Tommy

L'Manberg was built more than a hundred years ago. Slaves from the Greater country escaped their fates to find a home with no oppressors. Those slaves had found a barren land with no people. Instead of bemoaning their horrible luck, those former slaves terraformed and cultivated the land. They name their new village L'Manberg. They did not try to be powerful. They merely wanted to survive in the harsh terrain surrounded by nations that would much sooner conquer their neighbors than form peaceful bonds.

L'Manberg slowly grew. More slaves who escaped their chains arrived at the village in the hopes of having the same freedom. Outcasts and weirdos ventured into the town to seek refuge. When a few of the kingdoms banned magic, the people who could wield it came to L'Manberg to escape persecution. The people of L'Manberg never abandoned anyone. They welcomed everyone with open arms, and in turn, their small village grew into a small nation.

Greater did not like this. A war was started between the powerhouse and the nation. The only reason L'Manberg had a fighting chance was because a lot of the magic users enlisted into the army to protect the only home they would ever have. A lot of people enlisted in the army, really, all for the same reason. No matter how many times Greater assaulted the small country, the people would find a way to persevere.

This was in no small part because of the people at the head of the nation. The leader of the army and the elected leader of L'Manberg was a man by the name of Wilhelm. He had once been a bard who traveled all the nations with his soothing melodies. He had been captured by the king of Greater once word had reached the king's ears about how beautifully Wilhelm could sing. The king gave Wilhelm to his daughter, the only princess of the land. Wilhelm spent his days in captivity singing for the depressed princess. Wilhelm sang of faraway lands and grand adventurer, and the princess admitted that she was jealous of the people Wilhelm sang about. After hearing that, Wilhelm and the princess hatched a plot to escape their prison. Wilhelm was able to escape, but the princess was taken back to her lonesome tower. Wilhelm joined the resistance in L'Manberg. He was going to rescue the princess. He was going to free the people of both L'Manberg and Greater of their tyrannical king.

In this endeavor, Wilhelm met a traveling swordsman by the name of Theseus. The golden-haired man was a master at his craft to the point that he created the sword dance 'Salvation of Stars'. With some clever words, Wilhelm was able to convince Theseus to join the revolution against Greater. With the addition of the bard and the swordsman, the tide of the war began to change. Wilhelm inspired the people to continue fighting with his sweet, carefully crafted words. Theseus was able to deliver on every promise Wilhelm made with his blade. Wilhelm envisioned complex plans that would guarantee victory. Theseus was able to execute every single one. They worked as a team, and they worked as the leaders of L'Manberg.

When the war finally ended with Greater granting L'Manberg its independence, the people made Wilhelm into their king and Theseus into the head of the royal guards. Wilhelm was able to marry Princess Sally of the Greater kingdom, further solidifying the bond between the two kingdoms. Wilhelm and Sally gave birth to Floris. Theseus remained in his position until he met a traveling dancer named Clara. Together, the two gave birth to Clementine. Floris was crowned king. Clementine was given her father's position. The cycle continued for many years.

That was the story Captain Puffy had told Tommy, Tubbo, and Kristin as they passed the very first capital of L'Manberg. It was in ruins, and Puffy continued to share the story of L'Manberg's rich history with them. Apparently, the first capital had been burned to the ground by a traitor. Tommy bristled at the word, and Kristin looked away from the destroyed city.

The next historical spot they came to was a bridge that passed over a large, raging river that cut through the land like a butcher's knife. Puffy told them that two events happened on this very bridge. The first was that Theseus and the crown prince of Greater had a duel on the bridge with bows and arrows. Theseus had been struck in the chest by his opponent's arrow, falling into the water. Instead of dying, he had been rescued and nursed back to health. When his health returned to him, he came back to the bridge to declare a rematch with swords. The prince took Theseus up on his offer. This time, Theseus won the duel and injured the prince. With the score one to one, Theseus decided to offer the prince a prize he couldn't refuse. Theseus would teach the prince the sword dance 'Salvation of Stars' in exchange for L'Manberg's independence. The prince agreed, and Theseus spent weeks teaching the prince how to perform the sword dance. Once the prince had mastered it, he marched back to the capital and overthrew his father. As a reward for his actions, King Wilhelm gave both the bridge and the river to Theseus. The swordsman named the river Mellohi and the bridge Cats. No one knows why he chose those names, but King Wilhelm had no choice but to officially name the bridge and river Cats and Mellohi.

