Here's a mini theory to start things off.
Endermites. What are they?
They're the smallest hostile mob in the game,
and they're one of the very few creatures in the game to possess the moniker of "Ender"
But to me, the weirdest detail about them is that they don't get along with the Enderman.
When confronted with each other, they just attack.
It's a strange little detail to include, since so many of the other spawns in the End
aren't hostile towards one another.
But now, consider this:
What if Endermites are actually silverfish, the obnoxious, little grey bugs that bother you up in the overworld?
What if Endermites are just silverfish who went through an End portal?
Or ate themselves a bunch of chorus fruit when they were out there in the End, or whatever?
The proof here is actually surprisingly substantial.
Cue up the checklist!
Point Number One: Both Endermites and silverfish are small.
In fact, they're both so small that they'll suffocate to death in the sinking depths of soul sand.
They're the only two hostile mobs where this sort of thing happens.
Speaking of their size, not only are they both small, technically speaking they're exactly the same size.
According to Minecraft Gamepedia, both creatures are 0.3 blocks tall and 0.4 blocks wide.
In fact, they're so similar that an early design of the Endermites was that just of silverfish.
We see it right here on screen right now.
The design was eventually changed during Java edition 1.8,
but for a while there, the two looked almost identical
Now, I know what you're thinking!
That just means that they're recolored assets. It doesn't necessarily make them the same creature
But think again
To understand exactly why, we need to look at the enchantment, Bane of Arthropods
If I'm being honest, Bane of Arthropods is pretty lame as far as enchantments go
Sure, it increases your attack damage
But it only works when fighting against one of four very specific mobs in the game
And two of those mobs are spiders. So, 50% are supposedly diverse creatures in this universe
And those two happen to be silverfish and Endermites
Meaning that at the very least, they're in the same taxonomic phylum
AP biology, what what!
But here's the kicker
The only way to get to the End is through portals that are hidden in strongholds deep underground, right?
No big surprise there
But look into how strongholds were generated, and you notice something interesting
They always have to have a portal room
That makes sense since they are the primary place that you find a portal to the endgame
But the two features required of that portal room, obviously the portal, but also a silverfish spawner
Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know about you, but this, to me, reads like the criminal's returning to the scene of the crime
So, why don't Endermen and Endermites get along?
Well, if my last theory was correct about Endermen being an ancient race of builders
Then one of their old foes would've been the silverfish
Silverfish, who are in the perfect position to leap through End portals at the same time as these ancient builders
And so now, hundreds of generations and one End portal later, that battle is still being waged
New names, new faces, but the same old enemies
But hey, that's just a theory...
A mini theory
And I'm just getting started
Hello, Internet!
Welcome to Game Theory
The show that, yes, does indeed still talk about games
And not just why platforms need to respect their smaller creators
Or why claiming video games causing violence is shortsighted
The reason I call out both those episodes, by the way, is that both of them underperformed, one even got itself demonetized
But there, in my honest opinion, two of the most important episodes that we've ever done on the channel
So, if you happened to miss either one of those, which, there's a high likelihood that you did
Please give them a watch after this video
Link is at the upper right corner of screen, that little i-card
Put that YouTube feature to use
But today, we're not talking about those episodes
Instead, I'm looking to build on another theory
One that you all seemed to like, one that started us down the path towards deciphering the hidden lore of Minecraft
Because there is lore here
It's not all giant, golden wang monuments in the distance
But unlike most games, Minecraft's lore isn't told through dialogue and cutscenes
Instead, it's communicated through subtle design choices:
Spawn conditions, character designs, achievement names, hostile versus friendly behavioral patterns
And all of that will be important today as we explore the secrets of the wither
Because last time, we looked at the End of the Minecraft story
Today, we're talking about how it all began
So, in case you missed it or just forgot
During my last major Minecraft theory, we tallied up the evidence suggesting that the Endermen are actually an evolved form of an ancient race of builders
They speak English
*Enderman speaking*
They're able to hold rudimentary blocks
It would explain why strongholds are called "strongholds" in the first place
And why mysterious structures like underwater monuments and old mineshafts are left abandoned, dotted all over the place
Dotted all over the place, when no other living creature in this universe has neither the ability to mine nor craft
The theory also explains the origins of End cities, why they contain abandoned chests full of supplies totally inappropriate for life in that hostile, purple environment
There's obviously a lot more, but you should just watch that theory if you're interested
Link is in the diddley doo
Anyway, one key element that I was speculating about in that theory was what motivated this ancient race of people to wind up in the End in the first place
They seemed like they were fleeing to it, but why?
