Tommy

Tommy sits at the top of the ravine, his feet swinging against the reddened rock. He looks towards the sky, watching as the seraphim spin and soar across the richly blue sky. Sometimes, he can hear snippets of their laughter carried from the high winds to the ground below. He can't see their smiles from the current distance, but he can imagine it clearly in his mind's eye. He remembers how they looked and sounded when they were given a brief moment of happiness while they were all stuck in the bowels of that ship. He might have been sick out of his mind, reeling from his true nature being revealed, but his memories of them weren't that foggy.

Certainly, all his memories of Beau had sharpened. She was his biological sister, as much a part of him as his limbs or new wings were. He couldn't remember their shared past, but he could remember how she carried him from the ship to the trees they were tied to. He could remember how she took a hit for him when he was bloodied on the ground. He could remember how the two of them had laughed, and how she had done her best to ease his sickness. They were the actions of a good friend, but they were also the makings of a good sister. Tommy was still conflicted about how he felt regarding the situation. He had spent his entire life with Kristin. She was his sister, and she always would be. Did that make Beau any less his sister? Was he supposed to treat Beau like he did Kristin, or was there a level of nuance allowed to him? How was anything about this fair?

Tommy could reconcile with the fact that he wasn't human. He might have been a species he previously knew nothing about, but he always knew that he wasn't quite like everyone else. He showed up in a village out of nowhere. His existence brought great calamity before it brought blessings. His powers weren't anything like the magic mages or witches possessed. He knew deep down that he was something more than human. So, yes, being a seraph didn't faze him as much as it would anyone else.

He could handle the existence of Freddie and Andor. In a way, they were his friends. Freddie made him laugh, and Andor calmed him down. They both provided support when his own suffering threatened to consume him. It didn't matter that they weren't human. Tommy had plenty of non-human friends. Ranboo, Shrub, and Phil were a few examples of people who weren't human but were his friends.

It was Beau's unapologetic presence in his life that sent his head into a tizzy. How was he supposed to come to terms with the situation? How was he supposed to talk things out with Beau?

For now, he could only watch them from afar. He stared rather enviously at them, wishing that he could be part of their flying routine. As it stands, he hadn't tried flying. The seraphim weren't completely vetted, either. Phil was spending a lot of time with them, but it was Wilbur's decision to keep the three away from the camp until they could make certain nothing ill would come from allowing them in. It was a necessary sacrifice, Wilbur assured him, and Tommy was just glad for an excuse to keep avoiding them.

"Are you ready?" A voice startled Tommy. His wings flared up defensively, and he had to force them down so he could see who had called out to him. He shouldn't have been surprised to see Grand Duke Samuel Dude of the Badlands. Wilbur had informed him earlier in the morning that Tommy would be accompanying the duke to an area covered in withered plants and decaying animal corpses. Wilbur claimed the reason was because Tommy's gift would allow him and Sam to be unaffected by Hannah's fae curse, but Tommy overheard the real reason. With the sudden appearance of Xornoth in the camp, foul play was being suspected. There was potentially a spy in the camp. It was the reason why every member of the Syndicate, and even the seraphim, were being sent on missions all across the continent to get them away from the camp and the supposed spy.

"Fuck yeah! I can't wait to see this!" Tommy called out excitedly. Even though he knew that it was a serious mission leading to a dangerous place, Tommy was ready to see more of the world. He was no longer aligned with any nation, either, so he didn't have to worry about offending Sam. What would the duke be able to do? He couldn't arrest Tommy while he had immunity with Wilbur's army, and he could threaten anything Tommy cared about. Kristin could handle herself, and Tommy's home nation was gone. He didn't need to be respectful to anyone except Wilbur, the king he temporarily swore allegiance to, and Techno, the leader of the unit Tommy was assigned to. Even then, they didn't expect him to regard them with proper titles and perfect bows.

"Make sure you haven't forgotten anything. You have your weapon, right?" Sam asked with a smile spreading across his face. Sam walked toward the cart and horse they would be taking. Although it was recommended that they take two horses, Sam insisted that they would need a cart in order to carry anything they found. Wilbur approved of his request, so Tommy and Sam were riding on the front bench of the cart. They weren't even going with guards. Supposedly, Tommy was supposed to be Sam's guard, as if the duke couldn't take care of himself.

