BR3 at War Foreword One hundred and fifty six years ago, in an age beyond the memory of the masses, in the third world of Blackreaver, there was a time where it appeared that the whole world might be plunged into total chaos - a neverending civil war. Much to our good fortune, that madness was stopped before it could consume the third world of Blackreaver. Yet, imagine, just for a moment, if that chaos had been allowed to continue. What would happen to such a world? Would it even survive? Imagine no longer, for I shall tell you the story of that world. Part One: A New Feature The Great Admin trembled with anticipation as he made his way to the Spawn. He had just spent several weeks preparing and planning for a brand new event in the world of Undecim, the third world of Blackreaver. The whole thing had been kept a close secret for weeks; only his most trusted Guardians were in on the surprise. Arriving at the Spawn at precisely noon, the Great Admin eagerly called out to all the people of Undecim, summoning them to the Spawn. "Friends, builders, Undecimians, lend me your ears. I hereby announce to the world the newest and most exciting event ever devised; the Faction Wars!" Many of the people present began clapping at this most surprising news; combat between builders had been made utterly impossible by the Great Admin, and as such many people had developed a thirst for fighting. Some of the more well-travelled builders had heard of Faction Wars taking place in distant lands, but never dreamed of seeing them occur in Undecim. While the majority of the people were clearly in support of the Faction Wars, there was, in fact, opposition. Several members of the public, and even a few Guardians took to openly challenging the Great Admin to a public debate. The Great Admin, shocked that anyone would oppose his new and wondrous idea, reluctantly agreed. The Guardian Thalinus, who was well known and respected throughout the world, had the first say. "My fellow Undecimians, do you not see that these 'Faction Wars' are wholly wrong? The Great Admin, since time immemorial, has made violence between builders totally impossible for a reason. Violence among us can only tear us apart and break the bonds of brotherhood that keep this world strong! Why, then, should we suddenly throw tradition away and turn towards senseless violence on a large scale?" Several builders and Guardians nodded in agreement. It was the Great Admin's turn to respond. "Thalinus, I respect your opinion, even when it is not in agreement with me, but you are wrong about the Faction Wars. They are not intended to break the bonds of brotherhood, they are not intended to create chaos in our lands, and most of all they are not intended to uproot tradition! They are intended as a type of athletic game; a friendly contest between builders that would otherwise not be possible in our world. There will be no violence in our lands, in fact, I have consulted with the greatest wizards of the age, and they have created a sub-realm where these Faction Wars can occur! There will be no blood spilled in the lands of Undecim!" Thalinus crossed his arms in front of him, unimpressed. "My dear Great Admin, again I believe you are wrong. Violence in any form, no matter where it takes place, will not be to the benefit of the people of Undecim! Can you honestly say, even by using a sub-realm, that the consequences of these 'Faction Wars' will not spill over into our realm? No! The consequences of such violence cannot just be displaced into a pit; they will follow us everywhere! You are wrong Great one, you are greatly wrong!" The Great Admin was deeply offended by Thalinus's words. "Thalinus. If you choose to disagree with me, that is your choice, but I cannot accept such absolute disagreement from you so long as you serve me. You are entitled to your opinion, yes, but you are not entitled to disagree so deeply - and remain one of my Guardians. If you will not drop your opposition, I demand that you resign!" The crowd of builders swelled as news of Thalinus's opposition spread. They swooned as Thalinus stepped towards the Great Admin with his sword drawn, and he suddenly drove it into the ground. "There is my answer, great one. I hope that you will learn from me that what you are doing is surely wrong." Thalinus quickly departed from the Spawn, and some members of the crowd hurriedly followed him. Much to the Great Admin's surprise, several other Guardians stepped up to him, temporarily causing a panic amongst the crowd. "Calm yourself, people of Undecim! Speak, Guardians!" the Great Admin shouted. None of the Guardians spoke. They instead threw down their ceremonial swords, the symbols of Guardian power, and chased after Thalinus. Several other Guardians also presented themselves to the Great Admin, but they held their swords high in loyalty to him. This, however, did not slow down the crowd's panic. The Great Admin took to raising his own sword and yelling, "People of Undecim, I say again, calm yourselves! There will be order! I say, there will be order!" Lightning struck very near the Spawn as he spoke. The crowd slowly calmed down. "Now, my people, the Faction sub-realm shall be open very soon, perhaps tomorrow, and there shall be no restrictions on combat within it. I expect that many of you will band together, but I will play no part in