YGO TEOIC. PROLOGUE

The Ender of Ironclad.

Prologue.


(This is a YuGiOh/Minecraft AU fanfic. Feel free to use the back button if you don't like it. The chapters are also fairly short, but they will be in large quantity to make up for length. Without further ado, please enjoy TEOIC. ~Starfyre~)



Dawn had only just broken in Minecraftia. A thin layer of mist rose up from the cold damp ground, as the warm gold Sun began to rise in the sky, touching the land with its welcomed light.

The villigars of Fernway had risen as well. Only just getting to work tending their crops. Potatoes, carrots, melons, and most importantly, wheat.

Just beyond the fence that protected them, the sounds of burning zombies and skeletons could be heard by the villagers. The noises made their stomachs churn with unease. It was in their DNA to survive, to hide, and to stay in their houses until the day came again. But their duty was to tend to the crops and the village as long as they could. If that meant getting up early and having to listen to those Notch awful sounds, then so be it.

Besides living in such scary conditions, many of the villagers in Fernway were for the most part content.


Except one.


Yugi Moto Sat in front of the grave silently. He was sitting in a fetal position, staring and the stone in front of him. He had probably been sitting there for a fair 15 minutes, just letting his mind wander. His purple eyes drifting over the inscription on the front for what seemed to be the hundredth time.


"Here lies Solomon Moto. Age 78."


Yugi`s grandpa had died a little over 4 months ago. He had passed away in his sleep. "Old age." The other villigars had said. "Your grandfather was lucky." He curled his lip bitterly. Lucky. So death was lucky? Not being able to say goodbye was lucky? Passing on without anyone you loved near you was LUCKY!?

He let out a slow, shaky breath. He had to think rationally. Many villigars died horrible, painful deaths. A human dying of old age was rare. He knew he should be glad his grandpa had died in peace, but the thought of never being able to see his again left a massive hole in his heart.


A clanging cow bell like noise sounded from the village behind him. Yugi raised his head and glanced back at the village. It was time for the younger members of the village to get ready for work. With an unwilling sigh, he pulled himself to his feet. His muscles were stiff from sitting in the cold grass for so long. The cold from the earth and seeped into the seat of his pants, and a deep chill and settled in his bones.

After a big stretch, yugi looked back down at his grandpa's grave.

"See you tomorrow grandpa." He murmured, and turning and making his was to Fernway.


Fernway was an odd villigars in the fact that it sat in a small clearing the very center of a huge forest. The village was surrounded on all sides by trees and shrubbery of every sort. Some would describe it as a wall of plant life that surrounded the small village. Most humans would have built elsewhere, for within most forests (especially one this massive.) Their were shady places for monsters to hide. The only reason Fernway had been built here, was because of the fertile soil. The crops that grew in Fernway were some of the biggest, healthiest and most plentiful. All thanks to the rush soil within the clearing.

Because the crops here were so good, trade had been set up between Fernway and another village. In exchange for Fernway`s crops, traders would offer coal and iron to help keep them alive.

Because of this new life giving trade system, the villagers needed to protect and preserve their village and their crops.
Every one in the village needed to help. Including the teenagers like Yugi.


Yugi had returned to his house at the edge of the village to get ready for his first chore. The house was eerily quiet now that he was the only one living in it. He tried to ignore the empty feeling by keeping himself busy getting ready.
He brushed the leafs and grassblades off of his brown tunic and grabbed a long, smooth stick with a metal point at the end. Next, and pulled out a pair of leather gloves and a bag from one of the many chests in his home. As he was putting on some leather boots, there was a knock at the door.

"Hang on!" Yugi yelled, as he fastened the last strap on his boot. As soon as he had finished he got up, grabbed his stuff, and walked quickly towards the door.

Yugi stepped out onto the front porch and shut the door behind him. He turned and smiled as he saw who had been knocking.

Tea Gardener leaned against the porch railing. She wore a brown tunic similar to bis, but s bit shorter. In her hands she held the same sharpened stick and bag.

She smiled brightly at him. Blue eyes lighting up a bit.

"Morning yugi. Ready to get to work?"

Yugi gave a half smile and nodded. "Sure."

Tea nodded and pushed herself from the railing before trotting off the porch and out to the village. "Good! You'll be happy to know that there shouldn't be to many corpses to clean up today."



                          ***



"Ugh!" Yugi clamped his mouth shut as he picked up a particularly rancid piece of rotten flesh with his stick. With a grimace, he dropped it into his bag, and glanced around in search of his next target.

