Tommy follows behind Captain Jordan Sparklez of the Imperial Guard. He is close enough that he can touch the dark red sparkles that trail behind the starborne hybrid's overcoat. When the sparklez touch his skin, they fracture into even tinier sparkles. They disperse in a puff like a firework, though they make no sound nor do they feel like anything in particular. Tommy is completely fascinated by them, and he has to hold back his giggles as he waves his hands around, trying to disrupt as many of the sparkles as he can. If Jordan notices what he is doing, the guard makes no comment about it.

Tommy had been playing in his room under Chivonne's watchful eye when someone knocked on his door. Chivonne answered, and she allowed Jordan into Tommy's private chambers. After the appropriate greetings were given, Jordan told Tommy that he was personally tasked by the tsaritsa to introduce Tommy to his new tutor. Tommy had, apparently, grown old enough to sit in a classroom for the majority of his day. Tommy bemoaned the thought of having to go to school- or some variant of it- again, but he supposes that the curriculum will be very different in this world than it was in his original world. Tommy was excited to at least find out what sort of subjects he might be able to learn. He wondered near the beginning of their walk why Jordan, the captain of the guard, would be given the responsibility of escorting Tommy instead of a servant, but he has since come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. Not to him, in any case.

Jordan stops in front of a door to a room that Tommy has never been through. The guard standing right beside the door raises his hand up to his chest, giving the salute to his commander. Jordan waves his gloved hand, and the guard at the door twists around to open the door from Jordan and the young prince. The guard does not make eye contact as the two pass through the door, even though Tommy is staring intently at him. Once Tommy is firmly in the room, the guard shuts the door again. Presumably, he gets back into position.

"Your highness, allow me to introduce you to Marchioness Kara Corvus," Jordan states, stepping out of Tommy's way. The blonde looks up to find his teacher sitting at a desk near the window in a quaint version of a library, more akin to a study than anything else. The walls to his left and right are entirely made from bookshelves. The wall right across from him is mostly glass windows allowing sunlight to stream through their panes. The wall around the door is covered in maps and posters about what Tommy assumes are mathematical, scientific, and magical formulas.

Kara sets down her cup of tea on a saucer, rising from her wooden and plush chair. She steps to the side of her desk, and she grabs hold of the skirt of her dark red dress. She pulls the dress up as she curtsies. When she rises, her red-brown eyes find Tommy's face without a hint of hesitation. She smiles kindly at him, tilting her head to the side in a bird-like manner. The feathers sticking out from her brown hair flutter slightly, and her wings twitch as she pulls them up to her shoulders.

"Your serenity, this is his highness, Prince Theseus, Lord Tiberius, the Little Star of the Empire," Jordan introduces Tommy, using all the titles currently attached to Tommy's person. In due respect, Tommy nods his head at Kara. When he lifts up, he makes certain to meet her eyes again. He is not afraid of her, no matter what he's read in the Ender Prince. He doesn't remember the Ender Prince ever mentioning who Theseus' teacher was, but he knows that it couldn't have been Kara. The book would have made special note of that, particularly in a conversation between Wilbur and Ranboo about the nobility of the empire. Wilbur complimented Kara's cleverness. He didn't say anything more than that. If Kara was Theseus' teacher, Wilbur definitely would have taken a shot at her reputation or Theseus' scholarly ability.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness," Kara says. Her tone implies she's relaxed, and the state of her wings reaffirms this assumption. She flaunts them, wearing them behind her like one wearing an expensive new cloak. In the empire, hybrids are highly respected. None more than avians, since they are directly part of the creation myth of the empire. Kara is a little more unique than simply being an avian, though. She is specifically a crow avian. In the past, this wouldn't have been anything to pay special attention to, but Tsar Philza is also a crow hybrid. Kara does come from a bloodline of crows, hence her family name of Corvus, but it had thinned so much that most of her predecessors had not been born with the hybrid traits. This caused a few rumors to start, but they were quelled over the years. Tommy has to admire Kara's willingness to show off her wings, especially in the palace.

"Your highness," Jordan starts, leaning down on his knee in front of Tommy. He keeps his head down as he speaks to the prince. "I know this might not seem like much, but I personally trust her serenity, Kara. If that does not ease your worries, please know that I have a guard stationed outside of this room. If anything happens, he will see to it that you remain safe."