that. I leave organization of factions strictly up to you all. Furthermore, let it be said that no Guardians shall take part in these Faction Wars; they are keepers of the peace, and as such should be on watch throughout the rest of Undecim." The Great Admin waved for his remaining Guardians to follow him to his castle, and they departed shortly. The Great Admin dismissed the remaining Guardians as he entered his private study. He noticed a note that had been left behind by the lead Wizard. "My Lord," it read, "the faction sub-realm shall be ready for use shortly after mid-night. Work on it has been extremely difficult, but we have had to take many precautions to ensure that its effects cannot be felt outside of itself." "Good," the Great Admin said to himself. "There shall be no blood spilled in the lands of Undecim." Meanwhile, at the Spawn, several groups of builders had taken to meeting in the various public halls. One such group, meeting in the Blue Public Hall, agreed upon a charter of union and took to calling themselves the Bluestone Faction. Another group, signing a similar charter of union in the Red Public Hall, dubbed itself the Redstone Faction. Lastly, news of the imminent Faction Wars had reached distant lands, leading to an influx of new arrivals who were interested in taking part. One such arrival was the sorcerer Jojango, who merely smiled as he arrived at the Spawn...
Part Two: Identity Crisis Jojango was already quite familiar with the concept of the Faction Wars, having spent most of his life fighting in them. His years of participation in small-scale warfare had made him somewhat of an expert in the art, so he now took it upon himself to visit as many different realms as possible. Jojango had also learned the dark arts of sorcery from the demon Jordanius, who in ancient times was responsible for much chaos and destruction throughout the land. Jojango specialized in the shapeshifting arts taught by Jordanius; he could take the form of any being that he could murder. It was this ability that had allowed him to be so successful in previous Faction Wars. Jojango's favored strategy was to assassinate trusted lieutenants and other high-ranking soldiers within a faction, steal their identities, and drive the faction to ruins; all while pocketing as much wealth as possible. Jojango was surprised to learn that the Great Admin of Undecim was now openly allowing Faction Wars; he had intended to stop in this world for supplies and rest, not to fight yet another war. However, when Jojango heard of the new Faction Wars that were to imminently take place, and the feud between the Great Admin and his former Guardians, he knew that he would be staying much longer than intended. The opportunity was simply too good to pass up. Jojango, still present in Undecim's Spawn, tried to make several inquiries about the former Guardians and where they might have gone off to, but found out nothing of importance. Nearly everyone he spoke to was interested only in the Bluestone and Redstone factions, and the recruitment conventions that were supposedly taking place the very next day. At last, one builder, who had been present at the row, informed Jojango that the rogue Guardians had last been seen making their way north, towards Shantytown. Jojango handed the builder a certificate for a stack of diamonds in thanks, but left so quickly that the builder hardly had time to thank him. The journey from the Spawn to Shantytown was relatively simple; Guardians had built a rail line connecting the center of the world with the North, including Shantytown. When Jojango departed the minecart at his destination, the lack of resemblance between the town and it's name became painfully evident. Dozens of builders were furiously building on the outskirts of town, ostensibly building a defensive wall, given the large number of stone blocks that were strewn alongside the roads. Although the sun was setting and the day was coming to an end, the town was brightly lit by tens of thousands of torches. The town's roads were narrow, but well maintained; there wasn't a hostile monster in sight. Jojango questioned some of the wall builders, asking where the rogue Guardians had gone. The wall builders ignored Jojango, too concerned with their work to answer him. Jojango made his own way to the town center, where the condition of the town seemed to improve considerably. The modest, though tidy cobblestone shacks gave way to huge buildings of stone brick and glass. Jojango continued to ask the local people where the Guardians could be found, though none told him. He would be entirely unsuccessful until a lone figure emerged from one of the large brick buildings. "You there! Stop!" Jojango turned to examine the person that had called out to him. "What is it, my good man?" The mysterious builder put his hand to his sheath, but realized it was empty and held no sword. He sighed, frustrated. "You ae searching for me, are you not? I am Thalinus, the one who stood up to the Great Admin's mistake. Who are you?" "I am Jojango. I am indeed searching for you. I wish to know if we could discuss your...recent resignation." "Of what importance is that to you, outsider?" "I wish to know if it would be possible for you to return to your old position." Thalinus hesitated, confused. "I do not understand. I have never even seen or heard