"How in the name of Galan did you get this ship over a mile away from the shoreline?" Was Thor's first question when he saw the Bay Glider. Lauren smirked.

"Climb aboard and we'll show you." She said. Odin rushed to the ladder and climbed up. Thor followed while Blazer simply floated up. Me and Lauren climbed up last. Odin stood at the wheel pretending to steer, Thor stood at the helm looking at Blazetown, and Blazer just hovered.

"Can I have the wheel back?" Lauren asked Odin, and he stepped aside, embarrassed. She started preflight preparations, and I walked to Odin.

"Are you scared of heights?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"I've never been high enough to say I am. Why?" He asked, and the ship lurched up. He slipped and fell with a shout. Thor stood, unmoved. Odin looked over the rail with wide eyes.

"How!?" He asked and looked at me enthusiastically. I shrugged.

"I have no idea. Argenta invented it. We just stole one when they attacked Soulfire City." I said.

"Is that where we're going?" Odin asked.

"I have no idea, because Lauren never tells us where we're flying to." I said, making sure she heard me. She shot me a look.

"We're not going back to Cardonia yet. We're going to the Ghasts first." She said.

"We're going to the Soul Sand Scorch." Thor said. Not a question. Lauren nodded, and Thor went back to watching over the rail. I walked over to him.

"You don't talk much. Where are you from?" I pressed.

"I come from the arena. Odin is my younger brother. I don't like to talk, just to do. That's all you need to know about me. If you want to talk to someone, talk to Odin." Thor said. I nodded, deciding not to press the matter.

I walked over to the wheel, and just stood there for a second, watching our new crew. Thor and Odin stood, talking quietly, and Blazer had decided to go below deck to find his room.

"Are you gonna tell me our plan? Because I have no idea what your silence means." I said. She snorted.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to ask. Like I said, we're headed to the Soul Sand Scorch, which is, if you've been living under a rock, Ghast territory. After that we're headed to the Nethers Heart mountains to find your friends. Then it's back to Cardonia, then wherever we're needed." Lauren said. I nodded.

"Now, get some rest. We have a long way to go." She said, and I went below deck. As I walked to my room, I counted the doors to see how many rooms we had. We had seven. Almost enough for everyone we would be picking up. A Ghast, Big Doug, and Sarah. Thor and Odin would have to share a room.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, the brothers walked down.

"If everything goes to plan, you two are gonna have to share a room." I said. Thor nodded, and they went into a vacant one. I went to my room and sat on the edge. I looked at my bag in the corner and came to a decision. We would be spending who knows how long living on the Bay Glider. Might as well make it feel like home.

I took my map of the Nether and hung it on the bear wall. I took my double katana stand and mounted it right below that. I put my katanas on. I took a picture of me and my friends and put it on the nightstand. I sighed and lied down. I extinguished the lamp and closed my eyes. Sleep found me quickly, and I slipped into a fitful rest.

. . .

"Son." The voice said, and I sat up in a black void. A thin layer of oil sat beneath me, and a veil of black mist lay heavy in the air.

"Dad?" I asked softly. A pigman walked from the mist, but he was not my father. He was short and had a metal backpack. A silver crown sat on his shiny, bald head. A sword lay on his waist, radiating sheer power. Even though I could look over his head, he made me feel small.

"Come find me in Soulheim, son. The gods await." The pigman said and turned back into the mist.

"Wait! Why did you call me son!? Why do I need to go to Soulheim!? Who are you!?" I yelled after the pigman and ran after him. But he was gone. Whispers surrounded me, chanting one thing: "Silver-Borne... Silver-Borne."

I fell to my knees, the whispering overwhelming me. They grew in intensity, and covering my ears did nothing. I clenched my eyes shut, my head feeling like it was being ripped apart by the now screams of "Silver-Borne! Silver-Borne!

. . .

I jerked awake in a cold sweat, breathing hard, my wrist burning. It took me a second to get my bearings. I remembered that dream vividly, and under a strange prompting, I reached into my bag. I hesitated, looking at the part of my wrist that hurt. I gasped. A little sword shape with a lightning bolt around it had seemed to have burned itself into my wrist. I hesitantly reached into my bag, and pulled a book out that I knew wasn't there last I had looked. It was titled "Gods of the Nether". I flipped open to a random page, and my breath caught. The pigman I had seen in my dream was right there. The book even gave him a name: The Silver King, God of Storms and mischief. And a message was scrawled right under the name:

"I await you in Soulheim."

I flipped to the next page and was greeted by a painting of a beautiful city with a grand castle overlooking it. I read the paragraph:

"Soulheim is the homeworld of the gods, and the capital of reality. Galan rules justly from within his castle with his fellow gods. The only mortal being who know the location is Tjis, The Ghast Khan."