Tommy really doesn't know if something will happen. He might have knowledge about the future, but that only extends to what he remembers of the Ender Prince. No one mentioned any particular events happening during Theseus' schooling, so Tommy supposes that he will be fine. In any case, a ripple in fate is exactly what Tommy has been trying to achieve for a while now. It is better for him that he has a teacher who Theseus didn't have.

Jordan stands back up. He gives Kara a hesitant smile. She returns the smile with more confidence. Jordan exhales in relief. He bows to both of them. "I will dismiss myself. I wish you luck, your highness, on your first session."

Jordan leaves the room, and Tommy catches sight of the guard at the doorway. The guard glances back, meeting Tommy's eyes for a moment. The guard quickly looks away, shutting the door back. Tommy squints, wondering what that was about.

"Your highness," Kara starts. Tommy looks away from the door at her. She is standing in front of her desk. She leans against the wood, gesturing to the other desk in the room. Tommy stares at it idly. It looks like a mirrored version of Kara's own desk. It is the same height and made from the same material. The chair is slightly different to account for Tommy's shorter height and lack of wings, but it doesn't appear to be superior or inferior to Kara's chair. Despite the fact that she is his teacher and he is a student, or that she is marchioness and he is a prince, they are equal to each other in this classroom. At least, the desks imply that. Tommy doesn't know if that much thought was put into it.

Tommy sits at the desk. He stares up at Kara. She is no longer smiling. She wears a neutral expression. She is analyzing him. Tommy squirms in his seat, but he doesn't look away from her eyes. She raises a hand up to touch the side of her face with her fingers. She begins tapping her index finger on her cheek as she asks, "What would you like to learn?"

Her tone is very earnest. It unnerves Tommy, but it also makes him feel better. She isn't treating him like a child or a prince. She is treating him as a student. It is refreshing to speak with someone who doesn't have any sort of connection to him. Her tone also reminds him of Techno, so Tommy takes her question as seriously as she says it. He narrows his eyes in determination. "Politics, elementals, and healing magic."

Kara stares at him for a long moment, weighing his answer in her head. Tommy refuses to look away. He wants to know politics mainly because it will be very beneficial to him. He will know how to ally himself with in order to ensure his safety. His life depends on Wilbur succeeding Philza, after all. He doesn't want anyone to consider for a moment that he is a viable choice. He refuses to go against Wilbur in a fight for the throne. He wants to know more about elementals for his own benefit. He thinks they are fascinating, and Ranboo did not ask nearly enough questions about them for Tommy's tastes. The healing magic is the most obvious one. He doesn't know what exactly happened to Theseus to make his magic go haywire, so Tommy doesn't know if he'll be able to stop it. If Tubbo does somehow get hurt, Tommy wants to be able to assist him.

A smile breaks out across Kara's face. She lowers both of her hands to push against her desk. She stands up, walking over to Tommy's desk. "As long as you have a desire to learn, I will endeavor to teach you everything."

"How can one person teach me everything?" Tommy asks, tilting his head at Kara's promise.

Kara's smile somehow gets even bigger. She repeats his question, but she puts emphasis on the words. It seems like Tommy has found the question they'll be studying for his entire academic career. At least he's found an interesting question. "How can one person teach everything?"

Kara moves away from his desk. She plucks a book from the shelf behind her desk. She drops the book down on her desk. Tommy flinches slightly at the loud noise it makes. She runs her fingers along the spines of the books. He winces when she keeps dropping books in her pile. She stops getting books when she has a fairly large stack on her desk. She moves the stack around to grab a book from the middle. She places that book down gently on Tommy's desk. She opens it up to a page near the beginning of the book. She begins speaking, "We will begin with language: reading, writing, and speaking. Communication is the foundation of society. As a prince, your words should be understood by everyone who hears them for whichever meaning is applicable to them."

Kara flips a few more pages until they are staring at a page with small words written all across it. Tommy stares at the script for a moment. He understands what the page is saying, but he couldn't read any of it out loud. He wouldn't be able to say the names of the letters, either, if that is what this vaguely Latin-script alphabet is. "We will start with the language of your homeland, the Antarctic Empire. As of right now, your peers will be learning how to read and write in this language, as will you."

Kara steps back, gesturing to the stack of other books on her desk. "After that, we will begin with basic mathematics. If we have time, the remainder of my time spent with you will be devoted to geography and history. Only if you reach a good point in both your language and mathematics class will I teach you those two subjects."

