Chapter Text
The start of the Antarctic Empire wasn’t exactly something you could put on a calendar.
The beginning of it was slow, at first, a small community following Phil, who had stories and rumors swirling around him every moment, from his impossible achievement of defeating the dragon. Then it exploded and grew, turning into houses and towns, to hundreds, thousands of people flocking to the growing kingdom, which then grew into an empire, with their emperor protecting them and ruling over with a kind hand.
From how the stories go, Phil is one of the many, too many, adventurers who went on the journey to the end, to find the stronghold, and step through the portal, to the beast that lies beyond.
Unlike the hundreds before him, he succeeded in it all, going through the land, finding the stronghold that sat at the middle of a huge mountain, in the middle of a snowy, frozen biome, and he found the portal that sat deep in the stone, like so many before.
And like the hundreds before him, he went in. But unlike the others who had failed, he came back.
And he came back with wings upon his back, with a new unbelievable story, and with an unlocking of magic across the entire realm.
When he came back, he had somehow opened a closed, locked door, which let in unknown possibilities, and with it, unknown threats.
Potions and magic was something new, something that brought recovery and healing onto new levels. It made strides and it broke rules, saving so many and making certain illnesses a thing of the past.
Monsters came at night. New creatures, dangerous and unknown. Kingdoms which used to stand tall, unyielding, they didn’t know how to fight it, and ended up falling into shambles, torn apart by the upbringing of a new era of a new world.
People became lost, and while things were learned, and defenses were taught, many didn’t have anywhere to go, and didn’t have places to hide away at night.
Then word broke out that the man who had killed the dragon himself, the man who set free these impossible possibilities into the world, had returned to the stronghold to protect the portal to the End. He had gone to protect the portal from others, to stop any more adventurers from venturing in, for he was determined for him to be the last one, for the cycle to stop.
And when word of his location broke out, of his goal to protect that mountain, protect the stronghold, in the impossibly cold biome, so no more would have to die like so many did before, people went to him.
At first, only small groups, setting up camp on the mountain, keeping their distance from Phil himself, but staying nearby, for the stories said that he protected the mountain, and if they stayed on the mountain, then they would be protected as well.
Then those small groups grew into a small town, joined by others every other week. A small community popped up at the side of the mountain, buildings being made, and roads being put down. They stayed there in Phil’s supposed protection, and stories went out across the land of the beginnings of a new place, where it was safe.
Cold, and new, but safe, under the watch of the person who slayed the dragon. And with that sort of appeal, it’s no wonder so many went along.
Then one day, Phil came down from the top of the mountain, from the stronghold itself, to investigate the people who had created a home.
The town had grown, and it was busy and warm, a bustling town with stores and families, houses and music, art and writings, life was apparent wherever you went.
Phil had walked through the streets with a cape over his wings, and a hood over his head, eyes observing and watching, and a smile on his face as he saw that people had flourished, under his protection.
Truthfully, he didn’t even know they trusted him with their protection. He hadn’t even known they were there, before word got to him and he became curious.
He had walked through those streets, he remembers, going up to a small stall at the corner of the street, someone handing out hot chocolate, kids and parents grabbing a cup, people lingering around, sitting in chair, on barrels, talking amongst themself and enjoying the nice environment, and the hot chocolate.
Phil walked up to the same small stall, lowering his hood, rubbing his hands in the cold, looking to the woman who was giving out the drinks.
“Hot chocolate?” Phil asked, grinning at the lady, raising his eyebrows. “It’s appropriate for the weather.”
“It always is. The weather never seems to get warm around here.” She had responded, grabbing a cup for Phil, pouring some out. Glancing up to Phil, she slowed in her movements, taking a small double take, observing his face, his hair and eyes.
Because stories of Phil had at least gotten some details right, those being of his hair being gold, and his eyes being a bright blue, always described as bright with hope. And the lady could only stare, looking over the cape that hid Phil’s back, staring at his blond hair pulled into a small ponytail.
Phil didn’t notice, only gazed up and down the street, to the people hanging around, laughing and passing stories. By the time he looked back to her, she was holding the cup in front of her, frozen, eyes wide in disbelief, because his eyes were bright blue, as they always were.
“Oh, it never gets warm. It’s like this even during the summer.” Phil said, taking the cup from her, giving a grateful nod. “You get used to the cold.”
“You-” Phil took a sip from his drink, about to turn away, and the lady hit her palms against the table in front of her, leaning forward.
“What’s under your cape?” She asked, loud enough to catch the attention of some, and people nudged each other, stopped their conversations, pointed to Phil.
