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Sing for the lost, for eternal affairs
Sing to raise our spirits in great despair
Through the ashes of oblivion
Quick and unseen like the dragon's offspring
For we owe no debts and bow to no king
Every war has its costs and we've paid
Won by the bond of the party we've made
‘Tell me about Technoblade’.
The Angel of Death’s new charge commented a dear name to the ancient crow on the sign in front of him, a small blonde child looking at the avian hybrid with wide blue eyes filled with an ocean of curious questions. A dragon skull encased the top half of his face, held by some unknown force as wild gold curls spilled around it. His rose scaled wings were held close to his spine, peering up at the tall older blonde with an expectant stare.
“Oh Goddess, where do I start with that bastard?” Phil said with a wicked smile, thinking of his piglin partner-in-crime fighting a god in a different realm.
They had outlived everyone else they held fondness for, the ageless Blessed of the Goddess always did, but still every few hundred years they went off and did their own thing for a while. The blonde crow fidgeting with the emerald he always wore, a physical marker that matched the jewellery Techno also wore of who they made an eternal vow to.
Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like the worst agony when all he wanted was his pink-haired best friend at his side, ready to destroy the world if needed.
Chayanne nudged him again, his expression impatient which Phil laughed at.
“Tell ya what mate, how about the story of when we first met? Only one tale tonight though, my little dragon boy, you must sleep!” Phil picks up the tiny being and tucks him beneath a thick blanket he had spent some time knitting using sheep wool he traded for.
‘More soon though, right?’ Chayanne pleaded on the sign laying on his lap, Phil nodding with a hearty chuckle pulling his rocking chair close.
The eight beads he wore clinked together from where they fell behind his left ear, tied onto a braid of longer blonde tresses the crow always wore. Rose pink, daffodil yellow, leaf green, blood red, indigo purple, caramel brown, ocean blue and gold, all hand carved and carefully dyed with whatever the crow could find. It was a reminder of what he fought for, and who he found sanctuary in.
His bones creak as he settles, groaning as he thinks of where to begin, his thoughts drawing forward the memory of when they first met.
“Technoblade and I only knew each other by name at first. Ages ago we were competing in the same event, a world dedicated to putting the best of us against each other.” Phil begins his story, remembering the hulking piglin standing in a field of fallen men with a bloody sword clenched in one hand.
“Everyone was so determined to beat him, yet he laid waste to anyone against him. Entire groups of men couldn’t hope to defeat him.” Techno was always three steps ahead of everyone, each time he got first Philza affectionately remembers the event organiser scowling as he laid the medal around the piglin’s proud neck. “They even began rigging the entire competition against him and that tough piglin barbarian still emerged victorious.”
Chayanne looked awed, Philza reminiscing about his amazing partner always brought a sharp comfort. He missed him terribly, but these were the stories that were part of who he was now, so many of these memories bolstered him in the coldest nights. He owed his life to Techno, it was something they vowed to one another many, many aeons ago with the Death Goddess binding them forevermore as brothers-in-arms with Her Blessing.
“I thought for sure it was a mistake when we were paired together, the head of the event seemed to underestimate me and thought he was setting Techno up to fail with our team.” A prideful smirk crossed his face as he spoke, looking down at the one absorbing it all. “We absolutely destroyed that event, setting a record that was never broken and a strong friendship with hands wet with crimson of those who lost to us.”
‘Record?’ Chayanne asks simply, his eyes starting to fall heavy and blink more often to stave the slumber coming to claim the small boy.
“We set the bar for the highest number of points in a single event that day, something Techno delighted in speaking loudly to all around him. My sides hurt so much after that, not from injuries, but from the laughter we shared while working together flawlessly like we had known one another since birth.” The blonde rocks the chair slower. “We clicked from the first moment we spoke, spending many more years together causing chaos.”
“Now, I can see you are barely awake.” Phil moves closer to the small bed, Chayanne nodding with a longing expression. “Lay down, it’s okay.”
Phil pulled the soft blanket up higher as Chayanne lays his head on his pillow, the outside darker as night crept forth. He still looks inquisitive while his eyes slowly close as Phil presses a gentle kiss to his forehead. “We will have plenty more time for stories, fierce one, sleep well with dreams of valour and victory. May She watch over you tonight.”
