until it lifted its head and turned the glowing blue lights that served as its eyes towards Vechs and Niel as they approached.

“Hey, Mira!” Niel called. Mira jumped to her feet and seemed to grin at them (although, considering how her head was a skull suspended by darkness, it was hard to make out facial expressions) and waited for them to approach before bounding forward.

“Hello, hello, hello!” Vechs froze in the sudden fear of being trampled by the dragon- she was almost thirty feet long, after all- but she stopped right in front of them and lowered her head to get a good look at them. “Niel! I haven’t seen you in weeks!” Mira’s tail flicked happily.

“Yeah, I know! How was your trip, by the way?”

Mira stuck out her tongue, which was dark and shadowy like the rest of her. “Boring. Clan problems and whatnot.” She turned her head slightly to look at Vechs. “Who’s this? He smells like Iirkolav.”

“This is Vechs.”

“Ohhh!” Mira sat down and flapped her wings a bit. “I’ve been wanting to meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re the one that Iirkolav is another version of, right? You were the first king of Dalania and accidentally made those nasty Hostiles.”

“Erm, yeah.” Vechs had honestly forgotten that Mira would be a young adult dragon in the ten years that had passed since he had last seen her. “That was….kind of a mistake.”

“Well, things happen and we’re all alive, right?”

“Fifteen of thirty descendants died!” Niel protested.

“That’s only half! Fifty percent is fine in my book.”

“You have a really weird system, then!”

“Children!” Everyone’s attention was pulled to the doorway of the nearby home, in which a Skullblade was leaning. Vechs almost mistook the Ashenhorn for Blame, but the voice and the number of ribs- two- gave it away. Shred seemed close to obtaining her third rib, however, but she seemed as strong and ready for battle as ever.

“Shred!” Mira bounded over to her and lay down back in the grassy area, resting her head next to the door. She shut her eyes (well, the glow dimmed to nothing, which Vechs supposed was the equivalent of closing her eyes) and purred softly as Shred rubbed her head.

Shred tilted her head slightly at the sight of an unfamiliar man standing with Niel. “Niel…?”

Niel led Vechs towards the house before stopping and introducing them. “Shred, this is Vechs.”

“Oh, right.”

Vechs raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. “I thought this was Samuel’s house?”

“Hm! It is.  It’s also my house. Everyone else that lives here is a freeloader-“ she turned her head to look back inside and raised her voice “-especially Tarsen!”

“You better be saying that I’m sexy!” Tarsen’s voice shouted back.

“You better be saying he’s lazy!” Vechs couldn’t identify this second voice, but it was familiar to him somehow.

“Well, I’d better be going, or Adrian will complain that I never do anything useful around the house. It was nice seeing you, Vechs!” Niel waved and darted back down the street, moving faster than Vechs had thought possible from the young ninja.

“He’s doing a lot better.” He mumbled, and Shred nodded in agreement.

“He’s doing much better than when we first found him sobbing in a bush, that’s for sure. Anyway, why are you here, Vechs?”

“Oh, right! I’m just running around checking up on everyone and seeing how they’re doing. I’ve been meaning to for…a few years now, actually, but time flies in the Vortex and I keep forgetting.”

“You’re getting old, you mean.”

“Hey! That’s my joke!”

Shred rolled her eyes and stepped back inside. “Come on in, then. And don’t call my mate old or I’ll be forced to defend his honor.”

“Your…”

Shred sighed impatiently. “Samuel. Get with the times, Davion.”

“Right, right. You’re all married and having children.”

“Only Onai and Axid have children, unless someone isn’t telling me something.”

“Okay, okay, fine. Wait, hang on a sec.” Vechs paused partway through the door. “Isn’t there some law about not being with non-Skullblades?”

Shred’s dark eyes narrowed slightly. “If Blame is going to ignore that, do you think I’m going to give two shits either? I’m the Caretaker of the valk’vanor. I do what I want now either go in the house or stay out.”

“Sorry.” Vechs moved inside and Shred followed, shutting the door behind her.

Samuel appeared from a doorway and tilted his head. “Vechs, right?”

“Geez, am I a celebrity?”

“You’re a different Iirkolav- who is king of Dalania- and you were the first king of Dalania. So, yes. You are.”

“Excellent. I love being famous. Shower me with gifts, peasants.”

“Hm...no.” Shred elbowed him sharply in the ribs before walking over to stand by Samuel.

Vechs pretended to pout until Samuel moved into another room. Lacking anything better to do, he followed, and paused as Tarsen and Baltbee looked up from the board game they were playing.

“Baltbee? I didn’t expect to find you here.”

“Look, you can’t expect to find me anywhere. I’m usually out trading or whatever. I go between Dalania and Kalt’on a lot so most of my life is traveling.”

“Trading?”

“I’m a merchant, shithead. Family business. I deal with caravans.”

“Ohhh. Is that how you got kidnapped by Tarsen and his band of fuckheads, then? Snatched in the night?”

“Not exactly. They just kinda murdered my entire family and ran off with me.” Baltbee shrugged casually.

“You what?!” Samuel demanded, glaring at Tarsen.

Tarsen sat up straighter, glaring in turn at Baltbee. “Baltbee, you said you’d tell them!”

