Halfast

Halfast
General Details
Era	Eighth Era—Present
Day Length	20 minutes
Head of State
HyperSilence

“	"How long do you think you can last?"	”
	—HyperSilence

Halfast was a world colonized during the Eighth Era.

HyperSilence created it as a safe harbor for Hollowers left adrift after Dragonhollow vanished from the known universe at the end of the Seventh Era.

Despite initially being considered an aimless, temporary project without much depth or planning, over time through the efforts of its founder and his friends, Halfast came to be seen as the spiritual successor of Dragonhollow and the new home of its long-standing community.

Regions

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	"this place looks amazing omg"
	—Nico

Picture	Region	Entry Point	Era	Notes
	Asgarth	Fish Bowl	8th Era	The first land settled on Halfast
	Midgard	Skyloft Palace	9th Era	A new unspoiled territory
	Asphodel	The Meadows	10th Era	A shrinking land with no claims
	Novigrad	Skyloft Palace	11th Era	A place of cherry groves and ancient cities
	Majora	Skyloft Palace	12th Era	A province with ominous trial chambers

History

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Advent

	"Figured I’d make an open space for those who’d like to join me."
	—HyperSilence

HyperSilence in the early days of Halfast

After Dragonhollow vanished from the universe—consumed by Nyx, the long foretold Eternal Night—the surviving Hollowers spread across the stars and settled on other planets.

Having grown nostalgic for the simpler times when he would roam with, live alongside, and occasionally kill his friends and foes, HyperSilence created a colony on the distant world of Halfast. Using the faster-than-light communications network Discord, he broadcast an open invitation for all Dragonhollow refugees to accompany him in building a new home for the years to come.

HyperSilence's summons was heard far and wide and he was soon joined by a number of his fellow expatriates. They settled in the land of Asgarth, where they built the towns of Koan and Iolanthe along the River Roaring, though a rampant infestation of angry pillagers made early life difficult.

Jrod defeated the ender dragon Starsmoke.

BEEEEES

Though Hyper reminded residents expect a "half-assed" experience and keep expectations low, some lamented the fact that every visitor had to receive permission in advance to join, while others were disappointed that person-to-person combat was prohibited. Many veterans had to return at all.

Halfast struggled to find its own identity and emerge from the long shadow cast by Dragonhollow, ultimately awaiting a time when the community became more comfortable with the balance between past and present.

Rise

	Absurd: YAY!!! HyperSilence: Hahaha we missed you too buddy <3 Wiz: Damn what is happening Wiz: Everyone is coming back ;_;
	—Old veterans come home

Zerg, Jrod, Sharkberries, and Alec prepare to ride the water slide beneath Iolanthe

Sharkberries began an ambitious effort to renew interest in Halfast and grow the community, beginning with word-of-mouth efforts via Discord and the construction of the Camillia city-state, which would eventually become the planetary capital.

Inspired by his efforts, HyperSilence made it possible for anyone in the universe to reach Halfast and launched a promotional campaign designed to convince newcomers to visit the planet. He collaborated with Shark in the creation of the Fish Bowl, a new entrance point featuring parkours and random teleportation into the wilderness.

Ranks were reestablished and perks were added for citizens and veterans. Rules governing combat between residents were changed to be less restrictive in order to appeal to a wider audience without compromising the agency of those wishing to abstain.

Downtown Camillia, the capital of Halfast

HyperSilence chose Sharkberries, Jinx, Zen, Sleekit, and Tox to serve in his new ruling hierarchy as Arbiters of Halfast, charged with upholding the values of Halfast and issuing punishments when necessary.

These actions were well received and the transformation of Halfast into a more vibrant destination led to an influx of activity both from fresh arrivals and longtime veterans.

Jrod and the Scylfings were the planet's primary threats early on, murdering travelers and confiscating their loot. The return of Greywatch offered refuge and resistance against deadly banditry, but after their foes allied together to form Eternal Chaos, the rivalry between the two organizations came to dominate the landscape of the Eighth Era.

By popular demand and in collaboration with the magician Lilac, HyperSilence reinstated the Top Survivor event by hosting Halfast Survivor, pitting his residents against the elements and each other in a battle over who could survive the longest. Alec was the first victor, claiming Phantom Armor that made him unseen to monsters he encountered in the wild.

Bellona Ender Dragon Fight Highlights - HalfastMC

The desert community of Vibe Town became the largest town on Halfast, home to many old veterans from Dragonhollow who had not been seen in aeons.

On 8E:333, warriors gathered to do battle against a fierce ender dragon and each other in the first WeekEnd event with Eternal Chaos securing the lion's share of the loot. To prevent a recurrence their foes allied against EC during the second WeekEnd, but future WeekEnds saw the community put aside their adversarial differences and work together to defeat the dragons.