It was the duty of the teenagers in Fernway to clean up whatever monster bodies were left in the village permitted. Anything the local village golem killed needed to be cleaned up

"Relax!" Tea called out, picking up some skeleton bones and placing them in her own bag. "Were almost done. Then you can go back to being a recluse again." Yugi rolled his eyes. Though he had to admit, she wasn't wrong. He had been hiding in his house more often then usual. Usually he would hide because of the bullies that tormented him. Yugi was at the bottom of the pecking order, and everyone knew it. But now he avoided contact with people in general. Hiding in his house and reading his grandpa's old notes.


Maybe he was reclusive...


"Does it worry you that there are so few corpses out here Tea?" Yugi asked, noticing how close they were to being done. It usually took them till noon, but it was still early in the morning, and nearly all the monster remains had been cleaned up.

Tea nodded. Her eyes became clouded with worry. "Yeah. The fewer killed monsters, the more their are still out there. It also means that our golem isn't holding up as long as we had hoped..."

Yugi swallowed nervously and glanced around.

It didn't take long for him to spot the village golem.

And what a sight it was.

Most golems had large White iron bodies, with massive fists and front arms, and a few vines on them to keep them held together.

But their golem looked very different...

Instead of standing up straight and alert, their golem was hunched over a bit, making its front arms drag slightly across the ground. It's gate was lopsided, making it limp and jerk along when it walked, to the point where it was almost too uncomfortable to watch. The vines that usually were suppose to be cut and cleqn now had completely taken over the golem`s right half, making it look more like a walking Bush then a humanoid golem.

It's red eyes were dull and faded, and Yugi always feared that they would just go out completely.

"It's old." Tea said, following Yugi`s gaze. "It's not as fast or as strong as it used to be either..." "No kidding." Yugi murmured, still watching the golem wander the village.

There was a long pause before Tea added quietly. "It's also becoming confused." Yugi blinked and stared over at Tea in alarm. "What? What do you mean confused?" Tea sigh and continued picking up the last of the monster carnage off the ground. As she did this, she explained.

"I over heard my dad talking with some of the other village elders last night..."

Yugi nodded. Tea`s father was one of the village elders, a small council that made the major decision making for the village.

"They were talking about the golem. I know I should have listened in, but I was curious." *she turned and stared directly at Yugi, making him shudder by their intensity. "They said the the golem took a swing at one of its handlers."

Yugi`s eyes widened in horror. "It attacked a human!?" He hissed quietly to Tea. She nodded.

They both glanced over at the golem again, then back at each other.

"Golems aren't suppose to hit HUMANS!" Yugi whispered nervously.

"I know," Tea answered. "That's why I went and snuck a book from my dad's library. Apparently, golems become confused as they age. If they're not prepared or replaced, then they could end up getting friend and foe mixed up..."

Yugi licked his lips nervously. "D-do we have any iron to replace it?or at least repair it?" He asked shakely.

Tea shook her head. "Were on our last reserves. We hardly have enough to repair our tools." She sighed and stared off into the woods.
"If only the iron traders came back..."

Yugi nodded. The traders that usually came to the village to trade iron for crops hadn't come in about 3 months, and the village was becoming desperate. Everyday, Yugi looked to the trade road that went from Fernway and spiralled into the woods, and hoped to see a wagon of iron approaching. But alas, such a sight had not been seen in so long. Without the iron, the Fernway villigars couldn't repair their tools or replace their golem.
They were desperate.

"Why do you think the iron stopped coming?" Yugi asked, gazing into the woods.

Tea shrugged and tied up her bag. "I don't know. All I know is that we get our iron from one village." She nodded at the trading road. "A large mining city called Ironclad. It's built on the other side of the Mountain."

Yugi shivered and looked up from the forest. A few miles away, a massive mountain forwarded above the forest. It was one of the only ones for miles around, and it overlooked almost everything.

Unlike many other mountains, it was covered from top to bottom with trees and plant life, making it almost look like a giant plant its self.

"My dad says he went to Ironclad once. He said it sits right on the other side of the Mountain in its shadow, and that it's at the edge of a plains biome."

Yugi nodded. "My grandpa went there too. He said that it's massive, and that it's where all the iron in our region comes from."
After a pause Yugi spoke again. "Maybe something happened in Ironclad to make the iron production stop coming to Fernway?"

