Chapter Text
I Gather up the Candlelight
Blossoms - Ruin - The Amazing Devil
“Just a moment, just a moment!”
The Duke of Colors grumbled a curse as he snatched up his cane and tap-tap-tap-ed his way to the door, jamming his hat-crown over his mass of messy curls. Who the hell could be calling at eleven at night? Scar paid no heed to the fact that he was also awake at eleven at night, desperately revising plans for a new music hall to be compliant with his own laws. He opened the door, and promptly almost fell over at the sight of his visitor.
“Oh dear goodness! I’m sorry Duke Scar, I didn’t mean to startle you. Here, let me help you up.”
Scar waved a hand as he propped himself up with his cane. “Oh, no need, Commander! No need! And it’s no trouble that you spooked me, really! Just, uh, please don’t do that again.”
The dragon-skull helmet bobbed, light laughter coming from somewhere inside. “I’ll try not to. Anyway, as I’m sure you guessed, I’m not just here for tea and biscuits. I’ve got a message for— well, everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Indeed, everyone. Er, by everyone I mean all the rulers, not literally everyone. The point is, I’m calling a council. And I was hoping that you’d help spread the word.”
“Why, of course I’ll help you, X! How’d ya like me to do so?”
“You’ve still got that odd engineer, right? The one with the mustache?”
-
“Sir Lady! Sir Lady!”
The messenger ran panting into the dim hall, barely lit by the light of the sun through the thick branches outside. His footfalls echoed around the black tiled floor, as did the clattering of his cargo as he deposited it at the feet of the lady.
“A thing has crashed outside the Hall of Nyx! It is a redstone contraption of the sort that flies, and it carried this shell-box somewhere inside it. The box was thrown from the crash, and the note attached says it must be hand-delivered to you, sir Lady.”
False Symmetry’s eyes flashed with interest behind her goggles. “Really? A redstone contraption that flies? Did it come from the east?”
“W-Why yes, sir Lady. It did.”
She removed her goggles. “And does that note have a little signature at the bottom? A curly one in red?”
“It does, sir Lady.”
The Lady Umbra False Symmetry got up from her throne, and picked up the little purple shell-box. Indeed, there was a little note attached, written in red ink and signed with a flourish, Engineer Jumbo. She twisted the box just so, and it opened to reveal a book that could not have fit in the box’s tiny volume. She opened the book, and only read the first page before slamming it shut.
“You’re Victor, right?”
The messenger flinched slightly at his name. “Yes, sir Lady.”
“Ready two horses and a pack mule, Victor. We’re riding to Technicolor City.”
-
Similar interactions between redstone contraptions and rulers of civilizations were happening all across the Land of the Sunset, from the Iceberg Metropolis…
“So X has called a council? How odd, and how exciting! Ready a boat, Sofia, and pack plenty of fish!”
… to Evergreen …
“Where did I put my good rapier? Oh, it has been so long since a council has been called! I do wonder what X has to tell us..?”
… through Elsewhere …
“So we’re doing the ‘mysterious call to action’, eh? Well, I am between projects at the moment… wouldn’t hurt to go.”
… into the Land of Livingstone …
“HUH? A council? Why? Is someone trying to do war? Has a mountain exploded? No? Ohhhh, it’s X. Huh. Wonder what he wants with all of us.”
… and, with a little time delay, beyond.
“The hell was that? If Pixl decided to use a mesa for target practice again…”
-
Scar was really in his element that evening. Despite his lack of sleep over the past few days, and the anticipation of what X had to say, and the need to manage fourteen of his fellow rulers (a few of whom hated a few others), the Duke was having an absolute blast. Besides the abject chaos, this was a great opportunity to speak with the other rulers about trade and border disputes!
“You mean pester the other rulers about trade and border disputes.”
Scar grinned widely over his glass. “Perhaps, perhaps!”
