SupaNova

I miss 2013

[supaaaanova]

This is The Song of Thoschei, an academy era Doctor Who fic. It touches on themes of classism, generational trauma, gender dysphoria, mental illness, cults, abuse and death. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 1: https://www.tumblr.com/supaaaanova/824078002200723456/the-song-of-thoschei

Chapter 2: https://www.tumblr.com/supaaaanova/824099455181717504/the-song-of-thoschei

Chapter 3: https://www.tumblr.com/supaaaanova/824632331647221760/chapter-3-preparedness-the-next-summer-i-turned

Post by @supaaaanova

💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 0 · Chapter 3. Preparedness The next summer, I turned eight years old. My parents hosted a small feast to celebrate the occasi

Post by @supaaaanova

💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 4 · The Song of Thoschei · Chapter 2: Labyrinth I’m sure you picked up that the tent would be bigger on the inside, but that’s

Post by @supaaaanova

💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 4 · The Song of Thoschei ·  Chapter 1. Beginnings My father was the head of the Chancellery guard on Gallifrey. He built Hous

[supaaaanova]

Chapter 3. Preparedness 

The next summer, I turned eight years old. My parents hosted a small feast to celebrate the occasion. Birthdays are not typically celebrated on Gallifrey, but certain milestones are. Every Gallifreyan child was taken for initiation at the age of eight. We would hike along the three paths through the mountains and desert to gaze upon the Untempered Schism. It was a dangerous trail; there was a one in four chance I wouldn’t survive, and a fifty percent chance I would fail. Initiates had to keep a steady pace; they must not fall behind or stop, or that would be an automatic failure. Furthermore, being left stranded and alone in the Gallifreyan wilderness was a death sentence for those under the age of regeneration. 

My father saw to it that I was physically prepared; he taught me wilderness survival within the Lume Forest and high in the surrounding mountains. He had us hike through the forest and through the Northern Mountains for hours, sometimes days. I hated these wilderness drills. He taught me how to build a shelter, navigate without a compass, and hunt and find food. I cried when he made me kill my first rabbit. I cried when he made me the second one as well, and the third. My father quickly snuffed out this weakness. 

“Let this be a reminder of your fate if you fail me, you’ll either meet the same fate as the rabbit, or you will spend all of eternity hunting them to survive.” 

