Just one more block thought Andrew. Just one more. The walled city he was living in, Notchton, just wasn't enough for him. He knew the laws. Never leave the city's walls. He knew that if he was caught, he would have the Grand Council of Elders to answer to. Notchton wasn't bad or anything. In fact, by anyone's standards, it was one of the greatest cities ever built. Populated by 15,000 people, with 1st class housing, 1st class food, 1st class everything. There was even a Parkour Lodge, a Spleef Arena, a Horse Racing Track, and even a Water Park. The council was desperate to make people want to stay.
But these walls! These massive, daunting, stone walls! They made Andrew feel confined, cooped up, imprisoned, even. He was desperate to see what was on the other side.
Security was pretty tight. In fact, there were alarms that went off if a block was placed in the vicinity of the wall, or if the wall was broken. But the alarms didn't count vines. That's what the 13 year old Andrew was waiting for, for that one solitary vine, that green glimmer of hope and adventure, to just grow one more block down for him to climb over the wall to freedom. He didn't know what was on the other side, or how he would get down from the wall once he was on top. The least he could hope for was a view, just a glimpse of the outside world. From the day he was born it seemed, he was being told stories about the creatures that lurked outside the walls. He never believed any of it. Monsters that exploded? Tall black men that killed you if you looked at them? Myths. Folklore, exaggerated and embellished with every telling. Then suddenly, it happened. The vine grew one block downward.
Overjoyed, Andrew grabbed onto the vine, and climbed. He made sure to wear his black leather tunic tonight, to blend in with the darkness. After a few seconds, he finally made it to the top. Triumphantly, he stood up and laughed. Slowly, he turned, and looked out over the no-man's land, known only as "The Outside". There was a forest, and mountains in the distance, silhouetted against the rising moon. He looked at the top of the mountain, and he saw what looked like a..."A house?" said Andrew. He had to check it out. Finally, some excitement! He looked over at the Trekker's Path, going out of the only, and most heavily guarded, exit in the city. That was where an elite group of Villagers known as The Trekkers left Notchton's boundaries to gather resources. 9 times out of 10, one of them never came back. Andrew made sure he went over the wall right after they had made their monthly trek. He knew he wouldn't be spotted. Unless I don't get off of this wall thought Andrew. He looked around, looking for a way down to The Outside. He looked down to the forest. There was an unusually large Oak tree beneath him. He smiled, then jumped on the large Oak. He jumped down from tree to tree, until he finally hit the ground. He made it! He was outside Notchton! The thrill of the moment so enveloped him, that he didn't realize the movement in the grass behind him. He walked through the forest toward the mountainous region, leaving a trail of torches so he would know the way back home. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap. He looked at the dark forest around him. He got out his wooden sword. He knew it wasn't a...what was it...Creeper? Anyway, he knew it wasn't an exploding monster. But whatever it was, he wasn't alone, and he prepared for trouble. He looked, and out of the forest came...a pig. Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, hi, piggy!" Then, out of nowhere, an arrow flew out of the darkness, and hit the pig. The injured animal ran into the forest. Andrew ran as fast as his legs could carry him, placing torches every few blocks. He stopped to catch his breath, and saw the pig again. Wait a minute, he thought, It's black! And what's with it's legs? The creature turned and faced him. Eight glowing red eyes blinked in the dark. It hissed, and ran at Andrew on it's eight spindly legs. Andrew's eyes widened. Spider! As the spider leaped at him, he held out his hands and closed his eyes, forgetting he had a sword, causing the spider to leap onto the sword, killing it. The spider went completely limp. Andrew opened his eyes, saw that he killed it, and quickly shook the spider off of the sword. "Yeah!" He nervously shouted. "Let that be a lesson!" He turned around. A green monster, as tall as he was, and with four legs, was facing him. It made a hissing noise, then suddenly, exploded with tremendous force. He was sent flying back into the tree, then slumped to the ground. He got up, and ran. He followed the torch trail back to the wall. He had to catch his breath again. he looked around, and he saw an odd looking tree. it had no branches or leaves, and it was black, with strange purple particles around it. Then he realized. It was an Enderman. And he was looking at it. He shouted, "Sweet mother of Notch, these things are real!" That caught the Enderman's attention. It turned, and it's glowing purple eyes fixed on Andrew. It opened it's mouth, and let out an unearthly scream. Then, it disappeared. Confused, he turned around, and the Enderman was standing inches from him. Andrew ran, and the Enderman ran after him. He ran to the Trekker's Path. He didn't care about getting caught anymore. He just wanted to live. He screamed, and the Enderman teleported in front of him. This was it. He was going to die. Just then, a diamond sword blade thrust out of the Enderman. The Enderman fell forward, and standing on the Enderman's back was a Notchton guard, dressed in full diamond armor. The Enderman faded into nothing, and in it's place was one solitary, blue orb. The guard picked up the orb, and barked at Andrew, "What're you doing out here, kid? You know The Outside is off limits!" Seeing Andrew's condition, the guard's expression softened. "Well, I hope you've learned to never do this again." Andrew sincerely said "Never again. Never, ever, ever again."