"Yes, I have my sword," Tommy rolled his eyes, patting the scabbard carrying Leavition attached to his belt loop. Niki was the one to pick out his outfit that morning. She gave him a white pair of pants and a dark blue jacket with the Pogtopian symbol sewn onto the sleeve. Tommy warned her that the pants would get dirty. Niki assured him that the pants were designed with adventurers in mind. Stains were easy to get out, and tears were hard to get in.

"Do you have your bag with paper and a quill? How about the book Professor Marriott assigned to you? Kristin told you to bring it along," Sam said, climbing onto the bench of the cart. He was wearing his homeland's colors, gold and black, with green accents. It complimented his brilliant eyes and viridescent hair. Tommy wondered if odd hair colors were common in the Badlands. Sam's son, Boomer, had white hair, after all, and Tommy thought that only old people could have white hair.

"Yes, I have everything. Fuck off," Tommy said with a glare as he climbed into the spot right next to Sam. The duke slowly reached for the reins of the horse, giving Tommy enough time to look through his messenger bag. Like he expected, his school journal, a quill, a glass container of ink, and the stupid theology book were between the leather pieces of cloth. Tommy had checked the bag several times since packing, and he knew that Kristin and Niki did another check before he left. Professor explained that just because his students were being sent on a mission elsewhere, they couldn't neglect their studies. Tommy thought it was stupid, especially since he was given the task of writing a summary of what he read in his book to make sure he actually read it like he was supposed to.

"It is never a bad thing to make certain things are as they should be," Sam explained to Tommy as he flicked the reins. The horse began to trot forward, carrying the passengers of the cart away from the earthly crack. Tommy rolled his eyes, grumbling something underneath his breath about Sam being overbearing. Instead of being reprimanded, Sam chuckled. Tommy slumped against the wooden backrest of the bench. He kept his eyes off of Sam because he knew that if he looked, he wouldn't see Sam. He would see Kristin's father, Aliquis. He had been a kind man who recently lost his wife, left with his young daughter and an endangered village. He was one of the people to stick up for Tommy despite all the nasty rumors about him being the source of the ruination of the village. Aliquis fought for Tommy's innocence, and he allowed Tommy to stay in his house when no one could figure out where he came from. Tommy's actual memories of him are fuzzy since he was so young when Aliquis died, but that death left an impression on Tommy in so many ways. He lost someone who was close to him, who protected him and cared for him. He saw what could happen to Kristin when she lost someone, nearly driving herself mad. Aliquis's death also thrust Kristin and Tommy into positions of power, so the blonde had to respect the man. Sam reminded him of his foster father, and Tommy wasn't ready to face past traumas when he had enough in the present.

"I don't understand, Tommy. Why do you not like reading about theology? I am sure it is far more interesting than arithmetic or philosophy," Sam said. Tommy pulled out the heavy book from his messenger bag. His shoulder immediately felt better now that the book's weight wasn't pulling his shoulder down farther than it should be possible to do.

"For one thing, this book sucks ass. I can't understand half the words. Why couldn't the writers just say, 'the gods fucked shit up' instead of all this nonsensical bullshit? The parts I can understand just make the gods seem like assholes. Who would want to worship these guys? They're worse pieces of shit than Oceania, and I fucking hate that nation," Tommy snapped, happy to finally have someone to complain to. Everyone else was either too busy to listen to him or they simply wouldn't understand where he was coming from. "I don't believe in the gods. Not any one of them. Why should I? I have no proof that any of them exist. For all I know, each of these gods only came into existence because of some shared drug trip."

"People need reasons. They need to know why the world came to be, they need to know why they were given life, and they need to know why disasters happen. For example, the Saintess Pearl. The people of her nation need to know why she was born with supernatural powers. If they have no answer, then the powers could have come from anywhere. It could have come from a dark spirit or a new species that looks similar to humans. In order to reduce fear, our ancestors fabricated the gods in order to find explanations," Sam told Tommy. "Or perhaps the gods are real. Maybe they were once mortals like you and I, and a god is simply a being of such intense power that they do not seem to age. Perhaps the gods are real but they exist on a different plane from us. The Blade from the Antarctic Empire is blessed by the gods. Who do you suppose he gained powers from? Who do you believe he sees?"