“Woops. Guess I forgot. Yeah, my parents ran a caravan business. We got attacked by a group of bandits who wanted our loot. Both of my parents were killed and they took both me and our stuff. We were heading to a guy who was totally willing to buy me- gross, by the way- when Nia and co. showed up and Tarsen switched sides. That was interesting.” Baltbee looked back at the board game and moved one of his pieces. Tarsen swore furiously.

“That’s…horrible.” Vechs muttered.

“How are you so casual about that?” Samuel demanded.

“It’s been ten years and I have the emotional range of a teaspoon. Sue me.” Baltbee shrugged.

Samuel grumbled for a few more minutes before sighing and sitting down. He invited Vechs to sit as well, then spoke. “Tarsen and I just got back to New Vexia, ourselves.”

“Mitven mentioned that. Why were you guys in the Wilds?”

“Well, someone here doesn’t know how to keep it in his pants-“ Samuel glared at Tarsen “-and got himself infected with some kind of awful disease.”

“Man, you can’t just go telling people that! That’s private stuff!” Tarsen complained.

“Tarsen, you will tell anyone who asks your dick size.”

“I mean…yeah…but that’s my kind of thing to tell, not yours!”

“You literally tell people things about me all the time! Most of which, might I add, are not true!”

Tarsen grinned at him. “Everyone is aware of your eight-inch dick.”

“THAT’S UNTRUE, YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT, AND DISCUSSING IT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE!”

Tarsen put a hand on the side of his mouth as if to prevent Samuel from hearing him speak and loudly whispered to Vechs “That’s what he thinks.”

Samuel glared at him, one of his eyes twitching.

“Would you like me to hit him?” Shred asked, moving to stand up.

“No, no.”

“What about me? Can I hit him?” Baltbee asked, hopeful.

“If you’d like.”

“Sweet!” Baltbee socked Tarsen right in the shoulder. “Samuel told me to!”

“Go fuck yourself, rainbow butt!”

“My rainbow butt is the best butt out there.” Baltbee fired back.

“How dare you insult my ass that way.” Tarsen patted his butt gently as if to comfort it. “Shh. He didn’t mean it.”

Samuel buried his face in his hands. “You’re such a strange person.”

Vechs cleared his throat. “I believe you were telling me a story?”

“Right.” Samuel sighed and exposed his face once more. “Anyway, I took Tarsen to Skera, knowing she could probably cure him. I was right, but she didn’t have what she needed with her- that kind of plant doesn’t grow well here. She was so exasperated with Tarsen’s nonsense that she told him that if he wanted the cure to go get the plant himself, there was probably still some at her hut. Mira wasn’t here and we didn’t have a dragon to fly us, so Tarsen and I both went to the Wilds. I went because Tarsen isn’t actually capable of going in- last time he tried he was almost murdered by a sharrenvar- and Tarsen went because there was no way I was going across the dang continent just because he doesn’t know how to protect himself.

“Now, when we got there, I told him to stay out of the thick trees and to wait for me. I went in but unfortunately I got jumped by three lokolangs. I’m a good fighter, but I’m not that good. Tarsen heard me yell and charged in after me, even when I got mad at him and told him to leave. He helped me fight them off and I yelled at him for a few more minutes about how he could get killed if he stayed and that’s when we realized we were being watched. We looked over to our right and there’s a sharrenvar standing there, watching us, holding a branch of some kind of bush in its mouth. We’re both freaking out because Tarsen has re-entered the Wilds even after being told not to and we’re certain he’s about to die, but the sharrenvar just stepped forward, set down the branch- matching the description of the plant Skera sent us to find- and went on its way.”

Vechs blinked. “He was in the Wilds and it didn’t kill him, even though he was unworthy?”

“No.” Samuel shook his head. “I think it didn’t kill him because he was worthy. He’s…changed, since the last time he went in there. He was willing to sacrifice himself to stop the Hostiles in the Heart of Pain and he was once again ready to sacrifice himself to save me from those lokolangs.” Samuel looked at his friend with an odd look on his face, clearly evaluating the ex-bandit. Tarsen took no notice, moving a piece in the game he was playing with Baltbee and smirking confidently when Baltbee grunted, stumped.

An amulet around Baltbee’s neck- one that Vechs had never noticed before- glowed briefly red. Baltbee grinned slightly to himself and moved a piece. “Take that.”

Tarsen groaned and fell out of his chair. “I hate this guy. I really, really hate this guy.”

“What’s that you’re wearing?” Vechs asked, motioning at the amulet around Baltbee’s neck.

“Hm? This?” Baltbee tugged gently at it. “I got it when I was first starting out with the caravan business after the whole Hostile mess was over.”

“I could have sworn I saw it glow.”

“It’s enchanted. It doesn’t do a whole lot, just warns me whenever something dangerous is around.” He shrugged a bit. “It glows sometimes whenever its scanning the area.”

“Huh. I’ve never heard of that kind of enchantment before.” Vechs mumbled, looking at him oddly.

“There’s a lot of weird enchantments out there.” Baltbee’s amulet glowed again. “This is just one of ‘em.”

