Chronicle || Hermitcraft Stories

The Curse of the Fold (Ch. 2)

"When Scar holds a block of Vex magic, he feels nothing but emptiness where there should be fire. For reasons he could not fathom, the Vex have withdrawn their gift."

A/N: I wasn't actually sure if I would continue this story, as the first part was written as a oneshot. Although I felt wholly unsatisfied with it as it was and how it was written, I only had a few inklings as to where the story could go. But when Scar joined forces with Doc I was like huh, maybe I should write some more.

The first part was written with the intention of it being sorta gothic, but that formula will probably only stick for Doc's parts. I'm not very accustomed to writing in that format (and I think it shows), haha.

I do actually have a bit of an outline now and a ending in mind. I'm not sure how many chapters this will end up, but wherever it goes I hope you guys like it!

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When Scar dreamed, he used to see the Vex. They rarely manifested physically, but he could always feel their eyes, like the gentle hand of a mother watching over a child. He could hear their voices, their soothing lullabies of encouragement. His dreams rarely differed. When Scar dreamed, it was of sprawling forests, of impossible mountains, and towering trees, all built by his hand. He walked the world of his dreams alone, with nothing but the whispers of the Vex in his mind as company. In his dreams, they promised him everything. Wealth, power, glory. Whatever Scar wanted was his for the taking.

But something has changed. Since his encounter on the plains. Since Doc. No longer do the Vex murmur in his ear. Not in his dreams, nor during the day. When Scar holds a block of Vex magic, he feels nothing but emptiness where there should be fire. For reasons he could not fathom, the Vex have withdrawn their gift.

His dreams too, have changed, become tainted and twisted. Now, when Scar sleeps, he sees a familiar face with dull eyes, gazing through him as if he was a stranger. He sees a blue trident, sharp as a blade, glittering like starlight beneath the noonday sun. Sometimes it's stained with his blood. On the good nights, Doc breaks free from his trance before he throws the trident, Scar awakes shaken in the morning. On the bad nights, Scar wakes up screaming.

For the first time in a long while, when Scar thinks about one of his friends, he feels afraid.

He hasn't told anyone what had happened the week before. Not Xisuma, who would no doubt have some words to ease his mind. Not Cub, who's beginning to look more concerned with each passing day. Cub knows something is up, Scar is sure, he must, but they dance around the topic.

To keep his mind off of things, he throws himself into building his minigame, into building the Western town he's always wanted. Scar recoils into himself, begging off outings with Cub and his other friends. He bundles up all the fear and confusion, and channels his energy into mindless hours of grinding and building. Scar builds a fantastical town, with secrets galore, and pushes his problems to the back of his mind. Time would heal his wounds, and in his mind, Doc had already been forgiven.

Things get easier.

Scar's dreams ease up. He starts sleeping through the night again. The Vex have yet to make their presence known, but Scar is positive they will return with time.

In their absence, all he feels is cold.

-

It takes Scar a while to realize that Doc is avoiding him. It wasn't obvious at first, and it isn't until Scar encounters him at Cherry one day that he knows for sure. They both freeze in place as soon as they see each other, and when Doc makes the move to step forward, Scar instinctively flinches, his mind overtaken by flashes of blue and empty eyes and confused murmurs of Doc?Whatareyoudoing? Static fills his ears and for a second Scar struggles to breathe. Over the wash of white noise, he barely registers the sound of his restocking box hitting the gravel and cracking open, spilling redstone components over the path.

He recovers after a moment, by squeezing his eyes closed until the memories dissipate and grounding himself in the moment, but when he opens them again Doc has buckled his elytra to his chest.

"Wait Doc, we should-" Scar says quickly, but Doc is faster. He bullets into the air with the flick of a match, soaring up and away from the Shopping District as if the hounds of Hell were snapping at his heels.

Scar blinked owlishly at the trail of smoke left in his wake, before sighing and getting down onto his knees to collect the spilled redstone.

A week later, his communicator beeps.

It was nearing midnight, but Scar had yet to fall asleep. Although he's been in been in bed for hours, sleep continued to allude him. When his wrist comm whirrs from his nightstand, he reaches for it, thinking it's Cub, who was known to text him at odd hours.

But it's not Cub who has texted Scar tonight.

It's Doc.

We need to talk.

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A/N: This part wasn't beta'd, so if you spot an error, feel free to let me know! I love reading comments, so if you have any thoughts, please post them! It really does encourage me to write more.

Next up will be Cub.