"I don't know who that shit Steve is that Kristin can see, but I think Alex is just a homicidal ghost. Techno is amazing. I bet he just has latent powers like me and Kristin. I haven't seen them do anything godly, y'know? All I know is that Techno claims they're gods and everyone believes him," Tommy shrugged. He would never say this in front of Techno, of course, but it was what he honestly thought. He never gave much thought to it, only recognizes that any time he saw Alex, he called her a ghost in his head.

"That is not an illogical conclusion. It would be rash to decide that they were gods without further observation. You might have a more scientific approach to the world than I initially thought," Sam mused quietly. Tommy glared at the older man, and the duke smiled humorously. "I do not mean to suggest this is a bad thing. How you choose to view the world, scientifically or not, is of little consequence to my opinion of you. I respect you, Tommy, and all that you have done and what you stand for. If you believe that the gods are purely a myth, I shall reexamine my own viewpoint on religion."

"I think you're a great person, too, Sam," Tommy said. He was about to pull open his book, but he noticed that the air tasted differently on his tongue. He sniffed next, his attention lifting from the yellowing page in front of him. The world around the cart was completely different from anything Tommy had experienced before. Everything was coated in a layer of bruise purple. The plants were hanging low with black and brown racing all along their green leaves and graying flower buds. Dead animals laid on the matted ground, crushing the already dying plants underneath their bloody bodies. There weren't even any flies or vultures circling the deceased. They, too, had succumbed to the horrible curse lingering in the humid air.

Sam began coughing, his entire body shaking as he hacked. Tommy grabbed Sam's wrist. The Touch of Life pulsated warmly beneath his skin, passing into Sam's body. The decay stopped suddenly, and Sam looked as healthy as he was before they entered the silent area. Sam turned to Tommy with a tight, thankful smile. Tommy didn't return it as he looked around more. The cart began slowing down at the point when the ground was no longer producing any half-hearted attempts at growth. Tommy's eyes widened as he reached forward, his hand somehow managing to touch the horse's tail. Sam kept an arm around Tommy's waist to keep the blonde from falling off the cart as the Touch of Life spread to the horse as well as Sam.

"What is that?" Sam whispered, looking ahead of the cart. Where flourishing plant life once existed, a building now stood amongst the cracked ground. Two stout towers surrounded an arched gate, all made from sandstone. There were some reddish orange designs carved into the two towers, but they didn't seem to serve any purpose. A pyramid was built behind the towers and gate, the tip rising above the previously mentioned buildings. It was all slotted together in a seemingly random place, and Tommy recognized it as a temple. He had seen them before in his theology book, but he didn't know which god this temple was built to praise.

"Do you know who it's for?" Tommy asked as they stopped in front of the temple. For whatever reason, the air was clear around the temple. Tommy released his grip on Sam and the horse, and neither one of them showed signs of depleting health. Instead, the air tasted hot and arid, as if they were in an actual desert and not a forest reduced to this state by a curse.

"The design is similar to that of the Badlands, but I do not recognize the deity. You see those orange stones? They are meant to be designed into the image of the temple's god. This is not any of our gods," Sam explained to Tommy as he stood up. Sam stepped off the bench, landing on the ground with enough force to kick up sand. Tommy scrambled after him. Sam came to the gate with little hesitation, looking up at the top of the arch. He ties the reins to the horse and cart on one of the pieces of the sandstone wall that jutted out at an awkward angle. With the horse secure, Sam began to walk underneath the arch, stepping into the pyramid. "This definitely isn't one of our gods..."

The interior is made from sandstone. The orange stone is used to make a pattern across the floor surrounded by four pillars holding up the roof. There is a skylight carved into the roof, letting in shimmering gold sunlight. Sam takes careful steps forward, walking towards the center of the room. Tommy, on the other hand, walks around one of the pillars to trace his fingers across the wall. There are shapes carved into the wall, but Tommy can't recognize any of them. He doesn't even know if they're drawings or a language.