When both WeekEnds and Halfast Survivor came to an end, Halfast's zenith of popularity inevitably started to fade. Despite a redecoration of the Fish Bowl and a radically altered Nether that promised never before seen materials and environments, the decline continued until the world became a vacant memory of better days.

Midgard

Main article: Midgard

	"this is midgard man"
	—Jinx

Wiz inside an amethyst geode

On 9E:1, HyperSilence invited residents to return to Halfast and explore the unspoiled wilderness of a new land known as Midgard.

Absurd became the opening casualty of the Ninth Era and Jrod mined its inaugural diamond, while Boiled Rice was the earliest to obtain elytra wings. Jrod drew first blood from an enemy by killing Lex, the beginning of a streak of mayhem that would leave Lex with dozens of deaths but in possession of Jrod's elytra, an outcome both were satisfied with. Gabault, Alec, and Jrod slayed the ender dragon Aeriax on 9E:2 and claimed its egg for Eternal Chaos. AKVothe was the earliest to construct a beacon and upgrade it to full strength.

Boiled Rice discovered the first Hyper Dungeon on Halfast, a Hyper Mansion that he mistook for a regular woodland mansion. With some difficulty, he managed to retrieve its treasure with the help of Jrod on 9E:8. Alec later discovered and raided the first Crystal Dungeon on 9E:250.

Nico says it's hammer time

On 9E:18, ethereum was introduced as the official currency of Halfast to be redeemed for items in the Midgard Markets.

Over time, the broadcasting of death coordinates over Discord proved a boon to claim-raiders, allowing them to locate and scavenge abandoned properties for valuables such as beacons and elytra.

On 9E:253, the monstrous world serpent Jörmungandr emerged from the deepest ocean trench on Halfast, sending thousand meter tsunamis crashing across Midgard causing flooding as far inland as the Eternal Depths. The protective seals of the golden shovel immediately failed and led to widespread looting, but as Midgard sank beneath the seas its populace made for the unsullied shores of Asphodel.

Asphodel

Main article: Asphodel

	Y: well the closer you are the longer it will take the border to get to u Alec: oh is boarder supposed to shrink? Alec: usually it expands on here Alec: oh shit Alec: 30 day border shrinks 5k Y: yeah lol Alec: that kinda wild
	—Residents discuss Asphodel's shrinking border

Sharkberries' terraformed mushroom isle

On 10E:1, HyperSilence announced that Asphodel was open for travel. The very same day, Gabault raced to face down and defeat the ender dragon Rhadamanthys, the fastest in recorded history to do so, in turn becoming the first to possess a dragon egg and obtain elytra. Among all citizens, Y earned the dubious distinction of suffering the opening death of the Tenth Era but also mined its first diamond. Tox forged the land's first beacon.

Asphodel remained lightly populated. Most newcomers died and then disappeared, while many veterans were reluctant to settle there for a variety of reasons: it was widely known that the region was to be short-lived, soon to be abandoned; the inability to make claims protected by the golden shovel jeopardized new construction; and visits were further complicated by rumors of a dangerous shrinking border.

Nevertheless, a number of rugged individuals established a presence there, though they remained isolated from each other and rarely engaged in trade or communication. With HyperSilence's announcement of a new unexplored land opening to the public, no one saw any reason to remain in Asphodel.

Novigrad

Main article: Novigrad

	"A Blood Moon has risen in Novigrad."
	—The moon rises red above Novigrad

Kingkauw angers an enderman while exploring a warped forest

HyperSilence welcomed travelers old and new to the land of Novigrad on 11E:1. The first person to step foot on its soil was Jrod. Though FlyingPokemon was the initial casualty of the Eleventh Era, he also excavated a diamond and constructed a beacon before all others.

On 11E:2, adventurers from the Knights of Ishtar defeated the ender dragon Orochi and KingOfDaWild collected its precious egg as a battle trophy. Seven days later he became the first mortal on Halfast to die during a Blood Moon.

MonsterKay became "The Watcher" on 11E:14, an all-seeing eye who broadcasted everything she saw across the universe. This made it difficult to stay hidden and gave warriors a powerful new tool with which to hunt their targets, but also provided their prey with an early-warning system to see if they were in danger.

On 11E:36, the Novigrad Nest became accessible in The End, offering all residents the chance at defeating unique ender dragons and obtaining valuable loot.

Bassilith, Lord of Ice attacks King in the Novigrad Nest

On 11E:46, the Novigrad Market greatly expanded and the Novigrad Black Market opened for business, offering a number of items in exchange for ethereum and dragon eggs.