Kara raises her hand to point towards the other books in the room, still affixed to the walls. "As you progress in your studies and prove yourself, I will teach you more complex subjects, including politics and elementals. I'm afraid I do not know much about magic, least of all healing magic, but I will learn it myself so that I might teach you. However, this, like politics and elementalism, is a reward. Earn it, little prince."

Tommy knows a challenge when he hears it, and he will always rise to the bait. It sounds like Kara doesn't believe he will ever reach a point where she will be able to teach him about the things he actually wants to learn. Tommy is going to prove her wrong.

Kara must understand that he has accepted her challenge because she begins almost immediately. She sets an unapologetically brutal pace. She marches through each thing that he must learn. When she sees that he is confused, she will slow down to explain in much more depth or use an example. Although Tommy already knows a lot of this, he feels a little better after a refreshing from who he believes is a professional. Eventually, they do get to the end of the lessons on the alphabet of the empire and the basics of addition and subtraction. Kara seems impressed enough with him that she pulls a book off the shelf behind her. She sets it down on Tommy's desk, pushing away the leather notebook he was using to practice writing in. It is a much thicker book than his language and mathematics textbooks, so Tommy leans forward in his seat as Kara finds the correct page. She turns the book around, showing it to Tommy. He leans back. Although there are words on one side of the book, the neighboring page is decorated with multiple people in a fairytale-like artstyle.

"There are many stories about how the nations came to be. Each land has their own gods, or they worship different aspects of the same deity. Although scholars can trace patterns that exist in nearly every religion, they are fundamentally different from each other," Kara begins. Tommy blinks, paying attention to her words. Ranboo never asked about the creation of the world. He sometimes got into conflicts involving religious sects, but he never paid any more attention to their rites than necessary. It wasn't important to Ranboo's journey. Tommy never questioned it in his previous world because why would an author make up a creation myth? Why should the readers care even if the author had an inkling?

"This is the story known to the people of the Antarctic Empire. In the very beginning, there were no gods. There was only darkness and the primordial waters. At some point, a consciousness formed inside of the water. It grew more self-aware, and it eventually gave itself the name Mojang. As the consciousness developed an identity, it began to experience emotions. One of the most profound was loneliness. Mojang took some of the darkness, and it formed it into a goddess. This was the goddess of death, Misstrixtin. As soon as she came into existence, her counterpart, the god of life, XD, also came to be.

"Mojang was content with its two children, but Misstrixtin and XD wanted more. Together, they pulled land from the seas. The land XD touched became fertile with life, but the land Misstrixtin pulled up was barren. XD created the sky, and Misstrixtin created fire. XD created oceans and freshwaters, and Misstrixtin created lava. XD created animals, and Misstrixtin created Mobs. XD created elementals, and Misstrixtin created magic.

"Round and round they went, each creating something new. Unfortunately, the two halves of a world were not able to coexist together. For this reason, Misstrixtin and XD separated the realms. Misstrixtin called her land the Nether, and XD called his land the Overworld. After they separated these two worlds, connecting them by a portal, they separated the primordial waters and darkness from their worlds, calling this new place the End. XD and Misstrixtin created the guardians together, a trio of gods who each governed over one of the realms. The Overworld was governed by Mianite. The Nether was governed by Dianite. The End was governed by Ianite. XD and Misstrixtin endeavored to create new things. They created the humans, hybrids, elementals, and all manner of creatures from other nations by uniting their powers. And the more they created, the more gods sprung into existence. In the Antarctic Empire, it is a commonly held belief that gods are merely the absolution of a particular concept. For example, although Misstrixtin is known as the goddess of death, we believe she is the force of death itself. As such, when something is created, a god will form alongside it to become the epitome of it."

"Are there not more realms than the End and the Nether?" Tommy asks. Most people refer to the End and the Nether as the lost realms because portals to them no longer exist. A lot of knowledge about these realms has been lost to time, but Tommy was under the impression there were even more lost realms.

"It is highly disputed. There are claims of a strange portal being found in ancient underground cities. This portal is distinctly different in appearance from a Nether portal or an End portal, but we cannot confirm that it was not used to get to one of these two realms. Other than that, we have speculated there are more because we have records of ancient people speaking about places that don't quite line up with our ideas about the Nether or the End. That fact is taken with a grain of salt since no one actually knows what the Nether or the End is like. No one has seen it, only read and intensely studied the reports," Kara answers. Tommy frowns. Kristin came from a lost realm a long time ago. No one knows how the portal opened, and no one has been able to make it open since. In a few years time, Ranboo will come stumbling out of an End portal. Again, no one knows why or how to activate it again. Tommy doesn't even know how. He didn't actually finish the Ender Prince before he died, so he doesn't know how the story concludes. He assumes Ranboo was able to make it home to the End.

