Ten and Quivira 2 (Valley of Sorrow)
Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time about 18 months ago, Ten and himawari (hereon, just Mari) made some of their first forays into online multiplayer. They played Mass Effect 3 Multi, and after Ten overcame her initial shyness, played it with many people, friends and pubbies both. And it was good.
But though ME 3 Multi offered much in the way of good times, it was, in the end, repetitive in gameplay. And so Ten and Mari struck out for other games: Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Apples to Apples, X-Men Arcade, eventually even Halo 4. And these, too, were good, and did introduce unto them many a boon companion, who often then recommended many other games. One of the most popular recommendations was that of Minecraft, a game of vociferous popularity that seemed like the child of The Sims and pixel art, seasoned with survival horror. It did intrigue them both, and after some exploration of the Tutorial, they did lay down their money for this game.
And soon thereafter came into existence their first world, what would later be called "Quivira." There were other worlds--personal worlds, creative worlds, survival worlds turned creative--but though they expanded into "Cibola" and "Themyscira," they would always return to Quivira. It was a fruitful place of much land*, many different biomes, high places and deep ravines, a well rounded mix of all things those young at the craft of Minecrafting would need. Over time, they made their mark on the land: the Main House with the Geth House behind it, the Spawn House next to the Hotel Mariense, the Stronghold House upon a great high hill; and yea even on the lands beyond, for they built secondary portals and many clever traps of stone within their Nether to handle the foul beasts there. They also discovered many of the land's secrets, finding four of its hidden Mineshafts to excavate, bringing back wonders diverse as melon seeds, saddles, diamond, bread, and much stone, string and fencing from those places. They even found their Stronghold, and had set about preparing to enter its environs and take over the land beyond, that which they called THE END.
And it was good.
And one day, as they discussed their home in the menu, Ten said unto Mari, "Lo, there is this world I have created and shall never return to, how may I delete it?" And before Mari could speak, Ten continued, "Oh, it is under Save Options, how easy, I shall just take care of this."
And so Ten did.
And when the menu came back, Ten looked upon it and said, "Why, that world I was to delete is still there! Why didn't it--"
Silence stretched then as Ten saw what she had done: instead of the paltry creative world she had meant to destroy, she had destroyed Quivira. Their first and dearly beloved world. In the mistaken press of a button, she had wiped away nearly a year of gentle work.
Lo, the black veil of sorrow that fell upon that conversation was dense as midnight, and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, nigh unto renting clothes and pouring ashes upon her head.
But--I hear you say, in the back, did she not remember the Seed of that world? Could she not recreate it over again, exactly as it was, and knowing much this time of how best to cultivate said world?
Oh, would that it were so. But even as the world around us is always changing, so is Minecraft. The updates applied to the system could not be undone without undoing Ten's ability to play the game at all. There could be no re-creation of that world within this system's tools. Quivira as it was was gone forever.
Gentle Mari did let Ten dwell for a time in her sorrow, giving comfort as she could, and soon suggested that they begin the world again in this new version of Minecraft. Ten did agree to such, though she did not let this dry her tears, for the world would never be the same. And indeed, it was not: the growth of jungles had changed the land in many and mighty ways, bringing in more water, pushing the spawn to a new location, and lowering hills in many areas. But the two Minecrafters--older in experience and the ways of the land--persevered, and so they found a new valley in which to begin to build again.
And so the soul of Quivira lives on in this different land, and already other compatriots have come to join it, to put their own stamp upon it. But Ten cannot forget the Quivira that was, and so she memorializes that world with words: its title will never just be "Quivira" or "Quivira 2." It is "Quivira, Valley of Sorrow" sometimes, or "Quivira, Plain of Tears," or even "Quivira, Copse of Despair." In this way, the pain of her stupidity is channeled a little more each time, and as such, the Old is remembered even within the flourishing of the New.
*Amount of land mass is pretty important; we've spawned worlds of mostly water before. Aside from jokey seeds, actually, I have a pretty bad track record of good seeds; my sister and our mutual friend Suzie are actually much better at that.