Curiosity? An accident?
I ultimately conclude that it was to escape something, some big threat that existed out there in the overworld
Now, obviously the world is populated with zombies and creepers and skeletons
But that doesn't seem like enough to warrant building out a massive underground fortress, deep down near the bedrock
Now, after doing the research, it's my belief that these ancient builders accidentally summoned the wither
Which proceeded, then, to decimate where there's established society, killing them off by the hundreds
Until they somehow managed to flee to the End and escape
Now, why would I say this?
Well first and foremost, let's look at the achievement list, shall we?
When we defeat the Ender dragon, we get ourselves "The End." achievement, and that makes a lot of sense, right?
It's the quote-enquote "final boss" of the game after all
It cues the end credits, you're literally in a place called "The End," and it's an achievement name that totally works
But for summoning the wither, you actually get the exact opposite
"The Beginning?"
With a question mark
And then after its defeat, you get yourself "The Beginning." again
But this time, it's with a period
It's a definitive statement that directly parallels how the Ender dragon achievements are handled, but with one problem
The wither can be summoned at any time, and it very often happens after the dragon has been killed
It's not really the beginning of anything in this game
I was tempted to think that maybe it's the beginning of a new adventure post-Ender dragon
But again, that doesn't seem like a whole lot of sense since summoning and defeating the wither is completely optional in the story
And, if and when you do do it, nothing much comes of it really
It gives you a Nether star, which, for as special and unique as that item is, just allows you to build a beacon that shoots lame buffs into the surrounding area
It's not all that cool or all that meaningful
But what if, WHAT IF, the wither was the beginning in a different way
What if it's the beginning of the story for the ancient builders that started all this in motion in the first place
Look for a minute at the strongholds
They're buried super deep underground, like absurdly deep, and with literally no trace of their existence on the surface
They're like bomb shelters, safety bunkers
But they're defending against what? Zombies? Creepers?
I don't think so
You don't go to that extreme just to defend against a regular mob
But a fearsome creature like the wither that spreads death and decay to anything in its sights?
Absolutely
Especially since we know the wither flies, and also destroys any block that it touches
You're best way to avoid a creature like this is going to be by digging down far below where it can reasonably follow
Exactly what we find with the stronghold placement
In fact, it would explain why the only remaining structures from these ancient builders on the surface of the overworld are underwater monuments, underground mineshafts, and secluded desert temples
They're the only structures that the wither wasn't likely to touch and immediately destroy
And on that note, what's the key feature that exists inside of a stronghold
Well, it's a portal to the End
Now, we just established that the wither can destroy almost any block that it touches
ALMOST any block, being the operative word there
There are very few exceptions to things it can destroy
Those exceptions include bedrock, command blocks, extended pistons, and End portal blocks and End portal frames
I don't know about you, but it my society's being decimated and I'm trapped in my underground bunker, running away from this terrible beast that destroys everything it touches
I'm making sure that I'm building that last ditch escape effort using supplies that are gonna be witherproof
We also can be sure that the wither was known by the ancient builders
If you look closely at the chiseled red sandstone that was used as decorations in ancient buildings like desert temples and underwater ruins
You'll notice a hieroglyphic that clearly depicts the wither: straight body, three skeletal heads
So, whoever created these structures in the first place certainly knew that this thing existed
But how?
Or, maybe more importantly, why?
Why would anyone intentionally try to summon this thing in the first place?
