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It was spring when the news hit. It was spring, though spring was late this year, and the snow was just starting to melt from doorsteps and street corners. Flowers were starting to bloom and the world was coming to life again.
And the war had begun.
Techno knew before Tommy did, of course. The letter had been addressed to him. But he'd let Tommy look over it once he'd read it himself. Reading practice, he said; and besides, it would be important for Tommy to know. Techno didn't share more than that, no matter how much Tommy pressed him, just repeatedly pointing him back to the letter.
Techno Blade,
The war is upon us. Your presence is hereby requested in Snowchester. Transportation will be provided; be ready to leave in two day's time.
Signed, King's Guard
Tommy read it aloud, frowning in confusion when he'd reached the end. "What does it mean?"
"Means we're goin' to war," Techno explained shortly. He wasn't looking at Tommy, just stared out the window, arms crossed over his chest.
"Are you gonna be fighting?"
Techno shook his head, turning to gently take the letter from Tommy. "See this here?" He pointed at the fancy seal on the bottom that said "King's Guard" in swirling, barely decipherable letters that almost gave Tommy a headache to look at. "The King's Guard is all the strategists and military leaders. I'm not gonna be actually fightin' anyone."
Tommy frowned at that. "That's lame."
Techno huffed a laugh, ruffling his hair. "Sure, kid. Look... I'm gonna be gone for a while. Maybe even a few years. But you can stay at Phil's house until I'm back, and then we can catch up on everything I missed when I was gone, alright?"
That caught Tommy off-guard. "You mean- I'm not coming with you?" Somehow, he'd seen himself going along on the trip, too. He could do strategy! He'd be so great at it! Techno had taught him a lot, after all.
"I'm not bringin' a kid to a warzone, no."
The words were final, but Tommy couldn't help pushing further. "So... what, you think it's gonna be dangerous?"
Techno didn't answer for a moment, just gave him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Everything's dangerous, kid," he said finally. "I don't want to have to worry about you bein' there, alright? Phil's gonna take good care of you while I'm gone-"
Tommy didn't let Techno finish, just ran for his room as he felt tears starting to prick at his eyes. He slammed the door loudly to declare just how much he hated every part of this. "While I'm gone" kept echoing through his mind as he sat on the floor, wrapping his arms around himself to try and keep from breaking down completely.
He tried to shove it away.
It didn't work.
The two days passed in a blur, and before Tommy knew it, Techno was stepping into the carriage that would take him to Snowchester. They'd already had their whole tearful goodbye thing. Or at least, Tommy had a tearful goodbye. Techno had just hugged him and promised, with an air of certainty that almost made Tommy believe him, that he'd be back. Not soon; he didn't promise that. Techno didn't like making promises he knew he couldn't keep.
All too soon, the carriage rolled away, and Tommy saw Techno wave one last time. He almost ran after them, almost called for the carriage to stop, but he didn't, and then Techno was gone.
Not gone gone, forever, because he'd promised he'd be back.
Tommy held onto that promise.
He held onto it as spring turned to summer and he got his first letter back from Techno. Letters took ages to deliver, so Tommy had already sent about six or seven of his own in the meantime, and he'd been eagerly waiting for one in return. When the deliveryman finally came by Phil's house, letter in hand, Tommy was standing on the front step to take it from him directly.
Tommy,
As I write this, it's been about a week since I left. Not sure how long it'll take for it to get to you. Everything's fine over here, really boring though. Lots of politics involved. You wouldn't like it.
Tell Phil he's not missing much, either.
-Techno
As far as letters went, it was rather disappointing. Techno had never really been good at writing letters, though, so Tommy took it in stride, running in to show Phil.
Phil was an old friend of Techno's. Apparently they'd met during some sort of conflict, although neither of them ever specified which one. While most people Phil's age had been called to join the war, Phil himself had nearly lost a leg during a fight, and even now used a cane to walk. He'd lived next door for as long as Tommy could remember. It made things easier, in a way, because sometimes he could pretend Techno had just told him to hang out with Phil for a while, and he could go back home whenever he wanted and Techno would still be there.