“Huh.” Vechs fell silent, thinking, before glancing over at Samuel. “Where are Tim and Tranpar?”

“Tim’s upstairs in his room. He’s been really sick lately so you probably shouldn’t bother him.” Tarsen and Samuel exchanged worried glances. “Tranpar’s in the basement. Knock before you head down there unless you like getting exploded.”

Vechs nodded and got up, following Samuel’s directions to the basement. He knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before knocking again.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Vechs blinked at the unfamiliar voice before the door was suddenly flung open to reveal a young man standing behind it.

He had short black hair and brown eyes that gleamed with both intelligence and mischief. He had a red hat pushed back slightly on his head, as if he had casually tossed it on and hadn’t bothered to fix it over the course of the day. He looked like he’d been working with machinery, with oil-stained gloves and shirt.  Upon seeing Vechs, he grinned, a confident expression that suited him quite well. As he removed his gloves and tossed them on the floor down the stairs, Vechs noticed something odd about the man’s left arm.

Or, rather, his lack of one. In its place was a gleaming metal replacement, seeming to be flawlessly designed and having no exposed wiring or redstone, unlike the previous designs that Vechs had seen.

“Vechs, right?” Tranpar extended his right hand and Vechs clumsily shook it, forcing his eyes away from his left arm and to his face. Puberty had treated Tranpar well, he noticed.

“Yep. Wow, you look…I’d forgotten you would have grown up since I last saw you. How old are you now? Twenty-one?”

“You bet. Man, this is great, I’ve been hoping you’d come here for ages. Want a look around my workshop?”

“Yeah, but, uh…can you explain the arm?”

“What, this?” Tranpar lifted his left arm, then giggled to himself. “There’s quite the story behind that. C’mon down, I’ll tell you. Shut the door.” He led the way down the stairs and moved over to a desk, sitting down in a chair behind it and whirling around a few times before facing Vechs. Vechs hesitantly sat down on a second chair on his side of the desk.

“Alright, so you want to hear about this, right?” Tranpar rested his arm on the table, showing the reflections of the torches on the wall in the gleaming metal.

“Yeah, I’m wondering how you managed to lose one of your arms.”

Tranpar snorted in laughter. “Alright, this is a funny story. You see that?” He pointed to what appeared to be a large, jagged saw blade halfway into the wall. “I was making that and it accidentally got turned on while I was fiddling with some settings. Chopped my arm clean off. So I turned off the device and was just kinda like ‘well, shit.’ No one was home at the time, but I knew Samuel would be home in a few hours, and really my only thought was ‘shit I’ve gotta get this fixed so he doesn’t freak out when he comes home.’  So I quickly wrapped up the stump of my arm and used my working arm to build a quick little robot-arm-thing that I could hook up to my neural networks and use short-term to build a better arm.

“So I got that working and then set to work on making this arm, which wasn’t easy but I had been working on improvements for metal limbs for awhile so I just kinda applied them here.” Tranpar drummed his metal fingers on the desk. “Except, yknow, that takes awhile, and I was so busy, tired, and a bit woozy from blood loss that I didn’t notice how much time had passed until Samuel came down the stairs into the basement. So I hear someone coming down the stairs and I look up and my eyes lock with Samuel’s.  Now, what you need to remember is I didn’t clean up at all. Samuel comes in and he sees me, covered in my own blood, with some kind of weird contraption that looks like a bunch of rods and exposed redstone coming out of my shoulder. I’m working on something that is actively sparking, the floor is covered in my blood, and my left arm is over on the floor.” Tranpar pointed vaguely in the direction of the saw. “That thing is dripping red, and when our eyes lock he screams.” Tranpar burst into hysterical laughter, struggling not to fall out of his chair. “I have never heard a grown man reach that high a pitch before in my entire life!”

Vechs snorted in laughter as well, trying to imagine the calm and collected Samuel screeching like a terrified banshee and failing.

They laughed about that for awhile longer before Tranpar got to his feet. “I should really get back to work. It was nice talking to you, but I need to finish up Shred’s gift. I’ve been so busy lately that I totally forgot.”

Vechs raised an eyebrow. “Shred’s gift?”

Tranpar looked at him like he was insane. “It’s her birthday today! Didn’t you know?”

Vechs blinked in surprise. “No. I had no idea.”

“Oh! Well you should go wish her a happy birthday. Make sure you ask her an embarrassing question too- it’s kind of a tradition to embarrass Shred on her birthday. Bonus points if you embarrass Samuel too.”

Vechs smirked, an idea already forming. “I’ll do that.”

“Fantastic. I can’t wait to hear about it.” Tranpar’s left arm clicked and transformed into some kind of tool that Vechs was completely unfamiliar with. “It’s about to get very volatile down here so you might want to make a hasty retreat.”

Judging by the amount of explosives in the tube that Tranpar was turning to face, Vechs figured that the younger man was right and quickly said his goodbyes before leaving the basement, carefully shutting the door behind him.

He stepped back into the main room and turned to face Samuel, who, before Vechs could even finish opening his mouth, said, “He told you the story of how I found him without one of his arms, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Yes he did. Did you really scream?”

