Cold winds, cold steel, cold hands

The tale of Fred is a highly contested one. One source says one thing while another one says something completely different. This is the tale of Fred as told by the people from the other side of the coin. The story of Fred start like many of them do, with humble beginnings. This one does so atop of a freezing mountain by the Aquillan Obliette. A pig stands in deep snow freezing and starving. His name is Fred and he is within an inch of his life when Herr\_Bongo and Blastname find him. In true Aquilan fashion they draw their blades and circle the frozen pig, asking him why a subject of the Piglin Empire is doing so far from home and on Aquilan soil no less. Without a reason to lie Fred tells them everything.

Fred owed the crown a great deal of money. He accumulated this debt through gambling which also cost him his wife and piglet. Fred told them he didn't mind losing his wife as she was an abusive one. The home life was filled with regular beatings and nothing short of psychological torture to go along with the beatings. The loss he felt the most was the piglet whom he loved dearly but now couldn't see. His wifes extravagant spending habits had forced Fred to gamble what little money they had left in the hopes of keeping up with his wife. Fred told them that he was no longer interested in being a subject to Emperor Tegula or the Piglin Empire in general. He hated them all with a burning passion and while he didn't know any state secrets or anything, he'd however happily work for the Slaughterdocks in exchange for food and lodging. Herr\_Bongo and Blastname didn't see any reason not to trust him so they hired Fred as a guard and paid him in carrots.

The ever so grateful Fred took his job a little too seriously perhaps. He attacked as many friends as he chased off foes. In the end Herr\_Bongo and Blastname hade to tie him to a pole during his working hours so he couldn't gore the friendly visitors. When Emperor Tegula found Fred and started making a ruckus, Fred told his new friends that he'd rather die then go back to his life in the Empire. Herr\_Bongo and Blastname nodded understandingly and said that they'd fight for their new friend if push came to shove.

Sadly push came to shove and shove hard it did. The full force of the Piglin Empire came bearing down on the Slaughterdocks. They fought bravely but to no avail. The Piglin fighters where too strong and too well armed. They slaughtered their way through the Slaughterdocks and as they were breaking down the door to the innermost room, Blastname and Fred exchanged a knowing yet sorrow filled glance. Fred begged Blastname to kill him, he'd been living a good life here in the Docks and he didn't want to lose it at the hands of the Emperor's warriors. Blastname knew this was the best thing for Fred. Much as had Blastname hoped and prayed that this day would never come, he picked up an axe from a nearby workbench and raised it above his head. Fred closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as Blastname let the axe fall.

The Piglins broke the door down just in time to see the axe sinking deep into Fred's skull. Blastname turned to face the piglins and wanting to tell them this was all their fault, this was *their* doing, and that he'd never forgive them for driving him and Herr\_Bongo to this. They had to kill their best friend because of the empire's greed for political power. However he had no time to do that as he was cut down on the spot... Blastname fell to the floor and felt the cold winds of the docks begin to carry his consciousness far far away. The cold steel of the axe slipping from his grasp as cold hands carried him somewhere while he slip into that dark place at the back of his mind...

Blastname woke up a few hours later in his bed. The memory of what had happened seemingly branded onto his eyelids. Fred's face kept haunting him as soon as he closed his eyes.