Warn with a call that the battle starts now
As the demons listen we strike them down
Fighting back the rifts of blood
Sent from the sky lies a angel in need
Give him muse to strengthen and words to heed
Heaven's doused and set alight
We're knocking on the gates of hell tonight
Cracking thunder awoke Phil that night, bolting upright as a particularly bright flash of light shines through the blinds. Chayanne is already awake, shivering in bed while Phil scrambles over to the small boy's side. Wrapping him tightly in his grand crow-feather wings, he hums softly to the boy after peering at the clock.
“It is morning but I doubt we will be getting work done anytime soon.” Phil mumbles, looking down at shining blue eyes. “It's okay little warrior, you are safe. I promise, the lightning cannot harm us inside.”
Scrambling to think of how to comfort the small child, he thinks about what they spoke about last night. “How about another story?”
The blonde dragon hybrid nodding quickly, expression warming about learning more knowledge about the legendary Blade. Phil couldn’t blame his kid, Technoblade was an epic man. “Hmmmm, let me think of one, my mind is still waking up.”
As he scans the room, wondering which part of their history he would speak of next, his eyes land upon the Antarctic shield that hangs near the door. He had crafted it for sentimentality then the moment Chayanne showed up he wanted the pretty defence object, Philza smiling while he passed the wonderful item to his newest dearest soul.
“How about the time myself and Technoblade ruled an entire world?” Chayanne’s mouth drops open at that statement, following the crows outstretched finger at the shield he was learning to use. “Long ago, in a land far away where the air was much colder, Technoblade and I lived together in a world filled with many other individuals. Deciding we wanted some time to ourselves we set out North to uninhabitable lands, all were too afraid of such a venture besides ourselves. Filled with snow and mighty polar bears, we chose our home.”
Phil shivered dramatically, Chayanne’s sweet laughter breaking through the story at his antics. “Ice everywhere, we found a plot of land and a dream. Techno spent many hours building this grand hall of stone, beautiful and massive. We worked together, gathering materials and forging alliances with those around us.”
The blonde reflected on the cornflower blue uniforms they crafted in the name of their claim, the Antarctic Empire. Accented with poppy red and pale yellow, they fended off any unwelcome attention with the reputation that precedes them.
“Then, per usual when we stayed in one place for too long, Technoblade began to wonder what rules he could break.” Phil rolled his eyes, his antics fond and frustrating. “It’s a dangerous thing when my piglin mate gets bored, and he then spends many hours designing a perfect plan.”
“One day, I woke up to him busting down my door declaring he found a way to rule the world, and I was forced to go along.” Phil joked in a lighthearted tone, his blonde dragonborn kid raising an eyebrow. “Fine, you caught me, I agreed right away.”
“Fueling up our planes, Techno outlined his plan to me. When they wrote the rules of that server they specified a certain block amount was allowed per member. Technoblade found a loophole in them, a way we could carve our name on every square of that land.” Phil draws his hand across where the sky was outside, the last thunder happening a while ago now. Rain still pelted the roof above, making this the perfect atmosphere for the dramatic piglin to be spoken about. “We took to the sky and spent the entire day circling the map, much to the dismay of all we overruled.”
Chayanne practically bounces as the tale is told aloud, painting the scene he missed dearly.
“Dragged to the courts after performing our deed, we worried we were dead but at least we would go laughing.” The scene of flowers and chairs on the edge of the lake shows at the front of his mind, three chairs against several others. “Turns out they never exactly specified you couldn’t conquer the world, so our penalty was lessened.”
“For a brief period though, we were the Kings of that world.” Phil tells Chayanne, adjusting an invisible crown to the blonde child’s delight. “After a law was named after us criminalising our act, we returned home with a fantastic memory and closer than ever.”
‘Technoblade sounds like the coolest man ever.’ Chayanne scrawls on a sign Phil hands to him, pulling back with a dramatic gasp.
“Not me? I can’t believe you.” Phil teases, Chayanne shaking his head while he giggles. “If you are only going to insult me I will never speak of him again.”
Chayanne’s mood switches to desperate, before sighing and writing. ‘Fine, you are kinda cool too.’
“Damn kid, what did I do to you?” He banters, standing up as the sun peeks through the clouds. “Come on, let’s make breakfast and then we can do our chores. I will continue to tell you stories, but only so I can convince you I am just as cool as Techno.”
‘And not because you appreciate him, got it.’ Chayanne sasses, Phil rolling his eyes before he breaks.