Chapter 1: The Notchton Races
Four Years Later
Andrew leaned forward on Atticus, his horse. Next to him, the four horse racing champions of Notchton, Marcus, Philetus, Rosetta, and James, were leaning forward, their eyes fixed firmly on their goal. They needed their focus. This was no ordianry horse race. The race took them around Notchton, through the Parkour Lodge, where they would jump across the parkour track, and it would take them through the Spleef* Arena, where the racers would attempt to dig out the snow from under the opponent's horse. Then on the final strech, the racers would jump over a series of fences, and finish the race. The race started at the castle where The Grand Council of Elders resided. At the balcony on the front of the castle, the audience cheered as the three grand council members, three elderly villagers, Herald, Anthony, and Constantine, walked onto the balcony. Herald was the head councilman, Anthony was his right hand man, and Constantine was General of The Trekkers. Herald walked to the large gong, and shouted, "We welcome you, citizens of Notchton, to The Notchton Races! We would like the racers to come to their marks!" Andrew whispered to Atticus, "You ready for this, buddy?" Atticus neighed. Andrew smiled. "Let's win this." The racers walked their horses to the starting line. Herald shouted, "Get ready!" The racers put on their iron helmets. "Get set!" The racers leaned forward. Herald picked up a stick, and lifted it high in the air. "Let The Notchton Races begin!" Herald rung the gong, and the racers were off like an arrow from a bow.
Andrew rode furiously, gaining a lead on the racers. Then Rosetta rode up next to him, blew him a kiss, laughed, and rode away. Andrew spurred Atticus onward. The racetrack began to go up a bridge going across the plaza, and directly over the huge fire pit in the middle of the city. That fire pit had been there since the city was founded, and it never burned out. He always wondered how that was. He sped Atticus up, and passed Rosetta as the bridge dropped to ground level, and went into the Parkour Lodge. Once the racers were in, they began jumping on the small blocks, suspended in mid air over a pool of water. Philetus overshot a jump, and fell screaming into the water below. He and his horse resurfaced spitting out water. Andrew laughed. Of all the racers, Philetus had badgered Andrew the most. The racers treated each other more like brothers and sisters than enemies. Philetus however, was a bully. It made Andrew unspeakably happy to see Philetus eat his words on the first challenge. "How did he put it again?" Andrew thought. "'I'll parkour circles around you?'"
Andrew took the jumps with relative ease, nearly falling on one occasion, but regaining his composure. The racers finally left the Parkour Lodge, except James, who was slowly jumping over the gaps about halfway through. They zoomed through the city, Marcus passing Rosetta and Andrew, and then they entered the Spleef Arena. They got out their shovels as they rode across the single layer of snow, suspended above another pool of water. Rosetta was the first to make a move, digging out a few blocks of snow in front of Andrew. Andrew jumped over them, but just barely. He dug out two blocks in front of Rosetta when she wasn't looking, and she fell through the snow, and into the water. Andrew finally caught up to Marcus, both of them digging out snow from under each other, and failing. They finally left the Spleef Arena, and out into the final stretch. The racetrack was made of purple wool, and there were fences that Marcus and Andrew had to jump over. They both jumped over the first, second, and third ones, but Atticus stumbled over the fourth, giving Marcus a lead again. It was time. Andrew said, "Alright, let's flip!" Atticus neighed in agreement, and then jumped over the fence, but flipped in the air, skipping the one after that, catching up to Marcus, and landing perfectly. Marcus looked at Andrew, wide eyed, grinned from ear to ear, shook his head, and kept on jumping. He's impressed. Thought Andrew. Apparently, the crowd was too, because they roared with thunderous applause. The finish line was within sight. There were no more fences, just one, long stretch to the finish line. Andrew and Marcus made a mad dash for the finish line, neck in neck, and just 10 blocks away from the finish line, Andrew pulled ahead, and won by a nose. The crowd stood up, jumped up and down, and cheered. Andrew and Marcus got off of their horses. Marcus walked up to Andrew, shook Andrew's hand, and said with a british accent, "Well played, worthy opponent."
