Chris walked carefully into the dark hollows of the cave, holding the lamp above his head he walked in. his iron armor occasionally clinked and clunked. he came to a small opening and widened the gap with his iron pickaxe. when he lept down he saw something much larger than what he had ever seen before, a large cave, so large in fact, that 30ft long vines hung from the ceiling and still were suspended far above Chris's head. small orange berries glowed from random spots on each organic tendril. large pink flowers rained pollen spores the size of dust, and large deep slate pillars supported the ground above. lava and water poured in large amounts from unseen cavities, and the walls were filled with all kinds of ores ranging from iron to diamonds. after another half hour of exploring, he found something curious, the floor in a certain area was composed of stone bricks, covered in a thin layer of green moss. he broke open a large enough area for him to climb through and landed in a hallway that reeked of mold. he looked around and noticed that about every twenty feet or so a torch illuminated the dark path. Chris spotted a chest at the far end and he searched it, mostly out of curiosity. what he found was strange indeed. there was an iron chest plate, but it had a strange symbol on it. he rummaged around some more and found a large green eye, it was as smooth and as hard as a marble, and yet it was clearly an eye. he pocketed the base-ball-sized relic and took the chest plate as he left.
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Tristin the librarian studied the chest plate carefully. inspecting each scratch and dent, eventually making his way to the symbol carved on the front. after excitedly rifling through several dusty books he found a match. "Look here, the symbol is almost exactly the same." Chris nodded. "What does it say?"
"According to the text, this was the crest for an ancient race, many of my texts refer to them as the Aulora. and as you might have seen, they left behind many relics for us, the ancient sea temples, desert pyramids, jungle temples, and even the very structure in which you found this excellent piece of craftsmanship, it is called a stronghold, as far as I can tell, they were designed as last resort structures in case something was too powerful for them, and by cross-referencing with other texts and works of art, I'd say the wither is what drove them to this fate." Chris sat patiently listening.
"The wither? I'm afraid I don't know what that is."
"Nor should I expect you to, it's an ancient beast, and not even I know what it looks like, I've only read descriptions and seen the recipe for its creation."
"Creation? something that drove off our ancestors can be created? Why would anyone do that?"
"Because old friend, the wither leaves behind a valuable item when it perishes, it was simply known as the Nether Star, as it was said to contain the power of hell itself."
"What is it used for?"
"I delight in your questions, Chris. The Nether Star was used to construct beacons that could grant mythical levels of power, from quickening your work pace to allowing you to jump entire mountains, these beacons could assist you in most any task." The librarian seemed almost giddy to share his vast collection of information.
"Seems helpful," Chris said sitting down, he anticipated a long talk ahead.
"Oh very much so. and there is a far greater number of things these ancient builders left behind. one of them being," He paused and pressed his finger to Chris' chest. "you, you are the closest resemblance I've seen to the Aulora." Chris was confused.
"Wait, Me? Why me?" The old librarian smiled and patted the bewildered man on the shoulder.
"that my friend is a question I fear will remain unanswered. but look at you! A near-perfect replica of the Aulora! How exciting!" Chris sighed. 239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAomjZktIv
"Alright so, any advice on what I should do next?" the librarian's face lit up.
"I would enjoy it if you could bring me some more samples from that stronghold you came from."
"Actually, I have one more thing about that." Chris produced the marble-like eye from his pocket. the librarian's face darkened a little.
"That is an eye of Ender, there are no records dictating what creature this eye comes from, but it is used to open a pathway to the Aulora, or should I say, to where they went, the end of their great journey."
"where is this gateway to the end?" Chris's curiosity overwhelmed him.
"In the very structure you have found, the stronghold contains many secrets, including two massive libraries if my own collection is as accurate as my memory." Tristin was most definitely giddy at the chance to explore such an ancient collection of knowledge.239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzUDTAnHEm
