Divided by Hostilities (Chapter 1 and introduction)

[jiminee]

 Hey there Saladers! I just found a Mindcrack AU I was working on ages ago and decided to start posting it here as a series. It's called Divided by Hostilities (but I might change the name idk).
It's set in two kingdoms, and is basically set in Minecraft. I'm keeping the time setting ambiguous. It involves all the Mindcrackers but focuses on a certain few. The Mindcrackers' appearances are based on their skins (except for the non-human ones, I have made them human.) The perspectives jump around a lot, especially in the first chapter or so.
One more thing, I'm really bad at updating serial fics but I'll try my hardest to keep on top of this one D:
Enjoy!

Fighting monsters brought on a certain type of adrenaline that was difficult to get by doing anything else. Vechs swung his razor-sharp diamond blade with ease, neatly dispatching another creeper before it exploded. Today it was monsters. Other times, it was the neighbouring kingdom, and the blood of other people would stain his blade.
You weren’t supposed to go past the borders of the forest. There was a distinct no-man’s-land between the kingdom of Daedalia and the kingdom of Abattia. Battles sometimes took place there, but most of the time it was a wasteland of flat terrain pocked with holes left by explosives and creepers. Vechs could see it now, past the shoddy, broken fence at the edge of the forest, a bloodstained scar that ruined an otherwise pretty view. Off in the far distance were the twisting spires of Abattia, and even further than that was the pristine, unspoiled mountain range.
Vechs sighed, smoothing down the front of his sweat-soaked hair with his fingers. He raised his sword as a zombie approached, ready to kill it swiftly, but an arrow whizzed past his ear and struck the monster dead.
“Hello,” said a voice. Vechs turned around, heart pounding and sword ready. It was not a voice he recognised. A figure was approaching him from the wasteland, stepping over the fallen wooden fence and weaving through the trees.
Vechs studied the man. He almost definitely came from Abattia. He wore what looked like hide clothing, stained with red and blue. He had a feather headdress on, and carried a shining enchanted bow and a quiver of arrows.
“You’re from Abattia,” said Vechs nervously, holding out his blade. “You’ll get in trouble if you get caught out here.” The stranger laughed.
“I’m not afraid of your authorities,” he said smoothly. “I just wanted to see how the hunting is in the forests over here. As you saw, I’m quite a good shot with a bow.”
Vechs did not trust the stranger at all. He gripped his sword which was slippery with sweat, and gulped.
“You’ll be arrested if you kill me. Just b-because you’re from Abattia, there’s no point in acting like you can come here and do whatever you want.”
“Pshh, please,” said the stranger. “If I thought that, I would have come in the main gate. I’m sneaking out here at the back of this godforsaken forest so people don’t ask questions. Unfortunately, you’re here.”
Vechs stared at him. “Ok, I won’t kill you, if you don’t kill me. But you should probably go back to your kingdom if you know what’s good for you.”
Laughter. “I’m not afraid of you. Let me hunt in your forest and I won’t hurt you. We might even become friends.”
Vechs sighed. “Okay, but I still don’t entirely trust you.”
“Great!” The stranger laid down his bow and held out a hand. “My name is PauseUnpause. Most people just call me Pause.”
“Vechs.”

 