Tea shrugged again. "Maybe. But no one here is brave enough to travel there and find out what." She gently took the back of dead monster part out of Yugi`s hAnd. "I can take these." She said with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. You can go back to your reclusive ways again." After a short pause she continued. "You know, my family is have a huge dinner tonight. Your more then welcome to come join us you know."

Yugi smiles and shook his head. "Thanks kind of you, but I think I'll pass."

She frowned. "Are you sure? I'd hate the idea of you eating alone in your house... Again."

"Honestly Tea, I'm fine." He said softly.

She said and shook her head. "Okay. My offer still stands though, as it always does. You know where I live. I'll see you." With that she spun around, and made her way towards the trash pile. Yugi watched her go before turning and making his way towards his own house. He felt bad for turning Tea down. But he would only succeed in making things awkward.
Yugi always felt Tea`s father didn't really like him, but he always tried to ignore it.

He leaps onto the porch of his house, and with a final glance behind him, he entered and shut the door.




                                   ***




The night, Yugi made himself a small dinner of bread, potatoes, and a small pitcher of milk. Nothing fancy. With a sigh, he carried his meal over go a window and sat down. He liked looking outside as he ate. It distracted him from the fact that he was eating alone.

The stars shone brightly in the sky, and the half moon hung like a beautiful silver ornament. Not a single cloud was in the glittering night sky. Yugi could see the occasional flash of glowing red eyes from within the trees

Monsters.

Yugi glanced to another part of the village. The hulking silhouette of the iron golem clunked along slowly. Every movement it made made Yugi wince. It's eyes seemed dulled and drowsy, though it was hard to tell from this distance.

"We need iron..." Yugi murmured to himself as he took a bite of his dinner. After watching the golem for a while, he turned his attention to something else.

Yugi fixed his eyes and an area on the horizon, where the stars suddenly disappeared.

The Mountain`s silhouette.

Yugi blinked and recalled many of the stories he had heard about the Mountain. He remember his grandpa telling him tales of explorers going up and never coming back down. Stories about how terrifying monsters lived within its caves. How the bottom of the Mountain was littered with the bones of unlucky miners, washed down by the rain from the mountain's top, where they had presumably died.

Yugi even recalled hearing stories of a stronghold hidden within the mountain's maze like cave systems.
He didn't doubt it. The Mountain was certainly big enough to hold such a large building.

But Yugi was more concerned about what was on the other side of the Mountain.

Why had the iron stopped coming in from Ironclad?

Was there a shortage of iron? Had there been a cave in? Perhaps they had forgotten about them. He shivered at the thought.

Notch knows what had happen. But Yugi would have to have faith that the iron would return soon, and that everything would return to normal again...


Yugi soon finished eating, and placed his dirty dish in a cauldron of water. "I'll wash it in the morning..." he murmured to himself. He got undressed, and slipped into a white night shirt and shorts.

He quietly slipped into bed and was just about to turn off the lights, when he noticed something on his night stand.

It was a note.

Yugi smiled softly as he reached for it. With careful precision, he opened it, and read the letter quietly.


"Dear Yugi.

I hope this letter finds you well. I'm sorry I wasn't able to take you with me this time, but I can't have you traveling when you have such a nasty cold. The desert is quite a beautiful place, I must take you here as soon as possible. The village in which I'm staying at has such a wonderful view! (The women here aren't to bad looking either! Haha!)

Anyways. I'll be sure to bring you back a souvenir. Next time I promise to take you with me on my next exploration. Just be sure not to get sick again.


With much love, Grandpa."



He had never taken him on that trip he promised...

He had died before he could fulfil it.


Yugi smile and bit his lip as he tried to keep his tears from spilling over.

"I miss you grandpa. I love you..." he murmured, holding the letter close.

He carefully folded the letter and placed it upon his nightstand. He turned out the light and curled up in his bed, staring out the window and into the starry sky.

Was his grandpa watching from somewhere up in those glittering specks?
It was a question yugi always thought about before falling asleep.

He felt so alone without him...




                          NEXT TIME ON TEOIC!
                             
                               CHAPTER 1
                         
                              SCAPE GOAT

The village becomes more and more tense as the days pass on, and still no iron has come in from Ironclad! The adults aren't the only ones feeling the effects of the lack of iron. The bullies of the village are becoming more and more aggressiveness well, and Yugi is the first victim they go for! But when a particularly terrible bully named Ushio tries to
Force Yugi into giving up his grandpa's iron sword, something goes                    
        Horribally wrong. And it may just cost Yugi his life...


                       Wanna know what happened?
                   Find out in the next installment of
                        THE ENDER OF IRONCLAD!