Work Text:
Thom of Trebond was not an innocent man.
But he was also not a guilty man.
Sure, he was born innocent, as all babies are.
But he grew up.
His father ignored him in favor of his tombs and scrolls.
Thom of Trebond became a little frayed around the edges.
He had a passion for sorcery. Sorcery that his father strictly forbade. Sorcery that Maude refused to teach.
So he snuck off to the library in the dead of night to search for scrolls on magic.
But his father had burned them all.
And then he was old enough. He was going to become a knight. But he wanted to become a sorcerer.
So Alanna, his twin, proposed a switch.
And then Maude looked into the fire and Alanna saw something.
(It's not fair, he thought)
And so Thom of Trebond became a bit torn.
And they parted ways. Thom to the Mithran Cloisters, and Alanna to become a knight.
At the Mithran Cloisters, he had to start from the basics.
You're still a child, they'd say.
So in the dead of night, he'd sneak off to the library to look at tombs and scrolls.
By the time Alanna had completed being a page, Thom was well beyond mastery level.
But he was being watched.
But, eventually, he got sick and tired of playing dumb, and he passed his written mastery exams.
And so everybody ignored him. They were upset.
He was lonely.
And so Thom of Trebond started to tear.
Then Alanna and George Cooper came to visit him.
(Really Alanna, falling for the King of the Thieves?)
And they told him what had been happening.
Alanna said he'd be lonely.
But he wasn't.
(Yes, he was.)
With no time to waste, he passed his mastery exams and made his way to the palace.
And Alanna was right, this Duke Roger of Conté was dangerous.
But she confronted him anyways.
Alanna was revealed as a girl and she killed Duke Roger.
She left him and went adventuring.
He tore a little bit.
Then Delia of Eldorne told him that only the greatest sorcerers could raise the dead.
He was a great sorcerer.
So he took some of Alanna’s Gift and raised Duke Roger.
His Gift was blood red and dirty.
He was weak and dying.
Then everybody avoided him. He did something unnatural.
Alanna said he'd be lonely.
She was right.
And then the Duke was apparently still evil and tried to kill Jon.
And Alanna ran up and found him.
He was dying.
She leaned over him.
He smiled.
Sister.
And he closed his eyes.
And so, maybe he was torn and frayed, but he was still loved.
Alanna said he'd be lonely.
But how could he be, with all of these friends and family he made?