Oneshots! (Mostly Hermitcraft)

The Code Speaker [EvilXisuma]

TW: minor character death, blood, unethical restraints, major character death

Hello, my name's Exano. That's pronounced 'ecks-ah-noe' if you were wondering. Most people call me Ex – like the letter 'x' – if they haven't already called me something else. I'm a twelve-year-old Voidwalker. My coming-of-age ceremony was a month ago today. Yeah. We mature quickly in the first fifteen or so years of our lives. Weird, right? Well, it's not weird to me. I'm used to it.

All of the random end raiders we catch here seem to think that's bizarre. I think it's bizarre they managed to get this far out in the End. The Deep End's air is virtually nonexistent, they tell me. We're literally in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of kilometres away from any spawn islands for various worlds. I don't even know why players would fly this far out. It's stupid, and they never fly away the same.

They all think I'm super weird, too. I mean- you don't see any albino Voidwalkers anywhere. It's rare. Some – most – Voidwalkers think it's a curse. That just means they avoid me for the most part. I got to learn the common tongue like that. It's called "English," if you don't know. The raiders were always happy to teach me. I think it made the cold bearable knowing someone could understand what they were saying. I'm an outsider, just like them.

Anyway, that's enough. I should stop rambling at the Void. It's not like there's anyone out there paying attention.

===

Exano sprinted back to the house, shaking off the chill of the Void. Even for a Voidwalker like him, staring at the Void and dangling his legs into it was uncomfortably cold. He joined his father in the annexe, seating himself in a chair as he watched him pace back and forth. His anxiety was palpable. The elders had already made it clear that, if this child was also 'cursed', it would be terminated, no questions asked. They were already stretching their traditions by allowing Exano to live.

His mother screamed from the other room, causing his father's fists to ball up as he restrained himself from rushing to her side. Males were not allowed to be present as midwives manipulated the code to deliver the child into the cold of the Deep End. It was bad luck, according to ancient superstitions.

Exano's scales along the top of his forearms itched at the sound. He rubbed them with the cool skin of his palms, the pure white skin on the underside of his arms prickling. His scales scratched roughly against the more sensitive skin, curing his anxiety somewhat. In front of him, his father was doing the same, claw-tipped fingers running up and down his smooth, shining scales.

Most Voidwalkers had a dark complexion, a deep tan that seemed a lot brighter than the black that made up the sky of the Deep End. Scales – ranging from black to dark purple – line the sides of their neck, travelling to a neat point halfway down the upper arm. Thick scales cover their knees and shins, coming down to clawed, three-toed feet. The aforementioned forearm scales cover the posterior surface of their wrist, ending in a simple circle covering the back of their hands. Some had a small patch of scales resting on their zygomatic arch.

Another scream, filled with pain and suffering, tore through the air. Exano couldn't control himself this time. He leapt to his feet and crossed the room before his father could stop him. The door opened at a spoken command under his breath, revealing the bloodstained sheets as the child was finally brought into the world. Ex breathed a sigh of relief. His little brother would live: he wasn't 'cursed' with albinism.

The midwives stared at his sudden appearance, one of them holding the newborn to her chest. He brushed past them to his mother, grabbing her hand.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. She shook her head weakly, reaching up and making grabbing motions for her new son. Exano stepped back, making space for the midwife to place the child in her arms. She smiled lovingly at him, gently touching his soft skin. His scales were still hardening as he nuzzled her chest, blinking sleepy eyes at the world.