A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH- OI! Two years in the roleplaying industry will give you such a crick in the neck (I don't care if that doesn't make sense I wanted to make a reference)! Anyways, hello! I'm X, and I'll be your writer for this journey! This isn't my first story, no...but it's been some time, certainly. I feel like I've still got some writing talent in me, but I'm sure the reviews will tell me if I've messed up some stuff! ...If I get any, that is.

So, Terraria. It's a great game, and I've become rather obsessed with it in the past few months. How obsessed? Obsessed enough to come up with a story based on it! I've noticed the Terraria fanfiction on this site is rather...small. Which stinks, because I have seen some good ones! I doubt this one will get any recognition, but hey. The fandom could use some more stories, and I'm here to provide! Especially considering this story's been in my head for a while now, so I've pretty much thought of all or most aspects of the plot.

To the normal Terraria fan who's reading this, this story is going to adhere pretty closely to the 'plot' and lore of the game, with a few liberties and some of my own interpretations thrown in for storytelling purposes. To the reader who knows little to nothing about Terraria, you probably won't care, and just want to read the story. Well, here you go! Let the adventure begin!

Prologue

The sun crawled its way over the hill-lined horizon, illuminating the morning sky with a dull blue. Its light shone on the towering trees of the forest, allowing them to cast their shadows on a lonely house atop a flat hill. It was made from a reddish wood, rich mahogany, and its roof made from a pyramid of gray bricks. Several square patches of wall were made from glass to act as windows.

Out of the house's front door came a man with deep blue, spiky hair and bright green eyes. He was donned from the chest down in a strange purple armor, and he made his way to a treeless spot several feet in front of the house. There, several tiny saplings were poking out of the ground, some of them different shapes than others.

"Mmph- the daybloom still isn't growing yet..." the man muttered to himself, kneeling down to look at the plants with a frown. "Maybe Zena can take a look at them when she's done in the house."

As he stood up, the man picked up on the sound of rustling grass nearby. Believing it to be a Slime, he put a hand over his weapon and pulled out a short, blue-violet sword. Once again, he heard something quickly move across some kind of foliage close by...but it sounded like regular footsteps, not a Slime's bouncing body. The sound was quickly followed by what sounded like...childish giggling?

Immediately, the man calmed, and a look of amusement crossed his figures. He put away the sword, then said rather loudly, "Well! Nothing seems out of the ordinary here, so I'd might as well be heading back inside!"

With that, he began to casually walk back to the house, making sure to keep his ears open. Sure enough, he heard movement heading towards a large rock near the house. He walked on, making sure he was close enough...then quickly moved over to the rock and looked over it, letting out a triumphant, "Aha- uh?"

The man quickly furrowed his brow in confusion upon seeing nobody behind the rock. With a 'hmph', he turned around...and found himself being tackled by a seemingly invisible force. As he was tackled, for a second he could see a little girl with her black hair pulled into a pair of pigtails.

"Ah! What have we here?" he said, looking down at where his 'attacker' should be, only to find nobody there anymore. Despite that, he could feel a weight clinging to his legs, and he heard a young girl's laughter, followed by, "I scared you! Didn't I?"

"Hah, you did! But, ah...?" the man replied, before tilting his head a little. "Zia, are you...invisible? How did that happen?"

"I drank one of Mommy's potions!" 'Zia' replied, presumably looking up at her father.

"Yes, that's right," a woman replied, walking over to the two. She had thick black hair pulled into a long braid being her, hazel eyes, and wore a robe the color of emeralds. Smiling in amusement, she added, "But fortunately, the effects should be wearing off in three...two...one."

Right on cue, the potion's magic wore off, and the child was fully visible again. She had green eyes like her father and black hair like her mother, as well as being dressed in a light blue shirt and gray shorts. "Aw, that couldn't have been two minutes!"

"I'm afraid it was, hun," her father replied, patting Zia on the head before glancing at his wife, Zena. "Although, I'm not sure why your mother decided to let you do a taste test on her creations."

"Oh, she got into my potions on her own," Zena replied, waving him off dismissively. "Besides, the Invisibility Potion is completely harmless, I figured I'd let Zia have a little fun with it for a little bit."

"I was like a ninja!" Zia said, immediately jumping up in some kind of karate pose. "Ooh! Or a ghost!"

"Well, even ninjas and, believe it or not, ghosts need to eat," the man replied. "I'm assuming breakfast is done, so what's say we take a break and eat?"

With that, the trio made their way back to the house, before Zia noticed something out of the corner of her eye- another man was making his way towards the house. He had bushy, strawberry blonde hair that seemed to extend over his forehead somewhat, with dull brown eyes. His shirt was a dull light gray, his pants were light blue, and his shoes were gray- but most importantly, he had on his green cap that he seemed to love most.

Zia immediately recognized this man and happily ran over to greet him. "Andrew!"

"Ah, good morning to you too, Zia," Andrew replied, ruffling the little girl's hair with a smile before turning to her parents. "Dax! Zena! Greetings!"

"Good to see you too, Andrew!" Dax greeted the man as he and Zena walked over to him. "You don't usually show up so early in the morning- but luckily for you, we were just about to have breakfast. Care to join us?"

"Well, I'd like that- but first and foremost, there's a reason I came so early," Andrew replied. "I came with a message from my father."

"Jeffrey? What does he need so early?" Zena asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is it so urgent that we have to put off the most important meal of the day?"

"Well, perhaps not," Andrew replied. "But still, it was important. He said he found something in the underground jungle- something you two have been searching for?"

"Really?" Dax asked, perking up with interest. "Well, if it's what I think it is, then it's about time! Zena, should go right a-"

"Calm down," Zena sternly told her husband. "I'm sure Jeffrey can wait until after we've all eaten."