Grian rolled his eyes, a clawed foot clicking an accusing rhythm on the tiles. “Just try to not make things worse with Doc, alright? He’s still really wound up over the whole iron-deepslate-emerald thing, and Impulse is on his side in this one.”
The duke just kept on grinning. “Oh, well, it’s no big deal! After all, everyone’s so on edge about what the Commander has to say that even Cleo and Jevin are being polite!”
A loud comment suddenly echoed from somewhere else in the hall (something something well aren’t you just proud) and another one followed (something something surprised you even noticed), quickly escalating into a passive-aggressive sparring match. Both King Tek and Lord Double sheepishly rustled away from the altercation, nervously smiling and trying not to laugh respectively.
Grian rolled his eyes again. “Whaddaya know? Your luck’s at work tonight.”
Scar shrugged. “Well, what can you do?”
Just then, the duke heard a set of hooves clacking across the tiles towards him. “Duke Scar Goodtimes! Oh, and Sitter Sunset, too… Have you been trying to avoid me, sprite?”
Scar flushed with embarrassment, and a small curl of his hair began to turn translucent. “Oh, Queen Gemini! I-I was just so caught up talking with Sitter Grian here that I haven’t had time to circumnavigate to the other rulers!”
“Circulate.” Grian corrected him.
“Circulate! Yes, circulate. Oh, and what do you think of the food? I had a looooong conversation with the chef about using all sorts of ingredients from around the Sunset, believe me—“
Gemini cut the duke short with a sharp smile that somehow fit her kind face. “Oh, the food’s just lovely. But I’ve got more important business than taste-testing the ten kinds of tropical fish you’ve got on the menu. How far along are those copper mines? You know, the ones I’ve got a rather large stake in?”
-
As Scar stuttered out excuses and slowly became more and more translucent, Grian muttered some excuse and swept off to ‘circumnavigate’ the pre-council gathering, bright red and blue and gold robes flashing only a little more than his own feathers were. He dropped a polite word to Mayor Keralis and steered well clear of Lady Symmetry’s rather intense conversation with Lord Ren before finally catching sight of a friend near a table of salads.
“Mother Pearl!”
The priestess didn’t even look up, only twitching an ear and smiling in recognition. “Sitter Grian. I still cannot get over the fact that no-one made that pun until you did.”
Grian grinned with pride. “And I still cannot get over the fact that you didn’t start the whole ‘mother’ tradition just as an excuse to say that pun completely seriously.”
“It’s not like I wouldn’t have. There’s no need for small talk, Grian. Just ask.”
The bird’s smile flashed into something else for a moment, before he dropped it completely. “You know me too well. I know you’ve got more eyes-and-ears than anyone but X and Symmetry. Do you know what the commander has called this council for?”
Pearl’s ears twitched, as she knew exactly what game the parrot was playing at. “Ah, well, perhaps. But I know you have some good listeners and lookers of your own, friend. Do you know what’s going on with those copper mines?”
“Oh, you’ve got me there! Might as well just wait for him to call everyone to attention. It’s only a few minutes, after all.”
The hoof-folk sighed, and returned to plating herself a large pile of salad. “Very well then. You’d best eat some greens, bird. A diet of nothing but grain and fruit can’t be good for you.”
Grian grumbled. “Fine, fine! I don’t know what you’ve got against grains, what with your whole ‘breadbasket’ thing and all…”
-
“… so you see, it’s really the rock’s fault that the copper mines haven’t hit paydirt yet! Now, I don’t know about the kind of stone in Evergreen, but around here, everything’s deepslate way too high up! Wears out pickaxes right quick—“
A single clap suddenly reverberated through the hall, echoing extremely well thanks to Scar’s endless revisions to make sure music could be heard through the whole place thoroughly. Though the duke didn’t very well appreciate his sleepless nights of work now, having flinched very dramatically when the clap reached his ears. At least he barely had to look around to see the noise’s source.
Commander X had climbed up onto a chair (having taken off their heavy boots first), and was now presumably looking around as everyone turned their attention to them. Their voice was serious when it came from the dragon-skull helmet.
