Morcatia Shattered Realms-Sands of War

Thirteen

Dorrath

Ernash and the rest of the wraith forces came to rest back in the center of Dorrath. His wounds felt like someone poured salt water on them. The primal energy of the wolf mage's blade burned him from the inside. It would take hours for the magic to dissipate. Still, this wasn't the worst wound he'd suffered in battle.

Radna paced back and forth, cursing the Primal Commander that bested him. He cradled what was left of his arm. Ernash approached him cautiously.

"Your orders my lord?" he bowed in front of the Alpha-Wraith.

"We are to return to Necroloft, through the Nethergate. Then we are to destroy it. This is the last gate to Necroloft from anywhere, any pursuit will have to be by sea. Arioch should be back with the captives by now." Radna said, wincing through his fanged teeth.

"As you say, Lord Radna," Ernash replied, "I offer you this," he said holding out the eye he stole from the wolf mage.

Radna took the eye from Ernash and popped it in his mouth like a grape. As he swallowed his eyes began to glow a bright red, illuminating the area around him. The face of the mountain began to quiver from the energy protruding from Radna's body. His arm slowly began regrowing and his eyes grew brighter. It was a spectacle of arcane energy and his limb was completely restored in a matter of moments.

"Gather your forces, we leave for the Nethergate," Radna ordered. He turned and began skittering toward the opening in the base of the mountain.
Ernash rounded up what was left of his army and followed Radna. They lit torches and went into the fyrestone mine.

The opening led into a tunnel that descended steeply into the earth. The temperature dropped the further they traveled. Emerging from the tunnel's grasp laid a vast cavern, dimly lit by the glowing fyrestone embedded into the walls. The dim orange glow gave the room a menacing hue, and it left no shadows underneath anything its light touched. It smelled of ash and the air was humid. They could hear the sound of running water, an unseen river flowed somewhere. The ceiling seemed lost in perpetual gloom and expanded into infinity. The walls were adorned with strange fungi and vines that seemed to choke the entire room. Amidst this subterranean cathedral, an awe-inspiring silence enveloped them, broken only by the sounds of the distant water.

They traveled for what seemed like hours when around a corner, a sickly green light appeared. They turned the corner to see a massive structure, resembling a cryptic rectangular doorway, the space inside a violent whirl of green and black. The surface of the gate was decorated with ancient runes and glyphs, glowing with a pulsating green. Through the hurricane of colors, glimpses of a dark gothic castle flickered into view. This was the Nethergate. The final gate to Necroloft in all of Morcatia.

Ernash looked up at Radna, who was waving his hands over the runes in the gate. The swirling storm of color calmed and the city of Mortis came into view. Skyscraping spires crafted from obsidian pierced the murky sky, casting elongated shadows over the land. It was blanketed in a dark green fog that seemed to cling to every surface. It's crooked cobblestone streets twisted in an endless labyrinth through the city.
Radna led the way through the gate, followed closely by Ernash and the remaining troops. The world melted into a dark and cold atmosphere as they crossed the barrier, the strong smell of necrosis immediately filling their senses.

Radna turned to the gate and spoke an incantation in the dark speech of Necroloft. The gate began to crack and the whirling storm of color began raging in the center. The gate started to crumble and collapse, forever sealing the way to Tepir.

In front of them, the gate to Mortis stood closed, guarded by towering troll wraiths. They stood 30 feet tall with pale grey skin that was hard as stone. In their hands, they held giant clubs made of iron and wood. Their faces were jagged and their teeth protruded from their mouths at odd angles.

Radna waved his hand and the trolls turned to push the gate open. It creaked, its hinges grinding and spitting sparks as the giant doors began to move. Radna led Ernash inside, stopping to address him as the gate closed.

"You are to go to the Cryptire district to assist Arioch. He should have everything prepared."

"Yes my lord," Ernash replied bowing his head, "If I may, what is this experiment, my lord?"

"Arioch will explain everything when you arrive, you proved most useful today Ernash, we're going to need your leadership in the coming months. Now go."

"As you say my lord," Ernash said as he turned to take his leave.
Ernash started the long walk toward the Cryptire district. The winding and maze-like streets of Mortis would render anyone lost, who wasn't from there. The buildings of Mortis were crude and the endless green fog clung to every surface as if choking the life from the very city itself.

The populace all stumble around, hooded and pale-skinned, every soul affected by severe malnutrition. The closer to the Cryptire district he got, the more people he saw walking in the same direction as he. They all seemed to be going to the same place.

In the center of the district was the Cryptire Tower. A foreboding fortress adorned with spiking turrets and malevolent runes glowing all over its outer walls. It stood taller than every surrounding building and served as Arioch's laboratory. It was where all the hybrids were created.

Ernash approached the door of the tower, shoving his way through the crowd of rambling humans. They were all called here as well though none knew why. They just knew better than to refuse.

Arioch had a theory that would create more hybrids than was ever possible. Only humans who truly had a penchant for violence became hybrids. They normally found them in prisons or taverns or back alleys. The true worst of the worst would become a hybrid, but Arioch thought by using primal energy from a Primal warrior, they might be able to produce more hybrids.

Their animal instincts were encoded with so much violence it could potentially influence the transformation and any human may become a true hybrid. They would be unstoppable if it worked.

A common force of wraiths usually consists of primarily the mindless thralls with a small handful of hybrids leading them. A whole army of hybrids would be nearly unstoppable. Ernash relished the thought. They could wipe those animals off the face of the earth with that much power.

Ernash moved through the winding tower down to the lab. The lab had high ceilings and dark grimy walls. It was decorated with black torches and shelves that held glass vessels filled with unidentifiable components. The floor was made of thick glass that revealed a large chamber on the floor below big enough to hold thousands of humans. He found Arioch standing over a large vat filled with boiling fluorescent green liquid. A giant rusting copper pipe connected the vat to the chamber on the floor below. Chained to the wall next to the giant vat were the two Primal warriors, both sat silent and unmoving.

"Everything is almost ready. When the chamber is full we can proceed," Arioch said not lifting his eyes from the liquid he was stirring.

Ernash just watched as the chamber filled with more and more humans.

"When the chamber is full, then what?" Ernest asked staring at the crowd below.

"Their primal energy mixed with this elixir should transform them. The vat has a chamber underneath that traps the gas from this elixir. We will place one of the specimens into here, where it will boil," Arioch said pointing to the liquid. "Its essence mixed with the elixir should give us an army of hybrids when I release the gas. We will need to remove the animal from the vat before it dies so we can reuse it. They heal quickly, an ability that will hopefully present itself in the new hybrids."

The door creaked open behind them as Radna skittered into the room. He looked through the glass floor admiring Arioch's work.

"Three thousand pathetic humans. What a waste of life. Arioch, this had better work. She is watching." Radna growled.

"She's here?" Arioch asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"She is, and she eagerly awaits the results. It would be best to not keep her waiting."

"Yes, my lord," Arioch said as he turned to his prisoners. "Which one should we try first?"

Radna glared at the prisoners with fury in his eyes. Through his gritted teeth, he snarled two words.
"The wolf."