Phil paused, looking back to her, and noticing that the street slowly went quiet, eyes on him.
“You’re him.” Someone said, and it wasn’t a question, but a hesitant statement.
Phil smiled nervously, laughing a little and taking another sip from his cup, because now there were a lot of eyes on him, and he hadn’t really expected the awe and amazement that came along with it.
“I’d thought I would come down.” Phil rubbed a hand at the back of his neck, the street silent, holding their breaths. “See how you all were doing.”
Then everyone was getting up, the place erupting in greetings and voices, loud and vibrant, people shaking Phil’s hand, patting him on the shoulders, keeping their distance and yet standing awfully close.
Phil was stuck in the middle of a loud crowd, which only grew as the day went on, because the knowledge that Phil was in the town spread like wildfire, and it wasn’t long before everyone was looking for a glimpse of the man who made such a change in the world they knew.
That was an exhausting day, talking with so many, walking around and being led around by friendly townspeople, and being given gift after gift, to the point where Phil had to stop and figure out how to carry the flowers, the bread, the letters and the drawings, because there was so much, and he only had a small satchel at his hip when he came down from the stronghold.
And when night fell, no matter how much Phil insisted he was fine, he ended up with a free bed, and his own room in someone’s home, the floor littered with the gifts from the people.
As Phil sat on the bed, his cape put to the side, wings shifting on his back as he stared at how much there was, he could only wonder as to how they adored him so much when he had done so little.
“We’re your people, you know.” The lady who had given him the room said, an old woman with age in her features, her eyes holding so much. She stood by the doorway, small and worn with her years, but kind, and as her eyes glanced to the wings on Phil’s back, she smiled.
“My-” Phil shook his head, looking away from the gifts on the ground. “W-what?”
“That’s what the town thinks. You protect the mountain, don’t you? The portal.” She shrugs, leaning a hand onto the doorway.
“I-” Phil thinks of the End, of how empty the place was, how the dragon had flown over his head, roaring so loud that it rang in his ears, and how he ran for cover, gasping and wondering if this was the reason others never came back- “Yes. I do.”
“Then we are a part of it. That’s why we’re here, after all. We think of you as protection.”
“Oh.” Phil holds his hands to his heart, looking back down at the gifts, at the pile of letters at his feet, the flowers and food, drinks, little pieces of art, all from the people in this small town, his town, apparently.
“I have a gift for you as well.” She said, walking off as Phil insisted it wasn’t necessary, that really, this room was more than enough-
But she came back anyway with a thin silver crown in her hands, and Phil didn’t say another word as she put it on his head.
If they were his people, then what was he?
Personally, in Phil’s opinion, that was when the Antarctic Empire really started. With a frail old woman gifting him a simple silver crown, as he sat surrounded by the gifts of his people.
“Thank you.” Phil said, and she only nodded, looking at Phil with a new sort of respect.
“You’re young. And you’re full of potential. But you’re a good man.” She said, Phil nodding back. He was only 24, at that time, and he had the achievement of getting past the dragon, of releasing magic into the world, and making a safe place for others to escape to. “I think, it’s about time you start realizing what there is.”
Phil looks to the pile of letters at his feet, and nods. She knows that he understands.
The next day, as Phil walks around with his wings out, a small crown upon his head, someone suggests building a castle at the top of the mountain, where he lives.
He agrees, and with that agreement, he also agrees to so much more.
---
The town really grows then, as construction starts up on the castle. More and more people flock to the cold biome, as stories travel around of a new kingdom, ruled by the man who defeated the End.
Soon, the single town that Phil had visited only a while ago turns into a city, communities and streets built around the base of the mountain, covering the terrain with life and construction.
Soon, as the building of Phil’s castle is done, tall, strong and full of people loyal to him, the cities have grown in a kingdom, and towns are named, stories are passed, and Phil is declared the ruler of it all.
He takes it in stride.
---
From there, it only continues, borders are placed, and then moved, as the land only continues to grow, all technically his. The entire snowy biome, the centerpoint being the mountain where it started, all is his.
Systems are set up, and Phil plans, writes, and the realms know the day it is announced, this place is Phil’s, and these people are under his protection. And he will keep it safe.
So years pass, and he only grows, with more respect, more land, more people and power, until one day, he’s sitting in a meeting room, in the halls of his castle, filled with people who respect him and follow him, who tell him of how his kingdom is flourishing.
---
Life as a king, though, is lonely, at times. And while Phil had his own family, once, they’ve been long gone before he even started the trip to the End. Before all of this.