"Wait, Tommy, don't-" Sam suddenly calls out, but his voice is cut off when Tommy feels the temple begin to rumble. The floor opens up underneath Tommy, and he is sent crashing into the darkness like he's jumping into water. Tommy screams in terror as he goes down, barely managing to release his wings. Pain shoots through him as his feathers catch the wind, but he can determine that nothing is broken. He just isn't used to gliding to the ground yet.

His wings also double as a light source. Although the flames do not produce smoke, they are illuminated. The golden fire casts brilliant light on Tommy's new surroundings as his feet land on the ground. He can see that he's in a rather large room with more symbols across the wall and orange stone patterns on the floor. The one difference is that this room includes a statue. Tommy walks up to it, trying to figure out who it is. The statue is made from sandstone, like everything else in that place, but for some reason, the sand seems to glitter like gemstones. It shows the figure of a man wearing a shemagh that lowers all the way down to his waist, the part meant to cover the mouth visible pulled down to show lips pressed into a thin line. The figure's eyes are filled with such benevolence, however, despite only being made from stone. Tommy can almost feel the kindness radiating from those merciful eyes. He hesitantly reaches for the statue, his fingers barely skimming the pants of the statue before a mechanical sound fills the room. Tommy jumps back, his wings rising as his fists clench. He prepares himself for an opponent, swiveling his attention around to see that one of the room's walls is opening up.

Tommy blinks warily, walking into the new room. Unlike the previous room, this one has its own light source in the form of red crystals protruding out from the wall. They are as bright as stars brought down to the ground, and the light is only reflected by the millions of gold coins and priceless jewels littering the ground. Tommy walks into the room in slow circles. The orange stones continue into this room, but their pattern is obscured by the sheer amount of wealth simply lying around in some dingy temple in the middle of nowhere.

Tommy looks up to see what the main feature of the room is. On the farthest wall from the door, two twin statues look down across the room. A spear lies between them. It is no ordinary spear, but Tommy can't tell exactly how. It's a beautiful weapon, of course, with the blood red shaft and the golden spearhead, both adorned with white crystals. It seems to glow on its own without the help of the red crystals in the room or Tommy's wings. It captures his attention more than anything else in the room, and he feels a sudden connection to it. He takes several slow strides to it, his fingers rising up to touch the shiny material.

"I wouldn't do that," A voice he doesn't recognize sounds in the room. Tommy whirls around, his hand going to the hilt of his sword. He pulls it out enough that the blade reflects the red light of the crystals. He meets the juniper crystalline eyes of a figure with light brown hair. The figure wears a dark green suit covered in a lighter green cloak trimmed with gold. The edges of his form flicker like static, fading in and out the more Tommy stares at the man. The figure takes a few steps forward, standing right beside Tommy. He stares rather longingly at the spear, and the melancholic tone in his voice makes Tommy's heart sting painfully as he says, "This spear belongs to a monster, and that monster shall one day wield it again."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Tommy demands, but he releases his grip on the hilt. The sword slides back down the scabbard with a clinging sound. For some reason beyond Tommy's understanding, this new person puts him at ease. He found that there was something holding him back from attacking the strange thing that looked fairly humanoid.

"Once, a long time ago, there were four rivaling gods. They were given permission to control a part of the known world however they saw fit. Instead of bringing about a prosperous area, they ruined their world until there was nothing left. Three of the gods were killed, and the last was cursed to wander the world he had once ruined as a mortal. In his travels, he encountered a monster. For a short time, the powerless god and the monster got along. They were friends until the god was confronted by his arrogance and the monster succumbed to his instincts. The god and the monster fought for a long time. The god was able to kill the monster, but not before the monster could separate the god from the mortal shell he was forced in. The god has wandered a world covered in the ashes of the past. He waits for the monster to reawaken. When the monster reclaims his spear, the two shall face off once again, ending both of their cycles," The man speaks, telling a story about the gods that Tommy actually understood, very different from everything his theology book told him.

Tommy stares up at the spear, wondering why that story was familiar if he hadn't read it in his book. He was about to ask the man when he realized that he was gone. Tommy looked around for him, but he wasn't anywhere in the room. Tommy rushed into the previous room he had been in to look for him. The door to the vault slid closed behind, and another door from across the room opened up. Instead of the man, Sam stands there with two things in both of his hands. Tommy identifies one as a curved sword with a blade made from such refined steel that it practically glowed blue. The other was a leatherbound book marred by age.

