Lin the Piglin Book 1, page 1
Lin the Piglin
Book 1: The Hero Piglin
Casper Craft
Mark Mulle
PUBLISHED BY:
Casper Craft
Copyright © 2021
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
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Chapter One
Everything was on fire, and that was fine with Lin. Steve leapt through the air as a ghast launched fireball after fireball at him, destroying the yard. Heat and flames seemed to fall off his glowing armor. His sword flashed, again and again, occasionally catching a fireball and sending it back to the ghast. The shining diamond blade was a blur of blue as he swung it. After several minutes, he finally hit a fireball back directly into the ghast’s face. The ghast screeched out in surprise as its own weapon burst across its face. Steve jumped up and down in glee, running in circles in celebration of his achievement. After a while, Steve seemed to notice Lin's family milling about, minding their own business. As always, they were staring at the ground to keep safe from the endermen’s eyes. Steve leapt up hills and past burning blocks to stand before Lin's father, a gold block in his hand. Her father's eyes shone brighter than the gold in pure desire. Steve didn't hesitate before he threw him the bar. Father froze in place, stunned at the gift.
Lin died a little inside watching her father act like that.
She hoped he would drop it on his stupid hoof. Maybe then he wouldn't be so obsessed over it. Gold is stupid, always has been, always will be. Gold doesn’t last long like armor or tools, you can’t eat it, and it is so heavy. Lin watched as her father’s breath halted in awe of the gift. Steve tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for a gift in return. After what seemed like forever, Father threw Steve a block of obsidian. Lin felt her temper rising at that.
It must have come from a portal to the upper world. They needed those to get stuff that doesn’t exist in the Nether, and she had never been able to go up there because her clan couldn't help themselves from stealing bits off any portal they found. Steve groaned loudly, throwing her father another block as the rest of her family turned up for a chance to catch some gold of their own. Lin stayed back, preferring to watch the flames flicker instead of drooling over stupid shiny bricks. Steve spent several minutes throwing gold out before he stepped away from the clan. Steve started muttering under his breath. Then he began throwing random things out of his pockets to the ground. Most of it was junk Lin couldn't care less about: bits of string mixed with leather hides and bones. Until Steve dropped a purple crystal. Lin couldn't look away from the stone as it caught the firelight and gleamed.
"Can I have this?"
Steve jumped a little, not having noticed Lin standing there, before he shrugged.
“Sure, I have plenty more back home. Who are you?”
“My name is Lin the piglin.”
“Hi there Lin, my name is Steve.”
“I know. Everyone knows who the legendary Steve is. Do you really defeat the endermen?”
“Well, yes I have defeated tons of them.”
“They scare me so much with their weird eyes. I also hate how they disappear, but worst of all, they always steal parts of our homes. We don't even bother trying to build them anymore because of it. The only way we piglins can avoid being attacked is to keep our eyes on the ground all the time.”
“Wait, since when do endermen bother piglins?”
“They didn’t use to, but more and more of them have been showing up, and attacking us.”
Steve stopped rummaging through his pockets and stared at Lin long and hard.
“I'll be right back. Lin please don't wander off too far, okay?” he said.
Before Lin could answer, Steve was off, leaping and jumping. Meanwhile, Lin's clan cheered out loud at the great gifts of gold, and boasting about how they had tricked Steve into trading junk for such great things. Meanwhile, Lin sat down and tried to ignore how thirsty she was. There wasn't any point in asking for a drink. She had seen the village elder give Steve the buckets of water in exchange for stupid gold bars.
To pass the time, she played with the purple crystal. Lin had never seen anything like it. Hours passed as she rolled it around in her hooves. Lin shot her eyes to the ground the moment she heard an enderman scream in pain. From the corner of her vision, she could see Steve's feet in the soul sand dancing with the enderman’s. He beat it back, before spinning around to hit it again. Steve wasn't just defending himself, he was actively chasing the creature down and attacking it. With a final screech, the enderman exploded in a plume of shadows and purple light.
Steve grabbed a green gem off the ground and immediately turned towards Lin. Lin was stunned when she looked at Steve's face. It was orange, with a black mouth and eyes.
“Hi Lin, I'm glad you didn't wander off. I have a few things for you.”
Lin stared silently as Steve pulled the orange helmet off and gave it to her.
“This is a pumpkin from the Overworld. I used shears to carve it. You wear it on your head like a helmet. It will keep the endermen from attacking you when you look at them. I also have an old sword that I don't use anymore that you can have. It has a unique enchantment that should make it last forever, as long as you don't go dipping it in lava or anything like that.”
The sword was made of iron and glowed lightly. Lin put the helmet on, finding it a little harder to see out of, but trusting Steve because he had never lied before. Lin looked up and down the length of the beautiful iron sword.
“I could never fight an enderman. I'm not special like you are, Steve,” she said.
Steve crouched down a little to look Lin directly in her eyes through the pumpkin helmet.
