Call of the Dragon

The Commander

Months later, I had given up on raiding that main camp. Eugeo Bluethorne was no match for me, he was a match for the gods themselves. I started training Mordrem troops and sending them out into battle, but never going with them to command.

After what had happened at the camp, I didn't trust myself to lead. In my Mordrem form, I had become greedy. If I kept at that, I would have wasted more troops than we had access to. I was the commander that nobody saw.

I hoped that Eugeo would think I was dead somewhere, that my wounds had killed me. He never came looking for me or my camp. Nobody ever did.

One day, I heard word that the Pact Commander had finally found Trahearne. Mordremoth got to Trahearne first though. Trahearne was almost fully turned when the Commander found him.

Trahearne was pulled into an underground area. The Commander followed. That was all the grunts knew as of right now, but the important part was that Mordremoth was still alive.

As soon as I heard this, I asked if Eugeo had been spotted. They said no, and that he probably returned to the Mists where he normally is. I knew I had to go find the Commander and kill him before he killed Mordremoth. I had been there when he killed Zhaitan, I knew he would kill an elder dragon a second time.

I went alone; the only things backing me up were my longbow and greatsword. I moved swiftly down the winding paths the Pact had created in the Maguuma. There were foes everywhere; Pact camps and jungle wildlife. I tried to be quiet as I raced to where I was told the Commander was.

He was rumored to be in the southernmost part of the Maguuma. The Pact called it Dragons Stand. It's where Mordremoth was. I was worried for the elder dragon, but at the same time, all I wanted was to kill the Commander. I didn't worry too much about Mordremoth.

Eventually, I got there. At the front of Dragons Stand is a Pact camp. I couldn't go through it without meeting my end, I had to sneak around. Despite my size, I can be very sneaky.

I didn't get caught and I was able to get into Mordrem territory. I continued to run as fast as I could further into Mordrem land. At the center of this corrupted jungle was the Pact Commander.

I made it to a large cave-like room. It had a few blighting pods here and there. And at the middle was a floating island of rock. There was a fallen Mordrem commander on the island. Pact Commander Soulless stood on top of its rotting body.

He had his greatsword resting on his shoulder as he examined the body beneath him. He grunted as he jumped down from the fallen commander. When he landed, he whipped his head up in my direction. Realization hit him like a wave.

"Another commander? I just killed one, why does this have to be so hard sometimes." He walked over to the ramp that led to the island. He made his way over to me. "You remind me of an old friend..." His words trailed off as he readied for battle with me.

Unlike Eugeo, he didn't bow. He charged like an ox, although compared to my Mordrem form, he was an ant.

I'd never gotten the chance to spar with him before, but I'd seen him spar with our friends. I knew a few of his moves.

He started by shouting some things. Horrid beasts rose from the ground. The power in the air grew thick as he summoned minion after minion. I knew he wasn't using the dead Mordrem commander as fuel. He was using his own life force. It was painful for him to do, but he refused to use the dead to perform necromancy.

After he shouted something else, my body went cold and I froze for a second. I never realized he was this powerful. Simple words chilled me to the bone. This fight wouldn't be easy.

Finally, he attacked. I drew my weapon: the same bow I'd used to fight Eugeo. Soulless now had his axe and dagger. He sliced at me with spectral versions of his axe. It was worse than real axes, it didn't damage your skin. It ripped at your insides. It drained your magic and power. Some would say it's the worst pain they've ever felt.

He used a few more skills on me before switching back to his greatsword. He charged at me again, this time ready to strike. I also switched to my greatsword. I wanted to block his attacks.

As he charged, he shouted again. And again, the coldest chill went down my back like a wave of Jormags magic. Then everything went dark. I felt like I had passed out. I could feel him beating on me while I was out.

When my head came back up, I saw him right in front of me. But he wasn't himself. He had an aura of death around him. I could feel the power radiating off him. He had a wicked scythe that he was attacking me with. He spun forward and in circles. He smashed the ground with such force that he cracked the rock under us.

Before the shroud of death and power went away, the shroud seemed to grow bigger. It expanded a bit, and suddenly I felt like I had to run away from him. Then everything went black again.

After a few seconds, I lifted my head to see him further away, attacking with his axe and dagger at range again. He was far enough away that I could do something. I switched to my bow again.

I aimed for his dagger and fired. I knocked his dagger out of his hand. He didn't run to grab it as Eugeo had done with his bow. Soulless took one look at me, he looked behind him at his dagger, and even more realization hit him.

He looked into my eyes and spoke the only words I didn't expect. "I know who you are. Rhys, it's good to see you again. Let's get you out of that body though." He charged yet again, but this time he didn't attack me with his weapons.

He leaped up onto me. He climbed up me and placed his legs around my neck. He was trying to keep me still and unable to fight him. He was digging through a pack that he had pulled out of his coat.

I reached up and tried to grab him. He held on tighter. He was clinging on so hard he started to choke me. He was still digging through his bag. Finally, he pulled out a jar of something and a needle.

He used to be one of the best doctors in the world, I don't know why I was shocked that he had these things on him. He was rushing himself so much that he almost dropped the needle a few times. I heard no sounds from him for a minute or so, then I felt a sharp pain in my neck, right above where his right leg was.

He sighed with relief before getting off me. He let go of my neck and used my arm to swing down to the ground. He landed and looked back at me. I assume he wanted to see whatever he stuck into my blood work. I felt no different.

"Any second now..." He whispered to himself. He checked his watch and smiled. Then I felt like I couldn't stand anymore. I passed out right then.