Laz

Exists in a Minecraft universe in a semi-medieval setting where there are several schools of magic.

Laz is, at the beginning of his story, a "priest" for a specific belief system relating to Soul magic, and teaches the history and ancient usage of this magic. He lives in an isolated town, who all follow and worship this form of magic as sacred, as well as its serpentine deities. They have a unique culture built around it. This is the last remaining pocket of this culture in this world, as Soul magic became very specialized and difficult to use due to its source being corrupted many years ago.

Tripp, a wandering treasure hunter who stumbled upon this town, is curious about this after seeing Laz use his magic during an event in his church. As an excuse to see him use his magic more, Tripp offers for the two of them to clear a dungeon together so Laz can collect soul magic from the mobs and Tripp can loot it. Through this they end up becoming friends, and Laz starts introducing Tripp to their culture more, with Tripp wondering if he wants to stay in this town entirely.

After some time, a tradition in the town comes up, called the Soul Lantern Festival, where sky lanterns are lit with soulfire, and let into the sky and/or used to decorate the town while the inhabitants enjoy general festivities. Laz generally leads the festival and invites Tripp to help him. However, after the festival, the town is unexpectedly attacked by soldiers from an empire known as The Shield. Laz and Tripp take shelter in the church, but are found. 

Tripp is injured, and Laz fights to protect him. The church catches ablaze as Laz uses his fire magic to try and fight off the attackers, but he is ultimately unsuccessful. After being severely injured, Laz collapses, and dies soon after the attackers flee the collapsing building. In a moment of desperation, unable to stand and sitting over the body of his friend, Tripp prays to the damaged stained glass image of the deities, and accidentally performs an ancient previously unknown soulbinding spell, resurrecting Laz and becoming his permanent life source.

Once resurrected, Laz carries Tripp's unconscious body out of the church and flees into the sky, hiding in the smoke of the burning town and escaping far into the wilderness.

After flying for a while, it begins to heavily rain and Laz scans the forest for shelter. He spots a lonely cabin and promptly breaks inside, searching it for medical supplies to tend to Tripp's injuries. However, he's quickly confronted by the cabin's inhabitant, Shii. After seeing their conditions she offers them refuge, and helps treat Tripp with her healing magic.

A few days later, the three of them head back to the town to search for survivors. The town has been completely decimated. Together, Laz, Tripp, and Shii work to build decent graves for the remains they find. Shii ultimately decides to let the two of them stay with her indefinitely, so they can figure out what to do together.

[From this part, these things are taking place over a very long period of time and only major story-beats are mentioned. There's also still room for more story beats to be added and things I've forgotten. Very heavily summarized, basically.]

After returning to their cabin, Tripp eventually confesses to Laz why he has been so curious about Soul magic. He reveals that the two of them share a matching birthmark in the shape of a soul rune, that Tripp had spotted on Laz' chest during the festival, and thinks that the soulbinding spell Tripp managed to perform is related. They gather every piece of knowledge they can find that remains in the destroyed town, and begin doing more research, and experimenting with magic. They find out that after the soulbinding spell, the two of them are able to cast magic that they couldn't before.

Among this period, the three set out on an expedition to explore a location Laz had learned about in the past, finding a massive canyon, containing the massive skeletal remains of the serpentine elementals that Laz had been worshipping as deities. However, they can't stay for long, as the entire area around the remains is thick with corrupted magic, and it begins to affect the two in negative ways, making them feel sick and angry.

Over time, some scattered survivors of the old town as well as new wanderers manage to find Shii's cabin, and a new town begins forming around it. However, it isn't long before a scouting party from The Shield finds this town, and aims to once again destroy it. However, Laz again fights back, and somehow manages to fend off the large group of soldiers, glowing with bright blue runic markings. They discover that Laz, as a result of the soulbond, is now essentially immortal, rapidly healing injuries, experiencing heightened strength, and enhanced magic ability. Laz, Tripp, and Shii begin sparring often, as well as training their citizens, and manage to repeatedly and consistently fend off this new settlement from the reoccurring threats, with the assistance of Laz' newfound power.