“Thank you for your attention, fellow rulers. As you know, I am known as Commander X, and I am the ruler of the Dragon’s Spine. Five years ago, I called a council to create a Special End Expeditionary Force, with the goal of killing the dread Ender Dragon and looting what we could from the mysterious Outer Islands. I stand here, on this chair, to do something similar today. I have called this council with the main motive of forming a Second End Expeditionary Force, with the goal of properly mapping and cataloging the Outer Islands, and exploring them to their fullest extent. And, of course, to loot them. If no one has any objections, the council will now convene in the Justice Hall just down the street.”
As the commander stepped down and replaced their boots, the whole hall began to buzz with anticipation and excitement. Some of the rulers broke off into little groups, while others clustered around X.
“Well then! A second End exploration! That’s certainly a reason to call a council.”
“I wonder why X decided to ask for our help. He certainly doesn’t want anything in return; that’s not his way of doing things.”
“Pray tell, Commander X, what do you think we’ll find in the Outer Islands? The shell-boxes and glider-sets are truly extraordinary, and don’t even get me started on the chorus fruit!”
The Duke of Colors took his chance to escape Queen Gemini, and immediately latched onto Cub as he exited City Hall.
The sovereign wore an expression of contemplation, barely paying his friend any heed. “Oh, hey Scar. Whaddaya think about X’s proposal?”
“Well, I personally think it is a very good idea. I’m sure there are uncountable treasures waiting to be discovered and monsters waiting to be slain and knowledge waiting to be found in the Outer Islands! But to be honest, it seems a bit dangerous, y’know? Even with the dragon gone, there’s the herds of ender-men, the mean little shulker-clams, and the flying fandoms!”
“Phantoms.” Cub corrected him, “And those aren’t even that common.”
“Oh, right, phantoms. You get it, right, Cub? It’s sooooo tempting to go but also really dangerous! Would you go on another expedition?”
“Eh, maybe.”
-
Grian didn’t quite know what to expect from a council called by the Commander. He’d only ever been to four others: two that were annual formalities, and two that sought to define the borders of the civilizations more clearly. Both had been very long and exceedingly boring, full of legal jargon that covered reams of paper with oceans of ink. No-one seemed to find those exciting, except for Lord Ren, who found most things either exciting or infuriating.
But the moment the Sitter Sunset stepped into the Justice Hall that night, he knew it would be different. Everyone was scrambling for their seats, hastily affixing crowns and weapons and other symbols of office. Mayor Keralis nearly tripped over his own oversized claymore, while Jevin was scrabbling to pull the jewels of the Clearwater Crown from somewhere within his viscous body. He even found himself nervously re-pinning the Dayfall Clasp onto his own robe a few times.
Scar took up his seat of honor as host ruler next to the Commander, eyes nearly hidden by the curls spilling out from under the hat-like Crown of Colors on his head.
“I have the honor to host this Council of Civilizations.” The Duke said somberly, or at least attempted to say somberly.
“And I am he who called this Council of Civilizations.” X responded.
Both laid their hands on the ceremonial crossbow (Grian still didn’t know where that had come from) and fired the dummy bolt into the ceiling. “And with the twang of this bowstring, this session Council of Civilizations is convened.”
X promptly stood up to address the gathered rulers. “I have already stated my intentions: to form a Second End Expeditionary Force with the goal of mapping the Outer Islands of the Third Dimension. Now I shall go into greater detail as to exactly what an expedition of this sort would entail.”
“As you know, the Islands of the End are not a friendly place to any but their native inhabitants. Even the Nether pales in comparison. Any prospective Expeditionary Force would therefore need to be large enough in number and great enough in power to easily deal with the expected threats: endermen, shulker-clams, phantoms, and, of course, the Void itself. But it would also need to be small enough to not need copious amounts of supplies to support. Of course, a force would need not carry everything with them themselves; a supply line may be established between the Stronghold and the force by way of rail-carts and couriers to bring fresh food, water, and building material for the duration of the expedition.”
