The History of Ecco Vol. 3

The events described in The History of Ecco Vol. 3 are of the last few weeks spent within the Untold Changes SMP, more specifically July 5th through July 24th, 2022. Further explained in this Volume is the lore of the server retold, but that will be kept to its own page.

## Prologue: Neutrality

Upon the birth of the universe, the laws of which everyone and everything abide by have been overarching, but digestible. What comes up must come down, acting upon an object with force will push back with equal and opposing compulsion, and that all objects in kinetic motion must find a resting point.

Potential energy. The point to which objects have found their most comforting place and only move if something were to act upon it.

All objects, animate or not, behave in this way. All balloons will lose their air, all fires will extinguish, and all people will die. But this isn’t a new concept, is it? Even a decade of life could teach any living being about the exhaustion of the soul.

The soul is not relegated to just humans, however. To some, the wildlife have been given souls. To others, the trees, rocks, and waters have souls. To me, though, I believe the world was given a soul. I believe every object in this world is united under one universal life force.

What is a soul? Is it reproduction? Is it the need to cycle energy? Is it the expanding mind, needing a stream of knowledge? Is it the eyes to look upon the landscapes it inhabits? Is it the mouth to taste running water? Is it the nose to warn itself of danger before it presents itself? Is it the fingertips to determine rock from sapling? Is it the ear to call to family?

Is it love?

Yes. It is love. It is creating children to run and grow alongside nature. It is consuming and regurgitating the dying souls so that life may continue. It is learning and adapting to changes inside itself so that it may become better to those that inhabit it. It IS the eyes to watch over its children, it IS the mouth to give sustainable energy to its children, it IS the nose to smell danger and warn its children, it IS the fingertips to craft a flourishing, blossoming ecosystem for its children, and it IS the ear to hear the laughs and cries of its children! Yes. It is love.

Where are its children?

As the cycle is repeated and time is passed, more and more are lost to the whims of the unflinching laws of the universe. All objects, animate or not, behave in this way. All balloons will lose their air, all fires will extinguish, and all people will die. But this isn’t a new concept, is it? This has happened before. How many times will the wound be reopened?

## Chapter 1: Business is Booming

As the people of Ecco fled towards better lives, leaving everything they had worked for, the Bajookians followed shortly. A once great empire had taken its earnings and been left to rot. Grum Grum juice factories lay waste to the harsh conditions the environment attacked them with, the same conditions they forced on the environment to begin with. Though its co-owners split, they remain in good contact with one another. Hog Rida II takes his earnings to a private island to raise cattle, and Gery Gerington III begins his hotel business once again.

Gery Gerington III’s hotel is an interesting topic. With each recurrence it has within the loop, it grows with size and complexity, yet the goal of raising a building that others can make a home in stays. Gery Gerington III used his vast wealth accumulated from the Grum Grum juice to build this hotel into the clouds, nay, soaring past them. As the property expands widely, anomalies start to occur. Objects stuck inside one another, seemingly floating people, and an infestation of zombies. Gery Gerington III denies any of this ever happening. Something strange is happening at the hotel that peaks into the sky. These abnormalities, while seemingly bad for business, have actually boosted room sales tenfold.

The rise of another business is to be noted as well: Iowa the Vacated’s sugar cane stand. A simple farmer who gave the price of a single coin to a bundle of sugar cane. This seemed like a fair amount to Iowa the Vacated, as sugar cane is a plentiful resource.

He could not be more wrong.

Buyers pour in without a moment’s notice and sweep him of his entire stock, leaving him without resources. This forced Iowa the Vacated to take up more efficient methods of growing sugar cane, even creating whirring machines designed specifically to harvest sugar cane as quickly as possible to catch up with the rising demand. Despite all of this, Iowa the Vacated did not raise the price of sugar cane. It stayed as one measly coin.

## Chapter 2: Oh Shrimp!

A curious case arises when the two most “outgoing” builders decide to be unified under one nation. It began with Sir Ocean “PerfectDPUH” Manie, whose builder privileges were revoked after attempting to give himself an advantage over the mortals. This was the first of its kind. Recently, however, another builder has exhibited similar, yet distant qualities: Baron Orbitch. Baron Orbitch was yet another builder who was given those powers to enhance the world around him. In the beginning, he achieved this goal to a great degree. His efforts in creating a beautiful and vast world had succeeded, only to a point.

When greeted with children of the new world, he began to exercise his freedoms as a God. It began harmlessly, with simple changes to his landscapes. This was to be expected, as one who has never experimented with divine powers will surely slip up at a point. With time this would become more noticeable to all, as seen through the mass amounts of kelp given to anyone who had asked nicely enough, as well as other materials. Seeing these actions, the other builders decided to strip him of his seat at a godly council. Yet even knowing the reasons he was exiled for, Baron Orbitch pleaded.

“I need my powers! Give me one chance to prove myself by giving them a hearty brawl!” The council nodded in agreement. Baron Orbitch was given another chance at godhood.

He quickly got to work creating a fight against an army of withered skeleton riders. Not only that, but to each he granted a special war ax to fight off the mortals. This plan seemed foolproof: they go in and fight off the hoard. He then noticed, however, that there was no prize for beating this army. Using the most precious mineral in the world, he scattered an incredible amount around the arena. After that, it was up to the people to take what they found, and take is exactly what they did.