Samuel sighed. “That boy is always out to embarrass me. You’d think he was my brother or something.”

“No, but I am!” Tarsen piped up.

“You’re also a loser.” Baltbee told him.

“What? No I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.” Baltbee moved one of his board pieces. “I win.”

Tarsen crossed his arms and glared, fuming silently.

Vechs rolled his eyes before turning back to Shred and Samuel. He sat down in a chair facing them, taking a moment to word his question before asking it.

“So, Shred, Samuel. Any thought of kids yet?”

Both of them sputtered indignantly, Shred almost inhaling the tea she had been drinking. As they started to protest, Tarsen’s voice rose above the noise.

“Doubtful. I don’t think Samuel knows how to use his dick.”

“I’m asexual, you garden hose, not broken. Just because you can’t keep it in your pants doesn’t mean I can’t keep it in mine.” Samuel growled softly. Tarsen only shrugged in response.

“Oh, that’s right, you can’t.” Vechs pondered that for a second. “Shame. You’d make a good dad.”

Samuel shot a glare at him. “I did just say I’m not broken. I’m not opposed to doing…that…to have children, but I’m not going to go around seducing everything that moves. But no. No thoughts in that direction.” He crossed his arms and alternated between glaring at Tarsen and Vechs.

“Ohh. Awesome. Can’t wait to see what your kids look like.” Vechs sprang to his feet. “Shred, would it be alright with you if I asked Mira to take me to the Dragonlands? I’d like to see Nessy and the other dragons if possible.”

Shred got to her feet. “If you asked Mira to take you, she’d pick you up and fly off with or without my permission. She loves the Dragonlands and would stay there forever if she could- provided I stayed there with her.”

Vechs grinned. “Awesome.” He said goodbye to everyone and raced outside, Shred not far behind. He politely asked Mira to take him to the Dragonlands, which made her very excited and Shred had to calm her down to keep her from bouncing so that Vechs could get up onto her back.

As Vechs got himself situated on Mira’s back, she bubbled excitedly about how happy she was that he was going to the Dragonlands, eventually slipping into Dranonic. She took a breath, then said, in a more level voice, “Ee celkar shun wuim thak’thas va kek nelvethia, vorr kek kalzevrah. Nai-”

“Woah, woah, what about Kalzevrah?” Vechs interrupted, hearing the name of his friend. He didn’t notice the shiver that Mira’s sentence sent down Shred’s spine.

“Oh, woops, wrong language.” Mira flicked her tail, embarrassed. “Kalzevrah is the Dranonic word for winter. I was just saying that I wish you were going to the Dragonlands in the spring instead of the winter, as it’s much prettier that time of year.”

“It’s fine, I imagine I’ll return someday. I’m mostly going for the company. Right! Are we ready to fly?”

“I think so!” Mira crouched down and spread her wings.

“Oh, Shred?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t get too enthusiastic with Samuel, alright? He’s never had practice.”

