The Broken Flame

Celina now seemed to be floating in a lavender sky. Clouds drifted on a breeze she couldn’t feel and she could see several floating islands of different sizes. They were decorated with pale green grass, golden trees, and several buildings made of different stones. Rabbits and pigs with golden wings walked around upon the floating isles.

Celina looked around with slight panic. “Where am I?”

“You’re in my memories, Celina.”

Celina looked around for the source of the familiar voice. “Herobrine? Where are you? And where am I?”

“Right now, you’re in the beginning of my memories of my story. It started in the Aether, so that’s where you are. You need to remember something though.” Herobrine’s voice seemed to shift as he said his next words. “Even if you’re only spectating all this… it’s all true. All of this is something that actually happened to me.”

“Why are you showing me this, Herobrine?”

“...Because I trust you, Celina.”

Celina frowned, but nodded. “Okay. So, what happened first?”

“Look down.”

The queen’s gaze moved down and that was when she saw how close she was to the largest island she could see. Down about ten blocks below her was one of the floating islands, and on it, she could see a human looking form moving about. She looked closer as the form seemed to happily run across the terrain. It was a masculine looking form, not much taller than her. They had brown hair down to their pointed ears, fair skin, freckles dotting their cheeks… and green eyes. But they were two different shades of green. The right one was a bright green, like that of a Creeper. The left was the same green as an emerald.

The figure wore an orange shirt with golden ends on the sleeves, decorated with intricate reds and golds in different shapes and a flame in the middle of the shirt. They also had brown pants, white ballet flats, and a daisy flower crown on their head. Celina heard the figure laugh, and she instantly recognized that voice.

“Herobrine… is that you?”

“Yes, that’s me when I was almost 80,000 years old. Only half the age I am now, but still very young in Demi-God years and still a child in God years.”

Celina watched the younger form of Herobrine as he stopped and spun on one leg, before falling to the soft grasses with a laugh. She heard Herobrine begin to speak again.

“Just as you had said, I was born in the Aether. I was born within this realm, and around my 60,000th birthday, humans were created. I… was fascinated with them, and I honestly adored watching them. Back then, I was quite the curious one, and humans attracted my attention. Though they were made in the image of Demi-Deities, they were quite different.”

She could see the younger being look over the edge of the island, like he was seeing something all the way down there. Herobrine continued. 

“I watched how they built, fished, mined, lived, loved; it was something amazing to me. So, I wanted to live like them. I had never left the Aether at this point, but I decided to change that.”

The younger Demi-God suddenly looked to a large castle-like structure in the distance, his green eyes filled with determination. He suddenly took off in a sprint towards it, running at a speed she was sure no human could reach.

The memory suddenly shifted, and now stone walls surrounded Celina. The hall she was in was large, with a high ceiling and intricately decorated banners hanging from the walls. A long run in white and red ran down the hallway, and she could hear soft footsteps against it. Celina looked down to see the young Herobrine walking down the hall, heading towards a room she couldn’t see into. She felt herself moving, as if floating with Herobrine’s movements. She floated into the room and saw that it was a vast study, filled to the top with bookshelves. Some nearby chests and a desk were in the room as well, and Celina almost didn’t see the nearby figure that stood by the desk, with a book in their hand. 

She could hear the Demi-God ask, “Iraura, is that you?”

The figure nodded. “Herobrine? Do you need something, baby brother?”

Celina blinked. Wait… they did say Herobrine was the brother of the former queen of the Gods… did that mean that--

“I… wanted to ask you something, Iraura.”

“And that would be?”

“I… I want to go to the… the Overworld.”

The taller figure seemed to stiffen up, closing their book and setting it on the desk. They then turned on their heels. Celina’s eyes went wide. The figure was a female with long, curly black hair, fair skin, freckles, and brown eyes. She wore a brown shirt, a red belt, gray shorts, and gray shoes. A long red cape rolled down her back. Black deer like ears came from the sides of her head and large antlers sprouted from the top of her head. 

Celina let a light gasp escape. She knew that woman from the books she had read, the stories she had been told. “That’s… that’s Iraura Alstrom! She was the queen of Minecraftia’s Gods before she was exiled!”

“Yes, and she was also my older sister. She created me from her left over powers and took care of me like a young sibling. She was… very sweet when I was younger. She worried about me.”

Iraura began to speak to the younger Herobrine, and Celina watched with intent. 

“Herobrine, why do you want to go to the Overworld,” the godly queen asked, head tilted.

The shorter being clasped his hands. “I… I can’t be stuck up here forever. There’s a whole world down there, and I want to explore it. It seems very beautiful, very peaceful, and I want to see it for myself. Besides, I’m grown now, so I should be able to go where I please.”

Iraura seemed to think over what she said next. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “I knew this day would come sooner or later.” She turned to her brother with concern on her face. “Herobrine, I knew one day you would want to go down to the world below. Frankly… I can’t let you go.”

Herobrine’s face turned to slight anger and disbelief. “What?! Why not?”