After Andrew got ready for bed that night, He walked into Atticus' stable. He brushed his mane, and gave him some suger lumps. "You raced great today, old buddy!" Andrew said. "You did great!" Just then, the door burst open, and in ran Horatio. Andrew could fill a book with crazy things that Horatio did. Horatio was kind of like a mad scientist. He was extremely smart, but he did some dumb things in his time. That's why they were best friends. Life never seemed to be dull with Horatio around. He remembered when Horatio had tried to create an explosive potion, and it worked all too well. It blew up his house. Two days later, when the fire had finally been put out, he realized that an underground lab would be better. When he was digging the hole for his lab, he stumbled upon a cave, with a chest in it. In it, he found what was called a JavaScroll. It was the first of five clues to find a very special book. A book that was given by Notch himself to the first minecrafter, Stevie. The Book of Notch. It was Notch's journal. It contained information on his life, his ideas, but most importantly, how to manipulate the force that made up everything in Minecraftia. JavaScript. When the book was given to Stevie, he mastered the art of JavaScripting, and became known by the title of The Great JavaScripter. Then one day, he just disappeared. Him, along with The Book of Notch. Never to be seen again. Coming back to the present, Andrew asked Horatio, "What is it, Horatio? It's almost curfew." Horatio said, "No, no, no, this is more important than some curfew! I know where it is!" Andrew asked, "Where what is?" Horatio, wide eyed, took the first JavaScroll out of his pocket. "The second JavaScroll!"
*Spleef: The minecraft sport where a layer of snow is suspended high above a pool of water, or lava, and the player attempts to dig the snow out from under his opponent with a shovel.
Prologue: Over the Wall
Based on Marcus "Notch" Persson's Minecraft.
Just one more block thought Andrew. Just one more. The walled city he was living in, Notchton, just wasn't enough for him. He knew the laws. Never leave the city's walls. He knew that if he was caught, he would have the Grand Council of Elders to answer to. Notchton wasn't bad or anything. In fact, by anyone's standards, it was one of the greatest cities ever built. Populated by 15,000 people, with 1st class housing, 1st class food, 1st class everything. There was even a Parkour Lodge, a Spleef Arena, a Horse Racing Track, and even a Water Park. The council was desperate to make people want to stay.
But these walls! These massive, daunting, stone walls! They made Andrew feel confined, cooped up, imprisoned, even. He was desperate to see what was on the other side.
Security was pretty tight. In fact, there were alarms that went off if a block was placed in the vicinity of the wall, or if the wall was broken. But the alarms didn't count vines. That's what the 13 year old Andrew was waiting for, for that one solitary vine, that green glimmer of hope and adventure, to just grow one more block down for him to climb over the wall to freedom. He didn't know what was on the other side, or how he would get down from the wall once he was on top. The least he could hope for was a view, just a glimpse of the outside world. From the day he was born it seemed, he was being told stories about the creatures that lurked outside the walls. He never believed any of it. Monsters that exploded? Tall black men that killed you if you looked at them? Myths. Folklore, exaggerated and embellished with every telling. Then suddenly, it happened. The vine grew one block downward.