I stood up straight. We were headed there right now! I was about to rush and tell Lauren about it when a feeling stopped me. This was something between me and the Khan. I put the book back and headed out.

The ship was completely silent. I crept across the hall, trying not to wake anyone. I slipped above deck, and saw Lauren was still standing at the wheel. She looked absolutely exhausted. Sighed, I walked over.

"What are you still doing up here?" I asked. She kept looking forward.

"I've got to. Who else is gonna fly?" She yawned.

"C'mon, go to bed. I'll take over." I said.

"You sure? You need sleep too." She said. I shrugged.

"I'm fine. I already got as much as I am tonight. Plus, you need it a lot more. You haven't slept for two days." I said. She nodded tiredly.

"Thank you." She said quietly and headed below deck. I stood in front of the wheel, keeping my eyes forward.

. . .

As the gentle light of the glowstone slowly intensified, signaling day, members of the crew slowly came above deck. Lauren was the last, looking extremely well rested. She came up to the helm.

"Would you mind sailing for a bit longer? Just until we reach the Scorch." She asked. I nodded, and she smiled gratefully.

"I'll bring you some breakfast." She said and walked off. For the first time, I felt a spark of friendship between us.

She came back a few minutes later with a plate with a steamy roll and a hunk of hoglin pork.

"Here." She said and pressed a button. The wheel immediately locked, and the ship stayed perfectly on course.

"Autopilot. Pretty creative." She said. I nodded and took a bite of the pork.

"You should come sit down. We would only need you up here when we–" She got cut off by the blistering wind picking up, sending the ship into a deep nosedive. I cursed, unlocked the wheel, and tried to stabilize us. Thor had grabbed a rope, tied it around one wrist, and was holding Odin under his other arm. Blazer shot backwards into the doorway, holding himself there. We were facing straight at the brown, sandy ground far, far below.

"Get as low as possible! The wind is strongest up here!" Lauren had to scream over the wind for me to hear her. I pulled on the wheel as hard as possible while guiding it down. The ground rushed up at us fast. Too fast. The height gauge shot down:

1200 meters

1000 meters

500 meters

"Dean!" Lauren screamed. Gritting my teeth, I managed to pull even harder.

100 meters

50 meters

10 meters

5 meters

The ship suddenly leveled out at two meters. Me and Lauren sighed in relief. Lauren set it to autopilot. We panted.

"Slow down a little bit." She said. I tried to let go of the wheel, but my fingers felt glued to it.

"Um." I said helplessly, and she helped me pull my hands off. I slowed us down and collapsed. Lauren collapsed next to me. We laid there for a moment, breath heaving. I grinned.

"Wanna go again?" I asked, and she punched me in the shoulder, but she was laughing too.

"Never again. Never." She laughed. Thor and Odin rushed onto the deck.

"What just happened?" Thor demanded.

"The winds in the Scorch are the fastest in the Nether, and the higher you get the faster it moves. And we were practically at the ceiling. Not even the Ghasts can fly up there without crashing." Lauren groaned and turned to me.

"Sorry. I should have warned you last night." She said, wincing.

"You were tired. I understand." I said and stood on shaky legs. She shook her head.

"That's not a valid excuse." She countered. Before I could respond, the Bay Glider started shaking. Cursing, I grabbed the wheel.

"Try and pull up." Thor grunted. I pulled the lever up, and the shaking subsided a little.

"Soul Sands pulling us down. I didn't think it would affect–" Lauren started, and Thor cut her off.

"Never assume." He said, and pointed to our right, "There's a skiff dock over there. Aim for it." He grunted, and I spun the wheel. A town on stilts sat fuzzy from the heat on the horizon. I guided us towards us.

Lauren grabbed a spyglass and looked forwards.

"Keep course. It's closer than it looks." She said and took the wheel. I looked at the little firebrand on my wrist.

"I'm coming, Soulheim." I said to myself.

. . .

Lauren was right. I had thought it would take at least an hour to reach the town, but it only took about fifteen minutes. The townspeople gave us odd looks as we pulled in. A particularly hefty piglin stood on the docks.

"I thought that hunk of junk was some kind of skiff, but now I can see it's some kind of Argenti crap." He grumbled in a superior tone. We climbed out, and he looked at Odin.

"The frick is that thing?" He said, and Odin recoiled. Thor stood up straight, and the piglin stepped back.