He made me skin the rabbits, cut off their feet, remove their organs, and cook the meat, then made me eat it. Meat was not commonly consumed on Gallifrey; our diet mostly consisted of plants and fungi. The rabbit’s flesh felt foreign in my mouth. I couldn’t crush or grind it; I needed to rip and tear it. Its flavor was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted; it was strong, almost metallic, rich, and deep. It wasn’t sweet or sour like the fruits I commonly ate; it was savory and earthy, but unlike any mushroom I had ever eaten. It wasn’t sulfury or creamy like an egg, nor was it like any nut or seed I’ve eaten. However, it was delicious and irresistible, and with every bite, my hunger only grew. I felt disgusted after my meal. I could smell death all around me as if it were radiating out from within my stomach, and I was sickened by the fact that I craved more. My father tossed the rabbits’ remains into the Scarlet Lake. He had me keep one rabbit’s foot as a reminder. 

~~~

My father showed me firsthand the monsters that would consume me if I let my guard down; he taught me to face them without fear. Within the slopes of Mt. Entropy, we had to find shelter from an oncoming storm. I couldn’t see anything within the red mist besides my father's shadow in front of me. The first sun had already set, and the second was hastily retreating over the horizon; we needed to find shelter quickly. 

“Father, I am scared. I can’t see a thing,” I whined. 

“Then don’t look with your eyes, hold my hand, and follow.” He said. 

I reluctantly agreed and reached out to grab my father’s hand; it was freezing and felt as if I had grabbed onto a stone from the mountainside. 

“Father?” I inquired, but this did not feel like him. Suddenly, there was a loud clanking noise followed by the sound of rock crumbling. I felt the gravel shower me, then familiar arms tightly embrace me and lift me from the ground. 

“Take heed, boy!” He exclaimed as he scanned our surroundings; his hearts raced in his chest. I felt a twinge of fear, as if we were not alone upon this mountain top. My father adjusted his hold on me and clutched his weapon. 

“What is hunting us, father?” I meekly inquired. 

“Angels, we must be vigilant.” He said. 

“But I cannot see, the fog is too dense!” I cried 

“Quiet boy, you can see, just do not use your eyes.” He ordered. 

“How am I supposed to see without using my eyes?” I questioned. 

“How did you know we were being hunted if you cannot see?” My father retorted. 

Understanding blossomed in me; even though I could not see what lay ahead of us, I could faintly hear the scraping of stone. I could feel multiple pairs of eyes on me, and I could sense the intent behind them. “They will not harm you if they believe you can see them. So you need to see them.” He explained. 

“I-I see them…” I mumbled. 

“Speak clearly, boy, you either see them or they kill you!” My father commanded. 

“I see them! There are 4; the closest is 30 paces downhill.” I say. 

“Good, face them, don’t turn your back, don’t let them get behind you.” He instructed as he put me down. He steadied his grip on his weapon and widened his stance. I stood closely behind him and faced the threat head-on. I could sense the angels begin to retreat to the north, but my father’s guard remained high. “Do not let your guard down.” He whispered as he began to move forward. I hastily followed him down the southern face of the mountain, where we made camp within a small cave. 

“Will they follow us here?” I fretted.

“Absolutely, it will be dark soon, and weary eyes are hard to keep open.” My father said, 

“I’m scared.” I whimper as I bundle myself tightly in the makeshift bedding. 

“I will protect you, don’t worry. You’re my only child; there is nothing more precious to me.” My father reassured me. This made me feel warm; my father was harsh, cold, and stoic. I was surprised by his sudden affection, but it helped me feel a bit safer. I had a restless sleep that night. I could hear the wind howling outside the cave, thunder crashing, and ice breaking against stone. I wouldn’t sense the Angels again that night. 

When the morning came, the mountainside was completely transformed. The entire mountainside was blooming with Aridosa flowers, these small red flowers with jagged petals and a small yellow bioluminescent center.  I had never seen so many before, and I had never seen the mountainside so alive. The second sun was rising in the sky, making it glow a brilliant violet. 

“Wow, I wish we could take a picture,” I mused. 

“That is what makes it special,” My father replied. 

~~~

I had entrance exams not long after our trip to Mt. Entropy. This would be the first time I would set foot on the campus I’d call home for the next 90 years of my life. The Prydonian Academy was the largest school on Gallifrey; the campus was the size of a small city. It was an imposing structure of ebony bricks and silver spires. The college stood at the base of Mt. Cadon, the tallest mountain on the planet’s surface. The light from our twin suns would illuminate the cliffs in the most spectacular ways. It looked like something out of a storybook; I half expected to see knights and royalty walking about.

 What I did see didn’t differ too wildly from my imagination. The students all wore the iconic scarlet Prydonian robes; the length varied with their age. Time Tots wore short robes with golden lapels bearing their house name and year in circular Gallifreyan; some had a ruby star-shaped pin on their lapels, others had a white lightning bolt. Midlings wore knee-length robes that had burnt orange stoles with their names and year on them, and some of them had patches on their stoles to represent the clubs they were a part of. Junior Time Lords wore robes that fell halfway down their calves, with high golden collars bearing the school's crest, their names, their year, and their program of study.  A Junior Time Lord named PsiChi Lungbarrow gave us a tour of the campus. He was tall and skinny with light brown hair and blue eyes. He spoke like a Lungbarrow, confident and passionate and sort of poetic; he sounded just like Theta Sigma. His collar indicated he was in year 87 and studying Intergalactic Diplomacy; he had the signature charm and intensity his family was known for. I bet his family is proud of him. I hope I will be like that one day. 

