The Tom

**The Tom** is a character in Book 1. Many details about him, including his real name, are a mystery, but it is known that he is the leader of the infamous sellsword group **Alley Cats**, whose members all wear masks shaped like the faces of cats. Even among the notoriously cruel Alley Cats, the Tom has a reputation of being unpredictable and dangerous. As such it came as a natural conclusion that he and his men would eventually find themselves in the service of the equally dangerous Maron Mullendore.

## Backstory

The backstory of the Tom is virtually unknown. His real name is Erik, but only few among the Alley Cats even know this and his last name is a complete mystery. It is known that he founded the Alley Cats, that no one has ever seen him without his mask and that he has a reputation to be one of the most sadistic sellswords in Westeros, as well as loyal to employers who pay well.

All of these traits made his group very interesting for anyone who had big goals and no moral objections to their work. The Tom and the Alley Cats soon had a reputation of being willing to work for even the most depraved tyrants, a reputation the Tom didn't seem to mind.

About a year ago, the Tom and his men arrived in Oldtown, having heard of the crimelord Butterfly. It didn't take him long to get into contact with Butterfly and he quickly won the man's trust, up to the point where he became one of his right-hand men and even trusted with learning about Butterfly's secret identity: Maron Mullendore, the captain of the guard. From there on, the Tom had proven himself as an incredibly valuable member of Butterfly's group, as well as a nightmare to those who opposed him.

## Book 1

### Butterfly

One day, the Tom paid a visit to Robb, one of the Burned Man's sellswords who made it known that he wishes to defect to Butterfly. He spoke to the man in his room in Tanner's Alley, not knowing that Jaron and Martin Wilshere were listening to their conversation and not knowing that Robb was actually a mole, secretly loyal to the Burned Man. After their talk, the Tom left through the window, which prevented him from encountering the two. This circumstance likely saved their life.

The Tom reappeared towards the end of the chapter, together with his bodyguard, the Moggy, when Robb and Jaron feigned their defection and when they met up with him, to deliver Harpy to Butterfly. Unbeknownst to them, the Tom was aware that their defection was likely a ruse and he brought them to a man that pretended to be Butterfly, in order to fake the death of the crimelord. He left on the fake Butterfly's orders, albeit unhappy that he wouldn't get a chance to fight in the coming battle.

### The Iron Price

The Tom reappeared a while later, after Lucas Flowers revealed the location of Maron's bastard son Dairon under torture. He and the Moggy, were sent to the Citadel, to the rooms of Archmaester Wulvren, where they were supposed to capture Dairon and Robert Raylan's last will, whom he carried with him. However, when they arrived there, Samantha Ducard and her group, consisting of the sellswords Sasha and Davith Lanser, as well as the turncoat Jaylon Gordus, tried to enter the room.

Immediately, the Tom orderd the Moggy to attack, while he himself stayed behind. It didn't take long for him to break through the door of the Archmaester's room, though no one expected Wulvren himself to join the fight, attacking the Moggy with an explosive mixture, which caused the giant to suffer from severe burns. In his rage, the Moggy killed Dairon, before running off when his clothes started to burn, forcing the Tom to retreat as well.

A while later, the Tom should get a chance for revenge. When Samantha and her group made their way through the labyrinth, the Tom and his men were set on their trail. After noticing this, Davith Lanser left on his own to lure them away, therefore separating him from Samantha and the others. This action prevented the Tom from getting his hands on the rest of them.

### Masquerade

A good week later, the Burned Man suspected the Tom of having taken lead over most of Butterfly's men, not knowing that this was all just part of the plan. According to his sources, the Tom is behind a planned attack on Lord Petyr Vyrwel's masquerade ball, one of Oldtown's events of the season. While the Tom has sent assassins, to kill Lord Manfred Hightower and the High Septon, he acted on the orders of Maron Mullendore.

Towards the end of the chapter, it was the Tom who was tasked with making the first move on the fleeing group of Burned Man supporters, led by Harpy. As always, he stayed behind the Moggy, but he personally fought two of Harpy's companions, Martin Wilshere and Keira. During this fight, Maron Mullendore himself suffered grievous wounds. When Harpy fled, to safe the wounded singer Taria Templeton, the Tom threw a knife at her, though he only ended up killing Keira instead.

After this, he and Martin fought a wild duel, which ended with Martin being grievously wounded. Believing his opponent to be dead, the Tom moved on to engage Jaron in a duel, who was the only fighter left standing. The two fought and the Tom quickly proved himself to be the superior fighter. However, Martin prevented his victory on this day, when he joined the fight despite his wounds, even sacrificing his life so that Jaron could escape. Eventually, the wounded sellsword was no match for the Tom and he was swiftly defeated and decapitated.

### Valar Morghulis

After the events of the masquerade, the Tom took a heavily injured Maron and brought him to the Alley Cat's medical expert, the Sphynx, with strict orders to help him as good as possible. This caused surprise and disapproval from the Sphynx and other Alley Cats, who were hoping to take control over the city themselves. However, in a conversation, which Jaron and his group were listening to, the Tom explained his reasons.

