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Being the champion of a deity allows certain privileges. Being the long-standing, well-known, faithful champion of a deity allows even more.
And in this particular case, the Blood God wanted to repay many centuries of faithful service.
“Anythin’?” Techno asked again, just to be sure.
Anything you wish, the Blood God confirmed, with the chorus of a thousand whispering echoes beneath the words. You have earned it.
Techno huffed out a breath, trying to think. A promise of anything he wanted from such a powerful deity was… almost too big to imagine. He could go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. “… I… don’t know what I want. Honestly, I’m happy with what I’ve got.”
I will give you time. As much as you need. The Blood God reached out to run a gentle, taloned, bloodied hand over Techno’s head, in a gesture that still warmed Techno down to his toes, even after all this time. I have existed for millennia uncounted, champion of mine. If you need centuries, I will allow it.
So Techno tucked away the promise of a god inside his heart and went about his life.
It was tempting, sometimes, to call in the favor. To level a country, to win a war (agricultural or otherwise), to heal his best friend’s wings. But he always held back, just in case something else came along that he’d need it for. The promise was generous, but Techno was well aware that it was once in a lifetime. He would only ever get the one favor.
Techno wondered, sometimes, what it was he really wanted. What would make him happy? Power? Riches? Knowledge?
He found the answer during an ordinary day in his arctic cabin. He was doing a routine perimeter check of the fence, ensuring it was strong and hadn’t been tampered with, either by mobs or Players, when it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks - he was tired.
He was tired of checking. He was tired of looking over his shoulder all the time, of worrying about when someone would sneak up on him or threaten him next. He was tired of not feeling entirely safe in his own home.
Techno stood there for a moment, thinking. Then he turned, perimeter check only half done, and made his way back to the house. He climbed to the attic, rang the blessed bell once only, then knelt in front of it.
There was a moment’s pause, and then he felt a presence behind him. Greetings, my champion.
“Hullo,” Techno greeted the Blood God, keeping his eyes forward out of respect. “I know what I want.”
You have your wish?
“I do.”
The Blood God hummed, and the voices hummed along, pressing just lightly on the inside of Techno’s skull. Somehow, it was a comforting pressure. What is it you wish, then?
The thing about servers is that they’re tricky to maintain. A server owner has to expend thought and energy to keep their world running smoothly, and admins have to fix problems as they appear to avoid undue stress on the owner, as well as avoid problems for the Players living there. People like Philza, who create and live alone in their own servers, are rare, because admin and owner are difficult jobs when done on their own, nevermind doing both by yourself.
Techno had opened private servers, once or twice. He had never stayed there for more than a few days; the mental strain was terrible, particularly for an inexperienced owner and admin. He always had to step back and let the worlds fall apart.
However, admin alone was a much simpler set of responsibilities. This was particularly true if a Player wasn’t the one responsible for setting up the server to begin with.
What do you think? asked the Blood God, in a very smug tone.
Techno looked around, taking in the frozen tundra around them, the massive mountains in the distance, the river behind them, the meadow on the other bank. “… It’s perfect.”
I know.
“Thank you,” he added, knowing that even though this was a favor, it was still important to respect his patron.
The Blood God hummed happily. Of course. As I told you when I first gave you this promise, you have earned it, champion of mine. Peace is an honorable wish, even for one of my own.
“The blood of the covenant as well as the blood of violence,” Techno recited in a murmur, studying the landscape a little more closely. He would need a cottage, of course, maybe in that flat area there, and the mountains looked like an excellent spot for a mine.
As for the rest of your request, I will fulfill it when you are ready.
Techno nodded his thanks. “Give me a week or so, I should have everythin’ set up by then.”
The Blood God gently patted Techno on the head. Good luck to you, champion.
And then it was just Techno.
He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and got to work.
It was a different experience from building his last cabin. Last time, he had been angry, and afraid, and hurt, and he had channeled that into building, hoping to burn off all of the extra energy. Last time, he had been inexperienced and, quite honestly, rushing a bit.
This time around, he took it slow. He planned out how much space he wanted - a storage room, a guest room, a bigger kitchen for more cabinet and counter space, a slightly bigger bedroom - and marked it out carefully, then started to build.
It was similar to his cabin on Dream’s server. He liked that cabin, there were good memories from it, but… he couldn’t bring himself to make an exact replica.
