In The Beginning...

It seemed fitting to go back to the very beginnings of my misadventures.  While Glass Island today is a grand structure that glows defiantly through the scary night, it had far more humble beginnings.  It didn't start off any different than most islands in Minecraft - lots of beaches, grassy hills, trees and a sheer cliff face.  If anyone wants to explore this map themselves, here's the seed.

Seed: -1580243858560777075

Spawn: 112, 64, -221

By extracting my seed and taking a trek, I can show you what Glass Island used to look like.  It's a lot bushier than I remember, since I started long before there were tall grass and ferns.

A wild, untouched island awaits

Two sand pillars mark my original spawn point, even today.

It's been countless hours since I first landed in Avalorn - armed with little but some Let's Play video knowledge and a naive expectation that I'd totally ace my first night.  I was going to have a warm snug cave to sleep in, maybe even a bed, right off the bat!  Well, here's how it played out.

Hm, no sheep. Ah well, there was going to be plenty of crafting to do during the night anyways.
Collected lots of sand!  Oh yeah, I was going to have spiffy glass windows.
Attacked trees!  Wood was vital, I knew, for tools and that all important workbench.

Feel the wrath of my stone axe, tree!

In typically newbish fashion, I was quickly absorbed into the task of getting every bit of wood down from this huge tree.  The feeling of satisfaction as it finally began to crumble was quickly replaced by terror as I realized things were getting darker, not lighter, despite the dissipation of the leafy canopy above. 

The sun was setting.

Bolting back to the cliff face, I hastily dug out a small cave to hide in.  Things were getting even darker as I put down my workbench and assembled a furnace.  I managed to get it down in the pitch darkness of my cave, but by that time I couldn't see where it was to make some charcoal.  Rasping growls and rattles echoed above my head.  An arrow thunked into the wall beside my hole, and I spent the night cowering in the back of my cave, waiting for the first glimmer of dawn.

Lesson learned.  Torch making > tree chopping