This is a small novel I started writing a while ago, and had forget about. I'm thinking about starting to write it again, so I figured I'd post it here :D Every time I add more chapters I'll highlight them in red for easy finding, while old chapters will be in black.

I hope you all enjoy!

By the way, if you didn't know, it's based off of the game "Minecraft", so you have to know a little about the game to understand the FULL story.

Minecraft – The Epic Novel

Written and distributed by Flareboy323



©2011 DARC Stories



DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION OF Flareboy323 OR DARC Stories



Started in late April 2011






I woke up that morning to another bright and wonderful day. I mean, hey, who doesn’t love mining? I would have to look out for those last few pesky zombies that had survived the night, though. They seemed to be everywhere these days. As I was about to leave down the road to the mine, I turned around and admired my fortress of a house. It was as big as a castle, with a moat surrounding it. It was worth staying up the entire night before to finish building, even if I was almost brutally murdered by one of the monsters that many call a “creeper”. It was also a lot closer to the mine, which meant I could arrive there earlier and get even more things done, which would keep the workers happy too because it meant more money in their pocket on paycheck day.



I walked down the torch-lit path to the family owned mine where we had mined for generations, finding coal, iron, redstone, gold, and even diamond. I climbed down the ladder into the giant cavern with the large spider web of tunnels, taking one to my right that had to be accessed through a redstone-powered door, as this was where the most dangerous excavation went on. It was for an upcoming secret project that would provide thousands of jobs and homes for the homeless or needy. The project was an underground city. The sound of exploding rock was all around me. This, of course, was the art of TNT Mining.



TNT Mining was mostly used when we were excavating a large area with small amounts of minerals. The workers had to climb up ladders on pillars stretching up hundreds of feet into the air just to place the TNT. If the worker made even one mistake though, they could kill themselves and halt the project for weeks while the damage was assessed. I started instructing workers, telling them what to do and giving them instructions for the day. About halfway through the day, while instructing the warrior crew, who went out to kill creepers to get the gunpowder for the TNT, I heard a shout. “We’ve broken into a dungeon! Evacuate, Evacuate!”



This was our worst nightmare, breaking into a dungeon while we were TNT Mining. The exploding creepers could set off the TNT, as the skeleton’s arrows could too. Suddenly, a large group of spiders flooded out of the hole, killing men as they went. There were dead bodies everywhere. Defenders were screaming orders to the soldiers, ordering an attack on them with bows and swords. Suddenly, the large platoon of warriors who normally went out and killed the creepers for TNT Supplies rushed in, clad in diamond armor. Killing all of the spiders, they rushed into the hole screaming battle cries. But it was not to be. We heard a hissing noise, and the warriors were killed at once by one of the creepers, which now flooded out of the hole.



“FALL BACK TO THE ENTRANCE!” I screamed.



Our entrance was made of TNT, so it could be blown up if the mine was lost. Right after the last of the men came out of the entrance we blew the TNT. It blew up the first creeper, which was almost through the entrance. This started a chain reaction killing almost all of them, except for a select few which were out of reach. The final few were mowed down by our archers. Because the TNT had collapsed the mine entrance though, we didn’t have to take care of the rest of the monsters that had come out of that dungeon. At least, not yet we didn’t. I let all of the workers, even the ones in the other mines, off early, while saying that they would still receive their full paycheck for the day. As the workers were hanging up their pickaxes, one walked over to me. It was my childhood friend and co-owner of Ore, my mining company.



“Hey there, Skiya” I said, raising my voice so he could hear me over the clanking of pickaxes being hung on metal spikes. “Hey, Theo” he said “So, what happened in the TNT Mining cave today? I keep hearing rumors of a mass monster invasion, and that you guys broke into a dungeon or something”



“Um, yeah, that pretty much sums up what happened. We seem to have hit a big one this time though, there were multiple species in there. First spiders, then creepers, and we can still hear noises from in there!”



“Oh wow, any idea when work will continue? You’ve got to be losing a lot of money, having to stop work on that and all.” he said, while we walked outside. The sun was bright and hurt our eyes after being in the mine most of the day.



“Hopefully soon but I’m no-“ I started to say, but suddenly the ground fell out beneath us and we plunged into a deep cavern.



“Oh man. This can’t be good. This can’t be good at all.” Skiya said in a worried tone. “Any idea about where we are?”



“Well, I hate to say this, but I’m fairly sure were in the TNT Mine.”






“Oh man oh man oh man, how did we manage to fall in here?” Skiya kept saying over and over.



“Be quiet! What, you want the monsters to hear us now?” I said



“It would be better than a life of suffering in this stupid hole!” He said angrily



“Ok, how about this. I’ll try to find some ladders that they used to place the TNT to make us a ladder back to the hole in the surface, and you try to see if there’s still some food in the caches”



“Fine, but I’m blaming you if I get eaten!”



And so we went our separate ways. I found a few columns with ladders still on them, but most had been destroyed in the creeper blasts or lost in the darkness. I suddenly heard a low humming. Curious, I peeked around the column in search of the source of the noise. He saw an odd, faint purple glow in the distance. It seemed to be in the general direction of the dungeon where the monsters came from.