Techno,
It's been like two months. Letters take forever. I sent a bunch of them earlier, I don't know if you've gotten them yet. I miss you
Phil says hi
-Tommy
Summer became fall almost before Tommy realized it, and while he did get a few more letters from Techno and sent a lot in return, soon enough winter came along, effectively halting their communication until the next spring.
It was miserable.
Not that Tommy hated it, per se; Phil was fun to hang out with, and the snow provided endless opportunities for games with friends. There were even a few times where he managed to entirely forget that his brother was miles upon miles away with no way to talk to him.
But then he'd walk back to his own house by accident, or find himself waiting at the window for a letter that never came. And it hurt a little. Techno wasn't gone forever, he kept reminding himself. He'd promised he'd be back, so he would be. That was just a fact.
Spring came around late again. The snow stuck around for ages, and Tommy found himself waiting at the window more and more, until finally the deliveryman came back, this time with a whole stack of letters in hand. They each had a date written on the outside this time, which Tommy used to carefully arrange the letters in chronological order before even starting to open and read them.
Tommy,
Yes, it would be funny to set chickens loose in the meeting room. No, I will not be doing that.
Sounds like you're having fun at Phil's house, at least.
While I can't say very much about what we're talking about in the strategy meetings (security and all), what I can say is that I'm pretty sure we can win this war in a few months if all goes well. Can't wait to see you again,
-Techno
P.S.: please pass the other letter here on to Phil
A few months! That wasn't long at all. Tommy hesitated before going to open the next letter; he almost wanted to wait, to leave the words unread for just a little longer, as if they'd somehow lose something once he'd seen them.
He tucked the rest of the stack away under his bed, to read one at a time later, and only then realized that the letter he'd already read had another piece of paper behind it. The paper was folded over and had an extra wax seal on the front. That must be the one he was supposed to give to Phil. So... so he should give it to Phil. And probably not read it himself. If it was something he was supposed to see, Techno would've said so, right?
Before he could talk himself out of it, he carefully lifted the wax seal, hoping against hope he'd be able to put it back correctly later.
Phil,
I hate this. No one here even bothers listening to me. Tactics is one thing; I can do tactics. But there's apparently "more to consider" when it comes to actually putting things into practice. We could win this thing in a month if everything goes well, but apparently, no one else cares about ending this quickly. Which doesn't make sense. The sooner it ends, the less the cost of the war. It's that simple.
Not according to them, though, which sucks.
Wish you were here,
-Techno
That... that was not what Tommy had expected.
He shouldn't have read the letter.
He resealed it carefully enough, though, and if Phil noticed anything off, he didn't say so.
Techno,
I know you said it would be a while, but it's been over a year. It's so boring here without you. You should tell the King's Guard or whoever it was that you have to come back home immediately. Or ask the enemy to give up! They're already going to lose, they could just save us the trouble.
Miss you still,
-Tommy
Tommy,
That's not how wars work.
Miss you too.
-Techno
Tommy must have read over the two short lines a hundred times already. He'd finally gotten to the end of the backlog of letters, and this one had just arrived a day or so back. He'd been excited to read it, because surely Techno would have a lot to tell him. Maybe he'd ramble about actual battle strategies, or tell a story about something from ancient history... but no.
Two short sentences. That was all.
Except...
There was more. Attached to the letter was another folded piece of paper, sealed once more with a wax seal and with Phil's name on the front. After the first time, Techno had stopped putting specific instructions in his letters to Tommy and just wrote "Phil" on the front of whatever he wanted Tommy to pass on.
And Tommy had been so good. Out of all the times Techno attached an extra letter addressed to Phil, he'd only read the first one. He'd been so good- and would it really hurt to know?
He opened the letter.
Phil,
They're transferring me to the front. They've been talking about actually putting me on the battlefield; I don't know what they ended up deciding on that, but I don't trust it. I'm supposed to be a strategist, not a fighter. Maybe they're getting desperate. We have more than enough soldiers, though.
I hate this so much.
If anything happens to me, please take care of Tommy. You don't have to tell him about this if you don't think he's ready to hear it. I'll leave that up to you.
