The Chosen

## Prologue

He walked through the town, the ever so familiar buildings casting shadows upon him. He smelled the crisp air, the smell of the local bakery entering his nose. He walked past other groups of kids walking and chatting on their way to school. He passed by the fountain, the cool water flowing from the top. He came to a large building and walked in. The chatter of conversations rattled around him. He stopped to look at his surroundings, the unfamiliar yet welcoming school seemed smaller on the inside than the outside. He walked past an endless row of school chests until he came to the one with name on the sign above it. Phoenix. He would be seeing this every day for the next year.

### Chapter 1

As Phoenix Longstalk walked home from school his buddy Rock came up to him.

“Hey Phoenix, how was your first day of school?” He asked.

“Eh, pretty good overall, though it is a bit tiresome. How about you?”

“Oh I loved it, I’m just imagining my future as a fearsome warrior, cutting down zombies in ridiculous fashion.”

Rock and Phoenix laughed together. They knew that their dreams were silly, but they didn’t care.

They walked together, making silly jokes and laughing together as they treaded the cobblestone streets. Since it was the first day of school the teachers didn’t give any homework, so they walked out to a clearing outside of the village. It was daytime, and they knew not to go too far, so they were allowed here and came out often. Phoenix placed a crafting table in the middle of the field. He handed a couple sticks and planks to Rock and then started a formation on the crafting table using his own. When he finished the wooden items fused together, creating a wooden sword. He picked it up and offered the table to Rock, who then did the same. They readied their swords, then started the duel. They both swung hard and fast, and each time they did, the other met their swing. They exchanged blocks for a while before Phoenix sped up and started swinging at a rapid pace, too fast for Rock to match, he eventually hit him. He had won the duel. They shook hands and pocketed the swords and the crafting table as they left.

“Man, you always win.” Rock said.

“Eh, well, my parents have been training me for a long time.”

“Aw I wish my parents trained me.” Rock said.

“Yeah, you sure would.” Phoenix mumbled. He had never wanted to be a warrior, but his parents forced him to. They had wanted their son to be a warrior to protect their village, but Phoenix wanted to be a builder, which he loved. He had a natural talent for sword fighting, which propelled his parents to train him even more. They had assigned these daily duels with Rock’s parents because Rock actually wanted to be a warrior. Phoenix was fine with that, he would do anything for his best friend, and it was likewise for Rock. When they arrived home across the village it was getting late, so they departed ways and went in for dinner.

“How was your duel today, Phoenix?” His father, Odius Longstalk asked at the table.

“It was good.”

“Did you get Rock again?” His underdwarf mother, Laura asked.

“Yeah.”

An awkward silence filled the air as Phoenix spooned soup into his mouth. His father finished his bowl.

“Ready for some training after dinner, Phoenix?” His father asked as his mother cleaned up his bowl.

“Sure.” Phoenix replied. He looked forward to spending time with his dad, but did not look forward to training.

They exited the house and walked to the open field across the street, where Odius had set up a training dummy made out of a hay bale, pumpkin, and oak fences. Phoenix drew his wooden sword.

“Ok, Phoenix, perform a basic thrust.”

Phoenix shoved his sword into the dummy’s stomach.

“Ok, today we’ll be working on your basic attacks again. Now, try pushing yourself forward as you thrust.”

Phoenix attempted this, but came too short of the dummy and fell over.

“Good try, now do it again, but this time keep your back foot planted as you thrust.”

They did this for about an hour until it was almost dark, when Phoenix’s mom called Phoenix in for bed.

“Good work tonight, bud, you’re doing amazing at this, now get along inside to bed, okay?”

“Okay, love you dad.” Phoenix said before giving his father a hug and heading inside. He changed into his pyjamas and snuggled under the covers of his bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

### Chapter 2

Phoenix treaded the cobblestone path, walking slowly. He was upset right now because Rock was sick and today was the first day that they were scheduled to have all their classes together. Phoenix walked into the school and deposited his sword and lunch in his school chest. As he walked down the hallway he heard the note block bell ring.

He rushed into his first class, mob study and sat down at his desk. He pulled out the book the teacher had given him yesterday, and placed it on his desk. He listened intently as the teacher lectured about the health and stats of basic mobs, this was one of the few classes he found interesting. Even if he didn’t like being a warrior, he liked strategy. After a while the note block bell rang. The teacher quickly wrapped up and dismissed the children. The rest of the day was pretty standard, until lunch, when a kid named Alex approached Phoenix.

