Chapter Text
“Long, long ago there lived 5 champions... They were the very definition of heroic, standing up for the people when things seemed bleakest. You see, there was a great threat to the world. A terrifying dragon terrorized the people by sending his armies to innocent villages and using them to block off the roads. Despite the-”
“Just like the Endermen!” Clay interrupts his father without thinking, slamming his hand over his mouth when the kid next to him sends him a truly deadly glare. That doesn't change the way he bounces on his heels, feeling as though he had sleuthed out a huge conspiracy.
“Now Clay,” His father answered, voice soft and low, as if talking to a child… because he was… “No one knows where the Endermen are from, or why they attack us but the armies these champions fought were very similar. Studying these past heroes is how I learned to defend our town. As they quested they would set up automatic defenses around the villages they came across, like the ones I set up in the forest.”
“Oh! That’s why we can't go in there?”
“Hypocrite.” Clay whispers to the kid beside him who had just called out.
“The heroes knew that wits and logic was what was needed to defeat the mighty dragon. That is why their leader, the Hero of Green, assembled his team not based on their power, or ability with a sword, but rather on their individual skills.
“The Hero of Red. A nobleman with many connections. Loyal, brave and ready to face any threat as long as those around him stay safe. The Hero of White. Skilled in redstone contraptions and the best support one could ask for. The Heroes of Blue. A wonderful couple with tactical skills like no other, able to put their minds together to solve any issue. Then of course there was the Hero of Green. The man who brought them all together, known for he’s ever-present smile, and discovering how to take the dragon down and banish the armies plaguing the land, of course. These heroes-”
“Storytime is over everyone! Go run home before the sun goes down.” A chorus of complaints rang out when the village elder stopped the story, though one by one the small group of kids did go, leaving Clay with his father. The two walked slowly towards their home, not concerned with the setting sun in the west, knowing that their town was protected from the void-like figures that spawned on the horizon.
It wasn’t until the sun had nearly vanished from the sky that they reached their home on the edge of town. Though, instead of going inside, they stopped at the door.
“Clay,” his father crouched down to his level, meeting his eyes the same way he did when his mom had left. “You are a smart boy, and so, so very strong. I fear you may be too young to hear this, but we are running out of time.” Looking around them to make sure no one is lingering in the streets, Clay’s father led him behind the house and down a path to a small cave. Inside were green banisters hanging proudly on the cave walls, tables covered in complex scribbles Clay couldn't yet understand, maps of nearby areas affected most by the Endermen and jars full of the strange spheres said creatures left behind. Most awestricking was a glowing green gem hovering in the middle of the room. Just slightly bigger than the palm of someone's hand, it drew Clay in, he found himself walking past his father to stare at the mystic stone.
“What is all of this?” His voice was barely a whisper as he grabbed the gem and held it to his chest, turning to his father once more now that he knew the gem wasn't going anywhere.
“You already know Clay, you guessed as much today.” His father walked towards a chest underneath a table and pulled out a mask with a strange smile on it. “The heroes of old are real, the armies they fought were the Endermen. All of this was passed down through our family line, starting with the Hero of Green. The recent increase in these monsters is a sure sign of the Great Dragon having returned.”
His father placed the mask over Clay’s face. Despite there being no obvious eye holes, Clay could see through the mask like it wasn’t even there, meaning there was no way for his father to hide the tears streaming down his face.
“These… attacks by the Endermen…” His father starts, voice wavering. “If they don’t stop by the time you are sixteen come back here, and not a day before.”
:)
His father disappeared not long after that. Dream knew that he had gone off to try and save the world but even his closest friends wouldn’t believe him. Not that it mattered. A few years later and he was headed back into the cave, heart heavy and feeling slightly betrayed at the thought of his fathers failure. Not that Dream could blame him any more.
It had been four years since he put on the smile mask and started out on his journey. He suspects he would’ve been done ages ago if the things in the cave were anything near useful. There were blueprints for Endermen traps and supplies he would need for his journey, sure, but instructions on what to do and how to do it were vague at best. That is not even considering the government's obvious attempts to stop him.
Not only was he the most wanted criminal in the country, thank goodness for his mask being the key feature on his wanted posters or he would never be allowed in towns, but the dragon he was after was declared sacred by order of the king. Making all research into where it was and how to kill it nearly impossible . The key word being “nearly”.
Four years, countless hunters, hours of research and many nights under the stars and finally, finally! The dragon was only a couple days of hard work away. He looked up at the sunrise through the black portal in front of him, swirling purple warping the sky as he stepped into the Nether.
He wonders if his father ever got this far.