As Shred began to retaliate, Vechs called, “By the way, happy birthday!” and patted Mira’s side, causing her to take off and leaving Shred’s protests behind in a rush of wind.

~~~

The flight was only a few hours, but it didn’t feel like that long as Vechs leaned back and admired the view of the mountains as they flew. Mira rumbled softly, indicating for him to look forward as she pulled upwards to get over a particularly high ridge of mountains.

As she did, the mountains fell away before them to reveal a valley so huge that Vechs felt like even the word he used to describe it, ‘massive’, wasn’t enough. He could see the shapes of mountains on the other side of where they had crossed and to their right, but to their left, it stretched off further than he could see. Below them, dragons circled and flew, mostly massed around the mountains that seemed to be heavily populated with caves. A huge lake sat in the middle of the Dragonlands, sparkling in the faint moonlight and, although Vechs couldn’t see it, ice along the northern banks. A river ran out of the lake and split into two, one heading northwest and the other southeast. Vechs had no idea how a lake and rivers could work that way, but he supposed that the dragons might have created this place to their liking. Nothing about the Dragonlands was natural, but upon first appearance it seemed like it, other than the dragons flying here and there.

It was beautiful.

“Wow…” Vechs whispered, his voice lost in the wind as Mira slowly began to descend towards the southern river. She couldn’t remember where Nessy lived, so she intended to ask for directions, but they were stopped midair. Mira pulled into a hover as a large purple dragon flew to meet them, hovering in front of them and asking for their names and their business here, particularly Vechs’. Mira explained who Vechs was and why she was bringing him in, and when the purple dragon hesitated, she snarled and informed him that she was the valk’vanor and if he didn’t believe her, he couldn’t believe anyone.

The purple dragon reluctantly left, but only after Mira demanded to know where Nessy’s cave was. He snapped an angry reply before vanishing in a burst of purple energy.

He looked an awful lot like Nessy, Vechs reflected as Mira resumed flying, pointing herself at the cave that the rude dragon had indicated.

As she landed on the ledge outside, a red dragon poked his head out of a nearby cave. His ears perked up. “Mira! Vechs!” Mira moved out of the way to allow Mokdal to leap over to ledge. “I had wondered if you’d ever visit us, Vechs.”

“Yeah, well.” Vechs shrugged. “I’ve been busy.”

“Doing what?”

“…I’d make an Aureylian-related joke but I think using the same joke twice in a day is illegal or something.”

“What is going on out there?” A voice called, and as Vechs slid off of Mira’s back, he looked into the cave that they had landed at. A young human male, perhaps in his mid-twenties, stood there, rubbing his eyes. He had blonde hair with dyed silver streaks and bright blue eyes, almost glowing in the dim light. “Mokdal? Mira? Who’s…?”

“Cessarius, this is Vechs. Vechs, this is Cessarius, Nessy’s….” Mokdal searched for the word.

“Boyfriend?” Cessarius supplied, a twinge of amusement crossing his face. He looked Vechs up and down. “I imagined you…shorter.”

“I get that a lot. Is Nessy awake?”

“No.” Cessarius glowed with silver light before being encompassed by flames. When they faded, they left a relatively small dragon where he once stood- about twenty feet long. He was silver with darker silver stripes along his back, with the same bright blue eyes. He turned his head and roared into the cave, earning loud swearing from what sounded like Nessy. “Now she is.”

Nessy, also in her dragon form, appeared moments later. “What the hell, Cessarius? Haven’t you people ever heard of sleep?” She was larger, Vechs noticed, and no longer appearing to be as weak as she once had been.

“Mira and Vechs are here.”

“Mira and-“ Nessy blinked several times before lowering her head to look at Vechs. “Oh!” She transformed into her human form, as did Cessarius (although he did so somewhat reluctantly). “Hello! I didn’t expect to see you here, especially not at almost midnight.”

“Sorry. I just wanted to see how everyone was doing.” He made a vague motion at Cessarius. “Found someone, did you?”

“Yep.” Nessy grinned and took Cessarius’s hand. “He’s a half-dragon, just like me. He could immediately relate to my issues, although he’s more comfortable as a dragon than as a human.”

“No natural defenses. So weak and helpless.” Cessarius mumbled.

“Can it, sparky.” Nessy said affectionately, nudging him

“Hmm. When they can turn into monsters, sometimes they certainly can hurt. And sometimes they also remove claws.” Mokdal noted, and Vechs grinned sheepishly at him.

“You’re not mad about the whole almost-tearing-your-face-off thing, are you?”

“No, but if you look closely I still have those scars. And the claw that Blame cut still grows slower than the others! It’s infuriating!”

“Woops. Hey, hang on.” Vechs rummaged around in his toolbelt pockets before starting to pull something out.

“No. No way. You don’t still have-“

“Bam! One young Mokdal claw!” Vechs held it up for everyone to see.

“You are kidding me.”

Cessarius looked critically at it. “Mokdal, were you literally four when this was cut off?”

“I was six, and don’t go insulting how small I was back then! I was the same size you are now!”

Nessy yawned. “As great as this is, I am really fucking tired.”

“Sorry.” Vechs tucked the claw back into his toolbelt. “I should probably be heading back. I don’t want to leave Blame and Iirkolav alone for too long. Someone might get hurt.” He climbed onto Mira’s back once more. “Maybe I’ll visit again sometime. Who knows? See ya, everyone!”

Everyone waved goodbye as Mira took off and circled overhead before turning and flying south once more, Vechs smiling to himself. Overall, the descendants were happy, and that was what really mattered now.

~~~

As Vechs re-entered the castle, he paused, noticing a shut door with light streaming out of the crack along the bottom. He carefully ascended the stairs and knocked on the door. “Hello?”

“What? Who is it? Do you have any idea what time it is?”

Vechs instantly recognized the voice and he grinned. “Mom, it’s me.”

A short pause. “Vechs?”

“Well, I’m not pissy enough to be Iirkolav.” He tried to open the door but found it locked. “Let me in?”

Something clicked quietly and the door swung open, allowing Vechs to see Skera on the other side. She looked exactly the same as she had two hundred years ago, when he had met her for the first time.

“You never change, do you?”

“Nor do you. Come in, come in! Sit down.”

Vechs sat down beside her and leaned forward to look at what she was doing. “What is that?”

“It’s a book.”

“I know that. What’s it about?”

Skera cleared her throat and picked it up, sliding it into a drawer. “That’s…not important.”

Vechs frowned at her, but she carried on before he could question her. “How have you been? You don’t visit.”

“Um…woops?”

“Hmph! Woops doesn’t cover it. I didn’t get to raise you and I don’t get to hang out with adult you, either.”

“You helped me build Dalania!”

“That’s not enough time!”

“Okay, true. But I’m doing fine. Reviving the Hostiles to be friendly. How are you?”

“Busy. But I enjoy it.” Skera smiled at him. “I’m just glad the corruption is gone. I don’t have as much to worry about.”

Vechs smiled, and then frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Wait, hang on. You’re pretty much immortal, right?”

“Essentially, yes. Why?”

“You got that way through a potion?”

“A potion that I drink every few years. What’s this about?”

“Why haven’t you shared it with anyone else?”

“Do you have any idea how much humanity would misuse this kind of thing?” Skera shivered at the idea. “Besides, it has to be created differently for each specific person, and getting the correct balance is very difficult and very disastrous if you get it wrong.”