“Hey, I’ve never seen you before, did you just move here?” He asked. Not many kids knew Phoenix, he lived on the outskirts of the village, where not many people went.

“No, I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“Oh, did you just transfer to this school?”

“This is my first time at school, I’ve been homeschooled all my life before this.”

“Oh that’s cool. Do you mind if I ask you why your skin is blue?” Phoenix had heard this question before. Alex meant well, but they were young, they didn’t properly understand that it’s rude to ask about it.

“My mom’s an underdwarf.” Phoenix replied.

“What’s that?”

“Another name for a dark dwarf.”

“Ohhh. They’re kinda rare aren’t they?”

“Yeah, how did you know that?”

“I sometimes like to read about strange things about our world that most people don’t know. Like have you ever heard of a visual enchantmant?” He asked. Phoenix had never heard of this and gave him a strange look.

“Oh they’re cool, it’s a series of little screens that we are able to access, like our inventories.”

“How do we access them?”

“Oh I don’t know, you have to undergo special training to learn how to use it.”

They talked like this for a while until the bell rang, and they said their farewells and left for their classes. After school Phoenix invited Alex to the plains outside of the village, but didn’t tell him why. When they got there Phoenix crafted Alex a wooden sword. He tossed it to him and equipped his own.

“Why do I need this?” Alex asked

“We’re gonna have a duel, my parents typically have me duel my friend Rock every day after school as training for both of us, but he’s sick today, so I figured you could take his place, you cool with that?”

“Yeah, this is sick, I’ve never gotten to use a sword before!” Alex said with excitement.

“Alright, the rules are as follows: if you get hit once, you lose, and no using your body parts to attack, such as kicking or headbutting, got it?”

“Yup!”

“Alright, and start… NOW!” And with that they started their duel. Alex was decent with the sword, but he was no match for Phoenix. Phoenix just kinda played around with him because he knew he would destroy him, and he wanted to give him a bit of a chance, a false hope some might say.

“Alright, I know that you’re taking it easy on me, but I’m never going to learn that way, so give it all you got!” Alex said, then swung at Phoenix’s side. Phoenix quickly blocked it and then flung Alex’s sword away, sending him tumbling. He then lightly jabbed him in the arm as he lay on the ground.

“Alright, you won, you won.” Alex said, standing up.

Phoenix looked to the sky. It wasn’t that late, but he knew he had a long hike to get home.

“Alright, that was good, you weren’t bad.” Phoenix said.

“But I wasn’t good either.” Alex said, laughing.

“I gotta go home now,” Phoenix said.

“You wanna duel tomorrow, I could show you a few moves, and maybe you’ll be able to meet my friend Rock?”

“Sure.” Alex said, and with that they parted ways. As Phoenix walked home, he decided to cut through the village park. As he walked he admired the beauty of the park. The trees’ leaves rustling in the wind, the breeze lifting the smell of the flowers into his nose. He walked into his house, just in time for supper.

“How was your day, honey?” Phoenix’s mom asked at the dinner table.

“It was good, I met a new friend today, his name’s Alex.”

“Good for you, Phoenix.” His dad said. After dinner they went outside for Phoenix’s training again.

Phoenix slipped into his bed, thinking about what Alex had told him earlier, the visual enchant. “They’re cool, it’s a series of little screens that we are able to access, like our inventories.” These words rung in Phoenix’s head. He was intrigued. Did he have a visual enchantment? Phoenix drifted off to sleep with thoughts like this swirling through his head.

Phoenix quickly grabbed a piece of bread as he rushed out the door, shoving giant pieces into his mouth as he ran down the path to school. He arrived just as the bell rang, and quickly grabbed his schoolbooks and rushed into class, just barely making it.

“Hey where were you before?” Alex whispered to Phoenix in the seat next to him.

“Slept late.” Phoenix whispered back

“Oh. Is your friend going to be here today?”

“Nah, he’s still sick.”

“Oh ok.” Alex said, a little disappointed

“But he should be here tomorrow,” Phoenix quickly replied, trying to make Alex feel better about it, and then they both turned their attention to the building teacher.

This is what Phoenix enjoyed, building. This was his dream job, not a warrior or scout or weapon smith or any fancy job like that, he wanted to build. There were endless possibilities while you were building. He listened intently while the teacher explained the significance that stairs can have in a build.