“You caught me.” Phil gives in, the blonde dragon giving a triumphant face.
As Chayanne runs towards the door, Phil takes a long look at the royal blue shield accented in snow white, his heart aching. The blonde crow missed him a fuck ton some days, telling an admirer about the piglin always ripped their separation a fresh wound.
They always came back to each other some day, just this lifespan was not one they would share.
Seeing the glee in Chayanne’s eyes made him wish they could meet, Techno could look on proudly while the small dragon swung his sword. Gently guiding him in proper battle holds and how to strike true, ever patient with the youngest and fiercest.
Philza could practically feel his presence some days, standing at his side and sending his strength. When he needed a reminder to get back up after being struck down, he only needed to find something that reminded him of his dearest partner.
Chayanne did just that in a lot of ways, immediately wanting to protect others and fight for what he believed in. He didn’t like authority but respected those who proved themselves, his personality held remnants of the warrior with long pink tresses.
Shaking his head, he walks towards the door but not before running his trembling fingers along the shield edge.
“I miss you, Techno.” He mumbles, already wanting the day they meet again to happen.
Broken swords and dragon's bones
Scattered on the way back home
Beating to the sound of clashing steel
When they're on our heels
Now chant the tales and legends told
Strengthened by the hymns of old
Weathered as this winding road is long
So we sing our traveler's song
‘Tell me more about the Blood God.’
Chayanne asked a few days later on a sign smeared in dirt, both up to their elbows in soil as they attended to the crops Phil harvested for fresh meals. The crow laughs, balancing himself on his heels while he plucks a potato from deep in the ground, his mind bringing forth the next story he wanted to tell.
“Not that this will help my case at all in terms of being just as cool as Techno, but I could tell you about when he once spent an entire year gathering potatoes to beat someone?” Phil offered, Chayanne rushing to his side to reach out for the root vegetable the crow cradled, releasing it into the child’s hands.
‘Why?’ The boy asked, Phil shrugging.
“I couldn’t honestly tell you beyond it was a battle of pride, one the piglin’s determination and cleverness won for him.”
‘Can we plant more just like him while you tell me?’
“Sure, mate.” Phil ruffled his Chayanne’s hair, they both would need to bathe later anyways. “There was that empty expanse of wall behind our houses, let’s go start it there.”
They spend a few moments gathering the needed materials, climbing over to the open wall Phil hadn’t known what to do with until now. He pulls out a pickaxe and starts digging down one block, the dragon hybrid following suit while tossing him expectant looks.
“Alright, alright, I suppose I could start now.” Phil could practically hear Techno’s happy tones while he spoke of the time when it was nothing but him and his hundreds-of-blocks-long field, his unwavering will driving him forth with each swing of a tool. “We weren’t together at the time, I was in my hardcore world while he was off conquering another land. His wit matches his brawn, so does his hard-headed intentions. He learned someone held the record for the most amount of potatoes harvested and wanted the title for himself.”
“Goddess knows why, honestly probably in a similar case he got bored and decided to claim something else as his own. I barely heard from him those long months beyond the shortest letters he ever wrote me, utterly consumed with this project.”
Handing over a stack of dirt blocks, they begin to line the holes they finished digging for now. Philza was sure it would expand but they would have to have a few plentiful harvests before that.
“His opponent was someone named ‘I am Squid Kid’, I have to give the preface that Squid put up an amazing fight for going as long as they did.” Phil chuckled, the lists coming to mind of just how far Techno went to secure his eventual victory. “Techno learned absolutely everything he could about the guy; from his sleep schedule, to where he was learning, to the normal times he would be active within his farm. I swear he had his damned heart rate tracked, with just how much Techno studied him to claim the title for his own.”
“Hundreds of thousands of potatoes later, through both going neck in neck for months and inventing many techniques that are still used to this day, Techno reached the goal they both set of 500 million potatoes, and 88 million potato lead on Squid.” Chayanne nearly dropped his shovel when Phil reminisced on it, reaching down to secure it before it fell from the blonde’s hands. “Technoblade is an obsidian-headed, masterful man whose strategies won him many wars. Sometimes he chose to funnel that experience in amusing ways like the ‘Great Potato War’ as he coined it.”
The rest of the afternoon is spent with Chayanne asking many more questions about that event Phil spoke about, as they planted more of the vegetable that would always bring Techno to the crow’s mind.
