Legacies || Hermitcraft

Chapter XVII - The Outcast

Timeline: May 2015

Word Count: 4.5k

TW: Graphic violence, blood, injury, near-death, discrimination, religious imagery

(I'm sure you know the drill by now, but I'd still like to mention that there is detailed, descriptive gore in this chapter, far worse than anything I usually write. Once again, reader's discretion is advised)

Ezra had promised himself that he would eventually leave his base in search of the Admin who seemingly knew him, but that was a task easier said than done. There were so many things that could go wrong, and each horrific possibility was another reason for Ezra to delay his plan.

What if the Admin wasn't Xisuma? What if his twin was truly dead? What if he wasn't supposed to be here, and he'd end up banned and lost to the Void for eternity? What if it was Xisuma, but his brother no longer wanted anything to do with him? What if Ezra only served as a reminder of the massacre after all these years, and Xisuma couldn't even bear to look him in the eye?

Each possibility seemed both likely and improbable at the same time. However, none of their consequences would be half as bad as the mental turmoil that Ezra was putting himself through by not knowing the answers he'd been seeking. Except getting banned, perhaps. That would be awful.

So, he'd ignored his paranoia-induced scenarios, reminded himself of how minuscule the odds were, and decided to finally leave his sad excuse for a home and venture out into the server. Granted, he did it at night when nobody would be awake to catch him, but it had still taken courage to do that alone and Ezra was proud of himself for it.

The server itself was beautiful, and it was evident that every stone in the path and brick in the walls had been placed with love and care. Torches were placed perfectly evenly along the paths, illuminating the dark village, and a rainbow of flowers was planted in rows along the path. Ezra could imagine Xisuma putting this much time and devotion into such a simple little path, or perhaps he was simply telling himself that in the hopes that his brother was truly here and alive.

Ezra then hesitated, and from the corner of his eye saw a piece of paper stuck to one of the lampposts. He picked it up to inspect it more closely, but to his dismay, it was written in an Overworld-native language that he couldn't read. It seemed important, whatever it was, as the words were large and stood out on the page, but to Ezra it was essentially useless.

He was about to put the notice back, when through the light of the lamppost, he could see something written on the other side. He turned the page over, and to his surprise, saw a short message at the bottom that he could understand.

∴ᒷ ᔑ∷ᒷ ᒲ𝙹⍊╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ᔑ リᒷ∴ ᓭᒷ∷⍊ᒷ∷ ╎リ ᒷ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ᒷᒷリ ↸ᔑ||ᓭ. !¡ꖎᒷᔑᓭᒷ ᓵ𝙹ᒲᒷ ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ⚍ᓭ, ╎ ↸𝙹リ'ℸ ̣ ∴ᔑリℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ꖎᒷᔑ⍊ᒷ ||𝙹⚍ ʖᒷ⍑╎リ↸ ᔑ⊣ᔑ╎リ

As surprised as Ezra was by the news that this world was being abandoned, (and in less than 8 hours no less) there were two things that surprised him even more, the first of which being the handwriting. Every stroke and dot was written with precision and perfectionism, and Ezra knew only one person across the three realms who cared that much about how their handwriting looked.

Secondly, and more importantly, was the contents of the note itself. It wasn't merely an unassuming notice, far more than that. It was addressed to Ezra, he just knew it, and with the way things were all coming together, he was almost certain of who had addressed it to him too.