-Techno
Techno was supposed to be safe.
Tommy didn't know how long he stayed there, nightmareish scenarios running through his head. Techno promised he'd be back, he kept telling himself. And that meant he would be back. It was only a matter of time.
He gave the letter to Phil that night, and pretended to be oblivious to the fact that Phil's pacing footsteps echoed faintly through the house long into the night.
They didn't get letters for a while after that. Phil, now, was the one waiting at the window, and Tommy just stayed in his room, reading and re-reading the letters he still kept under his bed.
It was just the mail being slow, he told himself. Maybe a sudden snowstorm had cut off contact again. That was possible, right? Even as summer crept closer and closer, surely it was still possible. Late snowstorms happened all the time.
It felt like denial.
Just as Tommy was about to crack, though, and tell Phil that he knew, the deliveryman came by again with a new stack of letters. Tommy bolted through the house on hearing Phil open the door to greet him and ended up almost tackling the man to the ground.
After a series of apologies, he retreated to his room with the new stash and tore open the first letter (carefully, so as not to actually rip the paper). His hands were shaking with excitement, he realized, trying to hold the paper steady so he could unfold it.
Tommy,
Looks like my first estimate was a little off. We've had some setbacks on our end, which has let the enemy get a lot further than I'd anticipated. It's still nothing we can't handle pretty easily, but it'll definitely take more than a few months. I'm really sorry.
That being said, I'm almost considering using your chicken idea. It's getting really boring here at Snowchester
Tommy paused then, eyes skimming the rest of the words without quite seeing them. Because that was a lie. Techno was lying to him. He wasn't at Snowchester, he'd been moved to the front, and that wasn't something that could've been changed in the time between when the letters were sent.
There was another letter for Phil attached. Tommy didn't read this one. He didn't want to know, he told himself.
Tommy saved the letters for as long as he could, dragging out the process of opening them over the course of a few weeks. None of them were anything particularly noteworthy. They were a sign Techno was alive, of course, and there was something to be said on that point, but nothing that said he was coming home soon, and nothing about the fact that he was at the front.
It was fall again.
The deliveryman came by again, this time with only two letters from Techno, and Tommy sent one back. It was hard to think of anything to say.
And then it was winter. Back to the mindless waiting at the window, hoping against all reasonable possibility that there would be some news. Anything. Anything at all. Tommy read over the letters he already had a thousand times over, trying to hear Techno's voice in the words.
It kept getting harder to do so.
Then spring arrived, and Tommy forced himself to start going outside more. Enjoy the sun a little. The snow stuck around as usual, but that was okay. The deliveryman wouldn't be around for a while anyway.
Or so he'd thought, at least.
He was out of the house when the deliveryman came by. He was just up the street, though, and saw the man remove his hat and half-bow towards the doorway before continuing solemnly on his way, and he knew.
He kept walking.
Refusing to let the tears fall.
Because it couldn't be true. Techno had promised, and he didn't break his promises. He'd come back to Phil's house and it would have been a mistake. The deliveryman had gotten the wrong house, maybe. Or maybe he was misinterpreting. Maybe the bow had been- had been a sign of respect! Or something like that. An acknowledgement that Techno was a war hero. Maybe, by the time he came back home, Techno himself would be there, and everything would be alright again.
When he got back, Phil was holding a piece of paper stamped with the official royal seal. He didn't have to say anything. The way he looked at Tommy, as if he felt personally guilty somehow, was enough.
Tommy ran. He ran into his room, collapsed on the bed, and just lay there for a while, unwilling to fully accept the truth. That Techno was gone. Because- because he couldn't be gone. Not when he'd promised to come back, not when Tommy still had a whole box of letters under his bed with Techno's name on them.
He couldn't be gone.
Winter turned to spring turned to summer. The war raged on in distant lands, seeming no closer to stopping. And at some point, Tommy stopped waiting at the window for letters that never came.
It almost felt like living in limbo. Everything had been thrown off-kilter, Tommy's world was entirely upside-down, but nothing really changed. Time moved on and Techno was still gone, just... now he wasn't coming back.
