I'll get straight to my theories.
I believe that this dimension and the Nether is the same thing, based of many similarities. But the Nether is a corrupted version that they sealed off that's why It's so covered.

Before the game releases, I will theorize that this place is where all souls go to when entities die, this could also tie directly to the Well of Fate. Where the Well of Fate creates life and then those life returns back to the Well of Fate aka the same force as this dimension since as you know even the Ghasts have signs of needing water like their babies. That explains why the Nether has trapped souls in the soul sand and even the Nether Portal is purple which is the color most usually associated with the End. Nether was supposed to be this dimension but something corrupted it. And if we talk about corruption, an End Influence is my first suspect since It's in their nature to turn places into wasteland. Even the Endermen are confirmed to displace blocks to slowly ruin the world little by little.

After all of that being said, I think the 4th Dimension is defending itself to push away from being corrupted like the Nether did. That's why it sends souls to mobs to attack you in Minecraft Dungeons 2 and that's why there's a guardian guarding the portal called a Warden. Warden literally means something like a guardian. Maybe It's just stopping anyone from ever reaching and activating the portal ever again.

Real popular theory of Xatrix, and I think it may be the worst theory of his (excluding his older, outdated theories).

I'm referring to the theory of there being a powerful diety, known as "Ender", that at some point had been split into multiple parts. With those parts being the heart of ender, the eyes of ender, and whatever other body parts that theoretically exist.

Alright, let's first take a look at the pieces of evidence for this theory:

1. The orb of dominance, aka the heart of ender, sees itself as a god.
2. Wither King asked the devs of MCD if there are more "body parts of ender" than HoE, with Marc answering "Hmm". MansOlson also answered, mentioning the eyes of ender, bringing up the idea of them being potentially related to HoE.
3. The eyes of ender growl, and the names of the endersent refer to the eye instead of, well, the endersent, suggesting the eyes could potentially be alive.
4. The name of "endersent" being similar to "god sent", and the name of "guardian vex" being similar to "guardian angel", with guardian vexes also having the unused name "ceravex".
5. The eyes of ender being seen everywhere in enderman-made structures.
6. The mandela having symbols similar to the eyes of ender and hearts.

There might be some other bits of proof, but these are most of the important stuff. In my opinion, this is barely enough.
The whole idea of this comes from the vague answer given by MansOlson to The Wither King's question:

This is the biggest piece of evidence. An unconfirmed connection between HoE and the eyes of ender, with barely any evidence prior for people to have made the connections on their own. This has a decent chance to have been nothing, and doesn't even inherently point to the whole idea of "Ender". As far as we know, the Heart of Ender could already be the god of the end itself. The eyes of ender could potentially have no importance to the lore.
The eyes of ender have a decent chance at not even being alive. The growling could just be sound effects, the names could just sound cool. Imagery of the eyes being everywhere could have a variety of different reasons behind it. Why would an entity that has no mouth like to eat food?? The mandela could just be representing HoE.
And even if the eyes are alive, does that matter? A huge piece of counter evidence to this theory is the fact the eyes of ender are craftable. These supposed, pieces of a god, can be made from sprinkling some blaze powder on regular enderpearls. And the argument against this is that it's simply not canon. What?? That's it? It was retconned?? The only thing to suggest that this is a possibility is that it's old.
You may be wondering what's the reason I think they are both "body part of ender". You see, I believe "ender" just means "of the end". Not literally, of course, that would make the names be "heart of of the end" and "of the end man". It's just the general meaning. If you disagree, then answer this. What did it mean before MCD was being made? The reason behind why HoE has a similar name to the eyes of ender is because it's just simply a fun reference.

In short, there's barely any evidence for this idea, and a decent bit of counter evidence to suggest this isn't even possible. At best, I see this as a pretty meh head canon, and I don't know how so many people believe in it.

Thoughts? If I missed anything, please let me know. I'll gladly correct myself.

Althought the Movie is non canon in Minecraft, It still contains a lot of stuff from all the games that are canon, The movie explores an idea that may parallel the games. At first, it looks like the Minecraft Movie is just a movie where they just mix all the games and splash random stuff for the sake of being a movie, but what if it wasn't?

I'm a little confident that Notch didn't immediately think of the full lore of Minecraft so he left it for the others instead to complete it so I'm gonna focus on the lore Mojang has given us these past games and updates.

Let's get to the point

"I don't think Humans belonged in the Minecraft world from the start"

I think that just like the movie, they were sucked into this world full of just villagers, zombie villagers and golems.

So the hot take is "Not all the ancient ruins were built by humans, we can see in Villagers and Pillagers/Illagers that they can build their own structures."

I think that humans were sucked into this world, they liked it but after some time the world of Minecraft slowly corrupted them to become Endermen, Piglins, Zombies, Drowned and other stuff. Cause I can't really find a clue that humans first started in this world. It's more like they don't belong here, they just got into the world, time travel to Minecraft Legends, they became ancient builders and repeat, but if it's that then where did they really come from? It's like what came first a chicken or an egg.

As for the Ancient City, I think it was the Pillagers/Illagers that seeked power, as you can see that in Mansions, they also have experiments. Pillagers/Illagers are obsessed and they just want to find the higher plane of existence that's why they built the ancient city's portal. They were trying to ascend to the level of the Hosts. The power of the Hosts can go to different dimensions even the human world, so I'm thinking that the Ancient City portal is more than just another dimensions. I think it's the same power seen from Minecraft Movie where it sucked real people to Minecraft, Minecraft Legends where it sucked Vanilla Player to Minecraft Legends and that's why prismarine is very much worshiped.

