1 Bow Before Your King! [Ch. 1]

Plains Biome, OverWorld

687 Years Ago….

There was a time when the OverWorld wasn't so chaotic as it is in the future. A time when blockheads weren't fearing massive, destructive Golem Monsters. There was no EnderBrine. Or NetherBrine. Everything had seemed peaceful; for the most part, that is. While King Miraz ruled over the biomes amass, Stanley and his family were going about their day.

Frederick was carrying freshly cut hay over to the field of hungry cows. Carlily was inside the house, making lunch for the boys while they were working outside. As Frederick was carrying hay bales over to the hungry cows, Stanley was occupied hurdling the sheep into the barn. Today was the day the sheep were to be sheared. It was a busy day on the farm, indeed.

Ruffis and Max were the family's dogs. They were helping Stanley herd the sheep back into the barn. They tried to flee and escape being sheared, but Ruffis and Max wouldn't let them get away that easily. Every time one tried to run away, either Ruffis or Max would growl and bark loudly at them.

BAA! BAA! BAA!

The sheep were clearly unhappy. They had every reason to be. Being sheared was no fun, but it must be done.

BARK! BARK!

As the last remaining sheep made their way into the barn, Stanley walked over to the tall, red wooden doors. He grabbed them and pulled them shut. Once that was done, he brushed his hands off and sighed. The sheep continued to baa inside the barn. He glanced down at the ground at Max and Ruffis. Stanley padded his hip a couple of times as he began to walk away, making his way over to Frederick to help him finish feeding the cows.

MOOO! MOOO!

"Done already are we?" Frederick asked. Stanley shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.

Stanley was wearing brown pants and a shirt that was red. He had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was the type of blockhead to help others that were in need. For instance, if his mother Carlily needed help inside the house, he would go and help her with whatever it was she needed assistance with. Not only was Stanley a helpful and handy blockhead, but he was also very caring. Not only did he express his compassion, but he also expressed the love he had towards his parents. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't exist today.

He did, however, wonder what the OverWorld would've been like if he hadn't been born. How his parents' lives would've been different. What was the OverWorld like before he came to be? What animals roamed the biomes? What evil threatened the OverWorld's existence? The answers to all of these questions lied in a book.

The book was written long ago, by a blockhead named Thomas. Supposedly, the story was about Stanley's grandfather. His grandfather's name was Jack. Stanley knew very little about him and wanted to learn more about him. But every time he tried asking questions about him, Frederick and Carlily would shut him down. What were they trying to hide from him? Was there something they didn't want him to know? Stanley just wanted to know more about Jack. Who he was. What his life was like. Why did he disappear?

"Yup," Stanley said, "thanks to Max and Ruffis."

"Go inside and see if your mother needs help," Frederick said as he tossed a bunch of hay into the feeder, "I'm almost done. I'll be in soon."

Stanley nodded his head. Max and Ruffis followed close behind him as he made his way over to the house. He grabbed the handle on the oakwood door and pushed the door open. He walked inside. Carlily was standing over by the furnace, watching the bread cook inside of the furnace. The smell of freshly baked bread spelled pleasantly. It also made Stanley hungry.

"Do you need any help?" Stanley asked.

Carlily looked over her left shoulder and back at Stanley, who was standing over by a wooden chest. Above the chest, on the cobblestone wall, was a spruce wood sign. Carlily shook her head slowly and smiled.

"I'm just about done," she said as she reached into the furnace carefully to grab two loaves of bread out of it. She briefly looked back at Stanley and smiled. "But thank you sweetheart for asking. Is your father almost done? Lunch is about ready."

Stanley nodded his head. "Yes. He'll be in soon."

"Good," Carlily said as she turned around, with the bread loaves in her hands, and walked over to the table. The table was made from oak wood planks. The three chairs were also crafted out of oakwood planks. Carlily carefully set the bread down on the table. That's when she realized that there was something Stanley could help her with. She had forgotten to get water for them to drink.

"You know what. There is something you can do. Can you go get us some water from the well outback? There are glass bottles in that chest over there," Carlily said. Stanley turned around to look over at the chest. That was the chest where the story about his grandfather was stored in. The story of his parents was keeping him from reading. This was his chance. This was the moment he could take the book and read it once his parents went to bed. Does he dare even try? Would either of them even notice the book was gone?

"Thanks, honey," Carlily said.

"You're welcome," Stanley responded.

Stanley then walked over to the chest, quickly glancing outside through the window. Frederick was still hauling hay over to the cow's feeder. He opened the chest and stared down into it. Everything from sheets of paper to dye and tools were stored here. He then saw the book. The book's cover was red, while the pages were light, dirty brown. The book was so old. That's why the pages were turning brown.