Kara looks out the window. A frown comes onto her face. "I fear that is all the time we have today, your highness. We have another class to attend today. It is in a different classroom with another teacher, so I will not be going with you. It was a pleasure to instruct you today. I hope that you will bring the same enthusiasm tomorrow. Be certain to study your letters and numbers," Kara says, starting to reshelve books. Tommy hesitates. He didn't know he was going to another class today.

As Tommy starts collecting his belongings, he looks up at Kara's back. She has beautiful wings, Tommy notes. He's gotten used to seeing Philza's wings, and while he can see the similarities, Tommy is still astounded by the fact that he is in a world where people of animalistic traits. Kara does not seem concerned with the fact that wings are growing out of her back. She simply carries them as she does her arms or legs because this is normal for her. This is normal for everyone in the empire. It is slowly becoming normal for Tommy, and the thought confounds him. How could he be getting used to being in an entirely other world? He is in a book right now! It's an anomaly that he's stopped questing because he won't get answers. It's so strange in the most fascinating way.

"Do you have something you wish to say, your highness?" Kara asks, looking over her shoulder at him, pulling her wing down so it doesn't get in the way of her line of sight.

"I- oh, well... uh... why did you want to become my teacher?" Tommy answers. It is an excuse, but he is curious why she would choose to be his tutor in this life and not in Theseus'. Although Tommy had plans to interact with her, he hasn't yet. He hasn't changed Theseus and Kara's relationship, not in any significant way.

"I volunteered to do this. I have gone to many parties at the palace. Some of which you have attended. You always had these... soulful eyes, I suppose. It seemed like you knew more than you let on. It seemed like you felt more than anyone else in the room. You intrigued me, and I felt like I understood you even before we officially met," Kara answers, returning to shelving the books. Tommy closes his gaping mouth. He was not expecting an answer like that. He thought he had been more careful in keeping his intelligence from showing, but he supposes eyes will always be the windows to the soul. "What reconfirmed my position was your eagerness to learn. I prefer students who desire knowledge. My own teacher would have loved you."

—

"She looks like the tsar," Ranboo whispers, pointing at a woman in the crowd. She wears a black and red dress with a long brimmed hat over her brown hair. She is speaking with Captain Sparklez. Ranboo makes his comparison, however, because she has dark black wings that remind him of Philza's wings. The only difference is there her feathers are cleaner and kept in much more pristine condition.

"Oh, her?" Wilbur says, lowering his wine glass. He squints slightly at the person Ranboo gestured to. "That is Kara of House Corvus. She's a witch, literally. Proficient in potions and curses. She's also extremely intelligent. She's probably even more clever than I am. There were rumors that she's Father's half-sister when I was younger, but I don't think anyone talks about it anymore. Other than the fact that they both have crow wings, they don't look all that similar."

"She looks similar to you," Ranboo says. Once the words are out, he reaches his hand up to cover his mouth. He winces, looking to the side to see how Wilbur reacted. The prince doesn't show any specific emotion. He hums curiously, probably noting that his hair and eyes are more similar to Kara than either of his parents. Philza is blonde with blue eyes, and Kristin had black hair with purple eyes. Theseus looks like both of his parents combined. Wilbur and Techno, however, aren't exactly close. Most people can rationalize Techno's appearance as latent Nether genes, but Wilbur's brown hair and brown eyes seem to have formed independently of his parents.

"Well, that's a possibility. Since she's the one from a bloodline of crows, Father could have been an illegitimate child of a Corvus. That would explain his genetics and my appearance," Wilbur shrugs. "But it doesn't matter, does it? Kara's parents are dead, and dead men don't share their secrets. Even if Kara or Father knew the truth, they wouldn't reveal it. People can speculate, but we'll never get confirmation. No use in worrying, is there?"

"I guess not," Ranboo says, rubbing his upper arm hesitantly. He looks away from Kara, deciding to ask about someone else.

—

Tommy should have known what his second class was going to be. He did tell Kristin that he wanted to learn the piano, after all. He simply isn't used to a mother remembering what he said, much less caring enough about it to fulfill the promise that she made to him several years ago at this point.