"That 'thing' is my brother. Now, I recommend you go back to whatever tavern you crawled from and hunt for more sugar biscuits before I put you in the sand." Thor growled, and the piglin paled. He waddled off, terrified. Another piglin, this one looking a lot like an older version of Thor and Odin strode up to us.

"I was wondering if I would ever see you again, kids. I would think you need a skiff." He said. Odin raised an eyebrow, and a cold look crossed Thor's face.

"I don't need your help, father." He said, and Odin's eyes went wide.

"Dad?" He asked, and stepped forwards. Thor put his arm in front of him.

"You told me he was dead." Odin said accusingly. Thor sighed.

"It would have been better." He said, and turned to their father, "My threat to Uncle stands for you as well." He growled.

"I'm the only person here who sells Skiffs, and the only person in the nether that would give it for free. Consider it as the start of amends." Their dad said.

"There's no amending what you've done." Thor said coldly, and Lauren stepped in.

"Thank you. We'll take a Skiff." She said, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting company you're keeping, son." He said, and Thor whipped his hammer out, pressing it into his chest.

"I'm not your son anymore. This is the last you're going to see of me, or Odin." He hissed. He raised his hands and sighed.

"I know." He said, and threw me a key, "You can leave the ship here. If your headed to the Ghast Castle, Tjis will send someone over to pick it up. And once you're done with the skiff, the ghasts can keep it safe." He said, and Thor lowered the hammer.

"Get out of my sight." He said coldly, and his dad strode off, looking defeated. Odin grabbed Thor's arm.

"You told me he was dead." He pressed.

"Better you think that than the truth." He said, and sighed, "I'll tell you later." He said, and I handed him the key. He grabbed it aggressively and walked to a parked skiff.

"This may take a while to get ready." Thor said. I nodded, and walked into town, exploring. It seemed to be a town primarily of skeletons, so I pulled my hood tighter. The skeletons and the ghasts were in constant conflict over the Scorch, and the skeletons were the wither skeletons' closest allies, like the pigmen and piglins.

Berserker was suddenly ripped from its sheath. I whipped around, drawing a knife from my sleeve. A wither skeleton stood there, admiring it.

"This is a nice katana. Family-owned, possibly, for about six generations. Your mothers, I'm guessing. 18th century, solid gold, full tang, razor sharp, crimson wood handle with silver studs, some glowstone forged inside. Authentic pigman blade, I take it?" He said and handed it back.

"Um. I... I don't really know?" I said, and he chuckled.

"Come inside. I have some deals that may interest you." He said, and before I could protest, He was guiding me into a shop. He closed the door, flipped the sign to closed, and shut the curtains. He turned to me.

"You're lucky you ran into me, pigman. I'm Bram, The Wandering Wither Skeleton." He said, pulling my hood back. I held Berserker up, and Bram laughed.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Blackstone. You can put Berserker down." He said and stepped behind the counter. I resheathed it cautiously, watching his every move.

"I defected from Tartaurus many years ago. Since then, I've established a wandering shop. I collect all sorts of antiques, gear, and clothing. You name it, I have it." He said, and I relaxed a little. Then I frowned.

"How did you know the sword's name?" I questioned.

"Yessir, I can see you're trying to pass as a young piglin. Take these." He avoided the question and plopped a black hoglin fur coat on my shoulders. A small hook hung from the shoulder, and he slipped a battle axe into it. He handed me some fingerless gloves and nodded.

"With the hood up, you'll definitely look like a piglin. As long as no one looks at you too closely." He said and held up a mirror.

I looked completely different. Like a piglin or a brute in training. I nodded.

"Thanks." I said and pulled the hood up. He held out his hand, which I stared at blankly for a few moments.

"Oh! Right! Sorry." I said and grabbed my coin pouch. I had gotten used to people giving me things for free I hadn't even thought to pay.

"You never answered my question. Of how you knew my sword's name." I asked as I counted the coins out. He sighed.

"Some questions are better left unanswered." He said, sounding a thousand years older. I frowned but didn't push further. I handed him the coins. He quickly counted it and nodded.

"Have a good day, Dean. I hope you find whatever you're looking for." Bram said and shook my hand. As I stepped out the door, he called after me, "Oh, and tell Coulter I said hi!" He yelled, and the door snapped shut. I was about to walk back in with a thousand more questions, but the shop started moving backwards on a pair of massive treads. It turned around and was off. I sighed, heading back to the skiff. Lauren gave the receding shop and me an odd look.

"You met the Wandering Wither Skeleton?" She asked, and I nodded. She gave me another odd look before continuing.

"The skiff is ready to go. You prepared to meet Tjis??" She asked. I absentmindedly rubbed the brand on my wrist and nodded.

"Let's go meet the Khan."