Heavy is the Head that Wears the Solemn Crown

Forty - Stories of Gods and Swords

Tommy

Tommy stretched his wings out behind him. The tips reached a little further than his fingertips. The flames danced wildly across the surface, reaching towards the expansive sky above Tommy's head. He lifted his hands to that sky, interlocking his fingers before pushing his palms down. He tilted back on his toes to support the shifting weight. Before he even managed to find a suitable position, he felt his limbs pop. His wings were grateful for the quick stretch, even as they stubbornly insisted it was time for a flight. Although Tommy had been practicing his flight, he wasn't ready to launch himself from the top of the ravine to the ground below. His wings would help him glide down, but they wouldn't be able to carry him across the wind.

He wasn't up here to fly, in any case. With the winter season approaching, parts of the Mellohi river were going to be frozen over. Captain Puffy and Saintess Pearl were planning on returning before they were unable to. Oceania seemed to have backed off for the time being, probably preparing for the storms that rocked the island nation while the rest of the world was plunged into colder weather.

"Watch it," He heard someone say. Tommy landed back on the balls of his feet. He felt someone pushing against his wings, and he saw Shubble's annoyed face. The tip of her nose was charred with ashes, but she didn't exhibit any burn marks. Tommy smiled a little as he pushed his wing out once more, purposefully hitting Shubble in the face. She fell back a few feet. When she caught herself, she grabbed Tommy's bare arm. The moment her fingers wrapped around his wrist, Tommy felt a jolt of lightning ripple through his skin. He wretched his hand from her grasp, twisting around to face her head-on.

Tommy stilled when they made eye contact. Her eyes were the same tuscan yellow with gold flecks, but her hair was a pale white color like the clouds in the sky. There were stretches of a weird teal moss scattered across her arms, replacing her skin. She had completely lost the divine aura that once surrounded her when Lilka remained intertwined with her body.

Tommy sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes fall closed as he remembers sitting beside Shubble and Sam as she worked her magic. Everyone else was told to leave, but Tommy had to stay to keep Sam stabilized. Tommy experienced firsthand the way Shubble seemed to draw Sam's soul from his dying body into one made from metal. As the procedure continued, Shubble's hair lost its brown pigmentation. By the time she was finished, her hair was completely white. The moss spread across Sam's metal body, and it grew into Shubble's arms, too. She vaguely explained that it must have been an aftereffect of the demonic beast known as the Warden forging a contract with Sam. Shubble didn't think much of her hair or the moss- which she called sculk- now growing inside her. Tommy wasn't sure why he was concerned about it if she wasn't.

"Hey," Shubble called, clapping her hands in Tommy's face. His eyes opened quickly to see Shubble peering at him with concern in her eyes. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear without any thoughts as she asked him, "What are you thinking about?"

"Um... will you tell me more about Lilka? And other gnomish or Fae gods?" Tommy changed the subject with a wave of his hand. He was supposed to be writing a report about the gods for James soon, but Tommy isn't sure when he'll get around to doing that when he's been busy with the war. Really, Tommy didn't know what Wilbur was thinking when he decided that Tommy, Kristin, and Ranboo needed a tutor when the world was tearing itself apart.

"Oh? That boring subject? Fine, if you care to listen," Shubble blinked. She hopped onto one of the crates placed at the top of the ravine like it was a seat. Shubble placed an elbow on her thigh to place her chin on her palm. "The Wild Lands are divided into four main regions. Like other gnomes, I was born in the land of autumn known as the Undergrove. Fae don't really have gods so much as we have spirits. We believe that everything has a True Name. It is different from the name you were given at birth or a nickname that people call you. A True Name is basically the very essence of your being boiled down into a single word or phrase. A True Name is the currency of power for Fae. If you have someone's True Name, they are bound to your will. If you have possessed a True Name for a long time, you have immense power. Even things like rocks and trees have True Names.