Vechs looked startled. “How did you get it right?”

Skera winked. “I’ll tell you that story another time. It’s quite long and I believe you need to get Blame back home.”

“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about him.” Vechs got to his feet, and Skera followed. She hugged him tightly.

“Come visit more often.”

“I will.” He assured, hugging her back.

She released him and stepped back. “Now get going! Say hello to Aureylian for me.”

Vechs nodded and left, turning back towards the staircase he had descended earlier after leaving Iirkolav’s study and heading up the stairs and knocking on the door, waiting for his counterpart’s call of “Come in” to enter. He smiled slightly upon seeing Iirkolav and Blame sitting together. They looked up when he entered, and Blame sighed quietly before getting to his feet.

“We have to go back, huh?”

“Unfortunately. Iirkolav needs to get his beauty sleep in order to run a country tomorrow.”

Iirkolav groaned. “Can’t I get a day off?”

“Yeah, sure. When your son murders you.”

“I don’t have a son!”

“Well, then, nope. No days off for you.”

Iirkolav sighed. “Shithead. Alright, get going, you two. I need sleep.” He got up and hugged Blame. “Don’t wait so long between visits, alright?”

“I won’t.” Blame smiled at him, but, glancing at Vechs, quickly wiped his face of expression. He cleared his throat. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay.” Iirkolav smiled, leading them to the secret doorway in the other room. He opened it up for them and watched them walk down the tunnel until they faded into darkness.

As they walked, Vechs smirked slightly and raised an eyebrow as he looked at Blame. “Did you have fun with Iirkolav?”

Blame grunted in annoyance. “Not in the way you’re thinking.”

“Really? Then what’s that on your neck?”

Blame yelped and quickly covered the mark, glaring daggers at Vechs as what little of his face that showed through his mask turned bright red. “N-nothing.”

“Really? Cause it looks kinda like a person with sharp teeth got kinda enthusiastic about your neck right there. In fact, it looks exactly like that.”

“Vechs, if you don’t shut up, I will sew your mouth shut.”

“Do you tell Iirkolav that? Damn, does he get off on that? He’s pretty messed up.”

Blame snarled at him and Vechs took off down the tunnel, his friend not far behind, shouting for Vechs to slow down so he could kick his ass.

After a few seconds, both of them were laughing, but they didn’t slow, running together all the way back home.

----

Mindcrack territory, Vortex. November 16, year 787 Minecraftia time. Time instance 483Z.

Four years later…

Blame was asleep when someone pounded on his door. He grumbled for them to go away before Vechs practically kicked down his door.

“BLAME THIS IS IMPORTANT! WAKE THE HELL UP!” He snatched Blame’s pillow from beneath his head and hit him in his masked face with it.

“What the hell is WRONG with you?!” Blame demanded, getting to his feet. “What’s going on?!”

“Guude’s on his way back, he’s on his way back!”

“Back from what? I didn’t know he left!”

“To get Iirkolav, you dense piece of shit! Iirkolav’s re-joining us today!” With that, Vechs raced from the room.

Blame’s eyes widened and a grin spread across his face. He quickly got dressed and bucked on his sword belt before rushing out after Vechs, skidding into the room with the portal out of the Vortex. The other Mindcrackers were gathering, chattering excitedly about their number about to be at thirty-two, although the fact that they would now have two Vechses was a matter for some concern.

Before long, the Mindcrackers were all gathered. They watched the gateway intently until suddenly the door swung open and Guude stepped through, a wide grin on his face. Iirkolav wasn’t far behind, left foot clanking noisily on the floor. He took a few steps forward before Blame almost tackled him in excitement, forgetting that the others were watching.

“Woah, hey! Don’t throw me back out of the portal!”

“Sorry.” Blame stepped back, embarrassed. “It’s just…now you’re here. Here! Forever.” He grinned widely and hugged Iirkolav again.

“Are you going to let the rest of us get excited for him being here, or are you going to keep him for yourself?” Nebris asked, amused. “I’m a bit fond of him too, you know. I mean, he kinda saved Etho.”

Blame stepped back, allowing the others to greet Iirkolav, but kept a tight grip on his hand.

“Dude. The gray hair? That does not suit you.” Chad told him. “You should dye it.”

“Yeah, I’ve been considering that.” Iirkolav looked critically at a strand of hair. “What color, though? I could just go black, but…” He glanced at Vechs, and grins lit up their faces at the same time.

“Blue?” Iirkolav asked.

“Blue.” Vechs confirmed.

“I like your hair.” Blame mumbled, quietly enough so that only Iirkolav could hear him. He raised an eyebrow, but shrugged a bit.

“I’ll think about it, Chad. I want to settle in a bit first.”

“Would you like me to set up a room for you, or do you want to share with Blame?” Guude asked, but he knew the answer.

“I think we can share.”

“Make sure to soundproof the door!” Vechs called, earning a growl from Blame and a wink from Iirkolav.

Aureylian swatted his arm. “Behave.”

He grinned at her. “Never.”

Blame exchanged looked with Aureylian. “I think we’ve made a horrible mistake.”

“Maybe. But I like my mistake.” Aureylian told him, hugging Vechs and smiling.