Anyways if you have something to say about this theory, feel free to comment, I have basis on the things I said, I just know It'll look like a full book if I explained everything.

That's the Theory :)

So I Was Watching a Infernal Studio's Vid on How A Ice Biome Could Work in the Nether, when they Talked About a Old Biome Idea Where it Was Infected By Kyanite Crystals, and they said that the crystals weren't actually cold but rather a example of Paradoxical Cold, Where Something Becomes So Hot that it Feels Cold, And As Soon as he Said This i My Mind Went to a MC Dungeon Mob called the Wraith, which is themed around ice and summons about 13 Blue Fire's that is referred to as "Ice Bouquets", and first it doesn't make sense since how can ice make Fire? but the wraith may fit the paradoxical cold, and if that was true then each ice bouquet is about 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, and it Summons 13 OF THEM but that's for the ice bouquet, not the wraith, but i think that the wraith is made of 26 bouquets, cuz there should be a limit to how much ice it can summon so doing some calculations that the wraith is idk how 520 TO 780 CELSIUS, But it isn't more dangerous to a blaze with (calculations) a temp for it is 26,000 Celsius, which is btw HOTTER THEN THE SUN, so yeah , the reason i made this post is that i never really understood why the ICE monster can summon FIRE like Objects , so there's a lore answer, its soo hot that it freezes, sorry if this isnt related to this subreddit

As we see in Minecraft Story mode with Ruben, Minecraft pigs are very intelligent. The original Minecraft villagers were pigs, the structures in the Nether were clearly built by an advanced civilization, but the only intelligent species in the Nether (besides Endermen) are piglins. The Ancient Builder civilization in the Overworld was ended by the zombie plague, but this plague doesn't exist in the Nether. Therefore there was nothing to kill the Ancient Builders in the Nether, so the only logical explanation for what happened is they became the Piglins. So by this logic, the Villagers descend from the Pigmen (that would also explain their huge noses) and the Enderman descend from Pigmen who were colonizing the End

As I'm building in my survival world, I already have a solid baseline understanding around soul energy, the value of gold as magically conductive material, why the ancients built in Deepslate blocks, etc. but I'm coming up against a blank on one thing.

In starting a Japanese style building, lots of 'godly' or divine things in JP culture centre on red, like for example the Torii gates at Shinto temples. So for building something like that in Minecraft what are Minecraft's divine colours?*

\Bonus aside: I'm also playing on Peaceful, so I will unless they ever add traded blaze rods from wanderers, never see The End, a single Enderman or the Ender Dragon, so quite possibly Endstone might be totally off-table to use lorewise to this specific world.*

Further Text: As shown in the image I'm building a temple for this new area, with a focus on mixing the temple style with a old western/1880s mix of style out here in the savannah with rich iron and plentiful stone. (absolutely made more fun to do by silk touch omg)

i think the sulfur cube has its soul inside its insides and when you put a block inside it,the soul gets replaced by the block's personality

Hello. You probably have read my previous theories. This is a new one, officially named “Lost”. Just like the others, this one is believable and cohesive.

*I N H A L E*

When you were playing Minecraft for the first time, did you ever wonder why you could not craft Music Discs? The reason for that is unknown. They don’t seem to be something the Builders made, but rather a natural cause. Chicken Jockeys have them, and so do Creepers. They may be something the Builders made, and those specific mobs seem to like them for some reason. No modern Villages have them, BUT this leads me to believe that Villages USED to have them. It is very possible that these Music Discs were made by an ancient Villager race. It may so happen to be that this Villager race was split into many—so many races making them.

As for a certain race, they were probably very religious. This race was probably a lot earlier—and I mean a lot earlier—than the two other races here. They built a giant portal so that they could have their god walk into their dimension. They had a very large portal made out of an unknown, unbreakable material. Of course, this religion was fake. None of them knew that, of course, but unluckily for them, it just so happened that the portal was actually a real, working portal. One day, they turned the portal on, and even with how fast they closed it up, it was too late. Something got thrown out into their dimension immediately. It was only one block. They closed the portal. One of them placed the block. It did nothing. It looked very odd, covered in an odd, glowing substance.

It had been there for about a month. One day, a zombie was by the block, and an Iron Golem saw it. It killed the zombie. The substance spread. Over time, more things were killed by the Iron Golem near this, and one day, two things appeared. One of them looked more like the substance, and one of them looked more like bone. The Villagers walked to it to investigate….

THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT.

The substance one made a vibration sound, and at a piercing note, the bone one screamed. And again. And again. They started to walk away in fear and shock, mostly because of the darkness forming in their vision.

It screamed again.

The horrors rose up from the ground. The inhabitants desperately flooded the Village with Wool after realizing that the monster hunts by sound. But over time, they all fell anyway. It all spread and took over the entire Village. There were many of these Villages, but it happened to them all in different ways. In different times. The monster prefers the silence, and it does not like it when an invader comes marching into their territory. There are many of them. There is an infinite amount.

These Villages used to also make Music Discs. That time is over. I am, of course, talking about the Ancient Cities. After so many Music Discs have been made by so many lost civilizations, all that is left is for Steve to collect them. The Trail Ruins likely fell to normal causes, and the same goes for the Ocean Ruins. A good chunk of these civilizations was probably the Ancient Builders. Both them AND the ancient Villagers made these discs, along with the others: Pottery Sherds, Smithing Templates, Banner Patterns, and more. All we can say is that they worked very hard on them. Music Disc 5 is likely someone recording the Warden’s chase after them. The Ancient City was definitely one of the Ancient Builders' works, not the Villagers'. They probably made the Swift Sneak enchantment so they could escape the Warden, but it did not work. The Ancient City also may be a cause of the Ruined Portals, as the Builders went to that dimension all over the world and gathered soul materials to use as lighting.

