so uh, I have coronaed virus lol
I feel rotten but I also don't have to go to work and I need something to keep me from going Insane so! Maybe you'll get regular updates for a bit :3
__
Neither of them spoke for a long time, just staring at each other, and Meryl remained quiet beside them. Y/N's mind worked frantically as she struggled to process this - Herobrine was here, and- and from the looks of things, perfectly safe. How long- what had he been doing all this time-??
It was Herobrine who eventually broke the silence. "You look well," He said.
"So do you." Y/N returned automatically. A moment later, the implications of his presence hit her. "You are in the employ of the Queen of the Nether?"
"I am." He nodded, meeting her eyes impassively. Y/N frowned.
"...for how long?"
"About... forty years, I suppose." He answered. Y/N blinked, and bitterness welled up inside of her. And no one had told her? "Meryl, it's good to see you as well," He greeted her before turning away and lifting his hood to hide his face again. "Come. The castle is not a long walk from here." Numbly, Y/N followed him with Meryl at her heels as he led them towards the edge of the platform.
The walk to the castle was a quiet one. Herobrine barely looked at them, focused on the path ahead, and Y/N and Meryl communicated through a series of shared glances their utter bafflement at this situation. When their guide continued to ignore them, Y/N chose to do the same to him, turning her attention instead to the surrounding terrain.
It had been more than 300 years since she had last been to the Nether, as a member of one of the several companions of valkyries that had been sent to chase Herobrine from his throne. It was dim, but their surroundings were still quite visible, as the reddish-brown rock that made up the majority of the terrain reflected the light from the great seas of churning lava. While Y/N would be far more comfortable if she had the sky above her head, the jagged Nether ceiling was high enough above her that it didn't trigger her fear of enclosed spaces.
They were passing through a portion of the Nether known as the Wastes, named such due to the fact that very little life was present. The only thing other than rock around them were small patches of brown and red mushrooms. Y/N could see signs of civilization in the distance, primitive, piglin settlements - but the blackstone road that they were on led in the other direction.
"How much longer will it be before we reach the castle?" Meryl spoke up.
"Perhaps another thirty minutes," Herobrine answered without turning around. "We will come into view of the capital shortly." Meryl exchanged a glance with Y/N, then looked forward again as the road led them around the curve of a cliff and the capital city came into view.
The city itself rested in a crescent-shaped valley, wrapped around a towering cliff atop which was built the castle. The fortress seemed to dwarf the city beneath it, though Y/N knew the city stretched much further into the earth. The city below was alive with light and movement, visible even from such a distance. With no sun to tell the time of day, Y/N was sure that the city never truly rested.
A thin bridge stretched over the city, from the edge of the valley up to the castle gates, and it was to this bridge that the road they followed led.
Herobrine's estimate turned out to be just about correct. It took them another twenty minutes to reach the bridge, and nearly ten more to cross it. They began to encounter piglins as they grew closer to the castle, none of whom seemed at all bothered by Herobrine's presence. The valkyries' wings, on the other hand, drew more than a few curious looks.
Two armored piglins stood guarding the gates, and they pulled them open to allow the trio entry as they approached. Herobrine nodded to one of them and it was returned. Clearly he had gotten over his... issue with them.
"Commander Zenith and the Queen, along with their other guests, are waiting inside." Herobrine informed them as he led them across the courtyard. Y/N hummed in acknowledgment, studying the castle walls. She hadn't seen it for long on her last visit, but from what she could remember this place seemed much the same. Had Herobrine built it, she wondered?
The first thing that Y/N noticed as Herobrine guided them inside was how well-lit the interior was. She had expected it to be rather dark and dismal - and perhaps it had been, at one point - but even the entry hallway was well-lit, the lower walls lined with glowstone and blue-lit lanterns hanging from the ceilings.
Herobrine lowered his hood again, here, and Y/N found herself focusing on the back of his head as he walked ahead of them down the hallway. His hair was a bit shorter now than it had when she had last seen him, but still quite long, trailing down past his shoulders. It was neater now, too. It was currently drawn back on either side to meet in a braid on the back of his head, held in place at the base by some kind of gold ornament. Nothing like the unkempt nomad who had dragged her out of the mud on the day they first met.
Herobrine stopped, and Y/N snapped out of her trance just in time to avoid running into him, as he opened a door and beckoned them through to the dimmed room beyond.
A couple of figures stood as Y/N and Meryl stepped through the doorway, and Y/N quickly picked out her commander on the left side of the small room where he had just risen from a red couch. Still seated on the same couch was a woman wearing a black, flowing dress, with a wide-brimmed hat from the rim of which fell a dark veil. Before the other couch in the room stood a young woman with red hair, who stared at the two valkyries in unrestrained awe, and finally, on the far side of the couch sat David Tekno with a hand lifted in greeting.
"Hey Eve, Meryl."
"Tekno." Y/N broke into a grin at the sight of him. "I didn't know you would be here."
"I've told you, haven't I?" The half-piglin propped up a foot on the table that sat between the two couches, apparently heedless of the fact that he was in the presence of a queen. "Aether loves sending me on Nether missions."
"Thank you for coming so promptly," Zenith said, beckoning them over from the door. "I trust your trip from the portal was uneventful?"