Over years, The trio's kingdom grows in size and eventually becomes a massive, fortified colony. Laz and Tripp, at the request of the citizens, are officially instated as kings and Shii is put in charge of their militia, who defend their town and neighboring kingdoms from The Shield and other enemy forces. Laz and Tripp build a new, isolated cabin deep within the wilderness of their kingdom's boundaries, where they manage to live a relatively domestic life for a while, and eventually get married.

In their periods of peace, Laz and Tripp revive the culture of their former town, sharing and sustaining the knowledge and history of soul magic, and even revive and continue the tradition of the Soul Festival.

In the meantime, a runaway supersoldier created by The Shield, Dragonblood, carves path of death and destruction across the continent, fueled by her rage at having been entombed within a set of armor many years ago.

One day, Laz receives a letter from Shii, warning him that The Shield has found a way to manipulate Dragonblood into targetting his kingdom.  Laz decides to leave, to go be on the frontlines in defense of his kingdom, however, he insists on Tripp staying behind, both for his safety, and for the kingdom's--as should anything happen to Tripp, Laz would lose his ability to defend it.

Tripp is, obviously, in extreme disagreement of this, but the two fail to come to a conclusion. Despite Laz' pain and grief of leaving his husband, he attempts to leave, and Tripp tries to physically stop him. The two get into a fight. Despite being knocked down and shoved away repeatedly, Tripp continues to latch onto Laz in a desperate attempt to prevent him from leaving. In his pain and frustration, Laz lashes out, losing control of his fire magic and badly injuring Tripp. In a panic, Laz carries Tripp to a nearby fountain to cool his burns, before rushing him to a nearby house, and does his best to tend to his burns through the night.

The next day, Tripp wakes, and though Laz is there, he does not stay for long. There is a painful, strained and mournful bedside farewell, and Laz leaves.

On the frontlines of the kingdom, Dragonblood has already done damage, but Laz and his royal army arrive. The king, Shii, and their army, strengthened by his soulbond and subsequent immortality, spends the next year fending off Dragonblood, minimizing her destruction to the best of their abilities. Tripp, and the rest of the kingdom, are able to live in relative peace. Laz dies many times, but at the end of every fight, manages to weaken Dragonblood enough to keep his kingdom safe.

When winter comes, when the chill forces both his enemies and his own to slow, Laz returns home and reunites with his husband, staying for the next 2-3 months before he is forced to return to his army.

One fateful battle, after Laz is killed and his body disappears, Dragonblood finds a compass that he dropped. A compass blessed by his soul magic that leads to his soulmate, the source of his power.

On the second winter, Laz once again tries to return home, only to find the small village in the process of being destroyed. He runs through, searching idley for survivors, but running home to find it destroyed as well. Digging through the debris in a panic, he finds what he hopes he wouldn't, the barely breathing body of Tripp. The two, once again, share a painful farewell before Tripp succumbs to his injuries in Laz' arms.

Nearby, Dragonblood is still present, having just destroyed their home and simply watched the scene playing out in front of her. In a grief-fuelled rage, Laz goes for her, insistent on finishing her off once and for all, but with his soulmate gone, his power weakened. Still, he fights her, but with a missed lunged is impaled by her sword. With the last of his strength, he brandishes a dagger from his robe, plunging it into the slit of her helmet, brutally and permanently injuring her.

Dragonblood flees, and Laz collapses next to the body of his husband.

Not too long after, Shii and her army arrive much too late, finding the two kings dead. The kings are buried in a grand, royal garden behind Shii's cabin, and both Dragonblood and The Shield are never seen again. Shii is instated as the new queen of the kingdom, and peace returns to the continent for many, many decades to come.

[MORE TO COME] --> Trist

Dragonblood's Origins and Lore, if you're interested in what happens to her after this.

"Shadowlings," is a blanket term for creatures of ambiguous species, that vary wildly in shape and size, classified only by a pitch black body and bright, solid-color eyes. 

A Shadowling might have traits such as--but not limited to--fur, scales, feathers or bare skin, posess any number of any kind of wings and limbs, have long ears or horns, hooves, paws or talons. 

Shadowlings often absorb most light that hits them to the extent they appear as silhouettes, hence the name. They may sometimes be referred to as "Voidlings" for this same reason.