What Baron Orbitch did not realize was that when defeating each of the withered skeletons, they dropped each of their war axes designed specifically for the fight. These axes were far above anything the mortals could forge, and were hoarded from each kill. The exact amount that was stolen is unknown, though for future reference, Duke Zombie had obtained one while Iowa the Vacated did not. Disregarding the axes, the sheer amount of rare minerals that he had just given to the people as a reward had absolutely demolished the value of it. Due to this and other future circumstances, Baron Orbitch’s immortality was revoked for the last time.

The axes obtained from the event became rare commodities, highly sought after by anyone needing to get an edge in the harsh world. Sir Reddrick Penis III and Iowa the Vacated were allies at the time, and seeing that Iowa the Vacated fell victim to the cruel whims of everyone else, Sir Reddrick Penis III decided that he would obtain one of the famed axes to give to him. Knowing that he himself did not already have an ax would force him to steal one from somebody. But who?

Duke Zombie did not want to hurt anyone. His late introduction into the world of Ecco was unexpected and unheard of, yet he quickly rose the ranks of the most trusted by building a bar near the central point of the world: Withered Heights. This place was more than a bar, though, it was a safe haven where anyone could unwind and enjoy themselves without harm. This was known to most, as it was quite the attraction.

Not to Sir Reddrick Penis III.

He barged in without warning, injected Duke Zombie with brittle, and slaughtered him without a second to realize what had happened. Through breaking the M.A.D. agreement, the laws of the land, and his own relationship with Duke Zombie, he obtained the ax. Of course, such a big death would not be taken lightly. When asked why he did it, the only reason he gave to begin with was that Baron Omnicock paid him to do it. Knowing this, Duke Zombie set out for revenge. He took to Yo Mama City and destroyed his plantations, killing his slaves, and left only a few more to repopulate the entire place. Considering previous attempts at home demolition, this was fairly tame, as Baron Omnicock no longer had to capture and bring in more slaves. Despite this, Baron Omnicock was reasonably upset. He had nothing to do with the situation, yet he was punished for the crimes of another man. Hearing about this, Sir Reddrick Penis III wanted to make up with Baron Omnicock by striking back yet again through demolishing the Withered Heights establishment. It was only after all of these crimes that Sir Reddrick Penis III disclosed the actual reason behind the whole fiasco: one singular ax.

The very item that Baron Orbitch brought into existence.

## Chapter 3: Soiled Diapers

In this era of history, many quarrels seem to arise and fall out of nowhere. To some, the time to which Doctor Wubblinski had his reign of terror was over, but to others it had just begun. Baron Omnicock and Iowa the Vacated are some of the most notable examples of this fact. In fact, their feuds go back even before Doctor Wubblinski’s supposed rise to iron fist status. In this example in particular, Iowa the Vacated and Baron Omnicock decide to take residence at Luco, Doctor Wubblinski’s home. The sheer fact that Doctor Wubblinski still decides to live at that place despite its history of being one of the most known in the world is questionable at best, yet understandable, even after he had clearly stated he and his crew would make haste for a mushroom island.

Luco, being a location made before the children of Ecco had been born, is interesting. It is a civilization based entirely underwater, with the exception of the central tower. Armed with the knowledge of its history before conception, Baron Omnicock makes the case of Luco being public domain, when in reality this could not be further from the case. Luco may not have been built up from the ground (or in this case, sea floor) up by Doctor Wubblinski, but it is still his home.

Their bickering prompted Sir Spriggle, one of the builders, to enable what he calls “baby mode”. Using his divine powers, he cuts off Baron Omnicock, Iowa the Vacated, and Doctor Wubblinski’s hands, removing their ability to place or break pieces of the world. Even through this, they decide to fight one another physically. Even with their new harnesses they continue to cause problems. Through with their shit, the builders exile the three for a short time to think about what they did.

## Chapter 4: Divine Intervention

In Ecco, long before the time of the world’s children there existed red crystals that shot through the earth. These crystals were poison to the world’s children, and gave them drastic side effects if approached without caution. Without knowing, even a builder could end up sick and frail. Though, this was not the case. Sir Spriggle, whose goal was to create peace and harmony with his builder powers, had fallen prey to the toxic fumes of the crystal, and went insane. A simple trip underground had put worms in his mind, making him say and do things that he would never do. Given the immortality of builders, he was not weakened by its effects, though it was painful. He could not die due to his inability to pass, so he was strengthened as a new vessel to the crystal. It plagued his mind and forced him to turn on his morals, reducing him to nothing more than a savage beast.

Only three had remained to take on this form: Sir Scoos Underscore, Baron Orbitch, and Sir Reddrick Penis III. They trekked through the jungles to an abandoned lab where Sir Spriggle lay waste to the parasite. The battle was unforgiving, leaving all severely injured trying to push through the spores that Sir Spriggle had given off. With each blow, pieces of oneself would start to wither away, or at least, that is what eye-witness accounts have stated. Through a tough battle, the crystal had left Sir Spriggle’s system and retreated into the earth, never to be seen again.