Pause went back to Abattia satisfied. He had gained a lot of experience this afternoon, and brought back supplies of gunpowder, rotten meat, skeleton bones, string and other loot. He was intrigued by the Daedalian man, Vechs, who seemed cautious but had great spirit and was a skilled monster fighter. Pause knew he wasn’t supposed to cross the wasteland into Daedalia, but he knew that it was unlikely either kingdom’s authorities were that interesting in enforcing those particular laws. They had bigger things to worry about.
Pause was sneaking in through a small, crumbling hole in the city wall when he heard a voice.
“Pause! What are you doing?!” It was Millbee, the shepherd who Pause was quite fond of. The man wore a brightly coloured coat of dyed sheep’s wool, and was one of the kingdom’s most well-loved citizens.
“Shh!” Pause said, then hurried through the hole. “Sorry, I just sneaked out to hunt in Daedalia. Don’t tell anyone, ok?”
“You could have been caught!”
“No, it was fine. I got into the forest, nobody saw me.”
“You’re lying.” Millbee could tell these sorts of things.
“Well… ok. One guy saw me. He was hunting, and we made an agreement not to hurt each other.”
“He’ll tell the king, for sure.”
“No… he didn’t seem the type to do that sort of thing. Anyway, I’m gone now; there would be no point in telling anyone. What would they do?”
Millbee sighed. “Just don’t do anything stupid, Pause.”
“I won’t! Millbee, you don’t need to worry about me, ok?”
“Ok,” said Millbee, not meaning it. He always worried about Pause.

 

Vechs came back to his home with his spoils from hunting. He planned to visit his friend, Paul Soares Jr., but first he wanted to prepare a gift for him. He had gained enough experience from hunting to enchant a sword, so he made a new diamond one and enchanted it. Smite V, Looting III, Unbreaking II was engraved on its glimmering handle when he pulled it from the enchanting table. Not bad, Vechs thought, placing the sword away carefully and grabbing some food. He started walking to Paul’s house.
Paul Soares lived in a tree house he built himself. It was cosy, and had a beautiful view of the ocean. Vechs arrived and knocked on the door.
“Come in. Vechs! Nice to see you,” said Paul, ushering him inside. Paul was an older man, well known as a seasoned explorer and survivor. He thrived on disappearing into the wild and living on his own, trying to stay alive in the harsh conditions the world threw at him. At the moment he was living at home though, and was great company with his stories of adventure.
“I brought you something,” said Vechs, handing him the sword.
“Oh, wow! I needed a new sword. Thank you so much, this is a powerful-looking weapon.”
“Yeah it is. 30 levels of experience on that baby,” said Vechs, glad Paul liked it.
“Great! Sorry I don’t have anything to give you at the moment, but I will repay you as soon as I can.”
The two of them moved into the main room of the treehouse.
“So,” said Paul, sitting down and motioning for Vechs to do the same, “What’s been happening in your life lately?”
“Well… Something strange did happen today. I was hunting in that forest, you know, out by the wasteland, and I met a guy from Abattia. He said he was just hunting in the forest, but…” Vechs trailed off.
“Sounds suspicious… have you ever seen him before besides today?” said Paul, frowning.
“No. He was wearing animal hide clothing though, and was a little shorter than me. Not much though. He looked maybe half-native.”
“Odd. Are you sure he wasn’t a spy or something?”
“I didn’t think about that. I’m not sure. I only gave him my name, and he left after a couple of hours, and went back the same way across the wastelands. He didn’t seem to be trying to get information out of me, if that’s what you mean.”
“That’s really strange. Maybe go back tomorrow, and see if he’s there.”
“Yeah, I might do that. Wanna come with me?”
“Sounds like a plan. Two is better than one, and he’d probably be less likely to attack you if I were there.”
Vechs grinned. “Thanks!”

 

Pause groaned and flopped onto his bed. He couldn’t tell Millbee or any of his other friends the real reason he went to Daedalia. He sighed, burying his face in the pillow. The daydreams were returning. He pushed them away. Pull yourself together.
The reason he’d sneaked out to Daedalia today was to try and catch a glimpse of the man he’d seen two weeks ago. It was the first time he’d hunted there, and he was scared to death of getting caught. He found his way across the wasteland and over the broken down fence, staying on the very edge of the forest as he quietly slew monsters. He didn’t stay long though, as he heard another person moving through the trees. He stiffened as he saw the man quite clearly. He wore a bloodstained apron and had dark brown hair. Pause would never forget the image of the face that turned to him with surprise, blue eyes widening in shock as he hastily stumbled, turned then ran back across the wasteland.
He returned to the forest after three days and wasn’t seen by anyone, so he went back every day after that. Nobody saw him until today, and Pause never saw the bearded man with the bloody clothes. But Pause admitted to himself, that very first day when he’d fled, that he was definitely attracted to the man. Pause was good at being honest with himself, and he knew that his attempts to contact the bearded man were probably futile. But still he returned to that forest, every day just in case.
Now, he cursed himself. He should have asked the tall hunter, Vechs, about the bearded man! Pause knew that would have been highly suspicious, and he likely wouldn’t have gotten a straight answer, but he should have at least tried. Daedalia was a pretty small kingdom, Vechs probably knew a lot of the citizens. Pause sighed. He would go back tomorrow anyway.