“Lin, I wasn't born any more special than you. I'm special because I choose to be. That's my great secret, nothing more, nothing less. I think hard about what I want to do, and then I work harder to make it real. I make mistakes all the time. When I screw up, I just get out of bed the next day and try again. Never giving up is my superpower, and when I look at you, I can see that same kind of power is just waiting to be used.”
“I don’t have any choices, Steve.”
“Lin, you don’t have anything but choices. Courage isn’t free, it is the price of admission into the life of your dreams. You gotta ask for help when you need it. Ask for advice when you don’t know something. I look at you and I see a piglin with a heart like mine.”
Lin felt her eyes water. She kept repeating in her head, “don't cry, never cry in the Nether because every tear becomes a ghast.” Still, a single tear fell. Perhaps wearing the helmet would stop them from spawning, as well as protect her from the endermen’s eyes. Besides, Lin could not help it. No one had ever believed in her, and now here was Steve the legend telling her she was amazing. Lin held the crystal tightly, not wanting to seem ungrateful for the gifts or the kind words, but desperately wanting to know where it had all come from.
She was also embarrassed that she didn't have anything to give Steve in return for such beautiful gifts. She would never have a chance to ask him again, and if he was right about her, she had the right to ask.
“Steve, what's this purple thing?”
Steve smiled from ear to ear as if Lin had given him something more precious than diamonds and gold.
“Oh, that's a geode crystal. They can be found in the Overworld. I found a bunch of them in the ocean.”
“What's the ocean?”
“Well, it's like the lava lake but made of water. Now if you'll excuse me, Steve needs a new pair of boots for this darn soul sand.”
Lin couldn't speak, she was so stunned. The very idea of that much water wasn't possible. After all, water disappears if it isn’t left in a bucket. How could there be whole lakes of it? Maybe there were enormous buckets in the Overworld to hold that much water. She watched as Steve traded with her clan again and again, until her uncle had enough gold to earn a pair of iron boots enchanted with soul stride. It was a gift of respect for the elder. Steve happily tossed him a pair of gold boots, and her uncle dropped the magic boots for the golden ones without a thought. Lin groaned in disgust at the absolutely horrible trade her uncle made. Steve, however, let out an excited whoop and sprinted away at full speed. The boots protected him from the soul sand.
Lin thought about what Steve had said and whether he was right. Suddenly a warning cry went out from the other piglin and she turned her eyes to the ground as an enderman came striding through. Drops of evil purple light were dripping from its menacing face. Endermen were always searching for something of theirs to steal. Even if the theft was one of their lives.
No.
One word went through her mind.
No.
One thought seized her heart.
No.
One word tore itself from her mouth as she charged forward.
“NO!”
Eyes bright and full of the faith Steve had placed in her, she challenged the enderman.
The creature was towering over her uncle. Its eyes were intent on him as if it were waiting for him to make a move before attacking. Her uncle stood perfectly still, his ears quivering in terror. The magic helmet worked. The enderman didn't notice her, even when she looked directly at its eyes. At least, it didn't see her until her new sword bit into one of its legs. It screeched loud and long, the screams echoing. She spun in place as the enderman disappeared, sword held tight in her hooves. Her uncle sprinted away, squealing at her to run with him.
Lin didn’t run. Today was the day she fought the right to dream. The enderman was charging towards her from behind. Instead of a terrified child, it found a fighter who had chosen to battle for her family. She swung, again and again. Steve’s sword bit its legs before its arms could scoop her up. The enderman vanished, only to reappear in the burning sand from Steve’s earlier battle. Had Steve planned this? Lin couldn't believe he had started these fires to help her fight the thing. Why else had he left them burning? The distracting thought cost her as the enderman came from behind again, pushing her down hard. Red sand covered her new helmet, and fear clawed at her heart. Everything she ever knew about surviving told her to run.
She made a choice.
Getting back on her hooves quickly while the enderman sporadically vanished and reappeared, Lin waited, sword shaking but held tight. The enderman stopped moving for one split second before it charged directly at her. With one final swing, she thrusted the sword at the enderman. Just like the one Steve had defeated, this one vanished with a scream and a cloud of shadows. Slowly, Lin raised Steve’s sword up high for all to see. The other piglins stared in surprise as if they couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.
“She's been blessed by Steve! Hero! Savior! Chosen one!”
Her family cheered her on with pride. Rushing forward, they lifted her high into the air, chanting her name, tears flowing down their faces, ears flapping in joy as they snorted at her grand victory.
Then one by one, they fell silent. One by one, ghasts rose from the soul sand. They had forgotten the number one rule.
Never ever cry in the Nether.
Chapter Two
Lin's ears folded down as fast as her heart sped up. The ghasts rose from the sand, their eerie screeches coming one after another like echoes. Despite how hot the Nether was, chills ran down her spine. Finally, her clan started lowering her to the blocks below. Every one of them were gaping wide-eyed and breathless. Lin's mind ran wild while she tried to figure out what to do next.