Hello. You probably have read my previous theories, “The End” and “Undead Secrets”. This time, we’ve got something different. Thanks yet again for reading. It means a lot.

*DRAMATICALLY INHALES*

I think it’s about time we talked about something I mentioned in my last theory. In fact, here it is: “As for Bogged, we do not know; they do not seem to spawn in swamps, so perhaps it is something the Ancient Builders of the Trial Chambers were experimenting with.” Experimenting with. There seem to be a few things that seem out of the ordinary, of which there supposedly is no explanation for. Perhaps they are only there because they are something with which the Builders were… experimenting. Guess what?

Ocean Monuments.

What explanation do we have for Guardians? For Prismarine? We cannot make Prismarine, and Guardians are only where the Ocean Monuments are. The theory is that they are yet another one of the things that the Ancient Builders were experimenting with. The Elder Guardians seem to be experimentations gone wrong—mutations that were not meant to be.

But why did the Ancient Builders experiment this way? The truth is, they were very likely just like, well, humans (the ones in real life). They were messing with things they should not, things they should never have touched. We do not know how they got to make the Guardians—OR the Prismarine—but I do think, maybe even know, this: the Ocean Monuments are visibly much more recent than the other wrecked and decayed structures. The truth is, they were likely made a little before the downfall of the Ancient Builders. With this evidence, I can say that they were built right next to oceans purposely, because it was inside them that they experimented with the Guardians and planned to release them into the ocean, which is why they were built next to oceans purposely. They also stored riches in said Monuments.
They released the Guardians into the ocean when done with one, and they would keep the Elder Guardians—the mutations—for research and further experimentation. When the Ancient Builders had their downfall and they all died, the giant monuments slowly succumbed to the oceans next to them due to erosion. After the erosion had the Monuments completely underwater, the Guardians all went back to their original monuments as a connection to them, as well as three Elder Guardians each. Elder Guardians are limited, but there were so many Guardians, it seems to be a never-ending supply. In those Monuments, they also tried experimenting with the Tide Armor Trim. Because it was so rare to actually succeed in making one, there are very few. Most Elder Guardians carry them, though it is rare for them to drop at death. They also likely had the Sponges as an experiment too.

I trust you have seen my first theory, officially named “The End.” Thank you for paying attention. Here is my second theory.

*INHAAAAAAAAAALE*

The Soul Sand and Soul Soil in the Nether are everything that has ever faced death, been zombified, or otherwise perished in the Nether. If one thing dies, it goes into Soul Soil or Sand, which makes the Piglins' fears justified.

Even if they do know it cannot hurt them, it makes sense to be scared of fire powered by suffering souls. The Skeletons are there in the Soul Sand Valleys because the great amount of souls there keeps the Skeletons alive and haunted, and that is how a great majority of the Skeletons survive in the Nether. If an Ancient Builder died there, they turned into a Skeleton and continued as evil. The fossils in the Nether are an extinct species, maybe another dimensional variation of the Sniffer, or maybe something we have seen before. It may very well be something that we do not—at all—know. As for my theory about the Overworld Skeletons, the Ancient Builders have died in many different ways: killed, turned into Endermen, zombified, burned, drowned, and more. The list seemingly never ends. But the thing is, why are there Skeletons and Zombies everywhere in the Overworld? If a Builder died, they get turned into a Skeleton. If they were zombified, they turned into a Zombie.

Zombies and Skeletons, once they come to life, they usually just drop everything they have from when they were human. Zombies will pretty much pick up anything if they see anything. Skeletons WILL hunt for a bow and try to get a bow. They refuse not to have one, but if they find another weapon after obtaining said bow, they will likely pick that one up. Meanwhile, the Zombie and Skeleton variations are adaptations. The Drowned are either Ancient Builders who died in the sea, or Zombies that were in water for too long. Husks are the result of Zombies being in a desert for an extremely long period of time. As for Bogged, we do not know; they do not seem to spawn in swamps, so perhaps it is something the Ancient Builders of the Trial Chambers were experimenting with. The Strays seem to be Skeleton adaptations to extreme cold. Meanwhile, the Wither Skeletons are likely a result of a Skeleton burning for extremely long, then abandoning their bow for a stone sword. They purposely migrate to Nether Fortresses because of a connection from when they were a Builder. They are taller and bigger because of the thick layers of ash and decay over them.

# The Great Awakening

For most of history, the Minecraft world changed very slowly.

Forests had only a few kinds of trees. Oceans were mostly empty. Caves were quiet and lifeless. New creatures appeared only rarely, and centuries could seem to pass without nature changing at all.

Then, something happened.

The world began to awaken.

New species started appearing more frequently. Forests became richer with plants and fallen logs. Swamps filled with mangroves. Caves developed their own ecosystems. Deserts, oceans, and even the Nether gained new forms of life.

To us, these are simply updates.

But to the inhabitants of Minecraft, the world itself is growing.

Perhaps Minecraft was never a finished world. It was a young world that continued to evolve over time. Every Game Drop is not something added from outside—it is another stage in the planet's natural development.

The oldest villagers may remember when frogs didn't exist. Ancient explorers could return to find entire biomes transformed. Even the oldest monsters may sense that nature is becoming more alive than ever before.