FlyingPokemon became the era's first "Top Survivor" on 11E:48 after winning the opening month of Novigrad Survivor.

With no organized factions present to challenge or counter their ascendancy, the Knights of Ishtar quickly became the most influential presence in Novigrad. After being the first to construct a beacon and bring it to full power, they invited a confederacy of allies to settle on the islands of their Archipelago. As the Knights of Isthar aggressively spread their faith across the land through a combination of philanthrophy and power, they clashed with those who vehemently rejected their beliefs and saw them as little more than a cult of zealots. A wave of temple desecrations and attacks on Ishtar worshippers led to violent reprisals, eventually leading to open war. This Ishtari Conflict was characterized by a series of military stalemates and proxy struggles over Novigrad Survivor and loot left by dragons from the Novigrad Nest.

Jrod, FlyingPokemon, and Gabault ring in the New year with fireworks at Skyloft Palace

On 11E:52, HyperSilence announced that three new ranks—Warrior, Knight, and Sorcerer—were available for purchase in order to support Halfast. Sharkberries was the first to do so.

On 11E:75, the outer borders of Novigrad grew by one kilometer to a total of 8k, expanding the province a total area of 64 kilometers².

HyperSilence re-opened the Dueling Arenas, making two available to the public on 11E:142. Asphodel Arena was for serious competitive battles, where death resulted in a lost inventory and an end to one's Top Survivor streak. In contrast, Elysium Arena allowed casual low-stakes duels where inventories and XP were kept upon death and Top Survivor streaks were unaffected.

The war between the Knights of Ishtar and their enemies from the Unbroken Chain heated up when Jrod executed a nighttime aerial raid on their headquarters and killed both FlyingPokemon and KingOfDaWild during the Second Battle of the Sapphire Spires. However, they had their revenge on 11E:195 when Kingkauw trapped Jrod at the Emmey Cube and blew him up with TNT. This paved the way for Kingkauw to be named Top Survivor of the sixth month of Novigrad Survivor four days later.

TraumaticWheel and Henry pose in front of Ilium

On 11E:257, the Novigrad border expanded by four kilometers to 12k, giving the province a total area of 144 kilometers². Cherry blossoms, sniffers, trail ruins, and other curiosities were found in this untapped wilderness. To celebrate the occasion, HyperSilence remodeled parts of Skyloft Palace and made the Update 1-20 Kit available.

An upswell of activity occured late in the era. Ishtar worshippers built, restored, and improved their temples, while another mysterious organization began raising crosses across the land. Elsewhere, the expansion and renovation of Ilium saw its population grow until it became the largest active settlement on Halfast.

After HyperSilence announced that Novigrad would be abandoned, lawless anarchy broke out across the land as bandits looted freely and and dark sorcery became commonplace.

Majora

Main article: Majora

	"Welcome to Majora."
	—HyperSilence

FlyingPokemon was first to arrive in Majora

Majora opened for travel on 12E:1. FlyingPokemon was the land's initial visitor. Kingkauw suffered the earliest death at the axe-wielding hand of his compatriot Poke, but redeemed himself by mining the first diamond, constructing the first beacon, obtaining the first ancient debris, and opening the first ominous vault in history.

Behind the Scenes

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The following is out-of-universe information about real-world Halfast.

	"I’m hosting a server for a year. It’s currently whitelisted, so if you’d like to join @ me in General. There’s no plugins, permissions, rules, or anything like that. It’s basically just a Half Assed server I made that I can play on with you guys or by myself."
	—HyperSilence announces Halfast

The original Half-Assed logo

Half-Assed was a Minecraft server created by HyperSilence on July 10th, 2019. Though previously whitelisted, it was made public on October 18th, 2019.

The server was officially rebranded as Halfast on February 17, 2020 to match the server's lore name on the Wiki. A new map called Midgard was launched on July 30, 2021. Halfast's third map, Asphodel, opened on April 9, 2022. A fourth map, Novigrad, opened on October 14, 2022.

Halfast's early lore borrowed heavily from Norse mythology, in contrast with Dragonhollow which often incorporated the ancient Greek mythos. The first map, Asgarth, was another spelling of Asgard, home of the Old Norse gods. The second map, Midgard, was the Norse name given for the Earth, sometimes translated literally as "Middle-Earth" which inspired the fictional setting of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Later maps went against convention, with Asphodel being named after a location in the roguelike video game Hades, itself a reference to the Asphodel Meadows of Greek mythology where—rather appropriately, "where the souls of people who lived mediocre lives remain," and Novigrad after the city of the same name from the Witcher universe.

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