His teacher introduces herself as Clara. She does not hold rank in the Antarctic Empire, but since she is teaching Wilbur how to play guitar and taught Techno how to play the violin, she is treated as a lady. She is a starborne hybrid like Captain Sparklez, but her sparkles are a deep purple-blue color instead of bright red. Her black hair is pulled up on top of her head in a ballerina bun. Her eyes are the same color as the sparkles surrounding her, if a little darker. She bows to Tommy as she explains that she will be teaching him how to play the piano.

She sits on the bench now. She flips through the pages of a book of musical sheets. She finds a song, and she begins to play it. Tommy stands off the side, and thankfully, he's behind her. He doesn't want anyone to see the bright smile that forms on his face. He loves the sound of the piano. It makes him think of his past life. Although a lot of the more mundane memories have already faded, sometimes, something will trigger one of those memories he thought he had let go of. He remembers darting into a store, soaking wet and covered in bruises. He hid from the customers and workers, and curled up into a ball behind some large black object that he later realized was the back of a speaker. After a few minutes, music began to fill the store. Tommy peered around the speaker, staring at some lady playing piano. He didn't know what song she was performing- doesn't quite remember now and definitely didn't know the name of it then- but he remembers how it made him feel. He was happy. He was comforted. Despite shaking from the cold water and pain of knowing his parents hated him, he felt a sense of warmth. The store owner found him after a few songs, kicking him out as if Tommy was a stray animal. The woman continued playing the piano even after Tommy had run so far away that he could no longer hear it.

There were other soft moments accompanied by piano music. Either it was playing over a speaker or he saw someone playing in a store or outdoors. Tommy doesn't know anymore. He just remembers wishing he could play like those people. He remembers wishing he could live in the songs instead of going to the apartment he slept in.

"Come sit beside me, Prince Theseus. I will teach you scales," Clara says, drawing Tommy out of his reminiscing. He sits on the bench beside her. She presses down different keys, telling him what note they are and in what order to play these notes in. Tommy follows her instructions with a smile on his face.

—

He throws the spear forward with all the strength in his body. Like a lightning bolt from a storm cloud, it shoots forward from his hand, beaming with light and sounding like thunder. It flies across the distance in a short amount of time. It pieces its target. He falls to the ground, no longer having the momentum or magic energy to remain skybound. As he starts to plummet, he feels a pair of avicular claws dig into his shoulders. His descent is softened until he's rolling across the mirror-like glass that makes up the ground of her domain.

"Why-" He hears. He looks up, meeting the dark eyes of the goddess. She coughs, golden ichor spluttering from her lips. It drips down her chin as she stumbles forward, raising a hand to reach him. Divine power forms together into a loose ball at her fingertips. Before she can release it, he throws his hand forward. Golden light forms together to make spears that resemble the metal one he threw into her chest. He closes his hand into a fist, and all the materialized spears shoot into the goddess' body. She screams in agony as each one punctures her form. When the last one goes through her hand, the divine power dissipates. She looks at him again, sorrow and betrayal in her eyes. Even as more ichor pours from her lips, she calls out, "You were supposed to save us."

She crumbles to the ground. The spears made from light disappear, leaving behind the metal spear that belongs to him. He crawls over to her corpse using his arms, his legs dragging behind him. He pushes up onto his knees, pulling the spear out of her body. The human form she took begins to flake away into dark blue sparkles. He reaches his hand out, and all the flakes begin to condense together into a crystal the same color as them. Her essence cackles around the crystal. Her lingering resentment burns the skin of his palms, but he is willing to bear with the pain. He deserves it, in any case.

"How could you?" A voice behind him calls. He whirls around to meet the glowing white eyes of his companion. He reaches a hand out to apologize, but he cannot form any words when he sees the anger in his friends eyes. He is unable to say anything as the celestial disappears in a fashion similar to his mistress. Tears fill his eyes, and he folds his body over the crystal of the goddess in some form of atonement. All this serves to do is burn the skin underneath his armor as the pain of betrayal from his friend joins the essence of the goddess. He doesn't pull away, however. He can't bear to.

"Do not idle. This is but a temporary goodbye. Your celestial friend will come to understand one day the reason why you had to seal his mistress. He will forgive you. For now, you must be content in knowing that you have done the right thing," She reminds him, a mere whisper in his head. He knows she's right, but the pain lingers on even as he stands up. "Come home, Ze-"