The Temptation of Power ||| Hermitcraft Watcher AU

Chapter One

Just saying this whole book is set at the beginning of the season since that was when I wrote it.

Season Eight started today.

Today.

They would have to say goodbye to the luxuries of good armour, elytra and easy-to-get resources, and take on the hard hours of early game with gritted teeth.

The air was filled with nerves when everyone stepped out into the clean, fresh air of their new world. After asserting his dominance as mischievous idiot of the season by angering an iron golem and being first to die, Grian scanned the area.

It was normal; no suspicious obsidian and bedrock towers, no mysterious waves of magic, no ethereal presences lingering, no shadows falling short of natural, nothing. He hadn't expected anything, especially after two entire seasons of safety, but it was safe to check. He always checked.

When Grian concluded his brief search, he realised everyone was looking down into a cave entrance. He followed suit and saw two new people.

"PearlescentMoon and GeminiTay." Someone said. One of them seemed to catch his eye but looked away a second later.

And with that, the season had begun.

One diamond flex gone wrong and Boatem Pole later, they'd all started to settle down. Grian had opted to go to the north and a few people had followed. They had a small settlement slowly coming together.

* * *

To the Watchers, he was like a dog. They taught him a few tricks and showed him off to the other Watchers, they took relative care of him but saw him as no where near an equal. He had the freedom to walk around but nothing more. Whether they loved him like a human loves their pet was questionable. Sometimes they showed a hint of care or empathy, but the rest of the time he was just a thing that they happened to have picked up somewhere, like a little trinket or something similar.

He was their most prized possession. He was something they could brag about. He was a trophy. Nothing more.

Keep up, Oリᒷ called. Xelqua did his best to pick up the pace, but they were already travelling fast and his wings weren't as big as the Watchers'. A small island came into view, weightlessly suspended in the air. On it was what he recognised to be an inactive portal.

We're going to the Overworld to show you something, T∴𝙹 said. One of them lit the portal and he followed his owners into the purple mist. At first, the light blinded him. The air felt foreign and the sounds abnormal. There were dozens of colours he'd only ever seen in small quantities before, and things were moving around under the concealment of the plants. Animals?

He only had a second to take it all in before they were back in the air. There were bits of white that seemed solid but weren't, and instead when he touched one it made his hands and purple fingertips damp.

Clouds, Oリᒷ told him, very annoying to fly through. Xelqua glanced at one again; they seemed weird but not annoying.

There, T∴𝙹 said, speaking to the other Watcher. They flew down to the ground where several structures stood that looked nothing like the rest of the world; with many more details, interesting colours and straight edges.

But... there was also something else. A magical presence was nearby, one other than Oリᒷ and T∴𝙹. It was definitely another Watcher - the energy had the same kind of feel to it - but it wasn't just any Watcher. It felt... familiar, but in an off kind of way. He shrugged it off when Oリᒷ and T∴𝙹 didn't comment on it; it was probably just someone passing through the world.