And even with the people loyal to him, listening to his word, the halls of the castle can still be empty at times, with how big it is, and at those moments, Phil walks down silent, grand halls, almost hating how loud his footsteps are compared to the lonely silence.
And the universe is kind, because as one day, when Phil comes down from the castle, head hidden and wings tucked away, walking through his streets, that’s when he finds them both.
Two kids, bright and curious, sitting at the corner of the street. One sings a song Phil doesn’t know, the other silently holds out a hat for change, sitting on the ground beside the first kid.
Their clothes are old and worn out, loose on them, and not nearly enough to keep out the cold properly. They have a peculiar look to them, said look being their pointed ears, and matching light pink hair.
It’s peculiar, but also not, because with Phil’s rule, he’s seen similar things before, and he can only assume with the release of magic, it also created certain features in people, certain abilities and certain...looks.
Phil drops a coin into the hat, and is glad to see that there’s already a pile of coins in the hat, but a bit worried as to why they would need to ask for money in the first place.
“Singing for money?” Phil asks, the kid on his feet nodding, swiping his pinkish hair off his face. “What’re you going to use the money for?”
“Food, probably.” The kid answers, and the one sitting on the ground holds the hat close to his chest, looking up at Phil with wary eyes. “Maybe some new shoes, if we have enough.”
Phil nods, slowly, and looks down to the kids feet. The one standing and singing has old, torn up shoes, looking like they’re about to fall apart. The other one doesn’t have shoes at all, barefoot out on the freezing street, and that just makes Phil concerned.
“Where are your parents?” Phil asks, and he already knows the answer, from the state they’re both in. Wherever they are, they’re not with their kids.
The first kid shrugs, and Phil notes that the other one is a bit quiet, only giving a stare. “Dunno. It’s just been me and Techno for a long time. We’re twins.”
“I’m older.” Techno speaks up, hugging the hat full of money to his chest, Wilbur looking down at him with a scrunched up face.
“No you’re not.”
“I am.” Techno nods, sounding incredibly sure.
“We’re twins , so we were born at the same time-”
“I was probably born first.”
“You don’t even know- ”
Phil huffs at their slight bickering, shaking his head. “My name is Phil. Do you guys have a place to sleep for tonight?”
They both pause, looking to each other and seeming to talk almost telepathically, before Techno speaks up. “No.”
Wilbur doesn’t add on, Techno only glancing at him, Wilbur looking with wide eyes, keeping his lips sealed.
Phil nods, looking down the street, up the mountain to the castle. It looks small from here, the town being far, and Phil had flown down, since the roads being made up were still relatively new.
“Would you like to come with me? I can give you a home, if you’d like.”
They both glance at each other again, looking at Phil with a new light in their eyes, and Wilbur grabs Phil by the hand suddenly, as if he’s keeping Phil from running off. Phil doesn’t pull away.
Techno gets to his feet, and holds onto Wilbur’s hand, holding the hat of money in his other arm.
“I suppose I’ll take that as a yes?” Phil asks, smiling a bit.
“Mhm-hm.” Wilbur nods, and Phil nods with him, pulling the two of them along, down the street. They only make it a few steps before Phil stops, looking down at them.
“What?” Wilbur asks, seeing Phil’s face, eyebrows furrowed.
“Techno, right?” Phil asks, Techno shoulders tensing up, giving a quick nod. “Can I carry you? Your feet…”
Phil glances down to Techno’s feet, no shoes to be found to protect him from the freezing street.
Techno looks like he’s about to disagree, but Wilbur yanks at his hand, turning his head to his twin. “Let him carry you.” Wilbur says quietly, and he nods as if he’s said something more.
Techno stares at Wilbur with a thoughtful face, but then nods, looking up to Phil again. “Okay.”
So then Phil carries Techno in one arm, and leads Will on with the other, the three of them walking down the street, a few people giving a glance, but with the hood over Phil’s head, not much attention is given.
Techno holds his arms around Phil’s neck, looking ahead with a stern face, most likely wondering as to where they’re going. Wilbur gives Phil glances as they walk along, and when they get to the end of the town, to the barren road leading up the mountain, workings of construction at the sides, Wilbur only keeps looking at Phil with a confused face.
When they’re far enough, with hardly anyone around, Phil stops, Wilbur turning his head this way and that way, confused as to why they’ve gone so far from the actual town.
Phil lets go of Wilbur’s hand, and Wilbur only squeezes on tighter, giving a panicked face.