Slowly, though, Tommy started to move on.
It was almost easier than he'd expected. Almost too easy. It was too easy to forget all the little things, so even though the absence was still there, it didn't feel as much like there was a person missing. Just a vague shadow of someone who should've been there.
And almost before he knew it, the war was over.
And they'd lost.
It was a complete disaster on the strategic aspect of things, people said. Their kingdom had not only superior numbers, but better positions, better supplies, and the element of surprise, and they'd still managed to lose.
But the people who said this would always click their tongues and shake their heads. "An act of the gods," they'd add. "What can you do?"
The Blood God was the one they mentioned most often. He'd only shown up after the war had gone on for a while, but he'd apparently single-handedly changed the tide of some of the major battles of the war. No one knew where he came from, only that sometimes you'd blink and he was there, standing taller than anyone else on the battlefield, sword already coated in red.
Tommy didn't listen to those stories at first. But only at first. Because after a while, there was a new rumor: the Blood God was still very much present, and he was looking for something - or someone.
At first, it didn't seem like anything to worry about. Tommy was confident both him and Phil would be safe. After all, what were the chances the Blood God would seek either of them out personally? And besides, the god was so far away from anyone he cared about. It would've been several days' journey at a fast pace for someone to cross the distance.
Or so he'd thought.
It was only two short days before he woke in the early morning to the sound of scattered shouting outside. He stood, yawning, so he could glance through the curtains and look outside.
People were crowing to the streets in apparent curiosity. Some held improvised weapons. A few held actual weapons. They all appeared to be waiting, somehow, for something to happen.
Naturally, Tommy decided to see what was going on.
The chill of the morning air cut through the last of his sleepiness. The weather was just starting to turn cold (fall must be just around the corner, then) and the sky was a blanket of grey clouds. As far as backdrops went, it was pretty well perfect for what followed.
Someone was walking the streets. A man, it seemed, except he was easily taller than anyone Tommy had ever seen. He was dressed in the enemy's colors, but wore their own under his jacket. His hair was pink and stood in sharp contrast to the grey of the skies. He was looking for someone, judging by how he was scanning every face in the crowd as he continued his purposeful walk.
And then he paused, and Tommy realized with a chill that he was being studied now. He took an involuntary step back and nearly bumped into Phil, who had quietly joined him. "It's the Blood God," he whispered, the sound all too loud amidst the sudden silence that had fallen.
"It's alright, mate, just stay behind me," Phil whispered back, stepping forward as if to shield Tommy. It didn't quite work. Tommy had grown to be taller than Phil, and he was able to meet the Blood God's eyes over his head. He looked away quickly.
Then-
"Tommy?"
It was quiet. So quiet Tommy could've missed it if it weren't for the dead silence. As it was, he was sure he must've misheard, because why would the Blood God be looking for him?
The Blood God started to walk closer, but before he could get within a few feet, Phil unsheathed the dagger he always carried, leaning on his cane as he pointed it at the god. "Don't even think about it, mate."
It would be a useless attempt. What use was a dagger against a god? Still, Tommy found himself shrinking back slightly at the pure venom in Phil's voice, even though it wasn't directed at him.
The god just froze, an expression of deep sadness crossing his face for a split second. "Phil, it's me."
Something about the god struck Tommy, then. A strange sense of familiarity. He wasn't sure what it was- it had been so long, after all, and the person standing before him looked nothing like he had when he'd left over two years ago. But somehow, he still knew. "Techno? Is that-" he broke off, an emotion he couldn't quite name bubbling up.
"You're kidding me," Phil said softly. Then, louder, "No. No, you're not. You can't be."
"I'm sorry. For everything. It wasn't supposed to take this long, but no one was listenin' to me, and I couldn't do anything about it." The god - Techno - looked to Tommy, then. Paused, as if at a loss for words. And offered a hesitant smile. "You grew up, didn't you?"
Techno was blinking away tears, Tommy realized, and that was what finally broke him. He ran forwards, almost tackling Techno with a hug. And there, in the cold, grey fall morning, he cried again, but this time with joy.
Techno was back.
He'd kept his promise.