i think i'm gonna de-canonize the Forgotten Sibling one. It doesn't fit what I think I'm gonna do now.

The following is an excerpt from a text found in the libraries of King Joel of Mezalea.

The Legend Of Hermitcraft
It was told that there was once a place known as Hermitcraft, famous across all lands for its enormous, amazing builds, said to be "of a scale and magnificence too great to put into words. No written text can nor shall it ever do this land justice, for it is beyond any description." Whether or not this place was ever real is not known.

Many believe that a place called Hermitcraft did exist. Tales passed down by elders mention it as a great land, welcoming and safe for all. It was a haven for all sorts of people, and yet it was kept orderly and happy. Hybrids, humans, criminals, and a variety of others lived in great harmony, if the tales are to be believed.

Yet there is no evidence of it today. No one knows why, when, or, or how it vanished, but it clearly does not exist now. There are almost no traces of it vanishing, save for one concerning, unfinished note found deep in the Mojang Official Archive. A warning; the following may be disturbing to some.

-cannot stop him. I have failed. My - - is gone. The - - I once knew is never returning. I have sa- - the souls of - - and I am praying that they, at least, may get a s- -d chance, even if I myself have failed too badly. I would n- -prised if that was the case-

This fragmented letter was noted as the last trace of this once-great land. It certainly paints an interesting picture. Perhaps the mystery of Hermitcraft will one day be solved, but until then, it will remain simply the story of a lost civilization.

There wasn't so much as a rustle of leaves as Xisuma carefully tiptoed through Mythland. Two months. It had been two months since Scott had vanished, and Xisuma hadn't gone a day without trying his hardest to find him. Xornoth himself hadn't been seen since, which was more than a little worrying. What was he doing if he wasn't trying to use Scott as a lure?

His answer came sooner than he would have liked in the form of a lithe figure appearing seemingly out of nowhere and leveling a dagger to Xisuma's throat. Xisuma froze, his deep brown cloak swishing to a standstill behind him. "Uh... hello?"

"What are you doing here?" they inquired curiously, head tilting. The dark hood of their own hood covered their features and Xisuma didn't recognize the voice.

"I'm looking for my brother," Xisuma gave them the same explanation he'd given everyone he met for the last two months.

"Who might your brother be?"

Xisuma's first instinct was to cheekily reply, "Which one?" But as always, he bit his tongue and replied more sensibly. "Scott Void, elf, cyan hair, about six years younger than me."

They considered this for a moment, then lowered the dagger. "Your name?"

"Xisuma, he/him."

They nodded, pushing back their hood to reveal striking silver hair held back by a dark headband, mismatched eyes with one being black and one being a strange dark red, and a mask pulled up covering the bottom half of their face. "Etho, he/him."

Xisuma took that moment to note Etho's outfit; full long sleeves, adventurer's boots, fingerless gloves, and a vest with too many pockets to count. Everything was dyed a deep black, even his light cloak, not feathered in the same way Xisuma's was. Etho seemed to be studying him in a similar way, assessing him. This man was clearly a skilled fighter; Xisuma would bet his life's savings (which, admittedly were not much) that Etho had hidden knives strapped to his legs, arms, and wrists.

"I know where your brother is," Etho told him after a minute of both of them observing the other.

Xisuma instantly replied. "Where?"

"See, I'm not sure that's information I'm going to give to just anyone, especially when it's something I have over a prince," Etho told him deviously. Ah, so he knew that much about them.

"What do you want for the information?" Xisuma asked. He'd do almost anything Etho demanded of him now; all he wanted was Scott safe.

Etho paused, twirling his dagger casually. It was a power move, Xisuma knew. Here Etho was telling him that not only did he know how to use the weapon, but he knew how to handle it well enough to twirl it so nonchalantly that you'd think it was nothing more than a kid's toy.

"I'd say... your help in escaping Mythland," Etho told him. And Xisuma didn't know how to respond to that. Of all the things he'd expected Etho to say, that was not one of them. He'd expected Etho to want money, or weapons, or information, or maybe Xisuma's life in return, all of which Xisuma would have given.