Overjoyed, Andrew grabbed onto the vine, and climbed. He made sure to wear his black leather tunic tonight, to blend in with the darkness. After a few seconds, he finally made it to the top. Triumphantly, he stood up and laughed. Slowly, he turned, and looked out over the no-man's land, known only as "The Outside". There was a forest, and mountains in the distance, silhouetted against the rising moon. He looked at the top of the mountain, and he saw what looked like a..."A house?" said Andrew. He had to check it out. Finally, some excitement! He looked over at the Trekker's Path, going out of the only, and most heavily guarded, exit in the city. That was where an elite group of Villagers known as The Trekkers left Notchton's boundaries to gather resources. 9 times out of 10, one of them never came back. Andrew made sure he went over the wall right after they had made their monthly trek. He knew he wouldn't be spotted. Unless I don't get off of this wall thought Andrew. He looked around, looking for a way down to The Outside. He looked down to the forest. There was an unusually large Oak tree beneath him. He smiled, then jumped on the large Oak. He jumped down from tree to tree, until he finally hit the ground. He made it! He was outside Notchton! The thrill of the moment so enveloped him, that he didn't realize the movement in the grass behind him. He walked through the forest toward the mountainous region, leaving a trail of torches so he would know the way back home. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap. He looked at the dark forest around him. He got out his wooden sword. He knew it wasn't a...what was it...Creeper? Anyway, he knew it wasn't an exploding monster. But whatever it was, he wasn't alone, and he prepared for trouble. He looked, and out of the forest came...a pig. Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, hi, piggy!" Then, out of nowhere, an arrow flew out of the darkness, and hit the pig. The injured animal ran into the forest. Andrew ran as fast as his legs could carry him, placing torches every few blocks. He stopped to catch his breath, and saw the pig again. Wait a minute, he thought, It's black! And what's with it's legs? The creature turned and faced him. Eight glowing red eyes blinked in the dark. It hissed, and ran at Andrew on it's eight spindly legs. Andrew's eyes widened. Spider! As the spider leaped at him, he held out his hands and closed his eyes, forgetting he had a sword, causing the spider to leap onto the sword, killing it. The spider went completely limp. Andrew opened his eyes, saw that he killed it, and quickly shook the spider off of the sword. "Yeah!" He nervously shouted. "Let that be a lesson!" He turned around. A green monster, as tall as he was, and with four legs, was facing him. It made a hissing noise, then suddenly, exploded with tremendous force. He was sent flying back into the tree, then slumped to the ground. He got up, and ran. He followed the torch trail back to the wall. He had to catch his breath again. he looked around, and he saw an odd looking tree. it had no branches or leaves, and it was black, with strange purple particles around it. Then he realized. It was an Enderman. And he was looking at it. He shouted, "Sweet mother of Notch, these things are real!" That caught the Enderman's attention. It turned, and it's glowing purple eyes fixed on Andrew. It opened it's mouth, and let out an unearthly scream. Then, it disappeared. Confused, he turned around, and the Enderman was standing inches from him. Andrew ran, and the Enderman ran after him. He ran to the Trekker's Path. He didn't care about getting caught anymore. He just wanted to live. He screamed, and the Enderman teleported in front of him. This was it. He was going to die. Just then, a diamond sword blade thrust out of the Enderman. The Enderman fell forward, and standing on the Enderman's back was a Notchton guard, dressed in full diamond armor. The Enderman faded into nothing, and in it's place was one solitary, blue orb. The guard picked up the orb, and barked at Andrew, "What're you doing out here, kid? You know The Outside is off limits!" Seeing Andrew's condition, the guard's expression softened. "Well, I hope you've learned to never do this again." Andrew sincerely said "Never again. Never, ever, ever again."
Chapter 1: The Notchton Races
Four Years Later
Andrew leaned forward on Atticus, his horse. Next to him, the four horse racing champions of Notchton, Marcus, Philetus, Rosetta, and James, were leaning forward, their eyes fixed firmly on their goal. They needed their focus. This was no ordianry horse race. The race took them around Notchton, through the Parkour Lodge, where they would jump across the parkour track, and it would take them through the Spleef* Arena, where the racers would attempt to dig out the snow from under the opponent's horse. Then on the final strech, the racers would jump over a series of fences, and finish the race. The race started at the castle where The Grand Council of Elders resided. At the balcony on the front of the castle, the audience cheered as the three grand council members, three elderly villagers, Herald, Anthony, and Constantine, walked onto the balcony. Herald was the head councilman, Anthony was his right hand man, and Constantine was General of The Trekkers. Herald walked to the large gong, and shouted, "We welcome you, citizens of Notchton, to The Notchton Races! We would like the racers to come to their marks!" Andrew whispered to Atticus, "You ready for this, buddy?" Atticus neighed. Andrew smiled. "Let's win this." The racers walked their horses to the starting line. Herald shouted, "Get ready!" The racers put on their iron helmets. "Get set!" The racers leaned forward. Herald picked up a stick, and lifted it high in the air. "Let The Notchton Races begin!" Herald rung the gong, and the racers were off like an arrow from a bow.
