Alex Enderson

## The Hellderac Empire

### Hellderac's Background

Of the great empires of old one stood out from the others. The Empire of Hallderac was recently discovered by the people of Ilistrus when they ventured into the realm of the past now known as the nether. What they found were only the ruins of this once great empire. Now the remains are slowly being plowed away by to make room for the new empires of the nether. Ages past the nether was a place much like the overworld, except with only one type of animal. Something similar to a pig had come into being and over millions of years had undergone something similar to what happened to humans. One major difference between this species and humans was that this species was not plagued by infighting as humans are today. Because these pigs did not seek to hurt each other they worked together to construct one of the greatest civilizations ever seen. The empire of Hallderac stretched for fifty thousand years and was, at its peak, four times stronger than the combined might of all the realms of Ilistrus.

### Fall of the Hallderac Empire

At the height of the empires power a being chanced across the empires domain. This being was not a happy with the empires long lasting rule and so it decided that the best way to remove the empire was to burn it to the ground. This being brought fourth an army at least five times the size of what the empire could muster. By summoning the army the being brought monsters from the deepest caves and highest mountains out of hiding. Hallderac empire had be able to fight off these monsters the times they had surfaced before but this time was different. Every last monsters hiding in the depth was brought out at the same time and rallied into a singular force. The empire could not hold its own with this army even with fifty thousand years of military expertise. The first bastions fell within the week and the outer reaches of the empire were taken. To make sure the empire of Hallderac would never rise again the being left groups of monsters to ocupy the taken land. Now only five thousand miles from the center of the empire the army of monsters prepared to attack the heart of the empire. For only 12 days the Hallderac military was able to repel the army from its inner borders and soon the second line of bastions fell. As it marched forward the army met stiffer and stiffer resistance. Over the next two months the army of monsters forged its way to the last line of defense. The gilded gates of Hallderac stood before them and with them stood an army powerful enough to rival any other. At its helm stood Kryl of house Enderson, last of the Hallderac emperors. Kryl had drawn all of his forces to the capital and outfitted them with the best weapons and armor he had. On Hallderacs day of reckoning the army of monsters swarmed the walls and was halted. Over two million arrows had taken flight and for a few seconds the world turned dark as the deadly shafts blocked the sun. When they fell over half the front line was dead. The monsters army was not even phased. They surged forward and used ladders, three hundred feet long, to scale the walls. Only a small amount of troops were able to be stationed on the walls so Kryl ordered that the gilded gates be opened so the empire could face the monsters head on. The next battle took an entire week to be decided and in the end Krly managed to surround the bulk of the remaining forces. Hallderac had defeated the monsters army and was about to breath a sigh of relief when a lone figure wearing blood red armor and a pitch black coat strode towards them. The being walked through the army and stopped before Kryl. "May the world burn," was the only thing the being said. The being knelt down and reached towards the ground. The instant his finger touched the grass started turning from green to yellow to brown. The death spread outwards killing trees, grass, and bushes alike. Then the noise of a million thunderclaps was heard as lightning struck the ground all around. An unstoppable blaze spread around to everything engulfing all buildings not made of stone. This scorch is the reason the nether is the way it is today. From the ground rose new monsters that surrounding what was left of Kryl's army. The monsters slaughter anyone who stood before them and started killing their way towards Kryl. The emperor and what was left of his men attempted to flee to the keep in the heart of the city. There they prepared to make their final stand. With the army of monsters drawing closer Kryl turned to his wife and said, "Take our son and go through the portal in the cave under this city. Leave so they may never end us all." Kryl's eyes turned sad and he took off the age old crown that rested upon his head and gave it to his wife, "When he comes of age give him this crown so he may remember his past." Dinra Enderson took her son Alex and went down a hidden passage down into a cave with a line of obsidian ringing around it. Dinra pulled a lever and caused a spark to jump. The spark lit a torch that Dinra took and touched to the obsidian ring. In an instant the room glowed purple as a portal stretched across it. She walked through it and once on the other side heard a noise as the portal snapped shut behind her.

### The Nether After the Fall

   After Kryl sent his wife and son to the overworld the world did not last much longer. In less than a day the keep was overrun and all of the people inside were killed. The wild fires caused by the lightning turned out to be the least of Hallderacs problems. Once the whole world had burned the next phase began. The rivers, lakes, and oceans started to get thicker and hotter. Over the course of the next day they finished transforming into lava. The monsters that had been used to destroy Hallderac were released from their spell and almost instantly started attacking each other. The army finished itself off and almost nobody was left. The being had made way for the new inhabitants it wished to raise. The last bit of magic it preformed sealed the doom of the nether and of the people of Hallderac. New trees budded that were hostile to life. They were red and blue with moss like leaves. The Hallderac citizens started to morph into monsters who would all attack if someone threatened one of them. A new species was born as a laughable imitation of the once great pigs of Hallderac. Known as the Piglin they were used to occupy the fortresses left behind. Other monsters rose from the ground like Hoglins, Wither Skeletons, and Blazes. When the transformation completed the nether looked as it does today.

## Alex's Early Days

### Dinra's Time in Ilistrus

Dinra found herself in a world almost like the one she just left except that the trees looked younger and there was no structures to be seen. She wandered with her baby in her arms for about two days before she spotted civilization. When she went into the town she saw that the people were not like her. The inhabitants were in general a foot taller than her and a bit skinnier. She had come across a human town in this alternate world. She went to the first person she saw and asked if there was any place she could stay. He pointed towards a larger building that looked to be a inn. Over the next week Dinra found a job and started to look for places to live. Over the course of two years Dinra and Alex had a stable life.

