Martin cleared his throat as he began to speak. "Well. I think we can all agree that today's presentation was... interesting. However, we have more pressing matters. Dark warriors have been spotted, indicating that the Dark is rising. We must prepare for the war that is certain to come."

The meeting progressed, most of it boring yet strangely exciting. There were talks of battle plans, who would do what and various other war-related things. Blade was worried that she or one of her friends would be required to speak, but thankfully, they didn't need to.

"This is really itchy," Blade heard Ender whisper to W at one point.

W offered her no sympathy and told her to be quiet and listen.

Towards the end of the meeting, someone called out. "What about the Vessel and the Prince? And the leaders of the End and Wither forces? Are they just going to do nothing?"

A few people chorused in agreement and Martin raised his hand for silence.

"I shall talk to the Vessel, the Prince and the Leaders after this meeting has finished. We shall discuss what will happen and I shall tell you the result at a later date."

Fast forward a few minutes and the meeting was over. Martin and Alexandria stepped down from their thrones and Martin beckoned the family and Blade to follow him as they left. As she walked out, Blade felt her ninja-like armour disappear and being replaced with her usual white top and brown pants. The diamond sword however, stayed at her side.

Martin and Alexandria led the family through the castle and back up to the private counsel room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Steve rounded on Hero.

"You knew," he accused. "You knew exactly what we all were!"

Hero couldn't stop a smile from spreading on his face. "I knew what you and I were. I didn't know about anyone else though." He then turned to Notch. "So, you're a prince now. You don't look very princely."

"I don't feel princely either," Notch said, a trace of laughter in his voice.

"So how long have you known about us Hero?" Steve asked.

"Ever since I was born," was the answer.

"Then why didn't you tell me?! Why didn't you tell me what I was? What you were?"

Hero raised his hands. "The time wasn't right. As soon as you knew who you were, the danger you were in would increase ten fold."

"So now that I know that I'm the Vessel of Light..." Steve started.

"The Dark knows too," Martin finished. "And it will stop at nothing to get you."

"But that's why I'm here," Hero said, putting an arm around his brother. Steve playfully pushed him away.

"I hate you," he said, grinning.

"Yeah, I know," Hero answered, also grinning.

Martin cleared his throat. "Shall we all take a seat? We have a lot to discuss."

Once everyone was seated, servants brought in jugs of water and bowls of fruit, set them on the table and left. Blade poured herself a drink and sipped it, thankful that it was cold. Martin also had a drink before he started to talk.

"Okay. The first thing is obviously first: What your roles are and what they mean." He looked at Ender and W. "Your roles are pretty obvious and are basically the same. Each of you are in charge of the End and Wither armies. While I don't know all of what you'll do, I do know that you can summon part or all of the army to this dimension."

"We can also talk to the Leader of the End or Wither no matter where we are," Ender added.

Martin was surprised. "How do you know that?"

Ender tapped her head. "Because they're talking to me right now and it's kinda freaking me out."

"Same," W said softly.

"Hm. You learn something new every day. Alright, Alex." Martin turned to where Alex was sitting, eating an apple. "How old are you?"

"Hsg sjff," she mumbled.

"She's six," Hero translated.

"Okay, she's a little young. Ummm... I'll tell you what you'll do anyway. Alex, when you're older, you'll be able to travel around all of Minecraftia and make peace between opposing sides. That symbol on your dress means that no one can harm you and that everyone must hear you speak and treat you with respect."

Alex looked pointedly at Hero. "Hfie eifjoian eufhui."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Hero said, grinning.

"And everyone obeys that rule?" Blade asked.

"Well, no. There are people who disobey the rules, but they're not that common. Now," Martin gestured to Notch, Hero, Steve and Blade. "Your roles are a little more complicated. Well, maybe not Steve's role."

"Why, what am I supposed to do?" Steve asked.

"Don't get kidnapped, killed or taken by the Dark," Hero said.

"Oh. Easy peasy."

"Hero, I'm going to assume you know your role?" Martin asked.

"Yup. I'm good." He gave Martin a thumbs up.

"Awesome. Blade, pretty much, your role is to not let Notch get killed. What this means is that (especially when he's the Ruler) you will accompany him on diplomatic trips, stay next to him in the public and make sure that he's in no danger. You're also his adviser. Are you good at sword fighting?"

"Yeah," Blade mumbled.

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. I'll get Neil to give you some training-"

"If you're not going to tell him Blade, I will," Notch interupted. "Blade's a Guardian."

Poor Ender was so surprised that she fell off her chair. "REALLY?" she asked as soon as she got up.

"Are you actually a Guardian, Blade?" Martin asked.

"Yeah, I am," Blade muttered.

"Well in that case, you don't need training. However, if you want, you can ask Neil to give you some tips. He's a Dragon, the second top rank."

"Really?!" Blade asked. She had always wanted to learn sword fighting from a Wither or a Dragon. They were the best of the best.

"No kidding," Martin said. "Now, Notch. You're the Prince, which means that you will become Ruler when I either step down or die. There's a lot of things involved, but I'll teach you what to do along the way. Once you know what you're doing, it's simple, I promise."

"Just so you know, that doesn't make me any less nervous," Notch said.

Martin grinned. "I didn't expect it to."  

"Martin, you need to talk about the war," Alexandria said to her husband. Her voice was soft and pleasant to hear.

"Oh, right. Thank you dear. Alright, so here's the basic idea. Ender and W, I'm assuming that you two need to head off to the End and Nether dimensions?"

They both nodded.

"Alright, you do that. I'll have to talk to the Leaders and see if we can get some back up from them. Notch, you're going to be helping me organise stuff and I'll teach you on the way. Blade, I know that you came here only a few hours ago, but can I get you to help train the army? It won't be a big group."

They had only come a few hours ago? It felt like an entire day had passed.

"Uh, sure," Blade said. "But I've never trained anyone before."

"It's really simple," Martin promised. "Hero, do you think you can train people too? And do you have a rank?"

"I can train people if you want and I've never been given a rank."

"You totally have a rank," Steve said.

"I don't actually," Hero answered. "But I am good at sword fighting."

"I really wanna find out what rank you are, but there's time for that later." Martin clapped his hands together. "Right. That should do it for now. Alexandria, do you know the time?"

Alexandria looked out the window. "There's about half an hour till dinner."

"That's enough time to assign everyone rooms."