“I just need to take off my coat.” Phil says, Techno giving him a perplexed face, while Wilbur takes a moment to let go.
Phil struggles a bit to remove his coat, pulling down his hood and slipping his arm out of his sleeve, not wanting to put Techno on the ground because now there’s actual snow on the street here, and there’s no way Phil is putting him down without any shoes on.
“You have wings!” Wilbur yells, as Phil maneuvers Techno onto his other arm, letting his coat fall off his arm onto the ground. He has more coats, he can leave it.
Techno grabs at Phil’s shirt, tilting his head over Phil’s shoulder and looking with wide eyes at Phil’s back, where his wings open up, stretching out as Will gives another excited scream.
“You’re-” Techno cuts himself off, looking at Phil’s wings with shock, and that’s the most emotion he’s seen from the kid in the past twenty minutes.
“You’re the king!” Wilbur says for Techno, taking a step back as he watches Phil’s wings spread out.
Phil nods, grinning at how they both sound. “Excuse me, uhm-” Phil waves a hand over, leaning down a bit and fumbling because he realizes he never got the other kid’s name.
“Wilbur.” Techno supplies, and Phil smiles, holding an arm out to Will.
“Wilbur, come here.”
Wilbur runs over, and Phil picks him up as well, holding him in his other arm. Wilbur wraps his arms around Phil’s neck, looking over his shoulder at his wings in awe, while Techno holds on to Phil’s shirt and Wilbur’s arm, seeming to already know where this is going.
“Alright. Are either of you afraid of heights?” Phil asks, and it’s a bit of dumb question, but he wants to ask it anyway, just to give them both a heads-up.
“Heights?” Wilbur repeats, and Techno gives a quick shake of his head, smiling.
“Nope. Let’s go.” He says, and there’s a gleam in his eyes as he grins, Phil matching his smile.
“Alright. Hold on.” Phil tells them, then spreads out his wings once more, and flies .
Wilbur shrieks when they go up. Techno laughs.
---
Phil brings them back to his castle, has a room set up for them, and while the servant in front of him gives a surprised face at seeing the kids in his arms, she still goes off to carry out his request.
Phil gives them his undivided attention for the rest of the day, has all his meetings pushed back, tells everyone that unless it’s life threatening, then leave him alone, because he’s busy.
He gets them a bath, gets new clothes made, gets food, gets shoes , although, as they walk around in living quarters of the castle, the floors are mostly carpet, so the shoes aren’t as necessary as before.
But their reactions when he offers them are priceless.
And he spends the midday sitting on the floor of their new room, as Techno pokes around, and Wilbur asks questions, curious as he watches Techno go around the room.
“And you’re the king?” Wilbur asks, leaning his palms down onto Phil’s leg, who sits down on the carpet with his legs criss crossed.
“Yes.”
“And you do have wings, like everyone says.” Wilbur nods a chin to Phil’s wings, which rest on his back, out in the open.
“Yup.”
“Okay, but where’s your crown?”
“I don’t wear it when I go visit the town. It makes people notice me.”
“Don’t you want to be noticed?” Techno asks, turning around to him and Wilbur, a pillow in his arms.
“Sometimes I don’t.” Phil shrugs. “The attention can be a lot.”
Techno nods slowly, like he’s been given new wisdom, and Wilbur pats at Phil’s knee again.
“Can I see your crown?” Wilbur asks, Phil smiling.
And as night falls, with Phil letting the two of them play with his multiple crowns, things of extreme respect, and meaning, Phil only laughs as they both try them on, Techno choosing to keep a certain one on his head and refusing to take it off.
Phil doesn’t retreat into his own room that night, and falls asleep with two kids snoring away at his side, royal crowns thrown to the side.
---
Word travels fast within a few days of the kids in the castle, and rumors swirl and stick. Before long, people assume Phil’s taken in two sons, both of age 7.
He doesn’t say otherwise, and he only smiles warmly when people refer to the two of them as the little princes.
The kingdom grows, and with it, so does Techno and Will, Phil watching over them both. And the moments that come along with the year are everything to Phil.
A week into having Techno and Wilbur in the castle, Phil finally retreats some of his attention from them, and returns to his responsibilities. He puts a babysitter in charge while he goes off to his first meeting of the day, and instructs for the two twins to stay, for he has things to do while being a king.
He leaves them in the living quarters, with their things, hoping they won’t be too bored while he’s gone.
Ten minutes into his first meeting, there’s a knock at the door of the room, and the people at the table turn their heads as the guard outside announces that the king’s sons are demanding to be let in.