As his weathered hands carved a place for them to grow, he could hear Techno’s coaching voice. Showing Chayanne how to best cultivate the rooting vegetables, at the ending of it all placing the water they would need to grow.
They end up sitting against the wall, facing the newly sown fields as the sun's evening rays shone across the tilled dirt. Phil cradles the tired boy close, Chayanne slumbering in his arms as the crow is left alone with the memories he shared with one not in this realm.
If he squinted, he could nearly see Techno bent over a new plot off in the distance. Coaching the seedlings to root and bringing them a bountiful harvest, his favourite dishes to cook all surrounded the starchy ingredient.
Rocking the small dragon as he stands with a quiet groan, he takes one more look at the setting sun and sends a prayer to his Wife that Technoblade is safe.
Play out a spell in your sequence of chords
To inspire and sharpen our rusted swords
Echoing the whisper of the trees
Creep 'long a path where a thousand bards failed
From the thick West Tyrian jungle trails
Come from afar to set prisoners free
Into dark tangled depths from the open sea
The next time he speaks of the piglin, it’s too two adoring children. His son, Wilbur, asked him to care for his egg, a lovely musical girl named Tallulah with curly brunette hair to match her father. Gentle and kind, she was precious and Phil felt the overwhelming need to protect her more.
Chayanne could hold his own now, taking his own outings and fending off their enemies more easily than when he first arrived. Tallulah often struggled in conflict, more than once with others around having to fight things off of her. Her strengths lay in the beautiful symphony she could draw from the flute she always carried, the perfect bard to entrance anyone to listen to her.
Now Phil was caring for a warrior and a musical soul, an aching familiarity to Wilbur and Technoblade when he looked at the small dragon hybrids.
“Do you want to hear some about the world just before this one?” Phil asks, both nodding eagerly as they attend the potato farm.
After lots of dutiful care, it was practically overflowing with the amount of potatoes it was yielding. Philza was having to give them away, they ended up with so much still after filling their stores. Despite that, he took Chayanne and now Tallulah out to tend to it once a morning, the routine good for the energetic children.
“Where to start…where to start.” He wonders, his eyes landing on the notebook Chayanne held ready for both their questions. “How about I tell you about the Syndicate.”
Tallulah’s eyes widen and Chayanne nods enthusiastically, writing quickly in the book before holding it out. “Everything, now, I need to know.”
Phil sets down his tool, beckoning the small ones over to cuddle beneath his feathered limbs while they sit against a tree in the middle of the fields.
“The Syndicate was, to most, a book club where we met once every few moons. To the few inside people sworn in, it was the first line of defence against the tyrants that loved to attempt to claim power on that bloody world. We would gather to discuss current events, relay relevant information and support one another in all our endeavours.”
‘Who was in it?’ Tallulah asked in her pretty, looping handwriting.
“It consisted of five members, we all had different names we were to use within its walls. We were the founders of this club; Technoblade chose Protesilaus, I was Zephyrus. The other three members were people I have not told you too much about yet so we can do quick summaries.”
“Ranboo is someone we cared for after their home was decimated to bedrock, they lived in our Arctic commune far away from the others. The name he selected was Lethe.” Phil could picture the darling enderman perfectly, someone he grew attached too very quickly after meeting. “Always a quick thinker with very similar humour to Techno, a certain sadness and distance was always in their mismatched emerald and ruby eyes.”
“Niki, my Gods Niki, another soul I wish I could introduce to you both too. The sweetest being alive if she cared for you, if she disliked you you had better make right with your God as you would meet him soon. Fierce and determined, Nemesis held us up at our worst.” Phil unconsciously draws the two small ones closer, needing their comfort while he reminisces about the rose blonde woman with a heart of steel around liquid gold, ready to scorch anyone who harmed those she saw as hers. Including themselves, one of the best for dragging you from your own spirals.
Mortal friendships were the most painful to remember after they concluded, time the most absolute divider between ageless and those not. He could name each person and think of the trait he most admired, one he used to hold himself to his best these days.
“The last was never revealed to the rest of the server, their title being Harpocrates, but it won’t do any harm if I tell you now. Eret was the proud first and only Monarch of the Dream SMP, which is the name of the world I am talking about. They were always our ace, the agent we never called but always held close to us.” The regal being stood in a garden of bright flowers in Phil’s mind, calling the memories of meeting them there to speak of what happened in the previous meeting. They always had such a strong sense of guilt and empathy for the fallen, their grace a soft space to fall into when you needed it.