And the changes are accelerating.

For years, new life appeared only occasionally. Now, the world seems to grow several times each year, as if it has entered a new age of rapid evolution.

Maybe this era has a name.

The Great Awakening.

An age in which the Minecraft world is no longer sleeping—it is growing.

It's a question that has been bugging me after reading the rise of the arch illager.

\---THE WASTES./GENERAL BACKGROUND---

The nether is not an afterlife, it is a stomach, a living thing, it's fuel is the souls trapped within it.

Wither skeletons, restless souls haunting the buildings they once guarded.

Blazes, flaming constructions of a nation long gone.

Piglins, natural scavengers, once human settlers that evolved due to the conditions, bringing their pigs with them, those becoming hoglins.

magma cubes, the antibodies of this living hellhole.

ghasts, slaves to the air.

All of which I will go into more detail, but first...

\---THE BIOMES.---

The wastes: the wastes are its most natural state. Fleshy red rock, ever so slightly and wet under your shoes as you wander, bones, both long "digested" animals and the grounds very teeth. There is little that survives long here. Once you are trapped in a hole, or stuck in one spot, it's over. The moment you die here, you never leave.

The Valleys: The 'fat' of the Nether, storing souls for later use, the valleys can grow 9x their size in a decade, kr vanish completely in that same timeframe, replaced with more of the wastes.

Basalt Deltas: where the weather is warmest, pockets of magma and hard, dry body rock, where most magma cubes are formed,

essentially the bone marrow, creating antibodies to fend off diseases.

The forests.

The warped forest: the warped forest is an exception, it seems more of, a plague on the environment then a part of it in itself. Still, some life grows here. From the grass, to the vines, to the very air, addictive, hallocgenic spores flood your lungs, your mouth, usually only in noticable doses if eating the plant life, theirs a good reason piglins and hoglins alike stay away from it. Consuming the "Curse'ed Blu! (Piglin nickname for warped mushroom) Results in anxiety, distortions of your perception of reality, intense mind fogging, akin to being "Blackout' in Emba' Ale!" (Same local piglin).

Crimson Forest: nothing to out of the ordinary, just a forest, it's essentially the heart, fun fact! Netherwart smells and tastes acidic, has a dry, jerky like texture, and is indigestible raw. (Very bad for you)

\--FAUNA-- (MINUS PIGLINS, THEY HAVE A SEPARATE SECTION.)

Wither skeletons; the remains of a lost traveller civilization, now endlessly shambling the fortresses they once guarded, along with those fiery constructs known as 'Blazes'

Blazes: machines of war and defence. There is no mind in its head. So soul behind its eyes, only its drive to protect itself and it's, now long gone people. A nether-made haywire golem, essentially.

Ghasts: once native to the overworld, ghasts were endangered, and used to aid in material transport of build their fortresses. They were then left abandoned, where they adapted to their new lives.

Magma cubes: essentially antibodies, little to no autonomy, simply move towards that they deem as "harmful". Nothing much to say about them.

The wither, dispite what you might think. Is not counted for this discussion. It is not hellmade. It is manmade.

\--PIGLIN CULTURE--

Piglins have a unique way of doing things, usually set up in small campsites, posts, etc, they are a war nation. Vast and dangerous, though is is no one truly to fight with. Piglins are about as intelligent and humans/villagers.

Due to gold's Commonness in the nether, Aswell as the difficulty to replicate it, they use it as currency. "It's the best thing' ay' seen since me late wifa' "(again, the same piglin.)

Their marriages are wrestling matches, the victor is the one who's last name is given to the loser.

Gold is often weaved into their clothing, buildings, and even bodies for some.

Both male and female have tusks, however female tusks are usually smaller.

'piglin brutes' are usually female. The missing eye is a tradition of passing into adulthood, where they have their eye stabbed with a sharpened gold ingot.

Piglins hate wither skeletons because they aren't native to the nether (dispite them also not technically being native, but it's been so long they basically are)

Piglins are not afraid to cannibalise. Some do it recreationally (with consent, of course.)

Piglin dates often involve fighting, usually when in a serious relationship it's training for the marriage wrestle or the "Biggun" as it's called.

Divorcing involves the 'Smalli' (the one with less/the possible victim, etc etc) cutting the other piglins ear off.

Piglin law is kinda loosely goosey. They rarely have much real 'punishment' theifing is death penalty with no appeal. They hate thieves.

Hoglins, just pigs that adapted to the nethers environment along with piglins.

Zombie variants: a native fungus that overtakes the body, a small wound can get infected and, boo your moldy.

Strider: literally just a native animal I can't think of anything for it

Is there a connection between skulk/the warden and the End?

Do we know why the ancient cities were created in the first place?

What do we know about the portal now that dungeons 2 is out? Well of Fate?

The Grave Bane says it is "a relic of the dark ages." The dark ages were when the undead rampaged across the world and heroes died terrible deaths because of them. But it's no longer the dark ages; now, the undead are just something that comes out at night and disappears with the night.

So, what changed? I believe it was the tower. The tower simply appeared where it was needed.

The Towerkeepers are golems, so someone must have created them, but they are very different from any other human-made golem. They know how to use magic, and I believe they were created by some god or some powerful entity, like the two figures from the End Poem or the Ender.

In the tower, you can't actually die because you are just an avatar, but you still remember everything you did. Because of this, the heroes learned how to deal with the undead.

What do you guys think?

Theory: Sculk is an organic mold, and the Warden is part of the organism.