Keralis suddenly raised a hand. “Commander, if I may interject, there is a small issue with the creation of a rail-cart line for the sake of the expedition. The location of the Stronghold is extremely inconvenient for the sort of construction a rail-cart line would need, and that is not even considering the possible complications presented by the water table of the area.”
X nodded. “Those are valid concerns, Mayor. But I have already brainstormed a possible, if unorthodox, solution. I request the special attention of King Tango Tek of the Basalt Throne, Lord Ren Dog of the Vine Crown, and Sitter Grian Sunset of the Dusk Throne, as you three have the most experience with the technology that I wish to make use of.”
All three named rulers sat up straighter, though Ren only did so reluctantly. It took them only a moment to realize why X had singled them out.
Tango positively beamed as he grasped the Commander’s intentions, the basalt-pillar cuffs on his long coat clacking as he clapped his hands. “X, if you mean to use what I suspect you mean to use, you’re even more clever than I though you were!”
From the tone of their voice, X seemed to be blushing. “Aw, thanks, Tango. And yes, I mean to use Nether Portals to construct what I believe would be the world’s first tri-dimensional rail-cart line for the purpose of supplying a Second Expeditionary Force. The plan is actually rather simple: construct a Nether Portal near to the Stronghold in a stable location, construct a Nether Portal within the Stronghold itself, and build a rail-cart line between the two within the Second Dimension. If Sovereign Cub’s calculations regarding the spacial properties of the Nether is correct, it means that a tri-dimensional rail-cart line would be less costly and more efficient than building one just within the Overworld.”
Cub nodded, the floating rocks of his crown bobbing in concert. “Indeed. X has consulted me extensively on this proposal, and if I am correct, space in the Nether is seven times denser than space in the Overworld; walk one foot in the Second Dimension, and you’ve walked seven in the First.”
Ren’s eyes widened behind his dark crystal glasses. “Really? Tango, are you hearing this?”
The fiery-haired king blinked. “Y-Yes, I’m not deaf, Ren. I never thought of Nether-space that way… I suppose I thought that travel in there only seems to cover more distance than it actually does, not that some weird quirk of dimensional alignment actually makes it so.”
X clapped their gauntlets to re-center the discussion. “Regardless, if this solution is implemented, an Expeditionary Force can be supplied easily and without great expense. I hereby call a vote of confidence for the proposed solution.”
Scar stood up with the Vote Book in his hand. “I now call for ayes!”
Grian, Ren, Tango, Gem, Pearl, Keralis, Jevin, Impulse, Cub, and Joe all stood up and raised their arms, and X joined them. “AYE!”
Scar noted the votes with the quill. “I now call for nays!”
False, Cleo, and Doc stood up. “NAY!”
X sighed with a bit of defeat; they’d clearly expected a unanimous decision. “Sir Lady, Doctor, sir Duchess. I have no wish to make your opinions unheard. Why do you vote no?”
False spoke first. “I mean you no offense, commander. I simply do not trust the spacial qualities of the Nether. No matter who chooses to go on this Expedition, which I am sure will happen and will happily support, I do not wish to subject their supplies to the whims of the Second Dimension.”
X nodded sedately. “That is a valid concern, sir lady.”
Cleo answered next. “I’m of a similar mind. I by no means oppose this Expedition. It just seems that this rail-cart plan is overly complicated and may press the reliable Daniel carts beyond what they were designed for.”
“Again, a very reasonable concern.”
Doc smiled a bit sheepishly as he stood to address the commander. “Well then, X, my reasoning may seem a bit flighty in comparison. I do not like the idea of a Second End Expedition, at least at this time. We still do not know the exact nature of Void magic; apologies for my language, but in the Dragon’s name, we don’t even know the very basics of it yet! An expedition at this time is an unnecessary risk for whoever would go on it.”
“Very well then, Doctor. We can agree to disagree at this time.”