Andrew rode furiously, gaining a lead on the racers. Then Rosetta rode up next to him, blew him a kiss, laughed, and rode away. Andrew spurred Atticus onward. The racetrack began to go up a bridge going across the plaza, and directly over the huge fire pit in the middle of the city. That fire pit had been there since the city was founded, and it never burned out. He always wondered how that was. He sped Atticus up, and passed Rosetta as the bridge dropped to ground level, and went into the Parkour Lodge. Once the racers were in, they began jumping on the small blocks, suspended in mid air over a pool of water. Philetus overshot a jump, and fell screaming into the water below. He and his horse resurfaced spitting out water. Andrew laughed. Of all the racers, Philetus had badgered Andrew the most. The racers treated each other more like brothers and sisters than enemies. Philetus however, was a bully. It made Andrew unspeakably happy to see Philetus eat his words on the first challenge. "How did he put it again?" Andrew thought. "'I'll parkour circles around you?'"
Andrew took the jumps with relative ease, nearly falling on one occasion, but regaining his composure. The racers finally left the Parkour Lodge, except James, who was slowly jumping over the gaps about halfway through. They zoomed through the city, Marcus passing Rosetta and Andrew, and then they entered the Spleef Arena. They got out their shovels as they rode across the single layer of snow, suspended above another pool of water. Rosetta was the first to make a move, digging out a few blocks of snow in front of Andrew. Andrew jumped over them, but just barely. He dug out two blocks in front of Rosetta when she wasn't looking, and she fell through the snow, and into the water. Andrew finally caught up to Marcus, both of them digging out snow from under each other, and failing. They finally left the Spleef Arena, and out into the final stretch. The racetrack was made of purple wool, and there were fences that Marcus and Andrew had to jump over. They both jumped over the first, second, and third ones, but Atticus stumbled over the fourth, giving Marcus a lead again. It was time. Andrew said, "Alright, let's flip!" Atticus neighed in agreement, and then jumped over the fence, but flipped in the air, skipping the one after that, catching up to Marcus, and landing perfectly. Marcus looked at Andrew, wide eyed, grinned from ear to ear, shook his head, and kept on jumping. He's impressed. Thought Andrew. Apparently, the crowd was too, because they roared with thunderous applause. The finish line was within sight. There were no more fences, just one, long stretch to the finish line. Andrew and Marcus made a mad dash for the finish line, neck in neck, and just 10 blocks away from the finish line, Andrew pulled ahead, and won by a nose. The crowd stood up, jumped up and down, and cheered. Andrew and Marcus got off of their horses. Marcus walked up to Andrew, shook Andrew's hand, and said with a british accent, "Well played, worthy opponent."
After Andrew got ready for bed that night, He walked into Atticus' stable. He brushed his mane, and gave him some suger lumps. "You raced great today, old buddy!" Andrew said. "You did great!" Just then, the door burst open, and in ran Horatio. Andrew could fill a book with crazy things that Horatio did. Horatio was kind of like a mad scientist. He was extremely smart, but he did some dumb things in his time. That's why they were best friends. Life never seemed to be dull with Horatio around. He remembered when Horatio had tried to create an explosive potion, and it worked all too well. It blew up his house. Two days later, when the fire had finally been put out, he realized that an underground lab would be better. When he was digging the hole for his lab, he stumbled upon a cave, with a chest in it. In it, he found what was called a JavaScroll. It was the first of five clues to find a very special book. A book that was given by Notch himself to the first minecrafter, Stevie. The Book of Notch. It was Notch's journal. It contained information on his life, his ideas, but most importantly, how to manipulate the force that made up everything in Minecraftia. JavaScript. When the book was given to Stevie, he mastered the art of JavaScripting, and became known by the title of The Great JavaScripter. Then one day, he just disappeared. Him, along with The Book of Notch. Never to be seen again. Coming back to the present, Andrew asked Horatio, "What is it, Horatio? It's almost curfew." Horatio said, "No, no, no, this is more important than some curfew! I know where it is!" Andrew asked, "Where what is?" Horatio, wide eyed, took the first JavaScroll out of his pocket. "The second JavaScroll!"
*Spleef: The minecraft sport where a layer of snow is suspended high above a pool of water, or lava, and the player attempts to dig the snow out from under his opponent with a shovel.