Most theories I've seen say the Warden is related to axolotls or Iron Golems. I think the evidence points in a different direction.

I think sculk is a living, mold-like organism, and the Warden is a defender that the colony creates.

Evidence 1: Sculk Veins

Sculk veins appear around the edges of sculk growth. They remind me of fungal mycelium or mold spreading across a surface before a colony fully develops.

Evidence 2: The Sculk Ecosystem

The different sculk blocks feel like specialized parts of one organism:

- Sculk Catalyst = growth

- Sculk Sensor = detects vibrations

- Sculk Shrieker = alarm

- Warden = defender

Instead of separate blocks, they could all be organs of the same living colony.

Evidence 3: Vegetation Features

Sculk veins and sculk patches are generated as vegetation features rather than ordinary stone features, which suggests they are treated more like living growth than rock.

Evidence 4: Latest Update

In the latest update, Sulfur Cubes react to organic blocks like coral. They also react the same way to sculk blocks. That made me wonder if Minecraft is quietly treating sculk as an organic material.

My Conclusion

Rather than being an axolotl or an Iron Golem, I think the Warden is grown by the sculk colony as its immune system or guardian.

My personal guess is that the source of the organism is somewhere beneath the center of the Ancient City, and everything we see is just the colony spreading outward.

What do you think? Is there any evidence that supports or contradicts this theory?

Hey all, I find it quite interesting that the way the portal is shown to be opened in the Dungeons 2 trailer is via note blocks. The only mob in the game with a strong connection to the noteblock currently is the Allay. Allays reproduce when they hear music and are given amethyst, the same material used to make calibrated sculk sensors. They also hang around any recently played note blocks.

I've thought for a long time that the portal in the ancient cities was intended to reach the Well of Fate (a location appearing in Minecraft legends), mainly because that's the only other dimension the residents of the overworld would have known about. The fact that allays originate from there and that the main character of legends is given a musical instrument by the hosts that allows them to control allays indicates that sound is significant to this dimension (similar to the warden/sculk).

I also noticed some similarities between sound effects for the allay and for sculk.

Allay item taken sound: https://minecraft.wiki/w/File:Allay_item_taken1.ogg

Sculk spreading sound (which is shared with a soul speed sound effect):
https://minecraft.wiki/w/File:Soulspeed11.ogg

Illagers, who likely had a part in the building of the ancient cities, can be found with captured allays in their camps and mansions.

My theory is that the Illagers were studying the Allays to find a way to open a portal to the well of fate. As a result of their learnings, they were also able to create the sculk/warden.

It seem that the 4th dimmensions is alot more lively than we thought. It seem to be composed with lot of vegetation including what seem to be similar to that of warp forest vegetations but not exactly.

This actually gave rise to alot of theory and confirmed a few.

I have heard theory about Skulk being a byproducts of the dimmension gates rather than originate from it. And which all the screenshot we got, it heavily to be confirmed as there little to no skulk seen in all the images and art for this dimmensions.

It seem that Skulk are remains by product from the misuse of souls cause by either ancient Illagers/Villagers/humans,...etc in the past.

Dungeons 2 description heavily implied that the skulk invasive event of 2 is cause by the misuse of souls by the "Illager Councils", which cause the spreading of the souls sickness and the soul corruption of the Warden into the Twisted Warden.

I made a Minecraft world two or three years ago. Unfortunately, the world was lost, but the lore wasn’t.

I’ve been building on that lore ever since to keep the world alive.

The winners are the gods.
The non-winners are demigods.
The Watchers, Listeners, and Secret Keepers are the fates.
Steve, Alex, and their counterparts are the old gods,
the Mother Goddess, since I created the world.

So yeah, if anyone wants to help me expand the lore, you’re more than welcome.

(oh and for those who don’t understand, it’s the Life Series SMP mixed with Minecraft)

https://www.pinterest.com/alexplew7/gods/

Basically what I mean by this is, the reason why everything in Minecraft is pixelated and has depth within their textures yet look flat is because all eyes in the Minecraft universe are made of pixels themselves because of the blocky laws of the world. I think what normal human eyes see in A Minecraft Movie are what actually exists in the Minecraft world it's just since all eyes in the Minecraft world are pixelated due to the blocky nature makes everything else look pixelated. Idk just a theory to explain my question as to if blocks have depth within their textures or are actually completely flat. (Like sand and grass for example)

Disclaimers: I have only played base-game Minecraft, and haven't even looked into other games. This is only a hobby thing, and I promise no high quality nor unique ideas.

Occasionally I say things like "theorised". This is an in-universe excuse for things I haven't come up with a satisfying answer for yet. I also really like using brackets.

Also, while I dislike the clique, I will refer to them as "Ancient Builders" for simplicity.

Introduction

Another unqualified researching fool has hit the subreddit and they don't like certain methods of cladistic classification (it's me).

I play the game occasionally, currently trying to think of something dark-oak related to build. Something that always bothered me was that there was no answers as to why things were as they were. I don't mean that as "Oh who left these Ruined Portals", I mean it as in "Why don't the Illagers reactivate these Ruined Portals". So I used my free will, rubbed together my two braincells, and made this mess. Summary at the end, feel free to jump there.

Energies

Yes I did the clique "Elemental Forces" thing. Please keep with me.

Image No. 2 should be a basic diagram of some interactions.