"Tommy, there you are! I know where Hannah is going to be in a week's time. We need to hurry back to Pogtopia to inform King Wilbur," Sam said. Tommy followed after him, finding that Sam had come down a flight of stairs. As they were rounding another level, Sam showed Tommy the sword and book he found. "Look, this sword was supposedly made by Akemi Kikoku. I do not know how it ended up here because she was a famous blacksmith in the Badlands's history. The story goes that she was raised in the mountains that later became Greater, but most of her works trickled into the Badlands instead of remaining in Greater. The king's crown was made by her if the rumors are to be believed. This book on the other hand tells the origin story of the Keystones faith."

Sam hands the book to Tommy as he unties the horse reins from the arch. Tommy opens the book, hoping to find out more about the four gods and the monster. Instead, he is regaled with a story of three divine siblings. The triplets are born from the goddess of light, Angrec, and the god of darkness and knowledge, the World Historian. Other gods were given attributes to control, but the siblings were each given a realm to preside over. The eldest was Mianite. He was in charge of the 'Overworld', or the normal world everyone lives in. He believes in harmony and goodness. The second child was Dianite. He was given the 'Nether', a hellscape that people used to be able to easily get into before all the portals were sealed. He believed in commerce and evil. The last to be born was Ianite. She was given the End, the realm that people said Ranboo and Pearl came from (even if that was impossible due to the portal closings). She believed in fairness and equality. To the people who believed in the Keystone faith, the three siblings were the divine guardians of each realm. Not the only gods, per se, but the only ones that mattered to the faith.

When Tommy finishes the book, they are heading back into the withering area. He grabs Sam's wrist again, reaching for the horse. Sam's arm is back around his waist to steady him, and Tommy asks, "I don't get that fucking book. It talks about three siblings who protect their realms, not four gods who brought anarchy."

"The Keystone faith wouldn't talk about the four gods. Those belong to the Badlands's religion," Sam said nonchalantly.

"Wait, what? Tell me what you know, you green prick!" Tommy nearly begs. He needs to know more about these four and the monster. He wants to know why the story is so familiar.

"Of course, if you care to listen," Sam said hesitantly, and Tommy doesn't blame him. He was complaining about the gods before they entered the temple. Still, Sam continues with the story, "Before the creation of the nations of our continent, like the Badlands, there were supposedly many gods. They were each given a corner of the world to do with as they pleased by the main god. The area that would later become the Badlands was given to four gods. Their true names have been lost to time since they are synonymous with ruin, but we do have titles for them: Caerula, Indicum, Rubrum, and Viridis. The four gods wanted to test the limits of their powers, and this led them to unleashing horrific curses upon the realm. It got so bad that the people they were meant to protect cursed them instead of praised them. Eventually, Rubrum was cast out of the heavens. While on the earth, the hatred of his former worshippers corrupted him. The other three had to come down to kill him. When they did, Caerula and Indicum were killed alongside Rubrum. Viridis was the only one left, and the higher gods cursed him to wander the world as a mortal to experience the suffering he inflicted. One day, Viridis encountered one of the few surviving mortals in the barren land. Some legends say they were friends at one point, but the stories always end with them fighting. The mortal turned out not to have been a mortal at all. He was a spirit who had gathered together the strength of every creature who had perished at the gods' hands. My people call him Deus Aureus. After many years of fighting between Viridis and Deus Aureus, the spirit realized that the people he was using as his strength really just wanted to pass on peacefully to the afterlife. He personally released their spirits, allowing them to go on. Without his powers, Viridis was able to kill him. Before he perished, he managed to also kill Viridis. Their blood split onto the ground. From Viridis, plants and animals that could survive the desert climate sprung forth. From Deus Aureus, new humans came forth. Deus Aureus's body broke apart to create a species culturally called afreet, but other nations know them as demons. These demons, as products of the god's body, were crowned the new rulers of the land, establishing the Badlands, a nation with a dead god."

Deus Aureus... the name was... strangely familiar...