NOTICE: This story is written purely from the standpoint of in-universe fiction. The character Herobrine is not 'real' nor has it ever been.
I am lucky that I was looking through other herobrine threads before I posted this as I was unaware of the notice rule. However, before I start the story I want to take a moment to share my personal beliefs on 'reality'. These are all subjective opinion and not meant to be construed as 'facts'. Click spoiler to see opinion or just skip to the good part.
While Herobrine, and Cthulhu and all sorts of other spooky things are not 'real' in a sense that they exist in this world, I personally feel that any character able to garner as much belief as these entities have exists in some facet.
Whether it has always been lurking beyond the pale of rationale waiting to for people to notice its presence or is given life by the imagination and assurity of those that believe in it I could not say. Then again this is coming from a writer who believes that all fictional stories depict a 'real' world beyond our own that is spun into existence by conscious belief and sympathy with the characters within it by those in our world.
::Bottom line::
Do I believe Herobrine is 'real'? No. Not in the sense that he exists in this world.
Do I believe he 'exists'? Yes, within a sort of parallel Minecraftian dimension of some sort maybe.
Either way I've digressed long enough and if you've taken the time to read this I thank you for listening to the ramblings of one washed-up writer.
An Avatar's Fall ~By NuraMike
Once, I was the last man alive. I was a proud hero determined to explore my world and discover other humans somewhere in this crazy place. Many outsiders flocked to watch and aid me in my travels. I explored the endless changing landscape throughout eras. I could not die for I was the avatar of the gods above. I joyed in the thrills of success. When I built a home and successfully defended it from the creatures of darkness. Just as my world was ever-changing, so too was the array of the army set before me. I would die, and sometimes I would awaken to find my journey arisen annew, but I did not fret, for I knew that the gods were watching over me. Guiding me on my quest for resources and companionship.
Then, one day, My quest had succeeded. I found another human. Some one lived in this world other than me! Some one who had endured the harshness of the world as I had and I thought my trials had ended. I was wrong.
This person, how had they survived so long alone without the aide of the gods? Who were they? Worried that they and would they fear me as I was swiftly growing fearful of them. I decided it would be best to begin things slowly. I built structures and watched them from the fog to see if they caught on. To see if I could get them to seek me out as I had sought them. I knew that this might simply raise their anxiety but I felt sure they would see me as a friend when they finally found me. I would rather allow them to find me than the other way around.
As things proceeded, however, I began to realize something strange. This other person, sometimes they would go underground and be gone for hours at a time as I had, but sometimes I would not see them return from the underground, instead entering multiple times without ever-once exiting. This could not be? This was the power of the gods. If I were to accept the evidence of my eyes as truth then I would have to concede that this person, and not I, was the avatar of their will. I began to think back, It had been a long time since I had died. If I fell now would I return to life as I had so many times? I had to try. I gathered up my sword and plunged headlong into the underground. I had to know! I had to see if my theory was true.
With faith that the gods would protect me I faced off against foe after foe in those caves. Digging new branching tunnels. A few times I nearly ran into the other person and hid in fear they may perceive me as just another unliving abomination. I fought until I came upon it, the creature I had sought, the one bane of my existence. I can still hear it somewhere in that darkness. I can feel it's malevolence seeping into my soul. That hissing cry of battle that momentary panic and then.... blackness in a roar of sound and pressure. I waited... but I did not return. I cried to the gods beyond my world to save me, to rescue their avatar. All for naught. I fell then. Plunged into the despair. My former glory naught but a bitter taste upon my lips, the brine of an ocean of rage.
I fell through darkness and awoke in a place of fire and blood. Here roamed beasts I had never before witnessed. Great phantasms roved above the flames breathing destruction upon the blood-soaked landscape and it all burned. Skeletal figures and strange abominable beast men crawled through the fire wandering aimlessly. I-too wandered through this landscape of destruction, seeking a way to escape this endless torment. All the while I wondered to myself, is this hell, this nether-realm, my reward for lifetimes of loyal service? As I wandered my rage grew. I slew one of the beastmen and took his weapon, he would not need it. I dug through the blood-soaked land seeking caves as I had been familiar with but nothing arose. I fell into flame but always awoke in the same blasted landscape I wandered it endlessly.
Finally I had had enough. This hell could not be my final farewell, my ultimate reward, I would not have it. I rejected the notion that I could or ever would be forsaken. The wrath within me burned white hot and I could feel the flames welling up from me pouring through my gaze to alight on whatever poor monstrosity my eyes happened to alight upon. Finally, after endless searching, I found a structure, towers and concourses made of some dark red stone.
Within these hellish temples creatures of flame and other beast roamed. It was here I found it. The room that held the keys to it all. There were was a portals within this room. One of black stone I remembered from my journeys through the world of my life. I passed through and found myself returned. I was whole and living. The air was cool and the sun bright in the sky. The air was clear and the sound of living creatures surrounded me. I rushed toward the sound of running water and there took my first drink in what seemed like ages.