“One is threatening me with a sword, your majesty, I just had to let them in.” The guard says with a grin, opening the door with Wilbur running in, Techno walking past with a stern look and a small fake sword in his hand.
Techno’s taken a liking to that sword, him and Wilbur playing with matching ones, and he never lets it go, just like the crown upon his head. Phil lets him keep it.
Wilbur, on the other hand, also has a crown similar to Techno’s, but he only wears it to match his twin, rather for the liking Techno has taken to his. While Wilbur doesn’t have something he carries around all the time, like Techno and his sword, he does have a habit of holding Techno’s hand and tugging him around.
The two of them barely even pay attention to the people sitting around the meeting table, instead run directly to Phil, who asks what happened to the person watching over them.
“We locked them in the bathroom.” Wilbur responds, resting his hands on Phil’s leg, smiling like he hasn’t done a thing wrong while Techno goes behind Phil’s chair, sticking a hand into Phil’s wings.
From that instance on, Phil just let the two of them follow along, and they trailed behind him as he did his duties. It became a common sight for the two of them to be talking amongst themselves behind Phil, or underneath his chair at times, snickering and playing small games as Phil carried out his responsibilities.
---
Two weeks into having them in the castle, Phil decides to let them sleep in their room on their own, going back to his own bed just down the hall.
At first, it’s alright, and Phil actually enjoys being able to sleep without having small feet kicking him in the middle of the night.
Then, on the third night, the two of them come to Phil’s room, Wilbur poking him awake. Phil raises his head to see Wilbur standing beside his head, holding onto Techno’s hand.
“Techno had a nightmare.” Wilbur says simply, and Phil’s heart squeezes at Techno’s face, at how he stares at the floor with a frown, his face wet from tears.
Phil lifts his blanket up, and they both crawl in.
He holds them both for a while, Wilbur hugging Techno, shoving his face into Techno’s shoulder as Techno stares at Phil’s shirt.
“My head won’t be quiet.” Techno mumbles, Phil opening his eyes to see Techno’s ears twitch, his face looking unhappy.
Phil runs a hand through Techno’s hair, reassuring and consistent, and Wilbur only shoves his face more into Techno’s shirt, his arms tightening around him.
Wilbur hums a song that Phil doesn’t know, and Techno falls asleep to it within minutes. Then Wilbur drifts off as well, and Phil hugs them both close, closing his eyes with them.
---
Wilbur, at one point, asks if he can figure out how to change his hair color.
“What color would you want it?” Phil asks, the three of them sitting for dinner, the table is huge, with plenty of food, and even this long in, sometimes the two of them still take a double take at the amount of it.
“I dunno. Brown?” Wilbur shrugs, stabbing at his food with a fork.
“We won’t match anymore.” Techno says from beside Will, although their hair already tells them apart. Wilbur had his cut short a while ago, while Techno wanted his to stay long. Phil usually braided it for him, since he has experience with his own long hair. Right now it sat in a short ponytail behind Techno’s head, pulled back neatly with a few stands hanging in front of his face.
“We’re still twins, though. Looking different won’t change that.” Wilbur pointed out, Techno making a ‘hmmn’ sound before putting food into his mouth.
“I’m still older.” He says through a mouthful of food, and as Phil tells him to chew before speaking, Wilbur slams a hand onto the table, yelling loudly.
“We’re TWINS!”
Wilbur gets his hair dyed a week later, dark brown. His face and Techno’s are still similar, though, and while it takes a moment to realize it, you can tell if they’re twins by observing their features.
---
Time passes quickly, and Phil doesn’t mind it at all, as his rule grows, so does his sons, and by the time a whole year has passed since he’s brought them home, his kingdom has grown into an empire.
They celebrate the day with no meetings, just the three of them and some cake. Wilbur declares it their birthday, because they don’t remember the actual day, and Techno agrees with it, Phil smiling and enjoying their prideful faces when he asks how it feels to be eight.
“I feel old.” Techno says with frosting on his face, and as Phil wipes it off with a towel, Wilbur laughs, poking at his cake slice with his fork.
There’s a knock at the door, swinging open before Phil can even say anything. His face drops into a displeased frown, and both Wilbur and Techno snicker at his serious face being directed towards the guard outside.
“ What . I’m trying to celebrate my sons’ birthday.” Phil says, the guard wilting under his stare, shaking their head.
“I- Your Grace, I-I’m sorry, but-”
Phil freezes as he’s told the news, and Wilbur and Techno look to him with wide eyes.
War has been declared onto the Antarctic Empire, and attacks are being made.