Then, as the ghasts drifted up in small circles, they looked directly at her with hatred and malice in their eyes. They must have thought she was Steve. It was the only explanation she could think of for why they were targeting her over everything else, especially when they typically ignored piglins. Perhaps the ghasts were changing as well, like the endermen.
"Run to the Warped Forest!" Lin screamed at the top of her lungs.
Lin's clan scattered in all directions rather than to the forest, but that was fine with her as long as they had gotten away. The ghasts didn't seem interested in her family. The first fireball missed her by several blocks, but only because she was already in motion. Lin ran the way Steve had gone. The ghasts were hotter than the Nether on her heels. The fireballs launched from their mouths right behind her every step. Blocks flew and burst into flames as she zigged and zagged, making it impossible for them to get a clean shot at her. The helmet made it hard to see as she frantically searched for Steve. She squealed out as loud as she could.
"Steve!"
Steve could fight these things. Lin didn't have any hope of surviving without him. Several more explosions went off as they fired volley after volley at her. Then, the Warped Forewarped st came into view. Lin could see Steve up ahead, cutting down giant fungus without a care in the world.
"Steve, Steve, Steve!!!"
Steve turned around to see Lin with the jack-o’-lantern mask on, sprinting towards him. For a moment he smiled, happy to see her again. The smile vanished like water in the Nether as he looked up to see dozens of ghasts in the air following her. Like the hero he chose to be, Steve made a very rational choice.
He screamed and ran away, Lin hot on his heels.
"Steve, can’t you fight them?!"
"Of course I can but I would probably get my butt kicked. I don't want to respawn. I've got a dozen blocks of netherite on me. Do you know how hard that stuff is to find?!"
Lin had to repeat herself as her words were lost amongst a volley of explosions and ghast screeches.
"But you're Steve the legend!"
"I've only lived long enough to become a legend because I don't try and do things like fight dozens of ghasts at the same time! Why are there so many of them anyway? What did you do?"
"I fought an enderman and won, and my family started crying at my victory."
"Really! That's amazing Lin! I'm so proud of you. But you really need to stop crying like right now!"
Lin blinked hard, only just now realizing that she had been crying this whole time. She was spawning more and more ghasts with every step. She tried to stop, but that only made her cry harder. Lin held her breath, trying to make the tears stop. That only succeeded in making her face go purple as she tried to run without breathing.
"Look Lin, we have to go to the Overworld until you stop crying. Follow me. I can fight them at the portal."
Lin nodded, too afraid to speak in case it made her cry even harder. She followed Steve step for step through the Nether. More and more ghasts spawned every few blocks, as a tear or two slipped free. Lin's heart soared despite her impending doom. She was going to the Overworld! If she wasn't killed by ghasts on the way, at least. This was the best worst day of her life! Slowly a structure came into view. It was made from a type of stone she had never seen before. In the center, she could see an obsidian rectangle with a pulsing purple light. Steve stopped running and pulled out his glowing blue sword.
"Lin, go stand in the purple light. I don't want them to destroy the portal. I'll try and distract them while you escape. I'll be right behind you, so don't worry about me. I have too much loot to risk having to respawn."
Steve began batting the exploding balls back at the ghasts, leaping and spinning while taunting them the whole time.
"I will roast every one of you like the angry marshmallows you are. Bring it on!"
Lin ran harder than she had ever run in her entire life. Then, from behind, she heard Steve yelling. "No, not her. Come get me!"
Lin stepped into the wavy purple light and thought she would be sick as the world went wobbly and shakey in her sight. Things started to fade as dozens of fireballs went off all around her. She saw Steve, one hand reaching towards her from far away.
"Lin use a fire starter to relight the…"
Whatever Steve was trying to say was lost as the Nether disappeared into darkness and fire.
The next thing Lin knew, everything was on fire, and nothing was alright. She ran in circles on some weird green fur? Grass, it must be the thing called grass. Being on fire never bothered her for long, and soon it went out on its own. The world around her was enormous. The ceiling above was some light blue block, with white things that looked like vast ghasts floating above her. She ran for shelter by the nearest thing, a little cube house made of obsidian.
One block was replaced with iron bars. Lin sat down with her back to the only familiar thing she could see. Her mind spun while she waited for Steve to show up. There were odd trees, and small colorful plants she thought were called flowers. She stared at the portal. The obsidian structure stayed empty though. The purple light was gone.
Beside her, a raspy voice slithered out.
"Who are you? Where is Steve?"
Lin jumped and squealed in surprise. She scurried away, looking for who had spoken. Through the iron bars staring at her from the darkness inside she could see a skeleton sitting in a wooden boat resting on dirt blocks. This was not a house. It was a prison.
The skeleton sighed and repeated itself.
