The Edge of MINECRAFT (Being the Second Volume of the Minecraft Trilogy)

Rebellion

Northern Labor Camp Six, Nether Highlands

Tppito let out a sigh. The young pigman knew he had another hard day ahead of him. He was young, but he was strong. The blazes used that. Tppito had been a slave for several Nether months. He could have easily fought back, but he didn't. The reason was that the blazes had figured out his weakness: empathy. The one time he slightly resisted, they had burned one of the young women. That had been the end of any resistance.

Apparently, the blazes were done tolerating any resistance. Thousands more had been added to the slave camp less than a week ago. They had been taken from their now destroyed settlements and forced to work. The situation seemed all the more hopeless.

But already, there were whispers. A slave brought in the night before claimed that he had gotten caught on purpose so he could tell them that a rebellion was coming. Many were stirred. Tppito wasn't so sure. He thought it was foolishness to put hope in dreams.

A silent skeleton handed him a heavy gold pick axe. Tppito knew what to do. He swung its sharp end over his head and split some Nether quarts. The blazes valued this rich white substance for some reason or the other. Tppito didn't care about the reason. He just cared about doing well so no one go hurt.

Suddenly, there was a loud clamor. Tppito, along with the other laborers, looked up to see what was the matter. Blaze guards were being attacked by pigmen swinging in on ropes tied to stalactites. Several combatants dropped to the ground and began attacking the slavers.

Some of the workers turned and used their own tools to fight. Normally, such an effort would have been hopeless, but now, the pigmen had newfound courage.

There was a shout behind Tppito. At first, he felt fear, looking at the blaze ordering him to stay where he was. But then, some switch that had been off for a long time was switched. The pigman grabbed a hammer with his free hand. He twirled the tools and charged. He had broken free.

~~~

Castle Hegemont, Great Lava Oceans

The boat bristled with excitement. Saureji gripped his golden sword in expectation. He stared out from one of the small slats in the side of the obsidian boat. The warrior had to look up to see the soaring towers that formed the fortress of Hegemont. The ancient castle rested on stilts that rose above the great sea of lava. Hegemont was largely considered one of the boundaries of the kingdom. No one knew what was on the other side of the Lava Oceans. Hegemont kept anyone from finding out.

But today, Saureji would be one of the first pigmen to watch it fall. The blazes' tyrannical empire was falling. Saureji's team would be one of many striking a key blow.

The obsidian boat slid alongside one of the supports. Saureji and many other men threw up grappling cables and began to climb them. As Saureji reached the large windowsill, he turned to see the boat go on to the soul sand docks.

The small team crept quietly down the haunting corridors. For a massive fortress, it seemed surprisingly empty. And then they rounded the corner.

An armored blaze was conferring with several wither skeletons. The blaze spotted them and shouted. At his commands, the skeletons ran toward them. But for once, Saureji did not run.

No, he and his men charged toward the danger, brandishing their own swords. Iron clashed with gold, and the battle began. Saureji easily dispatched his own opponent- he had trained in wordplay his whole life- and moved on to another. Around him, pigmen were going down, but the skeletons were outnumbered.

Saureji gave out a war cry, and the remaining pigmen pushed forward. United as one, they attacked and flung the skeletons out of the gaping window.

The blaze pulled out four blaze rods and began to advance. Suddenly, he had slashed the throat of one man and severely burned another. But Saureji was too quick for him. He parried the heat rods with his own sword, swiping left there, blocking right here.

The blaze slipped up. He went in too fast, allowing Saureji to spin around and cut off his left hand. The official cried out and fell to the floor, weakened. Saureji held his sword to his opponent's neck, feeling the contempt in the blaze's eyes.

Saureji lifted his sword high above his head- but brought the hilt down instead and knocked the blaze unconscious. The blazes had once been something else, but their time here had transformed them into monsters. Saureji would see that the pigmen made no such transformation.

There was a clamor in the halls. Saureji nodded to his companions. The message was clear: the others from the boat had arrived. It was go time.

~~~

Tower Outpost Sloan, Central Regions

Huran was worried. His battalion meant well, but they were totally unprepared. The other front linemen were visibly shaking, their swords barely balanced in their hands.

They slowly approached the great black tower. Their mission was simple. They were to attack this outpost, making sure that it didn't send reinforcements to the fortress nearby, where a larger, more professional group was leading a strike.

Everyone was afraid. They would be killed. They'd be overrun. They'd accomplish their mission nonetheless, but even that was just to be a distraction. The struggle would only last long enough for the larger job to be done.

But yet they moved forward. For they were pigmen too, and if there was a duty they could do for their people, by Notch they would do it.

"Stop!" a voice boomed from the tower. "Do not move any farther! Surrender your weapons and prepare for assignment to a correction camp."

All of the soldiers squeaked with fear. Their resolve was slipping, like some fragile glass bowl poised on the edge of a table. One could see it clearly rock.

But Huran stepped up. "No," he said quietly first, and then shouted it again. "No! No, I say! We shall not back down. We will be intimidated no longer!"

He looked over at his fellow soldiers. They were all watching him now. He drew his sword and raised it in the air. "I tell you, there will come a day that our dominion fails, that our legacy as pigmen is finally destroyed, and on that day our end will come. But brothers, that day is not today!"

He lowered his sword until it was level with the tower, pointing right at the door. One by one, cries went up, until the whole crowd was a mass of shouts. Moving as one army, they charged the gates.

The great doors slowly opened, pouring forth evil ranks up on the world. But the pigmen group met them with equal force, and the battle began. Huran, deep in the battle, smiled to himself. No, today would be the day the pigmen rose again.

~~~

Mount Romonous, The Hills

Feeling his fingers wrap around the rock above, Steve pulled himself up. He was almost to the top of the highest mountain Po knew. He was going to need its height.

Exhausted, he lifted his body and staggered to the top. Steve nearly collapsed. It had taken a lot of exertion to reach the top, and he wasn't done yet.

Steve looked up to see one of the golden tips of a stalactite- Po had told him the mineral was called glowstone- and grabbed hold. He began to scale the glowing hanging rock.

It took a while, but he reached the top. The view took his breath away. He stood on one of many glowing islands, all of them barely breaking the reddish-purple mist that floated in the sky. High above him, he saw swarms and swarms of ghasts flying around. Purple and yellow lightning flashed and cracked in the sky. The booms of thunder blended with the unearthly shrieks of the ghasts, to where Steve could hardly hear himself think.

"Hello!" he shouted. The ghasts mostly ignored him. He persisted. "I know you can hear me! You don't have to be enemies with everyone down there! We can work together. We can overthrow the blazes. You can have a life down there. It may not be pretty, but it's your home! Can you help me?"

The shrieks grew louder. The ghasts began to fly in a frenzy, becoming a white misty whirlwind. Steve had no idea what was going on, but he knew what he was ultimately witnessing: the ghasts were preparing for battle.