That was a story Tommy liked. He didn't know why Theseus had chosen those names, either, but somehow it felt right. Tommy couldn't imagine the river and bridge being called anything else. The bridge so obviously felt like a Cats. The river was definitely a Mellohi. Tommy might not know this Theseus guy, but Tommy could respect the guy he agreed with.

"Why do you know so much about L'Manberg?" Tubbo asked. When Tommy had come back from the market with a whole person, Puffy told him she didn't mean he could buy a slave with the money she gave him. Tommy, flustered, told her that Tubbo wasn't a slave. Tubbo confirmed that statement. Together, the two of them explained the story about how they had gone behind Kristin and Tubbo's master's backs to send each other letters. They had met in the village when Tubbo had decided to pickpocket the wrong people. Tommy begged Puffy to let Tubbo journey with them. Puffy said it was fine with her. Kristin was a little upset that Tommy never told her that he kept contact with the duchy in L'Manberg, but she allowed Tubbo journey with them.

"As fun as being a pirate can be, there are some lulls. I usually read books in those times. I like knowing a lot about the world, so I usually read history books. I could tell you how a lot of nations were created," Puffy said with a huge smile alighting her face. For whatever reason, Puffy was enjoying teaching the three of them things about the world. Kristin was interested in every scrap of knowledge she was given. Tubbo was attentively listening. Tommy would sometimes get distracted, but he made an effort to focus on the story. Puffy would smile at Tommy when he looked back at her, giving a small recap of what she just said to fill him in. Tommy would look down with a blush on his cheeks, and the cycle would repeat.

"Do you know the history of Oceania?" Kristin asked quietly. Tommy clenched his fists at the sound of the name. Besides Kristin and Tubbo, everyone Tommy had ever loved had died because of Oceania. Kristin had lost everything she had worked hard for because of Oceania. Puffy had been used as a tool and separated from her children because of Oceania.

"A long time ago, there was a single island floating all alone in the middle of the ocean. From the water, the aquatic creatures called the Ondine walked onto the shore. These creatures were half-human and half-fish. Most people nowadays call them mermaids. The Ondine had two rulers: the Prime Axolotl and the Grand Cod. These two Ondines were siblings, and they each ruled a part of the island. The Prime Axolotl was in charge of architecture, resource management, education, internal business, and exports. The Grand Cod was in charge of the military, the judicial system, diplomacy, and imports. Eventually, these two siblings married other people and had families. The two families became the noble rulers of the people of the main island, Prisma. The Ondines began to spread out to the other islands that soon fell under the Ocean and Cod House rule," Puffy explained slowly. Tommy and Kristin listened to rapt attention. Tommy hadn't known a single thing about his oceanic enemies, and he was starting to believe that he needed to know more if he was ever going to take back what he and his sister lost.

"The mainland soon found out about the islands. The mainland sent out scouts to investigate the island. Every attempt was immediately thwarted by the noble houses. There was once a nation that is now lost to time. We know very little about them; hence, historians refer to it as the Lost Empire. What we do know about the Lost Empire is that it had a war with the noble houses. In the ensuing conflict, the noble family of the Cod House was killed, leaving behind the Ocean House. In retaliation, the Ocean House kidnapped the ruling family of the Lost Empire and slaughtered the people. The Ocean House burned away every inch of the Lost Empire. That is why we know very little about them. We only knew about the war from the records the Ocean House kept. In the place where the Lost Empire once was is a sanctuary for cod fish that was built hundreds of years ago. The Ocean House renamed the islands to Oceania and made Prisma the capital," Puffy finished her story. Tommy knew he should feel a little sad about an entire noble family being killed just because the Lost Empire was feeling conquer-y. Tommy did not feel bad at all. Instead, he felt victorious. Oceania had suffered a grand defeat before. Tommy was hoping to make it happen again. He was going to burn every record of Oceania except for the one fact that Tommy Innit of the Business Bay had destroyed the nation.