### The Imperial Crown of Hallderac

   When Alex was about seventeen he had settled into a quiet life in a small kingdom in the northern reaches of the world. He was working towards becoming a journeyman blacksmith and was an exceptional metal worker and business man. He was enlisted as a minute man for the kingdoms army. He was proficient with swords and spears but was exceptionally good at using a bow. In the time leading up to his eighteenth birthday he finally finished his apprenticeship and became a blacksmith in full. On the eve of his eighteenth birthday Alex was very interested in what he would get as a gift. It was custom for the families in the village to give tools and trinkets to their children when they came of age. He was so wrapped up in it that he did not sleep for the whole night and lay fantasizing about what he might get. He dreamed of metal working tools such as anvils and bellows. He dreamed of a forge of his own, golden trinkets, and weapons of the finest make. When the sun finally broke the surrounding mountain ranges he got up and made his way down stairs. When he got down to the kitchen he saw his mother sitting at the dining table. He saw a heavy wooden chest with three padlocks resting on the table. Confused he sat down across from her. A tear slid down Dinra's cheek. "I think its finally time that you learned where you came from." She reached for the box. "You would have had a much better life if we had won the war." The third lock clicked and dropped to the table. "Inside this chest is not a tool, not a weapon, and not anything else your thinking of. This is our family's legacy, our prized possession. You may think you have no last name as we are the rank of tradesmen and solders. No... we are the last of one of the richest and most powerful families to ever live." She started to open the box. "What I give to you on this day is one of the oldest treasures of our race. Today, as you rise to manhood I give you what was your birthright." She reached down into the box and started to lift her hands. "This is the Imperial Crown of the Hallderac Empire... You are the last male heir to the throne of the strongest empire to ever exist... With this crown I give you your house name. You are the last living male of house Enderson." She paused for a few seconds then broke into a smile. "Hard to believe isn't it... The crown actually has a bit more to it than you might think. Its core is made of a very rare substance called refined netherite. In its regular state, netherite is the strongest substance know to man but when refined it can only be broken by a god. On its outer layer you can see that its covered in gold with gemstones studded to the core. This crown is most valuable because of its magical properties. The wearer of this crown can live for many times the length of a normal life span and even being around it is enough to lengthen your life. The most useful property is its ability to give faster reaction times and increased healing speed to its wearer. Though I think what its most well know for is turning the eyes of the wearer pure white. Try it on." The moment the crown touched Alex's head his eyes turned pearl white and glowed like they were smoldering coals.

### The War

Seven years after Alex was given the crown he was running a blacksmithing shop and was making metal items for his village. That's when the call to arms came. The king of the land he was living on called all forces to a fort three miles from his home town to help defend the kingdom. A near by kingdom had raised an army to take over the kingdom he was living in. The army was a strong one because the enemy kingdom was far more powerful. The attacking kingdom had also allied with many other kingdoms in order to take out the realm Alex lived in. Faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge the king told his army the game plan. They would be using the fort to try and stop the invaders before they could even enter the land. The plan was to use all available resources and men to crush the attackers in the first battle. It was the middle of the night and most people were asleep when a scout on horseback came thundering into the keep and woke everyone up. "The attacking force is two miles out and is gearing up to attack at first light." The king paused for a second and then started ordering people to start gearing up and readying the fort. Six hours later they heard a horn being blown, the battle had begun. It was never going to be a close fight. The attackers out numbered the defenders five to one. The fort fell shortly after the battle started. The king ordered all men to flee and attempt to get all the civilians out of the realm before the attackers could get to them. Alex ran the short distance home and found his village in pandemonium. Half the buildings were on fire and a small group of raiders from the attacking kingdom was stabbing civilians and shooting arrows at horses. Alex rushed to his own home and saw that it was starting to burn. The roof over the dining room had caught fire. He rushed inside his flaming house and saw his mother gathering valuables near the front door. He rushed past her and up to his room. He grabbed a change of clothes, his money, and he grabbed the wooden chest that held the crown. speeding back down stairs he stopped next to his mother and said, "Lets get out of here." They packed up and snuck outside of the house trying to not get spotted by the solders raiding the town. They made their way to the workshop that Alex had been working out of and grabbed the rest of his money. Dinra took a sword, a shield, and a bow with a quiver of arrows. Alex took a small set of tools and a three pound anvil so he could continue his craft elsewhere. They snuck out the back entrance of the shop without being spotted but when they rounded a corner to leave town they came face to face with a man on horseback that had a loaded bow. They ducked out of the way but he had spotted them. The solder trotted around the corner with his bow drawn and the second he saw them he let it fly. The arrow struck Dinra in the back and she fell over. With life fading from her she uttered a final request. "Avenge me." Her head rolled backwards and she grew still. Alex knelt down, no longer caring about staying alive. He brought out the wooden box and clicked it open. The solder on horseback had almost completed loading a second arrow. Alex picked up the crown and placed it on his head. In an instant his eyes turned pure white. He dropped his bags and drew a short sword from its scabbard. The horseman pulled the string of his bow and took aim. The next event took place so fast that Alex didn't even really know what happened. The arrow was let loose but he didn't die, it never even his him. He had moved out of the way and the arrow had thudded into the dirt where he had been just a second ago. He walked forward and the solder drew a sword. When he came within striking distance the solder took a swing at his neck but didn't even come close to hitting him. Alex swung his sword so hard at the solder that he rent right through the solid iron helmet and chainmail underneath. He cut through the leather cap and straight through the skull. The solder died instantly. With that he grabbed what he could and ran off into the farmland around the village vowing to make life for the enemy kingdoms a living hell.

(to be continued)