X removed a large roll of paper from under their seat, flicking a finger to unfurl it with a stripe of vibrant purple magic. They tacked it to the wall between their and Scar’s seats, revealing it to be a comprehensive top-down map of the End. The large central island was rendered with precision thanks to the measurements taken by the First Expeditionary Force, with the obsidian columns, bedrock nest, Outer Island portal, and Sunrise-built shelters marked clearly. A few outer islands were rendered as well, sketchy and imprecise blobs of land at an indeterminate distance from the central isle.
The commander removed a spear from their back and used it to point. “As you can see, we know very little of the Outer Islands. Historical texts from multiple nations, including Great Acacia, the Labyrinth, Evergreen, my own Dragon’s Spine, and even a few fragments from the Drained Lands, report that the Islands Beyond form a ring around the Dragon’s Island. This line here—“ they pointed the spearhead at a bright trail of orange ink “—is my proposed route for the Expeditionary Force. It circles the main island in order to retake measurements, before ending at the Outer Island portal. A shelter would be built around the portal, but not directly touching it, and the force would enter the portal via ender pearl or careful dive-bombing.”
Jevin’s hand shot up. “Quick question. What other methods would you recommend for entering the portal? Since dive-bombing and pearling would both preserve momentum, and possibly lead the crosser into tumbling and injuring themselves.”
X absentmindedly tapped the butt of the spear on the ground as they thought. “Hmm, well, I suppose building a platform near the portal would allow crossers to crawl in, but I don’t want to risk messing with the intra-dimensional connection. If the other methods are deemed unusable or otherwise unfit, we could try crawling in. Either way, I hereby call a vote of confidence for this proposed route…”
-
Several hours and many mugs of hot cider later, X was at the end of their rope.
Most of the proposal had gone off without a hitch; aside for the valid concerns about the tri-dimensional rail-cart line, only Doc had offered any real resistance. The 77th leader of the Maw was extremely apprehensive with anything concerning the interaction of redstone technology, sculk technology, and void magic, but in such a way that most of the other rulers couldn’t understand half of the words he’d said. X themself could only mostly grasp the other’s arguments; something about the interaction of Void-produced vibrations with sensitive sculk-based redstone mechanisms, in particular the beloved Shrieker system.
With a sigh, they turned to Scar. “Duke, what is the time?”
Scar jerked up from where he was bent over, and looked at his pocket-watch with bleary eyes. “Uh, five twenty-eight after midnight.”
“Well then. I do believe we are all very tired; I hereby call a vote to conclude this session of the Council of Civilizations, to be reconvened twelve hours hence.”
No-one bothered to let Scar get the Vote Book out before answers started coming in piecemeal.
“Aye.”
“Aye!”
“…aye”
“Aye aye!”
“Aye.”
Scar was asleep again, so X grabbed the crossbow, put the duke’s finger on the trigger, and pulled it. “And by the twang of this bowstring, this session of the Council of Nation is concluded.”
As everyone began trickling out to their respective embassies and hotels, X could hear more than a few mumbles of relief. The only one with any sort of energy was False, who seemed to be more comfortable in the twilight before dawn than anyone else. The Lady of the Darkwood Throne saw X’s helmet pointed towards her, nodding in recognition and walking to their side.
“So… if the Doctor continues to object, will you push an Expedition through without a unanimous vote?”
“Lady Symmetry, truthfully, I do not know. I really did not expect him to be so concerned about the magic implications of the void, but I suppose four years ago, we hadn’t tied our comms technology to sculk.”
False snorted. “True enough. Those veins are a blessing and a curse both. My embassy is out of your way, Commander, so I will be going now. Good fortune ‘n twilight.”
X shook her hand. “Aye. Good fortune ‘n twilight.”
As the dark-clothed lady disappeared around a lamplit corner, X sighed again, stretched, and walked off to their own embassy. They were really looking forward to getting a good night’s, or, at this point day’s, sleep.