"I've been to the sanctuary before with my dad. He took me there when I was younger. Father didn't approve, but I didn't care what he thought. I liked the cod sanctuary. It was beautiful. I never knew it had such a dark and bloody history," Tubbo said softly. Tommy looked over at his friends. It was strange to hear Tubbo's comment after Tommy's thoughts had brought him to the total annihilation of an empire. To each their own, he supposed.

"It is a place I would quite like to see," Kristin admitted. Tommy turned to his sister. He wondered what thoughts were running through her head. Were they anywhere near as violent as his own? Kristin would always care about Business Bay, but was she willing to destroy an entire empire with Tommy? She had never been one for unwarranted violence. She preferred to maintain peace and save as many lives as she could. Tommy had always respected her for that. Kristin was his hero, so he obviously thought every choice she made was the right one. Still, he wondered if he would change his mind if Kristin asked him to. Tommy was angry. He was so terribly angry. He wanted revenge, and he was willing to pay the ultimate price for it. Was Kristin as angry as he was? Was she angry enough to act upon that rage? Tommy would fault Kristin if she decided not to involve herself. He wouldn't consider her a coward. He would never claim that she never loved Business Bay. She would always be his hero. But if Kristin didn't want to fight against Oceania, Tommy would do it alone.

"We can all go see it after the war," Puffy said, looking over her shoulder at Tommy. There was something in that look that made Tommy feel like she had heard everything he was thinking. Tommy didn't have an answer for that look, so he just met her eyes and waited for her to say what she wanted him to understand. Puffy's eyes slid away from him before she could say anything. Tommy turned around to see what she was looking at.

Tommy didn't see anything. It was a bunch of trees with a thick underbrush that covered the forest floor. Tommy was about to ask if Puffy was playing a prank on him when she pushed him towards Tubbo. The boy caught Tommy, and the two of them watched as Puffy pulled out her cutlass. Puffy held it steady in front of her, and something collided with the sword. Puffy pushed her sword forward, and a noise that sounded an awful lot like a person hitting the ground filled the air.

A figure appeared a few feet in front of Puffy. The shadows melted away to reveal a man wearing a black bodysuit with a purple cloth covering the lower half of his face and his neck. The person was holding a short, stygian black sword that seemed to glow purple in the low lighting of the forest. The shadows that had melted off the man formed puddles at his side. The shadows in the puddles climbed on top of each other to create a singular wolf-like shadow creature that growled at Puffy, Tommy, Kristin, and Tubbo.

The figure launched himself forward. He tried to get past Puffy, but the woman was too quick for him. Before he knew it, the figure and Puffy were matching blows. The shadow creature darted around its master and Puffy to attack the three in the back. Tommy tried scrambling to his feet as Tubbo tried to drag them both away. In the end, both of their actions canceled each other out, and they both tumbled onto the ground. Before the shadow creature could attack either one of them, Kristin shot forward to tackle the dog from the side. Kristin and the shadow creature rolled a few times before Kristin landed on her back with the shadow creature trying to tear her face off with its teeth. Tommy was able to wretch himself to his feet, pulling Laevition from his scabbard to fight the shadow creature with Kristin.

The figure who was fighting Puffy darted away from her. The figure lifted his hand at all of them. Without warning, Tommy felt something cold shoot into his neck. A second later, his vision began swimming. Tommy fell to his knees, his sword clattering on the ground beside him. Tommy leaned over the ground. He violently gagged. He felt like he had just spent the last few hours spinning around in a circle, and he only stopped spinning now. Tommy tried looking around. He couldn't focus on anyone's expressions, but he could vaguely see the colors that made up the appearance of his companions. Tubbo was retching his breakfast up by a tree. Kristin was barely holding the shadow creature at bay. Puffy and the figure were the only ones still standing.

