Dimensions

Chapter Two /// A flicker of Hope

   Most people would think the Nether was a horrible, hot hell. And it was. The Nether was -and still is- home to monsters of all sorts, zombies, skeletons, endermen, you name it. It was also either very hot or very cold, but horrible? Not to someone who's only known it his whole life. It was hell for the adults because they missed being able to sleep but Aenon didn't understand, no one could sleep because you could never get tired unless you put up a fight with a god or something.

   Aenon laid on his bed (to fill the space and for decoration, of course) looking at the maroon nether bricks above him, faintly illuminated by the small chandelier of tiny glowstone orbs, wrapped carefully in the crimson weeping vines. He sat up to think. He and his brother, Marius, needed to figure out a way to the Overworld soon. A few years ago it didn't seem to bother anyone but there was about to be a shortage of water and the people of the human race were not happy with the royal family for miscalculating. Aenon didn't understand why they couldn't just eat snow in the cold areas, wasn't snow just frozen water? apparently it was "dangerous" or "toxic" or something.

   Beep! Beep! Aenon's black and blue communicator lit up. It was his brother.

Come here.

Uhh, where? He asked.

To the bridge stupid!

Which bridge??

THE NORTH BRIDGE!!!

Okay, sheesh, you didn't need to yell.

   'I guess I'm going to the North Bridge then.' He thought to himself, standing up from his bed.

   Aenon's heavy iron boots barely made a sound as he walked over to open the crimson door. He probably barely made a sound because he was so used to the weight. His boots were made of iron on the outside but had leather on the inside to protect him from the heat of the iron. He had on black, loose pants with quite a few pockets and a white short sleeved shirt. The collar of his jacket sat loosely next to his neck. The jacket was protection from the heat of the nether as well as the cold from the basalt areas. He had on a netherite mask, it was very special because netherite was incredibly rare and completely protected the wearer from all conditions. Aenon's mask was designed to filter the air to make it safer to breathe, he also had glowstone embedded in the design, covered with a blue cloth.

    He walked through the crimson halls of the East wing, the Crimson Forest to his left and the Wastes to his right. The windows were tall, thin, had no glass between it, and were few. He whisked past maids and butlers taking a sharp right around the corner.

     The castle was built so that the center was connected by bridges to the four wings; north, east, south, and west. Aenon could see a small figure in the distance. His brother was standing on the bridge between the north and center, his black cloak flowing in the hot wind and his mask glowing a light gold. The older prince turned to meet his younger brother as he walked closer.

     "What? No 'welcome back bro!' or 'I missed you so much!'?" Marius asked, it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

     "How was your trip?" Aenon asked, a little more than slightly annoyed.

     Marius sighed, "good enough." He said to himself. "It went really well actually, you won't believe what I found!"

     "Yeah, you and your troops." He said bitterly.

     "What? Is this because I didn't take you with me?"

      "No." It was.

     "Okay, well I'll definitely be taking you with me this time," Marius said, a grin he was suppressing escaping. "Because I just found our way to the Overworld!"