He hadn’t felt safe in that house, not all the time. The Butcher Army had ensured that. But here, on this server where he was alone, he was going to make sure that this house was safe.
Construction took several days. Techno made a little shack in the meadow across the river, which meant he didn’t have to worry about freezing during the night. It also meant he didn’t have to rush or push himself too hard during construction, like he had while he built his last cabin.
Eventually, though, he had the walls up and the roof on, and he could start work on the side buildings.
The barn first. It was large, big enough for a few horses, some cows, maybe sheep if he could find them. He added in a hayloft, because it felt like the right thing to do. (He’d never had a barn with a hayloft before, but he’d kind of always wanted one.)
Once that was done, he moved on to a kennel. Solid wood and stone, big enough for dozens of dogs, with high windows he could open to give the dogs light and fresh air, and lanterns hung with care in the corners.
A smaller kennel went next to it. This one was less insulated, but it was built with the same amount of care.
Techno’s final project, at least here at the beginning, was something of an experiment. He had never actually built anything like this before, but he’d seen Phil build similar things, and how hard could it be, really?
Smelting glass panes was easy enough, and so was building the framework for the building. Putting the two together was a bit trickier, as was the weatherproofing and insulating, but after a few days of wrestling with it, Techno had constructed a somewhat passable greenhouse.
The Blood God found him, then, as always. You are ready?
“I’m ready,” Techno confirmed.
Which would you like first?
“Carl first.”
The Blood God waved a taloned hand, and Carl appeared in front of Techno, stumbling slightly.
Techno automatically reached out to take the reins, murmuring softly to his startled horse and stroking his nose. “Hey, hey, it’s alright, it’s alright. It’s just me. It’s okay, shhh.”
Carl nickered, his tail flicking, but he settled easily enough.
Techno led him to the barn, talking quietly the whole way, and led him into a stall with his name etched carefully into the doorframe.
“Made this just for you, Carl,” he said with a grin, patting one of the support beams. “You’ll be nice and cozy in here, it’s much better than the one on Dream’s server. I had a lot more time to plan this one.”
Carl nudged him with his nose in a way that Techno knew was a request for snacks.
Techno laughed. “Maybe later, I don’t have any treats right now.”
Would you like the others now? asked the Blood God, hovering over Techno’s shoulder.
“Yeah, the dogs next, I think.”
Again, the Blood God waved a hand, and then there was an explosion of sound from outside the barn. Techno ran outside to see the hound army falling all over each other, barking and whining and looking around. As soon as they saw Techno, the volume increased as they all swarmed him.
“Okay, okay, yeah, hi!” Techno laughed, trying to give them all pets and scratches behind their ears. “Okay, at attention, all of you!”
The dogs yipped, falling back to sit in neat rows, just like Techno had trained them to do. He was so proud of them, they were such good and smart dogs.
“Good dogs,” he told them, because they were. Then he pointed to their new kennel. “Home!”
The hounds barked, breaking formation to run over to the kennel. Techno followed, smiling, as they all started sniffing around and exploring the new space.
It looked like he’d been right; the kennel was insulated enough that the dogs would be fine. He might need to add a furnace for any particularly cold nights, but otherwise he wouldn’t need to worry.
And the last? the Blood God hummed.
“Yeah. Just Steve.” Techno would love to have all three of his bears here, of course, but the other two were needed where they were. It wouldn’t do for Phil to get lonely.
Of course.
And then Steve appeared just outside the kennel, snorting in confusion.
Techno hurried up to him and started running his hands through Steve’s thick fur. “Hey, Steve. Hey buddy.”
Steve made a little grunting noise, turning to push his head against Techno’s stomach.
“Yeah, I know, I know. But look, I’ve got a new place for you!” Techno carefully guided the polar bear over to the smaller kennel, and watched with more than a little pride as Steve deemed it acceptable and plopped down in the middle of it for a nap.
The Blood God hovered just behind Techno, watching Steve along with him. Is this acceptable to you? Are you pleased with your wish?
Techno took a moment just to look around. There was a curl of smoke coming up from the chimney in his cabin, warming up the house for when he went back inside to start decorating. The animals were exploring their new spaces, filling the air with the ambient noise he hadn’t realized he had been missing. And there was no one else in the whole of the server, and there wouldn’t be, not unless he brought them here himself. (His communicator was in his pocket, ready to give Phil the server code.)
“… I am,” he said finally. “I really am.”