"Er- while I'd normally agree with you Zena, you know Father doesn't like to wait too long, especially under circumstances like this," Andrew said, rubbing the back of his head with a frown. "He really wants you two at the jungle, pronto."

"Oh, that's just like him- too stern to realize us adventurers have lives too," Zena sighed, but nodded in acceptance. "Very well, we'll meet him there."

Dax seemed more eager, already pulling a spiked helmet made of purple metal out and putting it on. Zia, on the other hand, seemed rather disappointed. "You have to go already? But you didn't even eat yet, and you can't waste food!"

"You make a good point my girl- which is why you and Andrew will eat. With us gone, that means more for you two!" Dax replied, kneeling to his daughter's level with a reassuring smile. "Just make sure to save some for me and your mother- I'm sure we'll be mighty tired and hungry when we get home!"

Zia immediately perked up, nodding. Zena walked over, now donned in a blue and red spiked helmet similar to Dax's and carrying a grayish-green staff resembling a vine. "Are you ready?"

Dax nodded, standing up. Zena turned to Andrew and said, "We'll be back by nightfall- please keep an eye on Zia try to keep the place clean while we're gone."

"Of course," Andrew replied, nodding politely.

"You be sure to behave, okay?" Zena said to Zia, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. "When me and Daddy get back, we'll tell you all about our adventure."

"Okay!" Zia eagerly replied before her mother turned to head out.

"Try not to burn down the place while we're gone!" Dax called out with a hearty laugh as he followed his wife in the direction of the jungle.

Once the two adventures had gone, Andrew turned to Zia and said, "Alright, Zia- let's go enjoy that food, shall we?"

Zia nodded and followed Andrew into the house like a loyal puppy. She could only imagine what kind of story her parents would tell her when they got home- they always had great stories whenever they returned from their excursions. Maybe they'd even show her some treasure they found! Her excitement was boundless, it overshadowed any sadness she may have felt about them leaving- after all, they went off on adventures all the time, she was almost used to it.

Not to mention...some day, she'd be able to go on her own exciting adventures. Maybe even with her parents! She didn't know when exactly, but whenever it was, she couldn't wait. After all, this was the land of Terraria- and as Andrew always said, anything was possible here!

One month later...

The moon shone at its highest point in the sky, marking the midnight hour. Andrew moved through the halls of the house, groggily rubbing tiredness out of his eyes. He looked all over the rooms of the house, from the bedrooms to the main room, looking for a certain someone.

Eventually, he did find Zia- she was sitting outside, on a tree stump several feet from the front door. She was looking down at the grass shadowed by the night.

"Zia," Andrew said, walking over. "What are doing? You should be in bed..."

"...I couldn't sleep..." the child replied flatly, not looking up.

"..." Andrew sighed, sitting down in front of her. "Were you thinking about your parents?"

She nodded. "I-I had a bad dream...about what happened to them..."

Zia finally looked up at Andrew, her eyes full of dismay. "M-Mommy and Daddy are adventurers! They've fought a bunch of monsters before! They're supposed to be invincible!"

The man frowned sympathetically, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know how you feel- remember, I lost my daddy too."

Zia sniffled, and for a second Andrew was afraid she might start crying again. She didn't, however, but asked in a voice cracking with sorrow, "Why'd this happen? Why didn't they come home?"

Andrew shook his head. "Zia...there are some mobsters out there that, without proper preparation, are too powerful for even your parents to defeat. I'm sorry you had to figure that out the hard way..."

The young girl looked down again, then said, "Mommy and Daddy promised...they promised that, when they came home, they'd start teaching me to be an adventurer...we were gonna start tomorrow...and they always keep their promises!"

"Well...I wouldn't worry about that," Andrew assured Zia. "You remember what I am, right? And what my father was?"

Zia nodded. According to Andrew, he and his family were all 'Guides', people who help adventurers find their way through Terraria and gave them advice on what to do. Jeffrey had been her father's Guide, which was how Dax met his son, Andrew, in the first place.

"Well...when you were really little, your parents and I decided that I should be involved in your training," Andrew explained. "And...if something were to happen to the both of them, I was to be put in charge of your training."

"Really...?" Zia asked, looking up a bit in surprise.

Andrew nodded. "And that's not all. In the event Dax and Zena were to...be lost...I am to be the one to look after you."

"Look after me?" Zia asked again, confused.

The Guide nodded. "Basically like a godfather."

"So...you're gonna be my daddy now?" the girl asked, looking up at him.

"That's right. Now, come on, let's get you back to bed. We'll start your training tomorrow, just like your parents promised," Andrew said, standing and holding out his hand to Zia.

"..." The girl took his hand and hopped off the stump. "I still wish Mommy and Daddy could help train me..."

"I know...I know you're really upset," Andrew said. "But you're not alone here. No matter what, your family and mine are watching you from wherever they are."

"They are?" Zia asked, immediately looking around.

"You won't actually be able to see them- just know that they're there," Andrew explained with a little smile. "And don't forget- I'll be with you the whole way. I may not be Dax or Zena, but from now on, I'll be your father."

A/N: Hehe...I forgot how long it takes to write chapters...but man, was it satisfying to finish!

Welp, there you have it! Our main character's origin story! Yeah, based on the Terraria stories I've seen, I haven't really seen any that have given their character a solid backstory, which IS NOT a bad thing (and if there is a story that does gives a backstory, I probably missed it, my bad!). But, I decided to try and be unique and give my character one. Now that that's done, we can get on to the actual story! Which will begin next chapter! Stay tuned!