Once upon a time about 18 months ago, Ten and himawari (hereon, just Mari) made some of their first forays into online multiplayer. They played Mass Effect 3 Multi, and after Ten overcame her initial shyness, played it with many people, friends and pubbies both. And it was good.
But though ME 3 Multi offered much in the way of good times, it was, in the end, repetitive in gameplay. And so Ten and Mari struck out for other games: Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Apples to Apples, X-Men Arcade, eventually even Halo 4. And these, too, were good, and did introduce unto them many a boon companion, who often then recommended many other games. One of the most popular recommendations was that of Minecraft, a game of vociferous popularity that seemed like the child of The Sims and pixel art, seasoned with survival horror. It did intrigue them both, and after some exploration of the Tutorial, they did lay down their money for this game.
And soon thereafter came into existence their first world, what would later be called "Quivira." There were other worlds--personal worlds, creative worlds, survival worlds turned creative--but though they expanded into "Cibola" and "Themyscira," they would always return to Quivira. It was a fruitful place of much land*, many different biomes, high places and deep ravines, a well rounded mix of all things those young at the craft of Minecrafting would need. Over time, they made their mark on the land: the Main House with the Geth House behind it, the Spawn House next to the Hotel Mariense, the Stronghold House upon a great high hill; and yea even on the lands beyond, for they built secondary portals and many clever traps of stone within their Nether to handle the foul beasts there. They also discovered many of the land's secrets, finding four of its hidden Mineshafts to excavate, bringing back wonders diverse as melon seeds, saddles, diamond, bread, and much stone, string and fencing from those places. They even found their Stronghold, and had set about preparing to enter its environs and take over the land beyond, that which they called THE END.
And it was good.
And one day, as they discussed their home in the menu, Ten said unto Mari, "Lo, there is this world I have created and shall never return to, how may I delete it?" And before Mari could speak, Ten continued, "Oh, it is under Save Options, how easy, I shall just take care of this."
And so Ten did.
And when the menu came back, Ten looked upon it and said, "Why, that world I was to delete is still there! Why didn't it--"
Silence stretched then as Ten saw what she had done: instead of the paltry creative world she had meant to destroy, she had destroyed Quivira. Their first and dearly beloved world. In the mistaken press of a button, she had wiped away nearly a year of gentle work.
Lo, the black veil of sorrow that fell upon that conversation was dense as midnight, and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, nigh unto renting clothes and pouring ashes upon her head.
But--I hear you say, in the back, did she not remember the Seed of that world? Could she not recreate it over again, exactly as it was, and knowing much this time of how best to cultivate said world?
Oh, would that it were so. But even as the world around us is always changing, so is Minecraft. The updates applied to the system could not be undone without undoing Ten's ability to play the game at all. There could be no re-creation of that world within this system's tools. Quivira as it was was gone forever.
Gentle Mari did let Ten dwell for a time in her sorrow, giving comfort as she could, and soon suggested that they begin the world again in this new version of Minecraft. Ten did agree to such, though she did not let this dry her tears, for the world would never be the same. And indeed, it was not: the growth of jungles had changed the land in many and mighty ways, bringing in more water, pushing the spawn to a new location, and lowering hills in many areas. But the two Minecrafters--older in experience and the ways of the land--persevered, and so they found a new valley in which to begin to build again.
And so the soul of Quivira lives on in this different land, and already other compatriots have come to join it, to put their own stamp upon it. But Ten cannot forget the Quivira that was, and so she memorializes that world with words: its title will never just be "Quivira" or "Quivira 2." It is "Quivira, Valley of Sorrow" sometimes, or "Quivira, Plain of Tears," or even "Quivira, Copse of Despair." In this way, the pain of her stupidity is channeled a little more each time, and as such, the Old is remembered even within the flourishing of the New.
*Amount of land mass is pretty important; we've spawned worlds of mostly water before. Aside from jokey seeds, actually, I have a pretty bad track record of good seeds; my sister and our mutual friend Suzie are actually much better at that.