of you before. What interest could you possibly have in me, or in my former position?" "I have a...historical interest," Jojango replied. "I have been to many lands, and I now wish to document the conflict in this land for my own work." Thalinus, suspicious of Jojango but eager to tell his side of the story, led the sorcerer to his own home. "Now, what exactly do you wish to discuss, stranger?" Jojango smiled. "Why have you chosen to go against the Great Admin? Even in my journeys in distant lands, I have heard many stories of him, all of them about his honesty and sense of justice!" "It's these damn Faction Wars that have become all the rage in the realms. The Great Admin has given in to public demands for senseless violence - something that I cannot, and shall not agree with. I don't care how safe or detached it is from this world, such violence being harbored amongst our people can do no good!" Jojango nodded. "I see. Have there been no wars in this realm before?" "No, never. The Great Admin and the Guardians have struggled for years to maintain peace. I simply cannot believe that he would choose to throw that all away now!" Jojango began taking notes on a book and quill that he was carrying with him. "Surely you could have convinced him privately to change his mind? Why did you decide to make a public spectacle of your disagreements?" Thalinus breathed in heavily. "There would have been no point in trying to convince him. He does not tolerate dissent - nothing short of a public spectacle could ever hope to change his mind, and alas, even that failed. I have failed." Jojango turned to the next page on his book and quill. "Would he forgive you and reinstate you as a Guardian if you apologized and agreed never to cross him again?" "I hardly see how this is relevant, but yes, I believe that he might, if only because of the long period of loyal service I have given him." "And what would you say to him if you were to try?" Thalinus held his head up high with the palm of his hand, wondering. "I would tell him that I most regret that I have shown such dissent to the public, that I was quite wrong to do so. But I would never do that - not as long as he is intent on going along with these Faction Wars." Jojango furiously inscribed notes into his book and quill, even after Thalinus had finished speaking. He then suddenly closed it shut. "I must thank you, good Thalinus, for all that you have shared with me. My work will surely be advanced by all that you have told me." "You are most welcome, friend. I do hope you will be publishing this historical work of yours in our realm." "An interesting word, friend, a very interesting word." "Is it?" "Yes, it is. Ironic, even, because I have no intention of returning the sentiment" Jojango swiftly reached for a dagger concealed under his tunic, slashing Thalinus's throat without a second's hesitation. Jojango dragged the body downstairs, to the house's basement. He plucked a single hair from Thalinus's head. "DISGUISE THALINUS!" he screamed. A terribly bright flash of light enveloped both Jojango and the corpse of Thalinus. Jojango quickly went upstairs, to the window of a nearby bedroom. "It is successful, then." he said. Jojango's reflection and Thalinus's former image were one and the same. Jojango reentered the basement and stood over the corpse. "FIREBALL!" Another bright flash of light occured, taking the corpse with it. Satisfied, Jojango went back upstairs, laughing as he went up the steps. "Today, I was no one. Tomorrow, I will be everything!"
Part Three: Incognito Jojango woke early in the morning, intending to get to the Spawn before it became too crowded with visitors. The sun was barely above the horizon and he made his way through Shantytown, carefully avoiding anyone who might confuse him with Thalinus. The Spawn at this hour was predictably empty; nobody ever bothered to get up this early, and even fewer visited the Spawn at this hour. Jojango suddenly realized that he had no idea where to find the Great Admin. "Blast! This spawn is too large and confusing to be searched at random. I'll never find that damn admin!" Frustrated, Jojango picked a random direction and began exploring the Spawn as he went along. Fifteen minutes later, Jojango stumbled into his destination; the offices of the Great Admin and Guardians of Undecim. Located in the most distant, cramped corner of the Spawn, the offices were extremely unremarkable. Their constructed differed little from the rest of Spawn; they were built of bright red clay brick that had been produced from the nearby sea. Jojango knocked on the front entrance to the offices, a pair of iron doors carefully built onto an obsidian frame. Nothing happened for well over a minute, at which point Jojango realized that the doors were controlled by a redstone button nearby. "I hate redstone," Jojango remarked, "Why can't they just use a wooden door?" The lobby of the offices was equally unremarkable as the outside. Lighting was apparently at a premium; the entire building was lit precariously by a few dim torches. "Why bother building such a secure door if they won't even light up the building's interior?" Jojango quipped. There was little time for a laugh, however, as a creeper soon emerged from the shadows. Caught entirely by surprise, Jojango turned and ran down the left hallway, making quite a bit of noise as he went along. The creeper continued its chase. Jojango, now some distance away from the beast, regained heart and acted. "FIREBALL!