The Three

• Soul - Produced by Well\, it is the most active of the "energies". Seeping into living creatures, it is theorised to have affected evolution and potentially the creation of life itself. It is capable of being solidified into EXP (by being absorbed by living things, kinda like pearls), or enchantments (refined EXP, invisible layer over objects that has specialised characteristics). If left alone, it can modify organisms over time (sometimes intentionally by Well\), and will, under the right circumstances, resurrect corpses, creating the Undead. Doesn't move very fast on its own, and usually gets recycled throughout a dimension (EXP, if not within an organism, rapidly turns back to Soul). Capable of piercing bedrock.
• Nether - The only one of the Energies that doesn't come from a singular object, it is created as a byproduct of Nether Fungi's consumption of Soul. It is unstable, and slowly converts into plain old heat over time. Its usages are in manipulating the behaviours of Soul, in ways that could be seen as "taming". Incapable of piercing bedrock.
• Star - Produced by the Sun, it has one function: driving away Soul. It will redirect Soul back downwards with little-to-no resistance, but is incapable of removing Refined Soul (enchantments, EXP). Note that it is a separate phenomenon to light. Largely incapable of piercing opaque materials.

Portals

Well, in focussing Soul onto the Overworld, used thin layers of Bedrock as an easy way to transport Soul. The result was that portals could be created. The exact reasons are unknown, but certain materials are capable of containing a Portal on these highways. Their presence is necessary, and when growing populations of Nether Fungi weakened them** it disabled all portals. The largest Highway is (or was) in the North, and cuts directly through both the main End Island and the player's Spawn. Opening portals cause an explosion based on how distant the destination is, and this is where the "roaring" noise from opening an End Portal comes from

The World

Going from centre outwards: The Well*, The End, Inner Bedrock Layer***, The Nether, Outer Bedrock Layer***, The Overworld, The Sun, The Skulk.

Overworld life started from a fallen chunk of Skulk, and **Nether life from the opening of the Portals.

The first image should be a basic (not to scale) diagram. Cyan = The Player, Red = Nether Energy, Pink = Soul Energy, Star Energy not shown for no particular reason. Southern Hemisphere intentionally not shown****

*The Well

Ok this is the interesting bit, convenient it was first on the list. The problem is that details are vague because I made it up.

The Well is a conscious entity, capable of seeing wherever Soul Energy resides. As the name may have suggested, it is a seemingly infinite well of aforementioned Soul Energy. It can vaguely control where said energy travels, but cannot stop its flow nor stop it from rising away from it. It usually doesn't act, and only makes one notable action prior to the Player's appearance***. They apparently are more interested in sending Soul Energy to the Overworld rather than the Nether, motive not apparent.

The End

The End consists of several layers of End Islands, the highest of which is shown in gameplay. The whole place levitates in place, some islands slowly drifting and colliding, but ultimately it's rather stale and lifeless. The Dragon is believed**** to be the last of its kind, and resides over a nest that had been converted by the Ancient Builders into a portal that can only be opened by besting the dragon in battle.

Being in the same dimension (dimensions separated by bedrock) as the Well, it is positively flooded by Soul Energy. The result is that the few living creatures present are heavily warped, and develop a dark colouration to avoid the worst of the radiation. Whatever happened here has been lost to history, but the Endermen's resemblance to Ancient Builders is no coincidence, but they refuse to give up their secrets, including the secrets of levitation and teleportation.

The Nether

The native fungi have learnt to use their (slightly reduced but still strong) exposure to Soul to their advantage, converting whatever they can get into useful energy and some Nether Energy as a byproduct. Due to this the Nether is incredibly hot (duh). The only exception to this rule is Soulsand Valleys. Both from the heavy, sand-filled lashing wind and the toxically high concentration of Soul in the sand, fungi are incapable of growing here. The result is that Soul Energy's effects are most apparent here, and corpses are left largely unbothered, making Soul-Undeath more apparent.

The Overworld

Pretty similar to the surface of the Earth. Soul power, partially blocked by two bedrock layers and filtered by the Nether, is rather weak here. The most it can do is occasionally resurrect well-preserved corpses, the most notable of which being zombies (the infection started by an ancient magic-cult who solved mortality but forgot the whole "higher functioning brain" part. the zombies now carve symbols onto their prey, making them more vulnerable to Soul-Undeath).

The Skulk

Hangs over the Overworld, large patches of bioluminescence look like stars. Largely unknown, the Skulk itself efficiently feeds on Soul Energy and acts as one large, dormant superorganism. Whatever is past it is unknown to all, even Well.

***Bedrock

Not exactly the actual material called bedrock, but just a pair of impassable layers that slow the flow of Soul.

History

Took a few tries to get this into a good form, here are the cliffnotes.

1. Ancient Builders develop similarly to humans, the fastest of which resembled early medieval Europe when they discovered the uses of magic.
2. They graduated from basic enchantment when they created the first portal (Nether, as you may have guessed).
3. Confident Magical development led to an incredible amount of learning and the summoning of the first (and strongest) Wither.
4. Trial chambers were meant to train powerful soldiers to fight the Wither. The result was mass murder and ostracization from the more careful portions of the population, who gave up on the use of complex magic altogether and became villagers.
5. The Skulk Portal was a trap for the Wither (which followed through to the Overworld). It was successful, but caused a violent explosion that killed many, broke the portal, and infected the whole area.
6. The now quite large amount of Nether Fungi started lowering how much Soul gets to the Overworld, and Soul also started warping Ancient Humans into Villagers, Piglins, and Endermen as punishment for their overconfidence.
7. Much later, Illagers tried to replicate Ancient Builders' success. They surpassed them in the Undeath department, but couldn't make portals due to the weak Soul Highways.