“Yeah, so do I.” Blame admitted, squeezing Iirkolav’s hand.

Vechs stepped forward and tapped Iirkolav’s shoulder. “You know what you and I both being here means, right?”

“Hm? What?”

“We can make really mean maps, really quickly.”

Iirkolav grinned, pushing his goggles down over his eyes. “I like this idea. I like this idea a lot.”

“I’m not sure if I do.” Paul told them, crossing his arms. “Twenty-one little monsters is enough. I keep finding Xevdramon in my sink.”

“We’ll make the next one too big to fit through doors.” Vechs promised. “C’mon! We need to plan stuff out!” He grabbed Iirkolav’s free hand and dragged him down the hallway. Iirkolav shook his head, laughing, and then looked behind him at Blame, who hadn’t let go of his other hand.

Iirkolav had a funny feeling that Vechs wouldn’t be able to make Blame let him go, and Iirkolav was fine with that.

He never wanted him to.

---

Paltross’ moon, Valkeria system. November 27, year 789 Minecraftia time. Time instance 483Z.

Two years later…

Tranpar stepped back, looking at his handiwork. Planted on the gray and rocky surface of the moon was a simple white flag, mounted on a steel pole that Tranpar had driven into the surface. At the base of the flag sat four framed photographs, each a picture or realistic drawing of each member of the team who had helped plan for this trip, had wanted to make it here, that were no more. Tranpar gazed into the faces of his friends- Xullos, Velloh, Tim, Claire- before turning away, facing the world he had left behind. Blue seas were obscured here and there by patches of white clouds, and three masses of land broke up the monotony of the blue.

It was beautiful, he reflected, but it was equally deadly. He took a deep breath of the air inside his suit before glancing one final time at the flag and photographs. He turned away from them and returned to the vehicle that had taken him to the moon in the first place, climbing in and setting off. The form of Tranpar’s invention faded quickly into the darkness of space, and soon all evidence that he had ever been there, save the mementos and footprints he had left, was gone.

A faint, unnatural wind stirred the flag gently, as if the spirits of the dead were waving goodbye to their friend, just as the living had done back down on Minecraftia not long before.

Comments

[ex_writeitinsharpie308]

FIRST!
Also, Bliirkolav. And Vechs making innuendos. And the ending. And everything.
This is seriously just perfect.

"“Blue?” Iirkolav asked.
“Blue.” Vechs confirmed."
They're going to destroy the word by accident, aren't they?

[tanadin]

They might. But they'll have fun doing it. ^^

[thezombineer]

Vechs already tried. Didn't you read Residual or Fated? :p

[peanut_emma]

Perfect send off
Loved it
(And yes, I'm going to be that annoying person that comments on this in a years time. I almost did it with the first monstrous chapter XD)

[tanadin]

EMMA EVERYONE IS COMMENTING ON THE FIRST CHAPTER YOU MIGHT AS WELL XD

[featherscope]

Ohmigosh!
That was just so cute and just perfect. I honestly could gush about this series so much, and that ending was so perfect. I feel so guilty that I stopped commenting, because I have loved this since the beginning and it has cheered me up countless times. Thank you so much Tanadin.

All the conversations in this chapter were just so... Heartwarming, and ships, yay! Oh and when Tranpar went to the moon I was just...

Honestly I can't thank you enough, I have felt priveliged to read this. You can go on to do great things.

Thank you.

[tanadin]

Thank you for reading and sticking with me so far. <3

[subliminalcircles]

*clapping*
*applause*
*shouting*
*loud whistling*
*standing ovation*

[(Anonymous)]

*joins in all above listed things*
-Observing Anon

[eclipse3]

*Joins in as well*

[kluuless]

*also joins*

[(Anonymous)]

That was perfect. I will return to this often. I don't know why, but that ending part made me sad and uneasy. It was so... fittingly final, a character moving on from their past adventure into a new one, off into the endless void of space, probably never to return. Saying goodbye to all of the friends he left behind, living and dead. It's strangely poetic and symbolic to real life. I love this whole thing, but especially all of Vechs' side comments that make people uncomfortable. These characters and their universe will forever live in my heart. Grenq hai etp dogm ay fkegugipu, Tanadin. (I don't actually know if that's the right letter for k, but everything else is good I think)
-Observing Anon

[(Anonymous)]

*Gretq hai etp dagm ay fkegogipu
-Observing Anon

[jiminee]

HE GOT TO THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i can't yell at you on skype about this yet but be warned i WILL, that ending was my favourite thing. I got so scared when Raspen was introduced but for once you were'nt lying, altohugh I guess it would be hard for an infant to murder anyone. hands down my favourite line was
“Can’t I get a day off?”

“Yeah, sure. When your son murders you.”

BUT I LOVED ALL THE BLIIRKOLAV JFSIDGHWRTH i cant believe the shadows told onai that iirkolav was kinky. ALSO DID I MENTION THAT LAST BIT WAS PERFECT. im in school you damn unsparkly garden hose dont frickin make me cry,OK??
also THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS SERIES AND POSTING IT SHFJKADHKHK im just. a doaym emotional jimmy ok

[jiminee]

also, fluffy rainbow butt :3
and so many dong jokes. and butt jokes

[scara]

So many moments here made me laugh, the 'other than Aureylian' comment, Vechs telling Blame and Iirkolav to keep it safe, Vechs saying that he should be showered with gifts and then getting elbowed by Shred, Samuel and Tarsen's banter, Tranpar having done what everyone said he would do and lose a limb experimenting and Vechs teasing Blame on the way back the first time.