At lunch Phoenix and Alex met at the same table as before, having the same kind of talk about anything and everything. The day seemed to speed by for both of them, they enjoyed each other’s company a lot, and in 2 days had grown to be great friends. They had their duel after school and went home and had their normal life. Phoenix walked into his room, exhausted, it had been a long day for him. He was about to crawl in bed when something caught his eye, he looked out his window to see an army of mobs approaching.

### Chapter 3

Phoenix rushed out of his room, yelling at his parents.

“THE MOBS ARE ATTACKING, THE MOBS ARE HERE!!!!”

“WHAT?!?!” His dad yelled. He ran outside to behold an army of mobs moving towards the village. His father started running at breakneck speeds towards the village, yelling,

“THE MOBS ARE HERE, THE MOBS ARE HERE!”

The entire village flew into panic, the village guards ran at the mobs, swords raised to take out the army of Herobrine. Most of the older students helped out as well, but Phoenix was definitely the youngest there. His mother gave him his dad’s weapon, an iron sword enchanted with sharpness I.

While this was going on, Odius Longstalk, a village elder was tasked with the job of recruiting villagers and humans to fight with them.

Phoenix ran straight into battle, hacking at the zombies twice his size, eager for his first fight. He ran straight in to the mess. He swung his iron sword at a zombie. It was knocked back half a block, and then Phoenix was punched by another to his left. He stumbled back. *Remember your training, Phoenix* he pictured his father’s words in his mind.

He stepped back and breathed deeply. He planted his back foot and looked up. He thrust his sword forward, stabbing the zombie in the side. He continued with a flurry of perfectly placed attacks, whenever another zombie tried to intervene he would kick it back into the crowd of zombies.

Phoenix prepared for his final blow, he pulled his sword back and thrust it into the zombie, killing it. He watched as the zombie crumbled into a pile of grey dust on the ground. He then looked down at his health bar to see it quite low. As he attempted to ram a steak in his mouth, he saw his health drain by almost half, leaving him with only one heart to survive. He collapsed on the ground and fainted. A zombie plucked the arrow out of the back of Phoenix’s head and carried him off through the horde.

### Chapter 4

Phoenix woke up and found himself being carried through a building. His head was pounding, and he was extremely hungry. The zombie carrying him turned a corner and Phoenix felt himself being tossed. He hit a wall and fell to the ground. He opened his eyes to watch the zombie seal his prison cells with metal bars. He closed his eyes as the zombie shuffled away and felt himself drift off to sleep once more.

Phoenix woke up and opened his eyes to see a bowl of mushroom stew sitting in front of him. He propped himself up on one arm and lifted himself into a sitting position against the deepslate wall. He picked up the bowl and lifted it to his mouth. He tilted it back and poured it down his throat. The thick soup warmed his stomach and he felt a pang of satisfaction as he licked the bowl clean.

“They’re throwing kids in jail now, what a shame.” A voice said. Phoenix looked across the room and he saw a pigman sitting on a bed next to the door. He hadn’t noticed him since he was so preoccupied with the food.

“Who are you?” Phoenix asked weakly

“Raz, one of Herobrine’s former minions from the nether.”

“Former?”

“Having lived in the nether all my life, I was kept in the dark about Herobrine’s plots, I always thought that the other nether mobs were the bad guys, until a couple years ago. I found out what Herobrine was

doing, and abandoned his army. I found out about a nether city of good monsters, I won’t name it for security reasons, and decided to go there. On my journey there though, some of my “former coworkers” found me, and eventually I wound up here.”

“Wow, how long have you been here?”

“Probably almost two years now.” Phoenix’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Phoenix thought about that. What if he was here for two years? What if he never left?

“Hey, how long was I asleep for?” Phoenix asked Raz.

“3 days.”

“3 DAYS?!” Phoenix responded, stunned at the length of time.

“Yeah. You weren’t in the best shape when you got here.”

Phoenix felt his head, he had a strip of cloth wrapped around his head. He felt the back of his head and winced in pain.

“It seems you got hit by an arrow in battle against the mobs, that was brave. Why were you out there, aren’t you a little young?” Raz asked

“Yeah, but my dad has been training me since I could walk.”

“Since you could walk, boy, that’s early, you must love it.”

Phoenix turned to the wall beside him.

“I don’t.” He said. Raz took on a puzzled look.

“My dad always wanted me to become a warrior, like he was, but I care nothing for that, I always wanted to be a builder.”

Raz was silent.

“I’ll make sure you won’t be in here for as long as I have.” Raz promised, then they both went to bed.