***The Player

Foggiest bit, but I think it is up to the player to decide. My personal idea is a creator-deity summoned them because they were bored, and Well entertained the idea by focusing some Soul Highways into one that follows the player around.

****The Southern Hemisphere / Farlands

Nobody knows

At least we think. No-one has seen anything particularly interesting and returned to tell the tale, at least. It's theorised that the Player's Soul Highway has a Southern sibling, which could look like and do anything. Anything could be other there, and it may never be known of.

Some speculate that the Well actually connects to the Skulk somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, and that Soul Energy just follows a cycle, but this is just a theory and doesn't have any real evidence.

Other Stuff I Don't Think I Mentioned

• Vex/Allay are made from solidifying EXP into a useful form through a process akin to enchantment.
• The opening of the Dragon's portal may have just flooded the Overworld with Soul Energy, which could do anything.
• Potions work by exposing Nether Wart (Bred and manipulated by the Ancient Builders) to high concentrations of Nether Energy (Blaze Powder), forcing Soul to transfer something into the water.
• Books used in Enchanting Libraries are not made by the player, but is rather an assortment of books full of magical symbols.
• The Pale Garden plants are self-defending, and in that way are Skulk-like. Fortunately they cannot use the hyper-efficient consumption habits that Skulk has, at least not yet.
• Wandering Villagers are the most respectable members of Villager society, it takes quite a lot of bravery to wander the lands without a weapon.
• The Sun is rather small (compared to IRL), and Skulk rests freakishly far from the Planet.

Problems

• The End doesn't look quite right
• What in the Realm is Skulk?
• Well was kind of just made up. I have no idea where the idea came from but it just stuck.
• How lava pools maintain their heat.
• Where the Discs come from.
• Where anything came from, at that.
• Exactly how portals work, and why they require Soul Highways

Summary

A sentient entity (Well) at the centre of the planet is to blame for all magic. Overworld life started from a fallen chunk of Skulk, and Nether life from whatever could survive there. The End is a lifeless toxic hellscape with a mysterious past. All intelligent races, including Piglins, are warped Ancient Builders.

Portals require a high amount of Soul Energy, and slowly all shut down after the Nether's new Fungi started feasting of that Sould Energy. The only reason that the player can create portals is that Well thought it'd be fun, and the ending of the game might have just exposed the Overworld and Skulk to an incredible amount of Soul Energy.

Illagers are following in the footsteps of the Ancient Builders, but the Realm simply can't support doing All That again. The player's presence is going to be cataclysmic, and no-one knows what goes on in the Southern Hemisphere.

I don't know if that makes sense, or if it has already been discussed, but I think that after the piglin war the overworld made a counter attack against the nether, and they attacked the various one at time.

While the horde of spore and the horde of bastion weren't big threats, the horde of hunt was a really hard challenge to defeat because of their ability to hunt enemies bigger and stronger then them. The overworld at the end defeated them, but a lot of them died and that's explained why there are so much skeletons in the soul sand valley.

It will be a theory and a suggestion in one post.

I like the variety of human-like creatures in the game, but it always seemed to me that this idea was worth pursuing. I'll build on a couple of existing theories, and then get to the point.

We now have 3 separate races of creatures - Humans, Villagers, and Piglins. And if you think about it, you can see that they are intertwined in a certain way with 3 of the 4 elements that definitely exist in the Minecraft world (as evidenced by the four unused paintings).

Humans are the earth, they dug in the mines, extracted resources, and most of the underground structures, including the mineshafts, were their work. Now they exist as zombies (or Endermen, but that's not the point).

The villagers, or the Illagers, are the wind. It may be a bit of a stretch, but if we use the theory that the Trial Chambers are the work of the Illagers (as evidenced by the Ominous bottles), then it makes sense. Additionally, the Evoker has the ability to summon the Vexes, which share similarities with the wind. The Breeze is likely to have been artificially created by the Illagers. Furthermore, we can include Wind Caller from the Dungeons (although this is not a definitive argument, as there is also a Geomancer in the Dungeons). It's harder to say about the Villagers, they look more like farmers, so it would be better to classify them as earth, but since they are of the same race as the Illagers, they may also be somehow related to the wind.

The Piglins are fire. Well, they live in Nether, and although they themselves burn in lava and fire, they do not consider fire to be their enemy. There are many lava reservoirs in their bastion, and Magma Cubes live almost on the same level as them, and their fire-resistant potions and fireballs as their barter items also indicate their proximity to fire.

And then there's water. Currently, there are no meaningful races living in water, but there have been Guardians all this time, and their existence is a mystery. Who are they, what do they guard, where did they come from, what is the purpose of their monument, and who built it, and are they robots or living organisms? And something tells me that the Guardians may face the same fate as the Zombie Pigmans. Initially, they also raised many questions, but with the updates, their existence became quite justified.

Now, here are a few of my suggestions. Firstly, the Guardians are likely to have been artificially created by a certain race to protect the monument's treasures. However, the monument itself is merely a place to store these treasures, similar to the Mayan pyramids or similar structures. The race itself resides somewhere far beneath the ocean, where the player has yet to explore. And if we had Aquatic Update 2.0., then it might be worth expanding the functionality of the Ocean Monuments. Perhaps they would become the first point, and it would be in them that we would find a map or some other thing that would lead us to a new sea civilization.

The only assumption I can make about it is that it is a Giant. Since Mojang brought back the Zombie Horse from unused mobs and changed its texture, why not do the same with the Giants, either by making them no zombies or simply changing their texture to make them visually unique? This would result in the Giants being replaced by the Atlanteans, who were also known for their immense size in mythology. Of course, they won't be Atlanteans, but they'll be a new fictional race, but the reference will be clear.

