Above the Bedrock

Chapter 1: Left Behind

There was a feeling of change in the air. It was the beginning of a new season. This was always a busy time, what with all of the hermits packing up their belongings and preparing for the journey into a new world.

Shops across the shopping district were being closed, lights being shut off for the final time. Unused and unneeded resources were being thrown in chests, never to see the light of day again. Precious builds being said good-bye to, and memories stored away. A lot of uncertainty and excitement was buzzing throughout the server.

Grian was walking around in his base, mentally checking things off in his mind while shoving the last of his supplies in a chest. He dumped his tools and armour into the chest, and then pushed it into a dusty corner where his "chest monster" from the season lay.

The hermits weren't allowed to bring anything either than themselves into the new world in fear it would cause some sort of glitch. A few of them thought this was silly because it had never happened before, but Xisuma, the server admin, was very strict about it. "Better safe than sorry" was something he liked to say.

Grian waved his hand through the air, waving the dust away from his face. He let out a small cough as a message came across his communicator.

Pulling the little device out of his pocket and turning the screen on Grian, still coughing, saw that the message was from Xisuma. It was a server broadcast and read, "Meet up at the shopping district in 30?". Grian replied with a quick "ok" as his communicator pinged with affirmations from the other hermits.

Taking a final look around his base caused many thoughts to race through his head. Grian was a bit reluctant to leave, knowing that this was the place he called home.

He admired just how massive the thing was, the towering stories reaching up into the sky. The sun glinted off of the light-blue stained-glass windows that rose up from floor to ceiling. The amount of resources and time he put into it was unbelievable.

A smile came across the gremlin's face as he remembered the happy memories he made with all of his friends this season.

He fondly recalled all of the shenanigans he had pulled off with Mumbo this season, his neighbour and best friend. The mustached man was often the target of Grian's pranks, but he didn't seem to mind that much. The two had formed a group called the architechs, and Iskall had joined not long after. From then on, the three did everything together, creating a long-lasting bond between them; a bond that was sure to last on into the next season.

Although he was sad to leave this all behind, Grian was also hopeful for the next season. He had already done a lot of planning about what his next base would look like. Looking forward to the ways he could challenge himself in building, Grian realized he had been daydreaming for a while and was about to be late.

"Shoot, the meeting's gonna start soon!" Grian exclaimed, hastily grabbing his elytra and a stack of rockets.

Turning around he took one last glance, trying to commit everything to memory. With a happy sigh, he shot off a rocket and zoomed over to the shopping district, leaving behind dusty chests and a silent base.

________

"Alright everyone, I'm sure you already know why we're gathering here today. Today marks the start of something you've all been looking forward to, the new season of Hermitcraft!" Shouts and cheers rang out across the shopping district, as all the hermits gathered to bid farewell to the place they had called home for the past year.

Grian had arrived late. He landed gracefully and looked around for the other two members of the architechs.

He huffed as he realized he couldn't see over the crowd because of how short he was. Grian didn't want to interrupt, so he decided to stand on his tiptoes while searching the crowd and listening to what X was saying.