PsiChi showcased the entire 28-square-mile campus in 90 minutes. He took us through lecture halls, laboratories, libraries, and workshops. This college has everything you could think of; the campus is both ancient and contemporary. This campus has stood here for thousands of years, through the rise and fall of kingdoms and factions; it has stood as a beacon of enlightenment. I was immediately captivated by the TARDIS bays, hundreds of TARDISes lined the room, and I had never seen so many in one place. They had every generation within them, antique TARDISes, battle TARDISes, custom TARDISes. This was so much cooler than the dealership my mother and I went to.  Junior Time Lords and professors were working within the bays, servicing the TARDISes and breeding them. The room was filled with noise from the machines, whooshing, wheezing, warbling, grinding, and whirring in a strange rhythm. I was fascinated by the machines and felt a surge of motivation. I needed to do well on my exams so I could return to the TARDIS bays. 

~~~

I was nervous before the exams; many of the other loomlings were as well, but I noticed a specific set of families who weren’t. The Lungbarrows, The Dvoras, The Heartshavens, and The Mgorvias, of course, wouldn’t need to worry about passing; admission was guaranteed for them so long as they passed their initiation. I saw some people I recognized from the feast. Theta Sigma stood out to me. While most of the other children were going over notes or talking amongst themselves, she was clearly focused on something hidden in her dress. I bet she has the test answers hidden in there; her aunt wrote the exam after all. I shook my head and refocused myself. The first exam was on civics. I went over my studies in my head, remembering my tutoring sessions with Eloquence. We still had roughly 15 minutes before we’d be allowed into the computer lab for the exam. 

The proctors began lining all of us up in neat rows of 12 by birthdate. I was roughly in the center of the room, Theta Sigma was directly to my left. Our birthdays must be close. She waved to me subtly, we weren’t supposed to be talking to each other right now, but I snuck a wave back to her. She held something out to me, which was concealed by her grip. I raised an eyebrow but reached out to retrieve it. It was a red lizard tail. I wanted to jump out of my skin. I hate lizards. I quickly tossed it to the ground and wiped my hand off on my trousers, quietly trying to stifle a disgusted noise. She shook her head and made an eating motion with her hands; it seemed to be some sort of hyper-realistic gummy candy. She fidgeted with something in her dress again and flashed me a bag of hyper-realistic gummy candies. I made a face like I was pretending to vomit. Who would want to eat something like that? She shook her head and rubbed her tummy, giving me a thumbs up with her other hand. She held out a subtle hand with a candy clutched inside, once again, this time it was a yellow beetle. I took it and studied it for a moment before slipping it into my mouth and chewing. It wasn’t bad; it had a tart flavor and was a little sour. I actually enjoyed it. I bowed my head in thanks to her and held a thumbs-up at her. She smiled and nodded, her posture returning to focus on the proctor’s lecture on the testing protocols. 

We soon entered the computer lab and found our seats. I felt a lot less nervous about the exam after eating that candy. It left a slightly tingly sensation in my mouth and a tangy aftertaste; perhaps the candy contained something to stimulate focus. I focused on the screen in front of me; we were each seated in our own cubicles, where we’d be individually monitored during the exam. The webcam scanned my biodata and began logging me onto the software. 

Is this you? 

Koscheivladetspravielvsegopredansyn Oakdown

Yes. No

I clicked yes, and the next screen loaded. 

Gallifreyan Time Lord Academy 

Prydonian Chapter Entrance Exams 

Subject: Civics 

Duration: 90 minutes 

Begin?

I clicked begin, and the exam started. There were 100 questions on the exam and 3 reading passages; all answers were short responses except for the final question, which was an essay question. I cleared my mind and focused on working as efficiently as possible on the questions. I started with the essay since it was worth the most points. I had to write a paper about any of the landmark rulings mentioned in the text I read. I chose to write about the second law of intervention, which prohibits a Time Lord from posing as a god in developing alien cultures. I thought it was a stupid law; faith was a way more effective way to gain control over star systems. Diplomacy was slow and never lasted long; faith lasted for centuries and earned you complete devotion. I wrote the 5 paragraph essay in 20 minutes before moving on to complete as many short response questions as possible. When the time ran out, there were still 10 questions left on my exam. An hourglass icon flipped every couple of seconds as my test results loaded. 

Gallifreyan Time Lord Academy

Prydonian Chapter Entrance Exams

Subject: Civics