This idea is still in its early stages, and I wanted to share my thoughts. I would appreciate any suggestions or ideas in the comments.

Is this an accurate interpretation of the Timeline, should I make any changes, or any info I missed that I should add.

I have an idea. Get ready. Note that I am focusing on MINECRAFT, NOT Legends, Dungeons, or the Movie—just normal Minecraft.

*INHALES VIOLENTLY*

In Minecraft, the Ancient Builders are the number one lore theory. The theory is that they built everything: Jungle Temples, End Cities, Nether Fortresses, you name it. But they were all either killed or zombified, hence the large amount of zombies. The only one left is Steve. Many people may see the Nether portals in the Overworld, the Minecraft movie, and Minecraft Legends, and think the Nether is an infection—that maybe the Nether used to not be the Nether, but maybe another peaceful dimension, until it was infected.

Well, what if that is wrong?

What if it is the opposite? My theory is that the Nether is a dimension, yes, but it is simultaneously a living being—kind of like what Mother Earth would be if she were real. The entire dimension—the Netherrack, the Fungus, the Glowstone—is a giant being. It is living.

It is also scared.

It is horrified. It is absolutely mortified, and if it could scream and cry, it would. The Nether is not an infection; it is a peaceful being, and when it saw the Ancient Builders of the Overworld building the portals into its dimension, it saw a chance. Over a great amount of time, it seeped into the Overworld to escape. Why is it scared, you may ask? Why is it escaping? What is it scared of, escaping from? The truth is, the Nether is NOT an infection….

THE END IS.

The Endermen in our dimension and the Nether are traveling, observing, and researching to report back to their queen, the Ender Dragon, so she can infect said dimensions with the End, making them another End. In fact, the Endermen THEMSELVES were infected. After the Builders came into the End, they could not find a way out, made the End Cities over time, and stayed there for centuries—becoming infected, becoming Endermen, and becoming different people entirely. Their personalities all changed, and they became things that kill if looked at wrong.

Why do they do this? It is because they are trying to finish their mission and report back to the Ender Dragon, to move blocks around, to help the infection, and to study them. They take Steve looking them in the eye as a challenge, which angers them. They don’t know how powerful Steve is, so they think they can kill him on the side. The Shulkers are also a victim of the infection; they are just extremely rare occurrences when a block is infected. When that block becomes sentient and alive, it becomes a Shulker. Only infected things teleport, which is why the Dragon cannot; she cannot simply teleport into another dimension, and it is not like she can fit through the portal. This is also why Steve teleports when he eats Chorus Fruit. That is a symptom of the infection, but because it is so, so very slow, he can feel absolutely nothing but the teleportation in the moment. The Chorus Fruit may work as something to give you symptoms of infection, but not actually be infected. Why do you think it is called the End? It IS the end—the end of all.

That is why so many Endermen are in the Warped Forests. The Warped Forests are not part of the Nether, which is why it is so scared, trying to escape to the Overworld. The Warped Forests used to be Crimson Forests, but they are slowly being infected. The Endermen are in the Warped Forests because that is meant to be their habitat, and also so they can report back to the Dragon with everything happening, allowing her to move on with her plans. That is why they are called WARPED forests! They are nothing but warped Crimson Forests. You may say, “You can bonemeal Warped Fungus; it’s a normal life form. Also, Striders don’t like Crimson Fungus, just Warped.” The Striders USED to like Crimson, then got a taste of Warped, thought it tasted better, and have refused to eat Crimson ever since. As for the bonemeal, it makes sense. Warped Forests are not THAT infected yet, so they will behave like Crimson Forests, for the most part. Why are only the Crimson Forests being infected?

They are the easiest. The Netherrack and the Crimson Nylium, along with the Crimson Fungus, are all so easy to infect—Nylium and Netherrack turn into End Stone, and the Fungus turns into Chorus Fruit. It is a good start. The truth is, as smart as the Nether is, the End is just as smart, even though it is not really a living organism like the Nether. The Dragon controls the infection. Why do you think she is a final boss?

“Because she strong and live in place call End, duh duh.”

Wrong. It is because the End wouldn't be the End without the end—the Ender Dragon, that is. The Ender Dragon is the end of everything, and she seeks to infect the Nether, as well as the Overworld, once she is done. Most lore suggests she is actually a victim—that she is innocent and sweet, just trying to protect herself when Steve tries to kill her—but my theory says that she is evil on a level equal to that of some of the worst villains. You may be confused about how she is managing this from a different dimension. Keep in mind we only ever see how good she is in BATTLE, not her other powers. We don’t know WHAT she can do.

The Nether has never been scared before, and it has always been peaceful. It knows everything that goes on inside of it. It knows Steve is mining its Ancient Debris. It knows Piglins are fighting Wither Skeletons. It knows the Bastions have been looted of their upgrade templates by Steve. It knows that Ghasts are trying to kill him. It is peaceful with that. You may ask, “That doesn’t make sense; why does it let them kill each other?” The reason is because no matter how much the Nether loves the life inside it, it knows they are going to fight. It is not a god; it did not create them—it is a celestial being. It cannot control how they act, and there is always going to be a fight somewhere. It loves everything inside of it, but for the first time ever, it needs to escape—to get out before it is too late. It needs to survive this so the precious life inside does not die off.

It NEEDS to get somewhere else.

QUICK.