“Eret showed me how to truly listen and engage with those around you, their observation skills unmatched by anyone I have ever met. They were kind and fair, someone I trusted implicitly.”
‘I have so many more questions.’ Tallulah writes, Chayanne nodding quickly after reading her words.
“Let me finish my tale then we can get into the thousands I am sure you have whirling around your brain.” Phil smiles, both agreeing after looking at one another. “We achieved many things together, united in protecting the server from anyone wishing to wield power for personal gain. Everyone we chose did perfectly and amazingly, though my favourite memory always comes back to the birthday we threw Technoblade.”
“Setting a wooden table up in the field behind our cottages; Niki made a cake and Ranboo gathered together the fireworks. I prepared the drinks, and we surprised him out of the blue. The grin he had on his face was one of the widest I had ever seen him wear, looking at us each with such open love.” Phil’s hands clenched, looking at each child. “He was rarely so open with his affection, I knew he was truly touched that day with how much the others did for him. Relationships formed in bloodshed always ran deep, but what we had there was very special.”
‘They all sound so lovely.’ Tallulah comments, looking up at Philza. ‘I wish I could meet them.’
“I wish you could too, dear ones.”
Broken swords and dragon's bones
Scattered on the way back home
Beating to the sound of clashing steel
When they're on our heels
Now chant the tales and legends told
Strengthened by the hymns of old
Weathered as this winding road is long
So we sing our traveler's song
That night, they end up around a campfire Phil lit much to the delight of the small ones he was caring for. They sang loudly to the stars above before both of them crashed, energy spent from the day. After he initially opened up about the Syndicate it led to a whole branching tree of topics, everything from Ranboo’s demise to Doomsday as the bright sun made its circle from horizon to horizon.
Things Phil shuddered to remember now but felt comforted by their souls living on in each memory he spoke aloud for the attentive audience. It had been a wild few weeks but speaking of those who once learnt them their strength did a similar thing now, giving Phil something to latch onto while he explored this new path forward.
Looking down at the two asleep on his feathered appendages, holding tightly to folds of his forest green robes, he prays these two have better chances than those he cared for previously.
He lets Techno’s brand of aggressive affection fill his heart, determined to do it all to preserve these two’s sense of wonder. To never let light be robbed from ones so bright again, unlike the world before.
If he had to stand up against an entire army of demons, he would do so with a wicked smile and Techno’s ruthlessness staining his soul, demanding blood. If the world stood on the other side, he would swing first.
He feared the viciousness the entities of this world already held, and made a promise under that full moon harm would not happen to these dear, unique dragon children he was entrusted with.
But if anything, the stories he told the past few days reminded him of the reasons he stood up before, and he would do so again. Though the Angel of Death had many legends surrounding him of a poisonous touch, it was only because harm befell something he cared about.
He would do everything in his power, pull out every trick he knew, to protect the innocence they all had on this world. Philza had vanquished evil before, and he would do so again before leaving this world for the next that needed him.
Ever fighting his way back to Techno’s side, he intended to immerse himself in the warmth he found here in the meantime.
Chayanne and Tallulah were more than enough reason, their endless curiosity of stories from lands before was why Phil got out of bed each morning.
Gently picking up each small body, he brings them back to their beds before laying down himself. Slumber seeks him out with happy memories tonight, in a field with people Phil missed dreadfully.
A gift from his Wife, a glimpse of the souls he cared about. A place he could relax for the first time in months, laughter ringing from all gathered to remember times before. A sharing of tales meant to teach the others lessons they maybe didn’t know, or needed a reminder of.
A home for a wayward soul to find a reason to keep fighting, Phil slept peacefully that night with gold stitching back together his ancient soul. Made of memories and love, woven with care, Phil felt them all possess him once more with their unique energy.
He would be enough to preserve their wonder, he had to be.
Second chances don't come cheap
So keep alert and on your feet
An ancient spirit's song will heal our wounds
Unabashed by our defeat
Spite the bloodstains on these cobble streets
A message to the gods to see us through
Ever heard, yet rarely sung
So raise your voice and praise the sun
I call a new rebirth to keep us strong
Countless souls along the path
Lost to fiends and lords of wrath
But we'll return to play our final song