Loved the reference to the end of Residual, you can rest when your son murders you.

Take it nothing came of Tarsen and Kaepravah? And what's Iilthrid up to? Still working the kinks out of his back after thousands of years of sleep?

Also a yay for Nessy finding happiness with another half dragon. I take it that the dragon who stopped Vechs and Mira was Nessy's father? Who can't be best pleased that his daughter is part of the clan but is having to like it or lump it due to Mokdal.

The tree incident sounds interesting. Was Adrian drying off from a dip in a lake or something and had only his cape on behind a tree and Onai mistook the cape for something else and tore it off with the shadows?

Also I think the shadows were probably letting Onai know what Iirkolav was up to with Blame while Vechs was visiting. ^_^

I've probably gushed on long enough, but this was a fitting ending for the series, you've done an excellent job Tanadin and I have enjoyed this crazy ride so much and don't really want to get off; but the lights are going out and it really is time to step off of the roller-coaster. And I'm still emotional about the last bit with Tranpar finally making it to the moon :')

(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)
(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@)

[scara]

Also the most important outcome of this series Biirkolav together forever :D

Greatest Story

[eclipse3]

I started crying at that last bit. He made it. And seeing those names? That just cemented that this story was over. I'm still kinda in shock about that. If there was an Author Hall of Fame, I would put you in there. It's where you deserve to be.
Greatest Story. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::) (@)(@)(@)(@)(@)(@) cookies and cinnamon rolls for one last time.
(one reason I like you is that you finish your stories unlike so many others)
(wait shit Tim died!)

Re: Greatest Story

[tanadin]

Thank you. <3
Yep! And I'm starting another story. That I will also finish.
yes he did. :P

[kluuless]

im GOING TO GO CRY NOW BRB

I almost cried just from reading the ending bit again ;-;

THANK YOU TANADIN FOR THIS <3

wait TIm
did he die from the sickness thing?

aw :C

anyway pls excuse me while I go cry more *dies*

(::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)

[tanadin]

Yeah, he did :c

[thezombineer]

Tana, I've already said this on Skype, but

This was amazing. Everything from that first chapter (which I almost didn't read!) all the way up to now has been wonderful. Sure, you bullshitted at times, but name one author who hasn't.

Thank you for everything.

You are officially my favorite author.

[tanadin]

Thank you but WHY AM I YOUR FAVORITE THERE ARE BETTER ONES OUT THERE

[tdscott8]

lol blame finally got a break.
Inb4 brutally murdered by one of Iirkolav and Vechs' creations woops

[tanadin]

LET HIM HAVE HIS BREAK

[(Anonymous)]

That was so wonderful and amazing and perfect. I really can't express my feelings. All the jokes, the laughter. It's good to know everyone is happy. They need happiness.

Every line of this was perfect. I was laughing out loud for the majority of the time I was reading. I appreciate so much the time you put into this, Tanadin, and I will read this over and over again. So perfect. So perfect.

And Bliirkolav is together forever. Just as they've needed to be since Residual. Finally they are at peace. I'm so happy right new. Happy for all the characters.

(::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)

-the lurkiest lurker

[tanadin]

Thank you. ^^ I really appreciate everything you guys have to say.

It makes the pain of ending it worth it.

[(Anonymous)]

<3


-SaphireTheWerid on mobile :p

[the_mysterious_m]

Been here since Chapter 1 woo hoo!

That was a perfect conclusion. Thank you so much for writing this. This has also inspired me to write something, which is an accomplishment in itself considering how little I write for this. I'm really going to miss this. Your writing has really improved.

Fantastic job with this, and the entire trilogy!

[tanadin]

Thank you. ^^ I look forward to seeing what you write!

[the_mysterious_m]

Just HAD to get one more death in, didn't you? Also, you FINISHED this. That amazes me. Part of me expected monstrous to disappear, but I'm very glad it didn't.

[tanadin]

So did I. But here we are.

shady sollux herte

[(Anonymous)]

hi i'll finish reading when i can love yall

Re: shady sollux herte

[(Anonymous)]

ALSO OW WHYD YOU KILL TIM? ALSO BLUE HAIRED IIRKOLAV ALSO ITS TWO VETCHESES AND THEY'RE COMIN TO YER TOWN

[tanadin]

ANONS CAN NOW COMMENT THANKS TO SHAWN (sol tried)

[(Anonymous)]

REALLY?! Yippee! I'm so happy! I still want to try to get an account, but this is good for now! I'm excited! *goes to double check Dallenkra*

-the lurkiest lurker

[the_mysterious_m]

I guess you could say you've never done anything this MONSTROUS before. It will leave a RESIDUAL impact. It was FATED to be this way.

[(Anonymous)]

You know you were just asking for it, Tanadin. xD

-the lurkiest lurker