"I live on a ship. Do you really think a little dizziness is going to stop me?" Puffy said. The colors that made up her body whizzed towards the figure, and Tommy turned his head to the ground to spit up a poor imitation of genuine puke. Tommy swatted at his neck, feeling around for the cold shadow that was clinging to him like a leech. When Tommy found it, he cupped his hand around it. The instant his fingers were locked together, Tommy poured out a lot of his magic to create a golden light that burned the shadow leech away. Once the creature was gone, Tommy's vision focused. He breathed in deeply as he waited for the last vestiges of nausea to leave him.

When Tommy was done, he ran towards Tubbo. The boy was still heaving into the roots of a tall tree. Tommy placed both his hands over the squirming leech that was stuck to Tubbo's neck. He performed the same actions until Tubbo's shadow leech was gone. Tommy saw Tubbo slide down the trunk of the tree before he was running towards Kristin. As he ran by it, he slammed his foot into the blade of his sword to kick the entire thing into the air. He grabbed his sword by the hilt. The second he was in front of Kristin, he slammed his sword down to strike the back of the shadow creature. The wolf yelped in pain, jumping away from Tommy and Kristin. The creature glared at Tommy and his sword.

"Does the Touch of Death not work on this fucking thing?" Tommy asked as he leveled his sword in front of him to prepare for an attack. Kristin rose up onto her knees, wiping away blood that poured from a cut on her forehead. She lifted up one of her hands. Glowing purple cracks appeared in Kristin's skin. From the cracks, thin caterpillars made from the same purple energy appeared. The caterpillars shuddered as they hit the air, and soon butterfly wings shot out of the caterpillars back. The butterflies rose up into the air, flying towards the shadow creatures. The butterflies landed on the creature's back. Kristin and Tommy waited with bated breath, but nothing happened.

"It seems it does not. It must be because of the nature of a shadow. It is not a living creature that I can sap the life force from. It is not a physical thing I can make crumble," Kristin explained. As they spoke, the shadow creature launched itself at them. Tommy used his sword to bat it away. The creature managed to strike Tommy's wrist as he went, drawing a thin line of blood. Tommy gripped his sword tighter. A golden light from inside his skin covered the wound. When the light faded, the cut was gone.

"I guess that means I have to become a fucking nightlight," Tommy muttered more to himself than Kristin. Tommy smiled slightly when he heard Kristin's little chuckle. The shadow creature tried to attack them once more, but Tommy jumped above it. Kristin grabbed the creature's snout, keeping the creature from biting anyone. Tommy plunged his sword into the dog's back. The dog didn't have any reaction to that. The dog only reacted when Tommy pressed both of his hands to the creature's back. Thin golden rays of light spread from Tommy's palms, burning the creature. When Tommy pulled away, the shadow creature was gone.

The figure and Puffy were still battling it out. Their swords clashed in rapid succession, creating a song that rang through the forest. Tommy, Kristin, and Tubbo watched the fight take place. A particularly strong hit knocked the figure's sword out of his hand. The blade twirled in the air before landing in a tree. The figure lowered himself to his knees. Puffy stared down at the figure, placing the blade of her cutlass onto his shoulder, the pointed edge aimed at the figure's throat. "Who are you? What do you want with us?"

"I'm from a mercenary group hired by Manberg. The leader sent me to capture the new king's son, Toby. King Schlatt is looking for him. There's a large bounty on the young prince's head," The figure said, his gaze traveled to Tubbo who swallowed thickly. Puffy kept her eyes locked on the figure in front of her, but Kristin and Tommy saw Tubbo's reaction to the words.

"You motherfucker! You're that guy's kid?! Why the fuck did you not tell me?" Tommy demanded. Kristin wrapped her arms around Tommy's shoulders to hold him in place. Tommy was honestly glad for that. He had no idea what he was going to do: wring Tubbo's neck for lying to him or hug the poor boy because Schlatt could not have been a good parent.

