[lol
balloon98 I had so many great things planned for the trip to Terrenus... one such thing being this large hunk of text you all are about to read. so let this be a note: This happened before balloon's post having us arrive at the gates, just to make sure there is no confusion.]
Durwin, Duffie, and Balloon made their way toward Terrenus. The ground was even, if not a little rocky here and there. Snow blanketed the bare trees and the surrounding terrain. It was a rather bright and clear day, kind of ironic considering the terror that threatened to grip the land. Durwin chuckled and a sad look encroached on the slight smile he had. When Duffie glanced at him questioningly he said,
"Oh I was just thinking about a winter say quite like this one, well except for the death and the evil and all that, but the crisp and clear day. My family came out of the house to watch the sunrise glitter on the snow. Not a cloud in sight... Had a wife, you know, and kids, 3 of em the little rascals. We were, I still am, both young and foolish, but we had smarts where it counted. My folks had just passed away a few days before hand and that had sobered me up some, I guess you could say. And the sunrise, man it was beautiful. Made a living doing repair jobs. Broke a tool? Come see Durwin, he can fix ya up! House window shattered? Not a problem for Durwin! Bandits destroyed your family? Well you're SoL cause that's permanent! That's why I decided to take up magic you know... they just waltzed right in, and I couldn't do a damn thing... just came in and took everything right out from under my nose. And then they gloated about it, while I was still under knife point, in the same room! Her, their, screams and tears are still burned into me to this day.
You know, the business of trade can give you valuable information. I had heard once that in order to gain magic one must first give something in return and the more precious the thing that is given is, the more powerful you'd become. I guess I gave up a lot that day. Well not gave up, taken from. Still a novice, I made every last one of them rue the day they defiled the Drauka family. Of course it wasn't Drauka, death, soul, underworld, not back then, it was Hepton. I stayed away from necromancy because I wasn't foolish enough to think that accursed art could help. See? Smarts where it counted.... My revenge exacted, I wandered for a long time, mopping, I suppose. This was about 3 centuries ago. I always made sure I kept myself clean and wearing new clothes. It was something my wife insisted upon. Maybe I thought I could keep a connection to her that way, or I just didn't want people noticing me coming back year after year, decade after decade.
I had begun to take a familiar route and the children would be waiting for me at the gates of what ever town I would be arriving in. Children have a natural affinity to me, I don't know why. It's a shame I never took the time to learn any of their names. Finally I settled down in Warren's Row, a quaint village far to the north, away from most people. The Landowner said I could work at the local tavern to earn keep, so that's what I did for 30 years. That's when the black figures first arrived, up north. No one knew what they were and so they would look right at em and not know what they did wrong until the things were on them. I used my power to rid the place of them, but I knew I could not stay there, not after that. I decided to study up on what ever I could find about these creatures, I didn't know that they were called Endermen, at the time. I've spent about the last 200 years doing that, preparing myself, making a shield of myself.
The last book I read was about Herobrine. It referenced another book in the town of Cliffsbane, which I was on my way to when I arrived at the Brewer's Stand. And now Herobrine is awake once more and I have to do something. Just the thought of him do to families across this world, just as those bandits did to mine, makes my blood churn, my mind melt, and my reasoning veil itself." Durwin blinked and looked up for the first time since he had started talking. His eyes had fluctuated from fiery reds and oranges, to disheartened blues and purples, to hopeful greens, and now they were an embarrassed pink. Durwin looked a bit disoriented and out in the open from the whiplash of memory to reality, he couldn't bring himself to look at the others. He said,
"I'm sorry I seem to have rambled on for quite a long time.... ummm perhaps one of you would like to say something of your own past? I hope you can forgive my senseless talking, I should have known better. What ever your story, I shall listen. It's the least I can do for putting you through that..." Durwin kept his gaze down on the ground.