Resting at the bottom of the chest, under all of the iron tools, paper, and dyes were three glass bottles. All of them were empty. He reached down into the chest to carefully take the three bottles out of it. Before he closed the chest, he stared down at the book. He was hesitant about if he should take it or not.

"Common honey," Carlily said, "that water isn't going to get itself."

"Sorry mother," he responded as he turned his head around to look over his right shoulder. She was still busy prepping the table, pulling the three chairs out from under the table. Carlily looked up and over at Stanley. He gently closed the chest and walked over to the door. Once the door was opened, he quickly walked outside.

Carlily raised one eyebrow, wondering why it had taken him so long to grab the bottles out of the chest. As much as she wanted to know why it wasn't important at the moment. She'll just ask him about that later. As she pulled the last chair out from under the table, Frederick came walking back into the house. He immediately glanced over at Carlily and smiled. He sighed.

"It smells so good in here," Frederick said, "I'm famished."

Carlily looked over at him and giggled and shook her head. She dramatically rolled her eyes.

"You boys are always hungry," she said, "is there ever a time when you're not hungry?" Frederick shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

"No," Frederick responded, "Stanley and I always love a good meal. What's for lunch today?"

"Bread, cooked lamb meat, and carrots," Carlily responded, "Stanley's out back fetching us some water."

Frederick brushed his hands clean of any dirt that was on them. But brushing them didn't get all of the dirt off. So he walked over to the cauldron, putting his hands on the warm water. He began scrubbing them until they were cleaned enough to his standards. As he was washing his hands, he looked to his left and over at Carlily.

"Sweetheart," he said.

"Yes?" Carlily responded.

"I think it's time," Frederick said.

"Time for what?" She asked.

"To let Stanley read the story. He's old enough now to where he could understand what the story was about. I know we've procrastinated over the years, but he deserves to know the truth about Jack," Frederick mentioned.

Carlily scoffed and shook her head once more. She personally felt that Stanley wasn't ready to read it yet. But she knew she couldn't hide the truth from him forever. He's going to find out one way or another. It's only a matter of time before he does.

"Are you sure he's ready for that?" Carlily asked, "does he really need to know about Jack? Why does he need to read it?"

Frederick took his hands out of the water. He then walked back over to the table. He began helping Carlily finish setting the table. As they were doing that, Stanley was pouring water into the last glass bottle. When he was done filling the last bottle, he put the cork back into the top of the bottle. As Stanley made his way back to the house, something caught his attention. To his right were a couple of small oak trees. There was a hooded blockhead standing right under the tree.

She was wearing a long purple throw-over coat with a hood. In her right hand was a tall wooden staff. At the top of her staff was a shiny green emerald. The only reason Stanley knew this blockhead was a female, was because her long blonde hair was sticking out from her hood. As hard as he tried, he wasn't able to identify her as well enough as he had hoped. That was all thanks to the hood covering half of her face.

"Who are you?" Stanley shouted, "and why are you staring at me?"

She didn't respond. Stanley stared at her as she turned around, proceeding to walk back into the dense and dark forest. That was a bit odd, don't you think? Stanley brushed his curiosity off and continued back to the house. As he walked on the side of the house, he heard horses trotting and a blockhead shouting.

He knew exactly who it was that was shouting. He put his back up against the cobblestone wall, peeking around the corner. Three blockheads were all riding their horses. One had a white-haired horse, the other had a brown horse, and the last one had a black horse.

"Frederick and Carlily," King Miraz said, "your payment is due."

Stanley heard the door. The three horses came to a complete stop. King Miraz hopped off of his horse, while two guards remained on their horses. King Miraz looked directly into Frederick and Carlily's eyes. His look was intimidating as is.

"You said we'd have more time before you collect our payment," Frederick said.

Miraz stared at Frederick and Carlily. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I changed my mind," he mentioned, "now you guys either pay me or vacate this farm. Your choice. What's it going to be?"

Frederick and Carlily both sighed heavily. They knew they didn't have enough gold to pay him. In fact, they didn't even have any gold. They also figured out what would happen if they didn't give him some gold.

"We don't have any gold at this time," Carlily said, "if you give us some more time, we can get you your gold."

King Miraz shook his head.

"No payment, no place to live. We had an agreement. You either pay up your debt or abandon your farm. You're not special. Everyone else has to pay too. You're not the only ones who have to pay up," King Miraz said.

"If you give us until dusk, we'll get you your payment," Frederick said.