"It... was." Y/N stole a glance over her shoulder as Herobrine shut the door behind them and followed them into the room. From the way no one in the room had reacted to his presence, she could only gather that they had all been well aware of his location... and hadn't told her.
The queen rose to her feet, her hands clasped together in front of her as she greeted them. "I'm glad to see that you have both arrived safely," She said in a kind voice. "Not that, I'm sure, I had anything to fear. Thank you, Herobrine." The man in question nodded silently as he went to stand behind her couch. "I'm sure you're very eager to know why you've been summoned here with such haste," The queen went on. "And it is because I have need of your unique life experience." Y/N and Meryl shared a knowing glance.
"Such as, my lady?" Meryl asked.
"Several days ago, I received a message from this young lady-" The queen gestured to the human girl, "Miss Alex Hunt. In her letter, she described her encounter with a young piglin who was clearly not in his right mind, who attacked her while she was gathering resources some distance from here. She was forced to kill him in self-defense, and she brought his body to me for examination. My servant-" She gestured over her shoulder at Herobrine, who shifted slightly. "-thinks that the poor lad's state was the handiwork of someone whom with you both are quite familiar."
"Sirben." Y/N murmured.
"Yes." The queen nodded. "I asked the two of you here for a second - and third - opinion. If you are willing, would you examine the body and tell me if you share his conclusion?" Y/N swallowed, turning to meet Meryl's eyes. Her best friend's face was grim, but her jaw was set with determination.
"Yes, your majesty, of course." She said as she found Y/N's hand and squeezed it.
"Thank you," The queen said, and Commander Zenith beckoned them close.
"Body's in the next room," He said, turning to walk towards a doorway on the other side of the room. Y/N and Meryl followed, the former acutely aware of Herobrine as he fell into step behind them.
Y/N could feel the cold as soon as the door had opened.
The room was small, maybe the size of a large closet, and lit by only a single one of the blue lanterns. On the far end of the room was a table, and on that table was the body that the queen had spoken of. The piglin was covered up to his waist by a sheet, his shirt removed, and Y/N took a hesitant step closer to get a better look.
"Over his heart," Herobrine's murmur from over her shoulder made a shiver run through her, and she swallowed and made her way further inside with Meryl at her heels. Sure enough, there was a blackened wound over his heart. - and, despite the human girl having encountered him several days before, his body showed no other signs of decay.
"Either it's Sirben, or someone taking a page from his book." Y/N took a step back and turned to meet her commander's eyes.
"And, given that Sirben escaped into the Nether and hasn't been seen since..." Meryl trailed off, a hand pressed over her own heart. "I'm well-inclined to think the latter."
"As we suspected, then." Zenith gave a grim nod. "Very well. Come," He stepped out of the doorway, and they left the closet to rejoin the others.
"Well, this is certainly distressing news." The queen remarked once they had relayed their findings. "But, at the same time, perhaps this is the opportunity that the Aether has been looking for."
"This is the very first lead that we've gotten on Sirben's possible location," Tekno agreed. "It may not be much, but it's better to have even a general location rather than, I dunno, the entire Nether."
"Miss Alex," The queen addressed the human girl, who stood at attention at the sound of her name. "You offered to lead us there, correct?"
"Yes, your majesty." She confirmed.
"Excellent." The queen clapped her hands together lightly. "Ladies, I would like you to accompany Miss Alex, Commander Zenith, Sergeant Tekno, and Herobrine to the site of the attack, so that you can investigate the surrounding areas for any sign of your 'Sirben'."
"Of course, my queen," Y/N answered readily, and Meryl gave a determined nod from beside her.
"Wonderful." The queen's face was only barely visible from beneath her veil, but it was clear from her voice that she was smiling. "I will assign you rooms for the night, so that you can rest, then we will leave tomorrow."
"Very well." Y/N wondered briefly how they determined 'tomorrow' with no sun.
"Your majesty," Herobrine said suddenly, drawing the attention of those in the room for the first time. "Is it really necessary that they join us? Surely we have enough manpower on our own." Y/N blinked, then shot him an incredulous look - which was ignored.
"Of course it is." The queen replied cheerfully. "They have personal experience with this man, and their wings will lend them the ability to scan a large area in a much more efficient manner."
"Besides," Commander Zenith jumped in, "The more eyes we have, the better, and there's no two valkyries I would rather have on my side in a fight than these two."
"If that's the case," Herobrine said, "Perhaps I should stay here with you, your majesty. It would not do for you to be left unguarded, should you be Sirben's target."
"Oh, there's no need to be concerned about that." The queen assured him. "I think I will be accompanying you as well."
"What??" Zenith's exclamation made Y/N think that this probably wasn't a common occurrence. "Trix- y-your majesty, surely not. Sirben is a very dangerous man."
"Well, we're not going to confront him, are we, Phillip?" The queen asked coolly. "We're only going to investigate the area - and, if something goes wrong, you can simply fly me home." Zenith set his jaw, clearly not loving this plan.
"I suppose I have no authority here," He finally said.
"No you do not." The queen turned cheerfully back to her guests. "Herobrine, please take these two to available guest rooms. Food will be provided for you, and you will be informed when we are ready to leave." Y/N cast a glance at Herobrine, who still wasn't looking at her. "I know the lack of day and night takes some time to get used to, but we have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow." The queen went on. "I suggest you try to get some sleep."