A Splash Of Paint (MCYT Oneshots)

🌱 To The Top (Eret-centric)

There's an old folk legend. Way before Elsewhere University was built, when humans and Others haven't coexisted like they currently are, it was passed along from family to family, parent to child. It wasn't one to make them feel good, oh no, it was a warning. And a true one at that, although they didn't really know about that.

There once was a boy, the youngest son of a family of blacksmiths. He, like his three older siblings, learned to be a proper blacksmith and smith weapons and tools for the better of the village. But unlike his family, he wasn't satisfied with just being a blacksmith. Oh no, he wanted more.

Personally, you try not to give any thought to it. After all, belief is a dangerous thing in Elsewhere, and if you are to believe the tale... well, that wouldn't end well for those you love.

Your old school friend is the one who told you about the folklore. Well, 'told' is an overestimation. The friend had told you that it is a folklore. Or at least thought and believed to be better.

Back then, you were confused. After all, how can a piece of your family's history be a 'folklore'? Aren't those saved for important stories and events? Aren't those saved for stories where the heroes win and the villain gets defeated?

Now though, now you know better.

His family tried to stop him, they really did, but in the end, he set off in the middle of the night, and disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again, not until years later. In the meantime, they mourned, as all families do, and they continued with their lives, but never forgetting the boy.

Now, you'd wonder: what was the boy doing? Well, he travelled far and wide, stopping at villages only to go through their books, his thirst for knowledge combining with his desire for power. He always wore the same dark blue cloak, and black boots. Sometimes, he'd help out in the raids the villages faced, always winning all of them, due to having practiced fighting with the weapons he smithed.

The villages hailed him as a hero. One of the greatest warriors in the land. They started calling him Herobrine.

When you were eleven, your parents died.

"A car crash," the officials said to you. "Poor boy, only eleven and barely knowing anybody else. Already an orphan."

But as it turned out, you did have family left. An older cousin, who came into where you were temporarily staying, wearing a dark blue jacket and black shoes, and whisked you away to where you are now: Elsewhere.

The tale of Herobrine was well-told in your family. Your parents warned you not to follow in his footsteps, lest you fell to the whims of the darkness as well. Herobrine told you the story too, on the first night of your permanent stay in Elsewhere. But he told a different story, than the one your parents told you.

The original tale is one of a boy who willingly submitted to evil. It is of a boy whose lust and greed for power and control made him make a deal, and it is what made him to be the Herobrine in the tale. It is a cautionary tale to never, ever seek out for more than what you already have, lest you fall prey to the dangers of 'more'.

Herobrine's tale, however, is one of seduction, of how the darkness tempted the boy and the boy himself, who just wanted enough power to protect those good and innocent, agreed, not knowing of the high price he would pay. A Pyrrhic victory for the boy, who gained a lot, but lost so much more.

Herobrine may not be able to tell lies anymore, but that doesn't make him unable to twist the truth. You're not sure who to believe, but if there's one thing you're certain of, is that the full tale has not been told yet.

Herobrine travelled far and wide, until one day, he found a book. It was on spells, nothing too unusual, although rare. But that wasn't the important part. No, what was important was the spell he'd found on the last page. An illegal spell, an ancient spell, one that promised grandeur and eternal power, but for a cost.

Normal people would be deterred away from it. Nobody wanted to pay a cost unknown to them, after all. But for Herobrine, who wanted power to 'protect'? Who could do so much good with it? It was a no-brainer.

So he went. He answered the call of the darkness. He entered the cave the spell was to be cast, and here is where the story diverges.

Some say the spell called forth a demon, who proceeded to seal a deal with him. Others say it was a trickster god, who toyed with him and played him to accept the deal.

One thing is for sure: Herobrine came out of that cave differently.

In Elsewhere, you are no different. You wear sunglasses constantly, sure, there's rumours about how you came here or what's behind your sunglasses, but for the most part, you fit in with everyone else.

The headmaster of the university is unknown to everyone except you. After all, hard to not know someone when he's your own cousin.

Herobrine says he doesn't touch the folders with the True Names and Identities. You wonder if that's true or not.

The legend continues from then. Herobrine goes on a rampage, destroying everything in his path, before eventually disappearing from public eye; not because he was defeated, but by his own will.

It's a cautionary tale to kids around: to never let your desires overtake you, unless you'd want to be like Herobrine?

You don't tell anyone, but you're on a self-imposed Quest to find out the Truth.

Of what, you don't exactly know, but you do know one thing: that you'll do whatever it takes to make sure everyone stays safe.

Your friends, the staff, even the Fair Folk and the school itself; you'll make sure all of them are safe.

There's things you can't admit to anyone, not even yourself, just yet. There's things you won't say out loud. But maybe, just maybe, one day, you'll find yourself to ask the question you've always been meaning to ask.

"Herobrine, you're not telling me your Truth, are you?"