For a moment, King Miraz considered that idea. But in doing so, he also came up with another idea as well. Because their payment was going to be late, he decided that he was going to double their payment amount.

"You have until dusk," King Miraz told them, "when I return, you better have your payment ready. Don't makeup excuses."

King Miraz turned around and walked back over to his black horse. He hoisted himself back up onto the horse. Before leaving, he once more looked down at Frederick and Carlily.

"Tell Stanley I said hi for me would you?" King Miraz said.

Frederick and Carlily nodded their heads. After they did that, the two of them also bowed before him even though they don't like him. The only reason they bowed to him was that they were afraid of what might happen if they don't. As much as they hated him, they forced themselves to pay their respects to him.

"Remember," King Miraz said, "no payment by dusk, you lose your farm."

"We'll have your payment ready. Don't worry. You'll get your gold," Frederick told him.

King Miraz scoffed as his horse turned around. Together, he and his guards began vacating their farm. Once they were gone, Stanley came walking over to his parents. He still had the water bottles in his hands. Frederick and Carlily turned around to look back at Stanley.

"What did he want now?" Stanley asked, curious to know why King Miraz came to the farm.

"Don't worry about him," Frederick said, "what's more important is that you read the story about your grandfather. You've waited long enough. Now that you're old enough, you can read it. I hope you'll understand why we kept you from reading it once you're done with it. It was for your greater good for you."

"Why did you not let me read it in the past, much less ask any questions about him?" Stanley asked.

Frederick and Carlily sighed.

"There are some things that are just best kept out," Carlily said as she began walking over to the house to open the door. When she pushed the door open, she walked inside and over to the chest. After opening the chest, she reached down into it to grab the book. She then pulled her hand out and closed the chest.

When she walked back outside, she approached Stanley with the book in her hands. Stanley grabbed the book and opened it. He began skimming through the pages of the book. Not only was he happy that he could now read the story, but he was also somewhat excited. Now he can finally find out what happened to his great grandfather Jack.

"If you want to know how your grandfather disappeared, you'll have to find a blockhead named Fiona," Frederick said, "she's the one who'll be able to answer your questions. Starting with what happened to Jack."

"Where do I go?" Stanley asked, "or better yet, what biome?"

"The Woodlands biome," Frederick answered, "that's where you'll find her. But be careful okay? The last thing you need right now is to get trapped within a vicious battle." Stanley nodded his head as he closed the book. He put the book back into his inventory for later.

"Don't you worry," he said, "I'll be mindful and aware of my surroundings."

"Now off you go," Frederick said, "your mother and I will be just fine."

Stanley slightly tilted his head and faintly smiled over at them. They could tell he was worried about them. He had heard what King Miraz had told them. That's why he was worried. He didn't want to leave, but his curiosity got the best of him. Diving deep into the past, he'll finally know what happened to Jack.

"Thank you ma and pa," Stanley said. Frederick and Carlily looked into each other's eyes and then back over at Stanley.

"You've waited long enough," Carlily said, "your father and I concluded that it was time to allow you to read about your great grandfather."

Stanley smiled as he turned around to begin walking away from them. Where he was going was extremely far away from the farm. He's going to have to travel through many biomes to get to where he's going. First, he'll trek through the harsh desert biome, then the Jungle biome, and lastly the Mountains biome. Once he travels through those three biomes, he would come across his destination--Fiona's house.

Stanley was very hopeful that this Fiona blockhead would be able to help him. But the only way to find out is to ask her once he arrives. Legend has it that after Jack disappeared, a ferocious and dangerous dragon began wreaking havoc all around the OverWorld. Furthermore, a war had broken out. King Miraz and his army versus the resistance. Battles were constantly being fought all over the OverWorld. Luckily for Stanley and his parents, they haven't seen a battle fought since the war broke out.

The reason the OverWorld is at war is that the native blockheads who lived in these parts were not going to bow down before King Miraz. In fact, they were doing the complete opposite. They opposed King Miraz. A leader he wasn't, a corrupt King he was. These lands didn't need a King, nor a Queen. The OverWorld was peaceful before King Miraz and his people settled down. Every blockhead was thinking the same thing. There was no need for a King.

The OverWorld can manage without him. The only way King Miraz could be overthrown, the resistance needed to build an army, train the blockheads to fight, and prepare them for a gruesome battle. Time was short and running out quickly. Every moment that passed was another moment that King Miraz remained in power. The sooner they could dethrone him, the sooner everything could go back to the way it was before. There was only one problem though. How is the resistance going to assemble an army? How would they be able to prepare them for battle in such a short time? Could a task this big be accomplished? There's only one way to find out.