According to him, he noticed that in Oldtown, no one can stay on top for too long, before becoming the target of someone even more powerful. By staying below Butterfly, they stay out of danger, while still getting all the benefits imaginable. Especially now, when Maron would owe them for saving his life. Though not agreeing with his points, the Sphynx promised to follow the order. Before ending their talk, the Tom also revealed that he wishes to have Maron prepared for a journey they would undertake. During this talk, the Sphynx also mentioned the Tom's real name: Erik.

## Appearance

It is not know how the Tom truly looks like, as he is hiding his face underneath a mask, shaped like the face of a cat. His mask is white and golden, finely crafted and beautiful. The eyes below are green and cat-like and what little is seen of his skin is ghastly pale. The Tom is wearing a finely tailored coat, together with a hood, all in black, covering a majority of his body. He is constantly armed with his sword, a scimitar from the east, as well as a set of throwing knives. One feature that is often mentioned about him is his deep, melodic voice.

## Personality

The Tom is a sadist to the core, someone who actively enjoys causing pain in others. That said, he has a shallow, superficial politeness, often using it to mock his victims. As long as things go according to his plans, he is calm, collected, but he is not above raising his voice if things turn out differently than expected. He is secretive, making sure not to reveal much of himself or his plans. Even though he enjoys chaos and pain, the Tom is pragmatic enough not to act on his urges.

Though a remarkably skilled fighter, to the point where the similarly skilled Samuel Harrington considers him superior, he is thoughtful enough to let others do the fighting if possible. He is cunning and ambitious, which is a dangerous combination. On top of that, he is ruthless and so far, he has shown no fondness of anyone other than himself, even if he can acknowledge their usefulness. Contrary to his usual pragmatism, the Tom does have a certain code of honour when it comes to a fight, during which he will try to get the best, most challenging fight possible, even if this means giving his opponent time to regain their breath or to put themselves into a more favourable position.

## Relationships

### Maron Mullendore

The Tom and Maron Mullendore have a complicated relationship. Unlike his typical employers, the Tom has shown surprising loyalty to Maron. He knows how to make himself useful and he knows how easily he can get Maron into a position where the man owes him a lot. Maron in return has no fondness of the Tom and uses him as a necessary evil. However, he also knows how useful his men can be and he usually trusts them with the most difficult jobs. The Tom's loyalty to Maron went as far as for him saving the man's life, despite a lack of personal obligations.

### The Sphynx

Out of all the Alley Cats, the Sphynx is the one that knows the most about the Tom. It has been shown that they are familiar with each others first names and even though neither seems exactly fond of the other, they have a certain sort of respect. The Tom heavily relies on the Sphynx' medical knowledge and trusts him a great deal, even with difficult tasks. In return, the Sphynx is loyal to his employer and it is hinted that both owe each other a great deal. He is still not above criticizing him, but at the same time, he is one of the few people who can get away with this and in the end, he always follows with the course of action suggested by the Tom.

### The Moggy

In the eyes of the Tom, the Moggy is a useful tool. Out of all the Alley Cats, it can be argued that he considers the Moggy to be the most useful, which is also evidenced by the fact that he takes him as his personal bodyguard. He also seems to be concerned for his well-being, if only so that he can continue to use him. In return, the Moggy is fanatically loyal to his master, following every single of his orders, no matter how destructive. It can be said that the Tom is the only one who can channel the Moggy's chaotic thirst for violence into a controlled direction.

### Jaron

From the moment they first met, the Tom and Jaron did not get along. The Tom instantly distrusted Jaron's reasons to defect from the Burned Man and as it quickly turned out, he was right on it. The next time they met, they even got into a fight. However, shortly before that, Jaron managed to kill Jaylon Gordus, which the Tom considered impressive. He duelled Jaron and lamented the fact that the hedge knights wounds prevented him from fighting to his full capacity. However, he also cursed him when he escaped, calling him a coward. In return, Jaron has no positive feeling about the Tom at all, seeing him as one of Butterfly's most evil henchmen.

### Martin Wilshere

Even before their arrival in Oldtown, the Tom and Martin have met. During a previous encounter in the Free Cities, the Tom was mainly responsible for several deaths among Martin's old group, a move that earned him the sellswords eternal hatred. The Tom has been confirmed to remember this incident, which means that Martin himself slightly impressed him. The two got a chance for a rematch, during which the Tom killed Martin's lover Keira. This deed caused the sellsword to snap and he threw himself at the Tom, even willing to give up his own life to take him down. Though he did not succeed with this, he managed to give his friend Jaron time to escape.

### Lupin Frostborn

The Tom and Lupin Frostborn have a relationship that has been mentioned several times, though so far, they haven't shared met during the events of the story. Before the story started, Lupin was a member of the Alley Cats and even the man who previously held the position of the Sphynx. However, something happened that caused the Tom to develop a fierce hatred of Lupin and he mentioned that he would kill him, should he ever meet him again. Lupin's opinion on the Tom is currently unknown, though it is unlikely to be any warmer.