Chapter 1

A Call From Home

I looked at the envelope in my left hand with mild interest, sunlight covering half of the blank space. Spring was finally starting to take hold of the land; a dangerous time when only the most daring (or the most idiotic) farmers would begin to plant their seeds, more often than not praying that there would not be one last winter freeze. Today, however, had been very warm, and the sun shone brightly for the last few hours of the day, so I had opted to eat my meal outside the café rather than inside like normal.

The envelope I was talking about was made of thick parchment typical of any commoner in Minecraftia, and I had received it this morning from a courier while I was paying for a room at the inn I had stayed at for the past few days. Cutting open the top of the envelope with a small diamond knife I usually kept strapped to my thigh, I pulled out the goods. It was a letter. I began to read it, biting my bottom lip. I knew this handwriting.

Dear Evan,

Long time, absolutely no see! I've been hearing a lot of rumors about you recently in the village, usually about all of those insane heroic deeds and battles, but I really can't imagine the person I know as savior of many villages and an inter-dimensional hero. How any times has it been that you've gone into the Nether now? 12? 3? 46?

Anyway, to make this short, let's just say I want you to come home and visit. It's literally been a year and three months since you left, and the neighborhood's been awfully quiet without you screaming at some random zombie you decided it was a good idea to fight in the middle of the night. If I need to convince you, then I've been mining and hunting a lot lately, and the animals are finally starting to come out of hiding again, and I think I'm getting really close to a diamond vein if you want to go mining. Hope to see you soon.

Love,

Steve

Okay, now let me pause right here, since you're obviously really confused. My name is Evanescence. Strangers call me hero. Acquaintances call me Eva. Steve? He's always called me Evan. Up until about a year ago, I lived in a house a little upriver from a village, with Steve a little downriver from me, even though that wasn't always the case.

I had lived most of my life on the run and… Well, alone. I had nobody to call friend, no place to call home, no money to my name, and nowhere to run. I mean that last part quite literally, because that's how Steve found me. I think I was 15 or 16 years old when he found me, back up against a wall and surrounded by three Creepers. He had been hunting, so he had a bow on him and shot two of the mobs, but he didn't quite reach the third in time.

The explosion had left me almost dead, and Steve injured. Even so, he took me to his home and helped me get my feet back under me. He taught me to build, to mine, and to fight even though he could have only been a couple years older than I was at the time. Well, since then I've repaid my debt (many times over, as I constantly tease him), and set out on my own. I've been a merchant, a sell-sword, an adventurer, a leader, and a warrior among other things. Steve would tell you that I was a strategical hot-head. But through all of these, I've always been Steve's friend, and he mine. And, in all honesty, I have missed him a lot in the past year…

The sun had finally set far enough that it passed the range of my table umbrella, and it ever so kindly decided to blind me at that moment. I stood up and pushed in my chair, a little clumsy since I couldn't see much else than a great white blob, and set down two iron bits for my food. With that, I stumbled blindly over to my horse who was tethered nearby with Steve's letter now crushed in my clenched fist.

I wasn't mad! No, not in the slightest. It was just time for me to pay a visit home.