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. The creeper ignored this magic and simply stepped to the side. Jojango turned around again, looking for an escape route, yet seeing only closed iron doors with no buttons. He looked back towards the creeper in horror as it closed in on him. Just as it came into detonation range, the creeper suddenly disappeared, and a dark figured now appeared further down the hallway. "What?" Jojango shouted. The figure started laughly hysterically at the look of horror and confusion on Jojango's face. "Calm yourself, Thalinus, it was just a joke." Jojango quickly remembered that he was still in the guise of the former Guardian. "Yes, yes, you got me." Taking a better look at the figure, Jojango noticed that it was the Great Admin himself. He quickly began to think. "I never thought I would see you here again, Thalinus. The last I heard, you and the others were preparing for the end of the world." "Times change, Great One. I have come to beg for your forgiveness." "My forgiveness? I do not believe it!" "Believe it. I understand now just how wrong it was for me to show my dissent so publicly." "Is that so, Thalinus? Hmm." "Yes, it is." The Great Admin led Jojango, still deeply in disguise, to the other end of the building, to what appeared to be the Great Admin's office. The iron door blocking entrance to his office opened at a mere touch; they were controlled by magic, not redstone. They both sat down inside. "I accept your apology, and I forgive you, but I am still somewhat surprised and confused by this sudden turn of events." "In what way, Great One?" "I find it difficult to believe that you have so suddenly dropped your opposition to the Faction Wars. You seemed to be quite absolute in your judgements of it." "Only in the heat of the moment," Jojango replied. "I have taken much time to think about the subject. I now believe that these Faction Wars can indeed be beneficial to the community; if they are carefully managed." The Great Admin nodded. "Thalinus, if you are willing to give these Faction Wars a chance, I am more then willing to reinstate you. I could certainly use your wisdom and your experience in managing them." Jojango smiled. "We are in agreement, then?" "Yes, Thalinus, we are. I will reinstate your Guardian powers at once." The Great Admin stood up and made his way to a side room. He entered the room for a few brief moments, emerging with Thalinus's Guardian sword. "You'll want this, of course. I have had it repaired slightly since the day you left." Jojango gripped the sword tightly to inspect it. The sword had a golden hilt encrusted with deep blue diamonds. The blade itself appeared to be made of a material resembling adminium. Jojango wished to inquire about the sword, but knew that would only raise suspicions about his true identity. Jojango awkwardly moved around as he looked for somewhere to hold the sword. The Great Admin noticed. "What happened to your sheath, Thalinus? Did you throw that away as well?" Jojango scrambled to think of an excuse. "I burned it," he answered. "When I arrived in Shantytown I felt I had no further need of it." "Surely you have other swords which could've made use of it?" Jojango hesitated. "Actually, I was planning on taking up archery..." "You have overcome your hatred of archery as well?" Jojango quickly decided to change the subject. "Please, Great One. We should begin discussing matters of greater importance." The Great Admin nodded. "Yes, of course." Before Jojango and the Great Admin could begin their discussion, a Guardian showed up at the door of the office, panting and sweating profusely. The Great Admin immediately went to him. "What is it?" The Guardian panted for another moment before speaking. "It's about the Factions, Great One. Bluestone and Redstone just fought a major battle, but they're disagreeing over which of them was victorius!" "So? Let them fight it out!" "That's the problem sir, they're having a major riot right now at the Spawn!" "What? My god, why didn't you just say THAT first?" The Great Admin turned back towards Jojango. "I'm starting to understand what you meant before, Thalinus. We need to hurry and put down this riot!" Jojango followed the Great Admin and the other Guardian as they ran back towards the center of the Spawn.
Part Three Continued... The scene at the Spawn was an eerily perfect representation of everything Thalinus had said was bad about the faction wars. Builders who had known each other for years, but happened to be on opposite sides of the battle, were arguing as if they were mortal enemies and had no other purpose in life but to kill. People were waving swords around as if they were harmless toys, bringing them dangerously close their adversaries, but also to themselves and their allies. The ferocious noise level resemebled the trading district of Sengia more than the peaceful, social area that the Spawn usually was. Everyone present was wearing clothes of either red or blue, as if there was no other color in the whole world. "This is horrific!" the Great Admin said, staring at the sight. Jojango focused his mind very carefully to avoid bursting out in laughter. The Great Admin continued. "There's