"I knew you would react like this! In our letters, you treated me like a page boy who was equal to you. I wanted to keep that. Plus, traveling as a page is less conspicuous than wandering around dressed like a nobleman," Tubbo said, turning to Tommy with a pleading look in his eyes.

"I would have treated you the same fucking way, no matter if you were a king or a slave. You can ask Kristin: I am shit at talking to nobles diplomatically!" Tommy said. He did know where Tubbo was coming from. Tommy was lucky enough to have been surrounded by people who liked him. He supposed that Schlatt's duchy couldn't have been the best place for a child to grow up.

"Your father's looking for you, Prince Toby," The figure piped up. Everyone turned towards the figure.

"Father doesn't care about me. He cares that I'm his only heir. He cares that I have secrets about Manberg that he doesn't want Pogtopia to know. He cares that I plan to pledge allegiance to the rightful king of this land, King Wilbur. He never gave a damn about me before all of this," Tubbo spat out. Tommy turned towards his friend. Tubbo had told him that he was going to join Wilbur's army, but Tommy had forgotten all about that. Having Tubbo on Pogtopia's side would be a really good thing. Tubbo knew his father, and the tacticians could use that knowledge to Pogtopia's advantage. With Manberg's defeat, Greater and Oceania would suffer a major blow. Tommy was looking forward to the latter.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," The figure said. Quick as lightning, the figure jumped forward. He pushed Puffy to the ground, leaping over her as he did. The figure pulled his sword out of the tree as he ran towards Tubbo. Tommy intercepted the strike, his sword clashing against the figure's. The figure muttered a few words Tommy didn't know. The words seemed to set off something in the area, though. All the shadows sprang to life, whirling around into creatures and monsters. A few of the shadows became chains that wrapped around Tubbo, dragging the boy away. Tommy wanted to go help Tubbo or even Kristin, but the figure wasn't letting Tommy go. A few sparks floated in the air around the spot where their swords met.

"Tommy!" Puffy yelled, jumping to her feet. She ran between all the shadowy monsters. If a creature got too close to her, Puffy would punch or kick it until it moved out of her way. She never stopped moving. No matter how many times a creature stood in her way, she never stopped heading towards Tommy and the mercenary. She never stopped looking at Tommy with those big worried eyes. Tommy wanted to tell her to save Tubbo and Kristin, but he knew that Puffy would never do that. She had proven time and time again that she didn't abandon people. Over the course of their time together, she had proven that she cared about Tommy and Kristin. Tommy couldn't ask her to leave him behind.

Puffy grabbed onto Tommy's shoulder. In the second that her warm fingers touched his skin, Tommy felt something inside of him come undone. It was like Puffy had brought a dam that held back all of Tommy's power down. Orangish red lines appeared all over Tommy's body, creating archaic runes and powerful glyphs. His eyes illuminated with a crystalline blue color almost as if someone had replaced his pupils with gemstones. The sword in his hands blazed with a fiery golden color like someone had given Tommy a precious starstone. The light expanded from Tommy's bodying, vaporizing every shadow monster in the area. Tommy slashed down with his sword with a strength that he didn't know he possessed.

The figure in front of him lowered his mask to reveal the face of a boy that couldn't be much older than Tommy. The boy stared with widening eyes, a smile pulling at his lips. "It seems I have met someone interesting. We will meet again." After the words were spoken, the figure dissipated like the shadow creatures he conjured.

Puffy took her hand back. The feeling in Tommy's chest disappeared. The light that had surrounded him faded away into the normal sunlight that fell through the leaves. Tommy fell to his knees, using his sword to keep him steady. Puffy breathed out as she looked around. Tubbo and Kristin looked fine. In fact, they looked more than fine. They looked like they had just finished a grand meal and had more than enough good sleep the night prior. Neither of them sported wounds- no blood or bruises. Puffy, too, felt more refreshed than she had ever been before in her lifetime. She felt weightless and airy, hopeful and invigorated.

Puffy had the same thought that a goddess in the heavens knew to be true: Tommy Innit was not what he appeared to be and a new power had awakened in him. But what Puffy didn't know and the goddess did was that it was all Puffy's doing.