"Pardon?" Xisuma replied, reeling.

"Our king is insane," Etho informed him matter-of-factly. "I'm technically free to leave him, but there's no real leaving now. He's got us trapped."

"Us?" Xisuma asked.

"All of Mythland," Etho told him. "Everyone."

"You tell me where Scott is, I'll take you with us," Xisuma decided after a moment. What harm could it do? He wasn't going to refuse, anyway. Not when Scott's life was on the line.

"Deal," Etho slipped the dagger he was twirling into a sheath on his belt, then held out his hand. Xisuma took it and they shook.

"Where is he?" Xisuma demanded as soon as Etho had released him.

"King Sausage is keeping him in the dungeons beneath his home," Etho replied. "It may be relevant that there's another person down there, too."

"Who?" Xisuma asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen them. But I've heard them mentioned, and I know it's someone other than your brother," Etho informed him.

Xisuma nodded. "Thank you. Will you be helping me rescue Scott?"

"I'm already a traitor," Etho shrugged. "Sure."

"Alright. Let's go," Xisuma headed off, but Etho didn't follow.

"Are you sure you want to go right now?" he asked.

"Yes," Xisuma said unhesitatingly. "I'm not leaving him alone a moment more than I have to."

"No, I mean, there's someone coming," Etho said. He gestured towards the path in front of Xisuma. "A group of people."

"Let's see who it is," Xisuma sighed. He didn't want to wait. But he couldn't help Scott if he got himself kidnapped. Etho led him into the bushes and they crouched down, waiting for the others to come.

Grian flitted anxiously around above the path, glancing into every tree and bush they passed. Below him, Iskall watched concernedly. "Hey, you okay there?"

"Yep," Grian called back unthinkingly. He wasn't, really, constantly on edge since the day Impulse had... been taken, as Grian was choosing to call it.

"You sure?" Iskall insisted. Grian sighed.

"Yes," he said. He wasn't. They didn't need to know that.

"Okay, then," Iskall looked back to the ground and Grian resumed his searching.

They'd just entered Mythland when Grian's keen eyes spotted something. He stopped and looked back at the thing he'd seen, eyes widening when he realized he'd actually seen a figure. "Guys, wait!"

The others turned back to him and Grian pointed to the bushes where the figure was hiding. Doc and Ren tried to go straight towards them, but False grabbed them with a shake of her head. Grian dove down silently towards them and was met with a second, previously unseen person leaping up at him. With a flap of his wings, Grian swooped out of the dive and backed off, hovering midair. The figure below him looked up at him, face covered by a cloak.

"Who are you?" Grian demanded. The figure gave him no answer.

From behind him stepped another figure, hands up in a pose of surrender. "I'm Xisuma Void. Who are you?"

False gasped. "Xisuma Void, as in Prince Xisuma Void?"

Xisuma nodded. "Who are you?"

"Grian of the Lost Empire, he/him, and these are... friends," Grian told him.

"Iskall, they/them, and these are my friends Doc and False," Iskall spoke up.

False nodded. "She/her."

"He/him," Doc said grumpily, still fighting for False to let him go.

"I'm Ren, he/him," Ren added, cheerfully as always.

Xisuma looked around. "He/him. And what are you here for?"

"We're here to recruit King Sausage for-" Before Grian could even finish his sentence, the other person with Xisuma interrupted.

"Don't bother, he'll reject it."

"How do you know?" Grian challenged.

"I'm Etho, he/him, and I've been a King's Assassin for four years. He's insane, corrupted by the demon's promises of power. There is no reasoning with him."

"We can try-" Grian protested.

"He'll just kill you," Etho warned.

"What are you out here for, Prince Xisuma?" False asked.

"No need to use a title, just call me Xisuma. I'm here to save my brother."

"Isn't Scott missing?" Ren asked, tilting his head in a very puppylike way.

"He's been kidnapped by the demon," Xisuma told them. "He's here in Mythland."

"What if we help you rescue him? Maybe we can rescue King Sausage too," Iskall suggested.

Etho sighed. "There is no rescuing King Sausage. But you can try if you want."

Grian grinned determinedly. "Then try we will."