Well, let's look at how it's built, shall we
The wither requires two very ingredients in order to be summoned
The first is soul sand, found throughout the Nether
Sand that's relatively unremarkable in every way
Oh yeah, except for it being composed of the souls of the d*mned
It's well known at this point that if you look at the pattern on soul sand close enough, you'll notice screaming faces staring right back at you
It's also why you get sucked back down a bit when you're walking across it, almost like the lost souls are pulling you down into them, finally getting you to join them
Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is me talking about Minecraft. Kid friendly, brand approved
So ingredient number one: four cubic meters of d*mned souls
Check mark there
Secondly, you need three withered skeleton heads
But why these particular heads and not just any skeleton head
Well, to understand that, we need to find out what makes the withered skeleton so different from its brethren
You see, withered skeletons are exclusive to Nether fortresses
This is worth noting because think about how crazy this is
We're basically in Minecraft's equivalent of H-E-double-toothpicks (HELL), a world of ghasts and blazes, where everything is set on fire and nothing can build
Heck, most of the enemy spawns here don't even have arms
And yet somehow there are fortresses here that are being supervised by large, cursed skeletons
Fortresses, mind you, that contain chests full of gold and diamonds and iron, saddles, and horse armor, all materials that aren't found in the Nether naturally
Supplies that had to have been brought down there and left by the original people who constructed these things in the first place
The End city chests function much the same way
And wouldn't you know it, they contain the same sorts of loot: iron and gold and diamonds and horse armor and saddles
Almost like it's the same people carrying their major supplies from place to place
So using this information, let me tell you a little story
An ancient race of builders descends into the Nether to harvest its resources
They construct fortresses down there to defend against the hostile environment and store their supplies
But over time, as is natural, some of their ranks die
The Nether is a dangerous and violent environment, after all
So they bury their dead in the ground
But they don't realize that this place works differently than the overworld they're used to
What little soft ground there is actually sucks the soul out of the dead bodies, giving rise to soul sand
And leaving these bodies as just an undead husk of what they once was
It produces a withered skeleton, an aggressive, charred group of bones that, as an undead, lives on to complete the purpose it was given when it was alive:
Defend its fortress
Seeing all of this, the ancient ones start to piece together an idea
If soul sand does indeed contain lost souls, and somehow gives rise to the skeletons of the dead
Maybe there's a way to combine the two and bring their dead friends back to life
These builders were a proud people
I mean, they were builders, after all
Whatever they dreamed came into being from their very hands
They had conquered the earth, they had conquered the realms of heck, and now they would conquer the one thing impossible to any man: death
They would build life itself
I mean, with the raw materials you can construct anything, right?
Why not a lost human?
You have the soul in the soul sand. You have the body in the withered skeleton
Why wouldn't it work?
The last thing I'll call out here:
You'll notice that none of the items in Nether chests are enchanted
But by the time you get to the End, a lot of them are
The reason I call this out is that it shows an escalation in the way these ancient builders started using magic
By the time they end their journey in the End, they're full blown magic users
They've start to go beyond just construction. They're starting to play with mystical forces
So, how does this story all work out?
Well, it's a classic tale of hubris
The builders, having been to the fiery depths of heck, tried to harness the ultimate resource: the power of life and death itself
They combined the soul and the body, the soul sand and the withered skeleton head, and it doesn't work
But, by this point, they're obsessed
There has to be a way to make it work like so many fictional characters before them, like Doctor Frankenstein, like the Elrics
They're convinced that they have the right ingredients, and so they start going down darker, more supernatural paths in their quest to crack the mystery
Magic, enchantment, potions
Maybe they go to the witches, already outcasts from society for their use of soul sand to concoct awkward potions and strange brews
And that's when the stumble upon it
They finally manage to create something, but it wasn't what they expected
Instead of bringing new life to a dead friend, they create a hideous and destructive beast
One out to punish them for tampering with the laws of nature itself
They make the wither, an unstoppable force
A beast that, as we know, destroys the blocks that it touches and curses anything that gets in its way with decay
Gone overnight are the great buildings that this ancient race once constructed
The only things that remain standing are temples far out into the deserts, mineshafts hidden deep underground, monuments under the water
Gone are all the people of this once great society
One by one, consumed by the wither, a disease literally eating them away from the inside
Friends, neighbors, dead, decayed
Or worse–brought back to life in the form of skeletons and zombies, the living undead that roam the landscape to this day
So for their own protection, the remaining ancient people hide underground, deep underground, down near the bedrock, in fortified bases called strongholds
Far below where the flying wither will be able to reach
With no trace of their existence on the surface, and its there where they plan their escape
They've hopped to different realms before, using portal technology. Why not again?
But this time, the portal has to be made to be witherproof, which is why End portal blocks are literally the only block type outside of bedrock immune to the wither's attacks
And from there, we know the rest
They manage to make the portal and hop to the End, but it's a one-way trip
They don't realize that the portal won't be accessible behind them
And what awaits them on the other side is something else, something completely unexpected, something that may have even been worse:
The Ender dragon
*Ender dragon roars*
But, hey
That's just a theory...
A game theory!
Thanks for watching
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