“Hey, Skiya, are you there?” I whispered quietly as I could



When I didn’t hear a response, I snuck over to where he was supposed to be getting the leftover food from the caches. It was then that I heard the odd snuffling and crunching noise more clearly. I picked up a stray sword off of the ground, prepared to kill the zombie that I thought was eating my friend.



I ran around the corner, ready to strike, when I saw him hunched over a pile of crackers eating them as fast as he could. I would have burst out laughing if I hadn’t been scared out of my mind a second ago, thinking a zombie was eating my friend.



“Skiya!” I said, angry that he was eating the food without telling me first “What in Notch’s name are you doing?!”



“I couldn’t help it!” He said, his voice muffled by the mouthful of crackers “They just looked so good, and there are so many of them we could last a year!”



“Well, for all we know we could be down here for a year!” I said



“Yeah, I guess your right” He said solemnly “So how was your luck with the ladders?”



“Not too good, their mostly destroyed. I want you to see something though, a strange light coming from the dungeon”



“Well, sure I guess. As long as there are no monsters. There are no monsters, are there?”



“Nah, their all probably off in some dark corner. I hope.”

We walked back over to the pillar I had been examining when I had first seen the light and heard the low humming sound.



“Do you hear that?” He asked



“You mean the low humming? Yeah, I noticed that too. It’s strange, something glowing in a dungeon. Normally it’s just monsters and sometimes a little treasure”



“Yeah” He replied



We snuck all of the way to the entrance to the dungeon, where a large hole had been blown open by the TNT and the creeper.



“Whoa” Skiya said “Is that a portal?!”



“To be truthful, I have no clue”



Suddenly, the portal glowed extremely bright and we hid back down behind the doorway. For just a second, we caught a glimpse of some twisted realm, full of flames, lava, and monsters. Then, some half-pig half-zombie half-man creature stepped out. We gasped, it was as tall as a man but with a head that looked half pig and half zombie, and it was holding a spear.



“Oh my” Skiya whispered “What is that thing?”



“Be quiet! It might hear us!”



It looked around suddenly, then straight at us. It made a low gurgling noise, and four more of the creatures stepped out of the portal.



“Oh man oh man oh man! There’s so many of them!”



I started to tell Skiya to be quiet again, but suddenly all of the Zombie Pigmen were looking straight at us. They started to walk in our direction.



“Just stay still, maybe they won’t notice us” I told Skiya



The Pigmen walked right up to us in our hiding place, sniffed us, and continued on to the cavern.



“What was that all about?” Skiya asked



“I don’t think they’ll bother us unless we bother them” I said



“Well, ok then”



“So, do you want to find out what’s behind that portal?”



“Well, yeah, but I doubt it’s a very good idea…”



“Come on, please?”



“Ah fine. But like you said earlier, I’m blaming you if I get eaten!”



“Well let’s go then!”



We snuck up to the portal, our curiosity getting the best of us.



“So, do we just walk through?” Skiya asked



“Um, I guess” I replied



That’s when we stepped into the portal. An odd mist started to surround us, and our vision became blurrier and blurrier. It all started to swirl around us, and then everything went black.







When we stepped out of the portal, we almost fainted from the heat.



“It feels like its 100° in here!” Yelled Skiya, over the roar of the lava falls that were next to us



“It’s probably hotter than that!”



“Where ARE we?”



“I have no clue, why would you ask me that?”



“I don’t know, I guess it seemed like something you would know…”



“Well, I don’t. Sorry.”



“Hey, what’s that?”



I pointed to a rickety old sign that was half burned, standing a few feet away from us. It read:



Welcome to the Nether. Enjoy your stay, mortal. The portal could take days, weeks, or even years to regenerate and get you home. There is a trick to it though. All you-



Just our luck, the rest of the helpful part was burned off.



“So what are we supposed to do now?” I asked



“Well, there seems to be a path over there” Skiya pointed out



He was right. There was a distinct trail where the blood-red rock had worn down from lots of feet trampling over it. Well, it didn’t look like it was only human feet. There we claw marks, deep gashes, and even square-shaped prints all in the worn down rock.



We followed the path for about an hour, stopping only shortly to take small breaks to catch our breath. More than once we saw large groups of the Pigmen, but just like before they didn’t attack, only sniffed us and kept on their way. Suddenly we started to hear noises, lots of squeals, shouting, and other things that I had never heard before in my life.



We had come upon a bustling city, in whatever world this was. As we walked under the large front gates, I gazed around. I could see many humans, but I could also see many creatures I had never seen before, but seemed friendly enough to be in the same town as the humans. We had come to a stop in the middle of a bustling street, both of us gazing around in awe at the pure magnificence of the city, which seemed to be glowing red and orange.



A man approached us out of the crowd, a small cap atop his head with a gold star on it.



“Hello there!” The man said “You must be new here! Why, we haven’t had new visitors in over 30 years!”