Questions Answered: 90/100

Score: 90% 

High Pass

Next Exam?

I smiled and moved on to the next exam, which was on reading comprehension. I would receive a high pass on this exam as well. The exam after that was on physics, which I got a high pass on. Then modern history, arithmetic, computer language, geography, astronomy, and finally biology. I passed all the exams and was among the top 10 scorers. I felt a surge of pride and relief. My parents will be proud of me, with scores like these, I may even be placed in the accelerated program. All I have to do is survive my initiation. 

[supaaaanova]

The Song of Thoschei

Chapter 2: Labyrinth

I’m sure you picked up that the tent would be bigger on the inside, but that’s not even the half of it. The labyrinth had stairs that spiraled in every direction like an Escher painting, hallways that curved on forever and led nowhere, walls and floors that moved in strange ways, and doors that led to the unexpected. I had never been in a labyrinth this intricate before. Immediately, I’m intimidated and a bit nauseated by the movement of the rooms around me. I feel my stomach churn as the walls twist in every direction. I can do this, I must do this, I will win the game and bring honor to House Oakdown. 

“Are you alright? You look like you’re going to hurl.” The blonde girl asked me.

I’m caught off guard by the question; no one has ever asked me that before. “I’m fine, thank you,” I respond coolly. 

“If you say, try not to throw up, the walls and floors are moving, and I’d imagine things would get really gross very fast,” She said, and just like that, she vanished in the rearranging rooms. 

I swallowed hard and composed myself just like my mother taught me. I need to be confident and decisive; hesitation would cost me the game and my parents’ approval. I cautiously proceeded through the labyrinth, looking for patterns and trends within the simulation. Every game was computer-generated, even though the twisting and turning of the walls and floors appeared random, it actually wasn’t. One second, the room was at its default; one second, the walls shift 90 degrees; two seconds, the room is upside down; three seconds, the walls shift 180 degrees; five seconds, the room is on its side; eight seconds, I’m in a similar but different room. It’s a bit bigger than the last room, almost twice the size, but the walls change at the same rate. One second, default; one second shift; it seems to go the opposite direction now: two seconds, flip; three seconds, shift; five seconds, tilt; eight seconds, new room again, almost twice the size. In the next room, the walls moved in a completely different way, but the interval remained the same. Every 20 seconds, I’d be transported to a room that was nearly twice as large as the last, but where have I seen this pattern before? 

“1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8… 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8… why those numbers?” I muttered to myself as the room changed again. 

“IT’S A FIBONACCI!” a voice suddenly exclaimed as they burst through the door of the room I was in. It was the blonde again, and she had this feral look about her that made my hair stand on end. 

“Well, of course, it’s a Fibonacci; every room is 1.6 times larger than the last,” I scoffed. It upset me to see this shobogan figure out the sequence before me, but since she has and since she’s the only person who has approached me during this whole festival, I suppose I could use her to win this thing. 

“It’s like the seeds of the Schlenk blossoms! We’re moving through the tent in a spiral!” She said. 

“So we must be moving away from the center every 20 seconds. That means the exit is in the center of the spiral.” I muttered, mostly to myself. “So we only have 20 seconds to reach the door before we’re sent to the next room, and the rooms are constantly changing-” 

“And you need a password to open the doors,” The girl added. 

“Password? What password did you use to open the door?” I inquired. 

“It was Fibonacci,” She answered. 

“Well, let's start with that,” I said. I walked over to the door and inspected the keypad, and then the wall shifted, and the door was on the other side of the room. The girl chuckled. 

“You’ve got to be quicker than that. And when the room shifts, you hang on!” She seemed amused by watching me chase the door. Now I understand the look in her eyes when she finally opened the previous door; it was tedious, maddening work. This very game was made to disorient and stress us so that they may evaluate our characters. Well, I wasn’t about to show weakness when I knew I was under scrutiny. 

I counted the seconds 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, reset. When the room reset, I clutched the door handle and held on for dear life as I tried to type the letters. Trying to write in a circular writing system while being flung around in circles was a nauseating experience. After what felt like ages, I finally entered the word, Fibonacci. The door made a disapproving noise and refused to open. 

