Minecraft the Novel - chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Meditation

As I left the treehouse of Hamish’s, I check if any mobs are around. The surrounding plains are dead silent. The crater is still there, leaving the road asymmetric. Blood puddle has hardened into brown sheen.

“Done with the lesson?” A voice startles me, and I turn back. It is Robert, with a turquoise-blade sword drawn and ready. His iron armor glistens with reflected torchlight.

“Yes.” I reply, and Robert smiles.

“Good.” Robert says. “Then I will accompany you to your next lesson.”

Sylph’s house is built with rather unique design. The bottom part is wide and built with stone slabs. From the stone base, a wooden spiral staircase appears that leads to a grassy dirt cube that are covered with leaves and vines. Streams of water sprouts from the top edges of the cube, forming a giant walls of waterfall that surrounds the staircase. A large garden of reeds, flowers, mushrooms, wheat, pumpkins, and melons surrounds the house.

“Sylph will take care of your knowledge in mod. She is an excellent moderator, but I have to warn you.” Robert announces.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Drink lots of water,” Robert answers. “and eat a lot of snacks. Mod conjuration takes a lot of energy, and you do not want to faint from dehydration.”

The base of Sylph’s house is cold and dry, with a door that leads to the backyard garden and paintings of plants and flowers. In the middle of the base, there is a staircase: the staircase that leads to the dirt cube. The floor glows with illuminating stones. A sign posted on the base of the staircase says: ‘Climb’.

I step on the stairs and the stairs creaks with protest. I carefully walk up the stairs, worried that the stairs might collapse. Creaks grow softer as I go up, however, and when I have reached the top of the staircase, it was silent.

I open the door and stare at the sight. The dirt cube is a massive garden of flowers, trees, and crops, with most of the garden omitted to the outsider’s views. Rivers flow from an artificially-made body of water to crops. An island with a bed, a workbench and a large chest floats motionlessly in the middle of the lake, and on the island sits Sylph Leon.

Sylph resembles an elf: beautiful but strange. Her wavy amber hair with jet black streaks stopping at her frail shoulders, gray, clouded eyes, and delicate figure all harmonizes into one blocky person.

“Welcome.” Sylph greets.

“Hi.” I reply. “Where do I sit?”

“You need not to move.” Sylph answers as she draws a simple drawing on the dirt floor of the island, and articulates “Selfa Nacee”

The drawing carved on the ground glow and fades as the lake water splits to the sides, exposing wet muddy road.

“Come to the island.” Sylph orders, and I do so. She encloses the road with a hand gesture after I climb up the island.

“How did you do that?” I ask.
“Selfa Nacee,” Sylph responds, “is a mod that splits the body of water. It literally means ‘split water’.”

“That’s what mod is?” I question in disbelief.

“Yes.” Sylph answers, “Mod is nothing complicated nor too difficult. It’s as easy as pie.”

“You make it sound like nothing.” I groan with complaint.

“It will be once you learn.” Sylph smiles. “Let’s get started.”

I meditated for an hour, as told by Sylph. I have, however no idea why I have to do this. My butt starts to hurt and I feel itchy to move. But if I move, Sylph will hit me with a stick.

“One hour is up.” Sylph announces, and I relax my pose. “What did you feel?”

“Nothing.” I answer. “Except for some itchiness.”

“You didn’t try.” Sylph declares.

“But I had no idea what to do!” I argue.

“You just had to clear your mind.” Sylph sighs, leaning on a tree. “You will meditate every lesson until you gain enough power to conjure mod at will. After that, you’ll learn symbols and phrases. You can go now.”

“Wait,” I say, “you never told me how meditation could help me do what you did earlier.”

“Sit.” She commands. I grudgingly sits down.

“Mod requires considerable amount of energy. Messing around with mod without acquiring basic stamina will kill you. That’s why I will never teach you something like this until you are capable.” Sylph states as she finished drawing a very complex symbols.

“Lewe Ria Denal Rife Nar,” Sylph articulates, and the symbols illuminates with red lights. “Straf on Fez.”

The symbols fade as air near the drawing swirls into a small twister, reaching to the top of the cube but only a cube wide. After the twister reaches maximum speed, it catches on fire, but does not burn anything because of such a small area of effect. The twister goes on for several seconds, then Sylph dismisses it. Her breath sounds a bit fatigued.

“That,” I state, “was cool.”

“I restricted the area of the mod with the barring charm.” Sylph says. “You see, it already takes significant energy to call upon the powers of mod, but to sustain it within a certain area takes a lot of time and skill.”

“Will meditation give me skill?” I ask.

“No.” Sylph answers. “However, it will help you pacify your spirit so you can wield your energy at will.”

“It does?” I exclaim.

“Yes.” Sylph smiles. “Spirits of the worldly beings are too clouded to activate mod, but once you get used to this world, your fogged soul will be liberated of all distractions and then you’ll be able to conjure mod.”

“I can’t wait.”

“You will come tomorrow again to meditate. Until then, farewell.”