“Because it’s dangerous down there, Herobrine!” she shouted. “There’s diseases that you haven’t been exposed to, dangerous weather and natural disasters, the creatures of the night; not to mention that not all humans are as benevolent as you think!” She held up a hand. “Not all humans are so kind, Herobrine. What do you think they would do to an Aetherian being like you? You’d be seen as an outsider, a freak, someone who doesn’t belong in their home! They may not seem like it, but they are dangerous.”

Herobrine rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. “Iraura, how old am I now?”

The godly woman lost her anger and thought. “You’re almost 80,000 now.”

“Correct. I’m an adult, Iraura, someone who can care for himself. I know that not all humans are kind. I know there’s things down there. But you know what? I’m grown now. I may not know what you know about creation, but I can assure you that I know enough to take care of myself.” He sighed and dawned a different expression, his big green eyes looking up at her with innocence. “Now, I’m going to ask again: May I please go down to the Overworld?”

Iraura couldn’t deny that face. She loved her brother dearly, but she also knew he could take care of himself. He was an adult now. He was grown up. She had raised him well and she knew he had all the survival skills he needed down there.

With another deep sign, Iraura closed her eyes. “...Alright… okay, you may leave for the Overworld.”

“REALLY?!” Herobrine’s eyes seemed to light up, and he reached his arms out and hugged his sister. She seemed surprised, but Celina could hear him say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Iraura!” 

The queen of the gods smiled after a second, then wrapped her arms around the younger deity. “You’re very welcome, Herobrine. Just… be careful down there, okay, baby brother?”

“I will, big sister. Thank you.” And with that, Herobrine turned on his heels and ran down the hallway.

Celina thought about what Iraura had said about Herobrine’s age and a thought struck her. “Wait, so, you had never been to the Overworld before this?”

“Correct,” The being spoke to her from outside the memory. “I had seen much of Minecraftia’s creation from my place, but I found that I was just… fascinated with humans. I wanted to experience it all for myself.”

*****

The memory shifted to show that Herobrine was now standing on the edge of a very low island, almost touching a cloud. He looked down with the purest, most innocent expression on his face as he gazed down at the world below. He couldn’t wait to see what it had to offer, and he didn’t want to wait any longer. 

Herobrine took several steps back, before sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him towards the edge, then taking a large leap off of the island. His descent began and he found himself falling towards the world below. Herobrine flipped a few times as he sailed down, before moving into a nosedive, heading further and further down below. 

Celina could only watch as the young Demi-God plummeted down, down, down, turning into a fireball as he descended. She could see him heading down into a large plains area dotted with trees, and her eyes went wide as he hit the ground. An explosion bigger than that of a creeper accompanied the impact, and so did a sound that nearly knocked Celina off her feet. 

“Holy Jeb! Were you okay?!” she asked in concern.

A chuckle came from Brine. “Yes, I was fine. The muscles in my legs are like shock absorbers, so I turned to land on my feet when I got to the ground. I tend to land very… gracefully. I have a bit of flair for my landings.”

Celina chuckled a bit at that. He did seem to have a flair for the theatrics, but she liked that. 

The queen watched as young Herobrine climbed up from the crater he had made, climbing up over the edge and making his way to more solid ground. He looked around, seeing trees scattered about and a few mountains in the distance. Some animals were walking around as well, just a few sheeps who ate at the grass and a couple of cows who did the same. Flowers could be seen as well, bringing some color to the biome. 

The young Herobrine looked around with awe and astonishment on his face, a look that reminded the queen of a young child seeing something new. He looked so happy to see this world up close for the first time. He looked… content.

“This place is… beautiful,” Celina heard him whisper. “It’s… it’s more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.” He took a careful step forward, looking down at the grass. He took another step, then another, then another, until he was walking away from the crater and through a nearby forest. He looked up in awe of the sunlight streaming through the leaves, the slow breeze making its way across the grass, the faint smell of the flowers on the ground. Everything was so pretty.

A small snort came from his right and Herobrine turned to see a pig walking towards him. He watched the pink creaturae walk to him and he gently knelt and pet its head. “Well, aren’t you adorable. You don’t have wings… but you’re still pretty cute.” He smiled at the pig nuzzled at him. “You’re really cute. But I should get going.” He stood up. “There’s a lot to see around here.”

Celina watched as he walked further into the woods, seeing him disappear into the foliage. “So… this was the first time you came here, to the Overworld?”

“Yes. And it was wonderful. Everything was so beautiful, more than I thought possible. And I loved it. I decided I wanted to live here, live like a human and live in the Overworld. How about we skip ahead a while?”

*****

The next memory Celina saw, a portion of the forest Herobrine had walked through had grown and scattered. Some were gone in a clearing and within that clearing stood a small house. It was made of mostly oak wood, with orange stained glass windows, a spruce roof, and birch doors. It was actually really nice, with a small farm in the back and flowers decorating the front.

“Is that yours,” Celina asked.

“Yes, it was mine. I built it and lived in it for about nine years. I was trying to live as you humans do, so I had very limited use of my powers. It was… nice, to live such a simple life.”

“Did you at all meet any humans during that time?”

“No… not until this day...”