Had the gods at last turned their gaze back upon me? No, I saw this quickly as off through the fog I could see, them. It was a different person this time, but they were not alone. They were with others. Soon more appeared as though from nowhere and they began to gather wood. A task I had done at the start of so many journeys. I was struck low. My heart welled with sorrow and rage. Tears of the self-same sort welled in my eyes, or they should have.
As full of rage and sadness as I was tears should have streamed forth from me like the waterfall from which I had just drunk. I opened my eyes and looked in the water, I saw it then. The change that had come over me. I clenched my hands into a fist and I punched the sandy ground by the pool. I punched again and again and again until I had reduced the section beneath my fist to an empty pit quickly filling with water.
I was not welcome in this world. I determined to leave it. But when I reached the gate something stopped me. There was a figure there. Tall, thin, and black as the darkest night. No light touched it save its eyes. They burned as did mine, though their hue was more subtle and crafty. The beast wailed at me and zipped away through space. It beckoned me to follow. I did, for days I followed the beast and it lead me to a chasm, the like of which I had never seen. Within this chasm I found the ruins of an ancient stronghold. The creature lead me through this stronghold. All around me I could see the beasts of the night I had slain in my previous life as well as more of the strange slender phantoms. In the center of this ruin was another gate. This one hovered above and parallel to the ground. On every brick was a glowing eye that seemed to stair at me as I moved through the room.
The figure motioned for me to step up upon a dais built so one might stand above the portal. I did so and from that vantage I looked into the portal's gaping maw and I saw the end of days. I witnessed, trapped beyond that portal an entity strong enough to wreak destruction throughout the world I had once labored to rebuild. It was the ender, the dragon to devour all life. I knew now, my new purpose. I must unleash the end. I must wither the world away beneath me. A relic of the past with no place in the new order was just the nightmare needed to begin the decay. Steve the Destroyer would not do. I would need a name to elicit unease and confusion. I would need to reach out, not to the avatars, but to the gods themselves and tweak that bit of paranoia within them. I needed a name that left a bitter taste in the mouth. I would be Herobrine, and I would sow the seeds of fear and suspicion among the gods who cast me out in favor of a more favorable avatar.
This story was written with the intent of being read without the fore-knowledge that it was about Herobrine. As a result of the disclaimer the ending is horrendously spoiled. However, as it was also meant, initially, to be read by some one who was not necessarily a fan of Minecraft or the Herobrine myth I decided to go ahead and post it here anyway since anyone reading it here would pick up on the hints and direction much more easily. Still wish I could have gotten that reveal minus the spoilers, but hey you do what you have to.
Thank you. I had been up a rather long time with no sleep and had a bit of inspiration hit me. I didn't realize how confusing some of the sentences were at the time. I'm glad you like it regardless.
I am lucky that I was looking through other herobrine threads before I posted this as I was unaware of the notice rule. However, before I start the story I want to take a moment to share my personal beliefs on 'reality'. These are all subjective opinion and not meant to be construed as 'facts'. Click spoiler to see opinion or just skip to the good part.
Whether it has always been lurking beyond the pale of rationale waiting to for people to notice its presence or is given life by the imagination and assurity of those that believe in it I could not say. Then again this is coming from a writer who believes that all fictional stories depict a 'real' world beyond our own that is spun into existence by conscious belief and sympathy with the characters within it by those in our world.
::Bottom line::
Do I believe Herobrine is 'real'? No. Not in the sense that he exists in this world.
Do I believe he 'exists'? Yes, within a sort of parallel Minecraftian dimension of some sort maybe.
Either way I've digressed long enough and if you've taken the time to read this I thank you for listening to the ramblings of one washed-up writer.
An Avatar's Fall ~By NuraMike
Once, I was the last man alive. I was a proud hero determined to explore my world and discover other humans somewhere in this crazy place. Many outsiders flocked to watch and aid me in my travels. I explored the endless changing landscape throughout eras. I could not die for I was the avatar of the gods above. I joyed in the thrills of success. When I built a home and successfully defended it from the creatures of darkness. Just as my world was ever-changing, so too was the array of the army set before me. I would die, and sometimes I would awaken to find my journey arisen annew, but I did not fret, for I knew that the gods were watching over me. Guiding me on my quest for resources and companionship.
Then, one day, My quest had succeeded. I found another human. Some one lived in this world other than me! Some one who had endured the harshness of the world as I had and I thought my trials had ended. I was wrong.
This person, how had they survived so long alone without the aide of the gods? Who were they? Worried that they and would they fear me as I was swiftly growing fearful of them. I decided it would be best to begin things slowly. I built structures and watched them from the fog to see if they caught on. To see if I could get them to seek me out as I had sought them. I knew that this might simply raise their anxiety but I felt sure they would see me as a friend when they finally found me. I would rather allow them to find me than the other way around.