“Uh, hello” Skiya said “Where exactly are we? We stepped through a portal and ended up here, and saw a sign that said we couldn’t leave for a long while”



“Well, that’s part true, part false. But for now, let’s get you acquainted with the town!” He said



We followed the man through the crowd, noticing that people seemed to give him a wide berth. When he saw my questioning look, “I’m actually the mayor of this town” he said. When we reached what must have been the town hall, he told us to wait while he fetched someone. As we waited, we watched the people and noticed that most of them were completely unmoved by the new visitors, as if new visitors came all of the time.



“I’m dearly sorry about that” The mayor said, as he walked back down the steps, with an older man following him



“Oh, it’s ok. It also gave us more of a chance to look at the town” I stated



“Oh yes, the town is a very busy place. But first, we need you to fill out some forms. The forms are required to be filled out to become a citizen of this town” He said



We then sat at a table, and started filling out lots and lots of forms. They had the oddest questions, anywhere from “What were you doing before you found the portal that took you to the Nether” all the way to questions like “Have you ever eaten cake before in your life? If so, what effects did it have on your lifespan, and did you enjoy it or not?”



After all of the forms were filled out, the mayor collected them and sent them along with a servant to be delivered somewhere.



“All right, so now I can fully explain what this place is, what this town is, how it was formed, and all of that” The mayor said



“Well, that sounds good” I said, and Skiya nodded his head in agreement.



“Well, let’s start with the basics” The mayor said, almost sounding bored “I’m going to let Unukai handle this one though, as she’s been here longer than all of us.”



I had never heard any name like Unukai before in my life. Maybe it had come from a far away land, not known to us northerners.



“Excuse me if this sounds a tad rude, but where are you from, Unukai?” I asked



“Well, I originate from the Kingdom of MuDyre, but they are long gone.”



“Wasn’t the Kingdom of MuDyre destroyed almost ten thousand years ago though?” I asked, confused.



“Yes, but in this place a thousand years is like 10 years. Most die within what they think is only 10-15 years here. I came here when I was twenty, and now I’m 85. I will not let this place eat away at me. I will stand tall, and I will stand free” She said in a strong voice, which almost made you forget her old age



“Well, how did the first people get to this place, the Nether?”



“Well, my dear, that story starts with something almost no one likes to hear. The story of Notch’s dead brother.”






“When his brother was killed” She continued “He started to haunt the living. After being banished in recent years, though, he has resorted to creating his ultimate world. A world in which he calls the Nether.



“He had been planning the Nether since before he died. Even when he was haunting the living, he was building it. It has expanded and grown so much that it is what you see before you today. Blood-red rock, lava cascading down gigantic falls into pools, burning anyone who dares to touch it. It has become an evil place, with an evil ruler. When he brought the first humans into this world, the world looked like the living world does. I was one of those first 100. His rage at those people for making small mistakes eventually escalated, causing him to become engulfed in unstoppable fits of rage. We found out that whenever he was angry, changes occurred, almost if he could change the world at will. Every time he got into a fit of rage, it was worse than the last. The last assignment he had ever instructed the first 100 to do was to create a portal to bring the living to his realm. It is still highly unstable and can cause large explosions that rock the entire Nether when something that is not meant to pass tries to pass. The soul miracle of you being here means that you were destined to come here. Most die while trying to cross.”



I shuddered at this, trying not to imagine our bloody remains splattered on the walls of that dungeon.



“So, what are all of the other creatures in the town?” I asked, once again too curious for my own good



“Those are all of the creatures and inhabitants of the Nether. Every single one of those was made by the Creator, even though no one here likes him, not to mention he hasn’t been heard from in a few thousand years. You must not let anyone from the government ever hear you say anything like that though, he could kill you and not give another care in the world.”



I shuddered at that remark, as did Skiya.






“So” I asked “Is there any way to get out?” I asked the mayor, after Unukai had returned to the Town Hall.



“Well, there have obviously been rumors for years about plans of escape, but so far only one person has ever succeeded”



“And who would that be?” Asked Skiya



“Johnny, he had somehow gotten the portal regenerated by making his own, though it was destroyed as he went through it. So, actually, no one really knows if he escaped or if he died. Normally though you would have seen blood and guts go everywhere if someone was squashed while going through the portal, but hey, who knows, right?”



Skiya and I both nodded our heads in agreement.



“Well then, I guess you two will be needing a place to stay” He stated, matter-of-factly



“Yeah, that could do us some good. I’m so tired I could lay down right here”



“Well, it’s only a little ways up the road, it’s a hotel where newcomers can stay while they get back on their feet and try to find a job, so they can support themselves here.”



We walked over to the hotel, and were directed to our room immediately. The mayor told us to stop in at the town hall around two tomorrow, so that he could give us a little money so we wouldn’t be completely broke. We agreed, mumbling, and dragged ourselves to our room where we collapsed onto the beds, falling fast asleep.



I added Chapter 5 also because of how short chapter 4 was ;)



:) You can follow me on Twitter here: Twitter

Thanks guys! :D