### Chapter 5

Phoenix picked up his mushroom stew and chugged it down. It had been days in this prison and he was scared he was going to be going to be stuck in there forever. He had no idea why he was there anyway and not slain in battle. He looked over at Raz. He had been here for years and he looked tired and worn. They were never allowed out of their cell except to use the bathroom, and the 4 grey walls around him made Phoenix feel even worse about his predicament. After he had licked his bowl clean the guard zombie had come back. He broke the bars allowing Phoenix and Raz to give him their bowls, but this time after he had taken their bowls away he came back and broke more iron bars. He motioned for Phoenix to come and he did.

The zombie sealed the cell behind Phoenix and guided him through the halls to a doorway. He motioned for him to enter, though the zombie didn’t himself. Phoenix entered the room. It was a small room, about 8 blocks long and 5 blocks wide. At the back of it was an iron room with an enchanting table in the middle. He looked up to the four block tall ceiling ceiling and quickly noticed an enderman in the corner. He jumped back and the enderman stood up straight. It was only then that Phoenix noticed that the enderman had blue eyes and wore a grey witch hat.

“Welcome, I assume you have enjoyed your stay at Herobrine’s lair so far?” The endermagege asked.

“Not exactly…” Phoenix cautiously replied.

“Oh no no no, that won’t do, that won’t do at all, now will it? Of course not. Well, I’ll have to apologise for that, we shall get you better accommodations soon.”

“Excuse me?” Phoenix replied, a little stunned.

“Yes, we want to make your stay here as comfortable as possible. Anyways, let’s get on with it shall we?”

“Get on with what?”

“Why the experiments of course!”

“Experiments?”

“Yes, the experiments!”

“Uh, no thank you.” The endermage frowned.

“It always has to be the hard way with you peasants, doesn’t it?” The endermage drew out a long staff, the end of it crackling with red bolts of electricity.

“Please enter the rune chamber.” Phoenix, frightened, did as he was told.

“Good, very good.” And the endermage started fiddling with the enchanting table.

Down the hall, a terrified Raz stood at the edge of his cell, having a heated argument with a zombie.

“What are you doing to him?” Raz asked desperately. The zombie replied with a grunt.

“Can I go see him?” Another grunt.

“Can I wait outside the door for him at least?”

“Alright, fine, if it will make you shut up you can wait outside the door for him.”

“Oh thank you so much!” The zombie broke the iron bars and had him stand next to his cell. The zombie then called down the hallway in it’s own tongue and a skeleton entered the hallway. They discussed something for a couple minutes before the skeleton leaned against the wall next to the zombie, watching Raz, his bow equipped. Raz watched them intently, their bored expressions intent on a floor tile. Raz drew his golden sword. He had been saving this for a long time, he knew now was the right time. The zombie looked up. He stabbed it through the heart, and it crumbled into light grey dust. The skeleton stood up straight, drawing his bowstring. Raz jumped up and kicked the skeleton’s hands, sending the bow flying. He followed this attack with an uppercut to the chin and finishing the skeleton off with a death blow to the skull with his sword. He ran down the hall, having memorised the layout of the lair, he knew exactly where Phoenix was.

He burst open the door to the experimentation room. Phoenix stood still in the rune chamber, looking at seemingly nothing. The endermage swivelled around in shock, then teleported away. Raz knew he was alerting someone. He grabbed the half-conscious Phoenix and ran out the door.

Raz slumped Phoenix over his shoulder and bolted down the hallway at top speed.  After running down multiple hallways, taking quick twists and turns to avoid guards and navigate the lair he ran up a flight of stairs to be greeted by the endermage, backed up by approximately 20 zombies and skeletons. The endermage smiled.

“Your time is up, Raz.” Raz slowly sat Phoenix up against the wall and drew his sword. The endrmage equipped his staff.

“I’ll take you with me, Laucian.”, and with that the two duelled, both obviously being masters of combat, they were evenly matched. They exchanged block after block, neither of them seemingly having an advantage until Laucian, the endermage, stepped back and called forth his zombies. Phoenix looked up, dazed, and finally realized what was going on. He was too weak to run, so he just stood up. Laucian looked at him angrily.

Phoenix struggled past the horde of mobs fighting Raz and gathered up enough strength to slowly run down a hallway. After a couple twists and turns he made it to a door. He opened it and looked outside to see a mobless expanse of plains. He looked up at the sun, the light bladed him and he looked down. He looked back towards where he had just come from. *Thank you Raz.* He hobbled outside and closed the door behind himself.