“Ugh! It didn’t work!” I grunted as I released the handle. I stumbled a little as the room turned. 

“Maybe you spelled it wrong. It's hard to write when the room is spinning,” The girl suggested. 

“I didn’t spell it wrong!” I snapped. “The code is not Fibonacci,” I sighed. 

The girl put her hands up in a placating motion. Her face fell for just a moment, then suddenly an idea came to her. “Maybe it’s telepathic! The first door was Fibonacci because we were trying to figure out the sequence, the second door must have something to do with figuring out the password!” she beamed. “Let me try!” She waited for the room to reset, then grabbed the door handle. “P A S S W O R D,” she muttered as she struggled with the keypad. The door made an approving beep and swung open, “C’mon!” she shouted as she held her hand out to me. My mouth fell agape as I took her hand. That ridiculous password worked? Furthermore, we’re supposed to be competing; there can only be one winner, so why would she help me? Perhaps she is a shobogan after all. 

She pulled me into the next room. This time, the pattern was shorter, only 12 seconds instead of 20. We were also joined by two other children from the start, the fat kid and the girl with the glasses. 

“That’s curious, every door seems to rejoin us with the people we entered the tent with. Perhaps physical combat will be used to determine a victor,” The girl with the glasses muttered. She had a nasal voice that sounded like an insidious sneer constantly, and I knew that accent anywhere; she was from House Mgorvia. I’ve never seen that girl in my life, but I know that accent; she must be related to Cardinal Botanicus. My father did not like that man; I made sure to avoid him after they met because he’d always end up in a mood. 

“If they use physical combat to determine a victor, you lot better forfeit while you have the chance.” The fat kid harumphed. 

“Or what? You’ll eat us?” Mgorvia sneered. 

“Why I ought to-” The fat kid started before the blonde girl cut them off. 

“It won’t be physical combat, maybe if we were at the Dvorian Feast, but that’s not the Prydonian way.” She said, glaring at the fat kid. 

“And what do you know about the Prydonian Way?” I asked, and I feel it may have come across as quite condescending. 

“A lot, seeing as my family oversees the current Prydonian Chapter.” She stated, summoning a strong and regal tone to her voice. 

“But that would make you a-” I started, the other two cut me off. 

“A Lungbarrow!” They exclaimed in unison. I felt the color drain from my face, and my lunch made an escape attempt, and I don’t entirely believe it was because of the room spinning. How could I possibly win against a Lungbarrow? The game is probably rigged in her favor. No wonder that ridiculous password worked, the Feast is hosted by the Lungbarrows, of course, they’d want their own to have their chance in the spotlight. I felt stupid and almost irate. I wouldn’t let nepotism cost me this. House Oakdown would stand, and my parents will celebrate. 

“Yes, I’m a Lungbarrow, so you should probably listen to me.” She said with a bit of bravado. 

“And why should we trust you? Your family may be hosting the games, but the point of the game is to deceive and outmaneuver.” Mgorvia sneered. 

“I’m not like that,” she replied. 

“The Lungbarrows didn’t get to where they are today by not being like that,” the fat kid retorted. 

I stopped listening, as the room reset, I approached the door handle, held on with all my might, and typed the characters P R Y D O N. The door gave an approving beep and flung open. As quickly as I could, I shoved myself through the threshold. I felt someone grab onto my leg, but I kicked them away and my shoe along with them. This was my victory. I splayed out on the floor in the next room, two faces quickly popped into view. The girl with the blue hair looked as though she had been crying, and the boy with the ginger hair seemed rather startled. 

“You got through the door! How’d you do it?” the girl asked hopefully as she wiped her face. 

“Um…  the password is fibonacci.” I lied. The ginger looked as if he wanted to disagree, but decided not to. 

“Ugh! I tried that. It only works once.” The girl huffed. “I can’t figure it out! The room spinning is making my head hurt, and I want my Ava-droid!” The girl wailed. 

I didn’t have time for this. The room is resetting every 7 seconds now, and more accurately, I didn’t want to deal with this girl, who was clearly unfit to be here. I needed to hurry up and win this before the others caught up. When it was just the Lungbarrow girl and me, the code was password. Then she started talking about the Prydonian Way, and the password was Prydon. The codes have all had something to do with her so far, the passwords are telepathic, and I've been thinking about her since I entered. So maybe… 