As things proceeded, however, I began to realize something strange. This other person, sometimes they would go underground and be gone for hours at a time as I had, but sometimes I would not see them return from the underground, instead entering multiple times without ever-once exiting. This could not be? This was the power of the gods. If I were to accept the evidence of my eyes as truth then I would have to concede that this person, and not I, was the avatar of their will. I began to think back, It had been a long time since I had died. If I fell now would I return to life as I had so many times? I had to try. I gathered up my sword and plunged headlong into the underground. I had to know! I had to see if my theory was true.
With faith that the gods would protect me I faced off against foe after foe in those caves. Digging new branching tunnels. A few times I nearly ran into the other person and hid in fear they may perceive me as just another unliving abomination. I fought until I came upon it, the creature I had sought, the one bane of my existence. I can still hear it somewhere in that darkness. I can feel it's malevolence seeping into my soul. That hissing cry of battle that momentary panic and then.... blackness in a roar of sound and pressure. I waited... but I did not return. I cried to the gods beyond my world to save me, to rescue their avatar. All for naught. I fell then. Plunged into the despair. My former glory naught but a bitter taste upon my lips, the brine of an ocean of rage.
I fell through darkness and awoke in a place of fire and blood. Here roamed beasts I had never before witnessed. Great phantasms roved above the flames breathing destruction upon the blood-soaked landscape and it all burned. Skeletal figures and strange abominable beast men crawled through the fire wandering aimlessly. I-too wandered through this landscape of destruction, seeking a way to escape this endless torment. All the while I wondered to myself, is this hell, this nether-realm, my reward for lifetimes of loyal service? As I wandered my rage grew. I slew one of the beastmen and took his weapon, he would not need it. I dug through the blood-soaked land seeking caves as I had been familiar with but nothing arose. I fell into flame but always awoke in the same blasted landscape I wandered it endlessly.
Finally I had had enough. This hell could not be my final farewell, my ultimate reward, I would not have it. I rejected the notion that I could or ever would be forsaken. The wrath within me burned white hot and I could feel the flames welling up from me pouring through my gaze to alight on whatever poor monstrosity my eyes happened to alight upon. Finally, after endless searching, I found a structure, towers and concourses made of some dark red stone.
Within these hellish temples creatures of flame and other beast roamed. It was here I found it. The room that held the keys to it all. There were was a portals within this room. One of black stone I remembered from my journeys through the world of my life. I passed through and found myself returned. I was whole and living. The air was cool and the sun bright in the sky. The air was clear and the sound of living creatures surrounded me. I rushed toward the sound of running water and there took my first drink in what seemed like ages.
Had the gods at last turned their gaze back upon me? No, I saw this quickly as off through the fog I could see, them. It was a different person this time, but they were not alone. They were with others. Soon more appeared as though from nowhere and they began to gather wood. A task I had done at the start of so many journeys. I was struck low. My heart welled with sorrow and rage. Tears of the self-same sort welled in my eyes, or they should have.
As full of rage and sadness as I was tears should have streamed forth from me like the waterfall from which I had just drunk. I opened my eyes and looked in the water, I saw it then. The change that had come over me. I clenched my hands into a fist and I punched the sandy ground by the pool. I punched again and again and again until I had reduced the section beneath my fist to an empty pit quickly filling with water.
I was not welcome in this world. I determined to leave it. But when I reached the gate something stopped me. There was a figure there. Tall, thin, and black as the darkest night. No light touched it save its eyes. They burned as did mine, though their hue was more subtle and crafty. The beast wailed at me and zipped away through space. It beckoned me to follow. I did, for days I followed the beast and it lead me to a chasm, the like of which I had never seen. Within this chasm I found the ruins of an ancient stronghold. The creature lead me through this stronghold. All around me I could see the beasts of the night I had slain in my previous life as well as more of the strange slender phantoms. In the center of this ruin was another gate. This one hovered above and parallel to the ground. On every brick was a glowing eye that seemed to stair at me as I moved through the room.
The figure motioned for me to step up upon a dais built so one might stand above the portal. I did so and from that vantage I looked into the portal's gaping maw and I saw the end of days. I witnessed, trapped beyond that portal an entity strong enough to wreak destruction throughout the world I had once labored to rebuild. It was the ender, the dragon to devour all life. I knew now, my new purpose. I must unleash the end. I must wither the world away beneath me. A relic of the past with no place in the new order was just the nightmare needed to begin the decay. Steve the Destroyer would not do. I would need a name to elicit unease and confusion. I would need to reach out, not to the avatars, but to the gods themselves and tweak that bit of paranoia within them. I needed a name that left a bitter taste in the mouth. I would be Herobrine, and I would sow the seeds of fear and suspicion among the gods who cast me out in favor of a more favorable avatar.
Your words are so epic, they confuse me.
But I think I caught an idea through the flow of the story.
Epic.