We were exploring the Nether, occasionally mining Nether Gold for ingots as we traveled deeper into this fiery, unfamiliar land. I couldn't help but feel the presence of someone—or something—watching is, I could sense it was a group of atleast 10 People or things. It wasn't paranoia. The others like Bruce felt it too. Keeping my senses sharp, I quietly warned the group, "We're being watched. Stay calm and act like you don't notice."
Tatsumaki gave me a slight nod, while Peter tightened his grip on his pickaxe, looking ready for anything. We continued forward, passing between two towering pillars of bone blocks. At first, they seemed like a natural formation, but my instincts told me otherwise. Before we could take another step, an arrow shot past us, landing between Hinata's feet. It wasn't meant to harm, but to warn.
A Piglin wearing gold armor and an axe strapped to his back approached with two others trailing behind him. The leader's voice echoed, harsh and authoritative, "Stay back! This is Barbarian territory. Strangers are not allowed."
I raised my hands slightly, signaling that we weren't looking for trouble. The Piglin leader narrowed his eyes, his voice sharp. "Identify yourselves."
"We're travelers," I replied calmly. "We were searching for some Piglins hoping to trade with them."
The leader's face twisted in disgust at the word 'Piglin,' but he composed himself quickly. "What exactly do you need from those insane brutes.?"
"We have gold. We wanted to trade for useful items," I answered, keeping my voice level.
The leader grunted, seemingly unimpressed. "Follow us. But if you show any hostility, you'll be dead before you can blink." While I could easily wipe them out, it wouldn't help us get what we needed. So, I decided to play along.
As we followed them through a long dark tunnel, and finally eventually emerged into a Crimson Forest biome. What we found there was unlike anything I'd seen before. It was a settlement almost lie avillage, built from Crimson Stems and Nether Bricks. The houses were simple yet sturdy, and they were large enough to house entire families. As we walked through the village, the residents stared at us—Piglins, but distinct, with clear male and female features. This wasn't anything like the Mob Piglins from the game. These were sentient beings, living in a society. Were they NPC's
We arrived at what looked like a town hall, its walls made of Nether Bricks, and lava streams flowed around it like a natural defense. The Piglin leader led us inside, where we found an older Piglin with a thick beard, an enchanted gold axe resting beside him. His gold armor gleamed in the light, and a scar ran vertically through his left eye, rendering it shut.
The Piglin leader bowed and left us with the elder. "What do you Overworlders want?" the elder asked, his voice deep and gravelly. "And what are you doing in Barbarian territory?"
I explained that we were searching for some Piglins and were seeking to trade gold with them, but before I could finish, the elder cut me off, a sneer on his face. "Those Piglins?" His tone was filled with disdain. "You'd be better off trading with us."
I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you Piglins as well?"
The elder snorted in disgust. "Do you not know about the Calamity, Overworlder? Has your brain melted from the heat of the Nether?" He shook his head, clearly disappointed in my ignorance.
I tried to stay polite. "We've only recently learned about it. We don't know the full story."
The elder sighed, sitting back in his chair. "Many centuries ago, a purple glow spread throughout the Nether. Our ancestors were curious, enchanted by its light went to find its origin. Those who crossed into the glow were never the same. Some never returned. Others… went insane. A few became cursed, their flesh rotting away, leaving them as undead monsters."
As I listened to his story I could tell it was the same thing but from a different perspective, I connect his story to the one the Librarian villager had told us about the creatures from hell that came out of the glow. It was after all the two sides of the same story—Zombification happened to the Piglins after they entered the Overworld and those who withstood it lost their minds falling to the curse.
The elder continued. "Those who lost their minds now live in the old Bastions, broken by their madness. We who remain call ourselves Barbarians. We're not Piglins anymore, not after the Calamity."
The story expanded my knowledge of Minecraft lore beyond anything the game had ever shown. So, the Piglins had once been sane, but those who went mad now haunted the Bastions, while these 'Barbarians' kept their intelligence.
I leaned forward, curious. "What about the fortresses? Who built them?"
The elder's eyes darkened. "The fortresses were built by the Ancients, warriors who came from the Overworld to understand the Calamity. They were masters of architecture and combat. But the curse fell upon them too, turning them into the Withers."
The revelation left me silent for a moment. The ancient builders who constructed the fortresses had been cursed, just like the Piglins. It was all starting to come together.
The elder must have noticed my contemplation because he changed the subject. "Our village works on three principles. Barbarians can either be hunters, builders, or goldsmiths. Hunters provide food, builders construct our homes and defenses, and goldsmiths craft and trade gold items."
It was a well-organized society, unlike a village in the Overworld, though their jobs were different. The elder gestured to one of his guards. "If you want to trade gold, go to the goldsmith. But remember, if you show hostility, we'll kill you where you stand."
With that, he handed us a book. It was a guide to the Nether's inhabitants, detailing creatures and biomes native to the nether. I took the book, eager to study it later. "Thank you for your hospitality."
The elder grunted, clearly uninterested in pleasantries. "Just don't cause any trouble, Overworlders."