 

Guude rubbed his forehead worriedly as he read the letter he’d just been handed by the messenger. It was from Zisteau of course, the king of Abattia. And it was almost exactly the same as many letters he’d received in the past. Zisteau was demanding Guude hand over some Daedalian land to the kingdom of Abattia in return for a measly amount of treasure. If done peacefully and without complaint, there would be no conflict. But if King Guude refused the offer, war would be a distinct possibility.
Guude hated being constantly bullied by Abattia. There was really nothing he could do. Many bloody wars had been fought in the past over petty things like this. He wished he could be a better king and protect his kingdom and people, but he often had no choice. Sighing, he pulled out a quill and a fresh sheet of paper and pondered over how to word his reply.

 

Pause decided to go to the bar to drown his sorrows. Millbee was coming too, though, so Pause couldn’t explain to him why he was so intent on getting drunk.
The bartender, an oddly vampiric individual known as TheJims, said little to any of his customers. He wordlessly served Millbee and Pause two enormous mugs of ale, and the two headed over to a booth where they could talk and drink. They were soon joined by two friends: Pyro, a younger Irish man who constantly wore the skin of a dragon he claimed to have killed and Avidya, who ran a martial arts dojo.
“Pyro! What are you doing here?” said Millbee, slurring a little. Pyro was well known as the court messenger. “Why aren’t you at the palace?”
“I don’t know why but the King just unexpectedly dismissed me. I think he was doing something secret.”
“That’s weird. So you decided to come here.”
“Yeah!” Pyro laughed. “Usually come here whenever I have time off. Met Avidya on the way and he decided to stop by for a drink as well.”
“What’s up with Pause?” asked Avidya. Pause was slumped back in the corner of the booth, staring out with glassy eyes and a distant expression. “How drunk is he?”
Pause hadn’t said a word since Pyro and Avidya arrived.  “I dunno,” said Millbee. “Pause? Pause!”
“Uh, sorry, drifted off a bit there,” said Pause sheepishly. “Hi Pyro, Avidya.”
“Are you okay mate? You look a little sad.” said Pyro.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Pause took a sip of his ale.
Millbee glanced at Pyro. “He’s been like that all afternoon. Don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
“Millbee,” said Pause suddenly, downing a huge gulp of his drink, “I really like, love you man.”
Millbee laughed. “Love ya too, mate.”
“He is really drunk,” said Avidya, concerned.
“’C’mon, man let’s get you home, said Millbee. “Sorry we have to go so soon,” he nodded apologetically at Pyro and Avidya.
“No problem. Want us to walk to his house with you?” said Pyro.
“No, don’t worry about that. Stay here, have a good time.”
“Okay, see you later mate,” Pyro said. Millbee waved a goodbye and escorted the stumbling Pause out of the bar and towards his home.

Zisteau smiled. He had issued an offer to the king of Daedalia, some of their land in exchange for a sum of treasure. Zisteau had plans to reclaim the wasteland between the two kingdoms. By asking for a small amount of Daedalian land, he could begin to connect the kingdoms, start building in the wasteland, and eventually, of course, control Daedalia entirely. The little kingdom with its nervous wreck of a king would stand no chance.