I get up off the ground and dust myself off. I grab onto the door handle and hold on. I pray that this game is not rigged, and I begin typing L U N G B A R R O W. I hit enter, and the door swings open once again. I’m on the other side before the others can react, and I shut the door behind me. I’m in the final room, and I see what appears to be a pentagonal console, but it is out of reach. I’m separated from it by a glass barrier. This room is not like the others; the walls aren’t spinning, and this room isn’t moving. I notice a hatch above the console; perhaps that is how I get to the console. I scan my side of the barrier to see if there is a way up there. The door I entered through is gone now; there’s nothing but smooth wall, the two-foot gap where I stood, and the plexiglass barrier. The floor and ceiling were both solid, and there was no exit hidden behind a perception filter. I was trapped. 

 As I reached this unfortunate conclusion, the five children I had begun the game with came tumbling through the trapdoor in the ceiling. “Oh my goodness! It worked!” the blue-haired girls exclaimed. “I’m surprised too. I figured Lungbarrow would be a bit too obvious.” The Lungbarrow girl said. 

“Nepotism on Gallifrey is just as predictable as the Fibonacci sequence,” The Mgorvia girl sneered. 

“It’s not nepotism! The circuit is telepathic, if you think Lungbarrow then-” The Lungbarrow girl began to argue. 

“Enough of that! All of us need to work together to get out of this last room. Look, there are five keypads.” The fat kid said. 

“Look, that dark-haired boy is stuck on the other side of this glass,” the blue-haired girl said. “Why did it trap him and not us?” She wondered. 

“I think we had to work together in order to win… Like that story grandad told me.” The Lungbarrow girl said. She had my shoe with her; was she going to return it to me? “You, what’s your name?” She asked me. 

I looked down, defeated, “Koschei. Koschei Oakdown,” I almost sighed. Something flashed in her eyes, perhaps understanding, maybe recognition. She moved to the keypad. 

“Type that in, guys!” she exclaimed. She was excited now, excited to claim her victory. Did she truly believe that she deserved it? The others typed in my name, and the game ended; the whirring of the engines and the pushing of pistons ceased. The plexiglass barrier lowered, and the exit to the tent appeared behind me. I stepped out with my head held low in shame. Father would not be pleased. As I started to retreat from the tent, the Lungbarrow girl grabbed my arm. “Koschei, wait!” she said. 

I looked at her questioningly, “Please, don’t rub it in.” I spat.

“What? No, you were gonna forget your shoe,” She said as she held the shoe out to me. 

“Oh,” I was caught off guard again. I was so caught up in my shame that I completely forgot about the shoe I had abandoned. “Thank you,” I said as I reclaimed my left shoe. 

“You’re welcome, my parents always said that you never want to split up a pair. If Left didn’t have Right, then everything would be wrong,” she said. 

I chuckled at her. She was a lot simpler than my father made the Lungbarrows out to be. “Yeah, but if Right didn’t have Left, I’m sure everything would be alright,” I replied. This made her laugh. 

“You’re funny, I hope we meet again, Koschei,” She said. 

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Lady Lungbarrow,” I replied. 

“I’m not a Lady yet, you can just call me Theta Sigma,” she corrected. 

“Okay, Theta Sigma. Till we meet again.” I did an exaggerated bow as I bid her adieu. This seemed to make her laugh, too. 

“Till next time, Koschei,” She did an exaggerated curtsy before she skipped off to join her family. Her family was large, and they regarded her warmly. They were ecstatic over her victory, though I’m sure they expected her to win.  

I returned to my parents, and disappointment was written all over their faces. I filed in behind my parents like an obedient son and waited for their reprimands. 

“How are you the only loser at a game with five winners? You disgrace me, son. Perhaps we have given you much too much leeway.” My Father spat. 

“Now, Marnal, don’t be so hard on the boy. He would know teamwork if he had siblings.” My mother said. She was trying to act supportive in front of all the other families, but I knew this was just another dig at me. 

“I am sorry, Father, I thought if I finished first, then I would win the game,” I mumbled.

“By Rassilon, you know I can’t stand it when you mumble and look me in the eye when I am speaking with you.” He grumbled as he yanked my chin up to stare at him. “It's time you learn that everything is against us, newbloods. We don’t get legacies; our names are erased and replaced by our oppressors. The Lungbarrow girl had the advantage; you were supposed to make that your advantage. Look at those other children.” My father turned my head so that I’d watch them claim their prize. His grip was so tight it was almost painful, and he said to me, “That is what honor looks like. Mgorvia, Lungbarrow, Heartshaven, Dvora, all names that hold honor and distinction, they are Prydonian by birthright. The red-haired boy has the mark of a prophet, but look at him, just a commoner from MidTown. House Oakdown is more than that now. When you get to the Academy, remember that friends in high places can get you to even higher levels.” 