a very grave risk that the magical barrier preventing fighting in this realm may fail. There are just so many of them, so many swords, the protective magic is not designed to be abused in this way!" "Perhaps we should disperse the crowd," Jojango suggested. The Great Admin looked at him in shock. "Dispersing a crowd of that size? Madness! I could summon all of the Guardians and we would still be outnumbered!" Jojango began thinking. The Great Admin called down a great lightning bolt, both to gain the attention of the masses and summon the Guardians. The Guardians arrived within seconds and stood on either side of the Great Admin. "Hear me, people of Undecim," the Great Admin shouted. "I will not tolerate behavior such as this amongst my people!" The crowd of riots quickly calmed down, while also forming ranks amongst themselves. They occupied space on the northern and southern sides of the Spawn square, a gap quickly forming between them. "Now. I want you all to disperse and return to your homes. You must not act in this way in our main realm!" Neither side budged. "DISPERSE I SAY!" Again, no one from the Bluestone or Redstone sides chose to comply. An anonymous member of the crowd, his side unknown, replied back to the Great Admin. "You are not our King, great one. You do not command us!" Everyone in the crowd seemed to agree. They all turned to face the Great Admin, and some even began pointing their swords towards him. The Great Admin looked towards the crowd, then towards the still-disguised Jojango. "Thalinus. It appears that I have no choice." Jojango had no idea what he was talking about, so he merely nodded in agreement. "You people, you fools, you ANIMALS," the Great Admin screamed. "I will not tolerate such dissent against me from the public!" The same anonymous member of the crowd from before replied, "But you have apparently tolerated it from Thalinus, for he is once again at your side!" The Great Admin fumed with anger. He drew his sword from his sheath and raised it towards the sky. "By the Gods, I grant myself and the Guardians to power to run these dissidents through with our blades! For peace, for stability, FOR MY HONOR!" Lightning came down from the sky once more, impacting each of the Guardians and the Great Admin himself, but bringing them no harm. After it had occurred, the Great Admin whispered, "It is done." Several moments passed, and the crowd of Bluestone and Redstone members slowly began backing away from the Great Admin and the Guardians. The Great Admin looked to each of his Guardians in turn, then towards the crowd. In a moment of anger, frustration, and desperation, he finally gave an order. "CHARGE! CHARGE I SAY! BRING THESE BEASTS DOWN!" Jojango charged immediately at the Great Admin's order, and while some Guardians followed suit, others hesistated before finally joining in. The Bluestone and Redstone crowd held their ground, disbelieving that any harm could possibly come to them at the Guardian's hands. Jojango reached the crowd first, where he swung his sword angrily at the nearest builder, a Bluestone member. The builder moved, forcing the brute force of that swing upon his left arm, which immediately fell to the floor, still gripping a sword. Jojango hesitated for a moment before dealing a second blow, this time with the hilt of his sword, knocking the builder to the floor, next to his severed arm. The reality of the violence quickly became evident to the crowd of disgruntled faction members, who began running en masse away from the Spawn. Jojango was busy brutalizing yet another member of Bluestone when he realized that the majority of the rioters were fleeing. Many of them dropped swords and bows of various types and enchantments, prompting the Great Admin to order the Guardians to pick up the bows and use them on the fleeing crowd. Most refused, but Jojango gladly picked up a powerful enchanted bow, seemingly all-powerful, and began cutting down several more faction members that weren't quite fast enough. As the last few faction members fled out of sight, the Great Admin finally calmed down, and the scene of violence that had just occurred finally hit him. He went over to Jojango, who was still on guard and holding the powerful bow. "My good friend Thalinus, I fear that we may have gone too far." Jojango looked deeply into the Great Admin's eyes, which seemed full of regret and despair. "No. We didn't go too far at all. They brought this upon themselves, Great One. They brought this upon themselves." The Great Admin's spirits rose slightly at Jojango's deceptive words. "Yes, you're right. We did what we must - No, I did. None of you are responsible for this. It was my command." Jojango said nothing at these words. The Great Admin continued. "Thalinus. I fear that the worst may not be over. I am only one man. Although the Guardians are many, they do not share in my power. I cannot handle this alone. Therefore, I grant you all the powers that I myself hold, in recognition of this unprecedented emergency. Use them well." Jojango smiled and shook the Great Admin's hand. "Thank you, Great One. I will do everything in my power to help you." "Good," the Great Admin said, "I certainly hope that this will be enough." Jojango looked off into the distance, thinking to himself. "Today, I am everything. Tomorrow, everything will be nothing."