“Yes, Father,” I whimpered with eyes welling up. The loss was bitter, my parents’ disappointment swallowed me whole, and my father’s words had stung, but he was right. If I were going to bring honor to House Oakdown, I’d need friends in high places. 

[supaaaanova]

The Song of Thoschei

Chapter 1. Beginnings

My father was the head of the Chancellery guard on Gallifrey. He built House Oakdown upon the shimmering ruby slopes of Mt. Perdition, which overlooked the Lune Forest within the continent of Absolute Beauty. My mother was a wild beauty and a performer from Low Town. She was the Prima Donna at the Eternal Operahouse. My parents were the first in their lineage to earn the rank of Time Lord, and I would be the last. 

I emerged from the loom on a stormy summer day. I came into this world alone, welcomed by the crescendo of thunder and the rhythmic patter of raindrops. I guess I've always liked to make an entrance. I wailed and screamed until someone came to collect me from the basket beneath the loom. A silver-skinned being came to collect from the loom; its skin was cold, and it had blue eyes lacking pupils, irises, and the whites of the eyes. “Dear Rassilon! Lord Marnal! Lady Ryna! Come quick, the loom has finally borne you a son!” it cried out in a robotic-sounding voice. My parents arrived shortly after this exclamation. My father was a tall man with dark skin, short dark hair, and a well-kept salt-and-pepper beard. He had perceptive dark brown eyes and a strong build; there was no doubt this man was the castellan. My mother was so beautiful it was baffling, her hair looked like sheets of 14k gold, and her blue eyes sparkled greater than a white-point star. There wasn’t a freckle, blemish, or birthmark to be found anywhere on her body; she embodied perfection. My father took me from the creature's arms. “What are you going to name it?” it asked. 

“Koscheivladetspravielvsegopredansyn Oakdown,” Marnal spoke. 

“That’s a strange name for a child,” the cyborg remarked.

“Koschei, the genius king who learned to change his form and escape death.” Ryna stated, “Songs will be written for my dear Koschei as they were for the shapeshifting king,” she said as she raked her fingers through my hair. This would be my first feeling of love, a feeling that would not last long.  It would not take long for resentment to take its place. Koschei was a tyrant and a villain, cursed never to be himself; that was the man I was named for. 

It was rare to be an only child on Gallifrey, even though most Gallifreyans are sterile. Looms are used to propagate the next generation. The looms are living conscious beings that share a brain, connecting the whole planet. Surely they could understand my parents’ cries for another child. Despite this, the loom never bore another child for my parents. I was quite content being the only child; there was no one to compete with for attention, no one to annoy me, no one I had to share with, just peace and quiet. My mother started to believe I cursed the loom with my wickedness and prevented it from weaving new life. My father piled his expectations even higher when he realized I'd be his sole heir. 

I had a strict upbringing. Up until the age of eight, I underwent rigorous brain-buffing like many Time Lord children. My father taught me strategy and discipline; my mother taught me how to perform, how to hide my true feelings and intentions. I had a cyborg as my nanny, called Ana-droid; she mainly cared for my physical needs, and I had two tutors. Eloquence was my mother's friend; she taught me language and history. Ratio taught me maths and science; he was a rather nervous fellow, but he was brilliant. They prepared me well for the trials to come. 

When I was 7 years old, my father took me to the continent of Wild Endeavor for the Prydonian Feast. It was a festival at the base of Mt. Lung for Time Tots who would be starting school next year. There was information about applications, entrance exams, and initiation. There were also games for the Time Tots to participate in. Despite being called games, none of it was for entertainment. The purpose of these games was for parents to scope out the competition and for the professors to meet the incoming students. One of these games was the labyrinth game, in which the goal is to get opponents lost in a dimensionally transcendent maze and manipulate their movements. The players would have to work together to solve puzzles and overcome physical trials, but only one could be the winner. 

It felt as if my whole future depended on this game. It was my first time competing against my peers, and this game would determine whether I would bring pride to House Oakdown or shame upon it. I could hear my hearts beating in my chest as I approached the brightly colored festival tent. I entered along with 5 other children: a girl with blue hair, a girl with thick-framed round glasses, a boy who looked as if he had eaten the labyrinth, a ginger, and a girl with golden curls, freckles, and eyes that swirled with every color. A woman wearing scarlet Prydonian robes explained the rules of the game to us, she counted us down, and then we were off to the races.