[Location: the Icy Planet which the Blood God returned from]
The stench of blood, the feel of ice and snow, and the cold embrace of the freezing roaring winds tortured the Ethisian Commander who had walked for hours from where he was. Moving in a circle, the Ethisian gathered the remains of his fallen comrades which ranged from Body parts, weapons, tools, pieces of armor, scales, teeth, bones, and many more.
Once he collected them, he gathered them all in a line in preparation for burial when the rescue team he called for arrived. A few hours ago, the Ethisian moved through the remains of his Command Post and found a communicator which he later used to send a beacon of help. The communicator wasn’t able to be used for sensible communication but it was able to send a distress signal which was well received.
Until help arrived, the Ethisian spent his time gathering everything he could for burial while also making a small fire to keep himself warm. The liquids he and every other Ethisian would take to keep them alive in such harsh conditions were depleted, so he needed to keep his body warm otherwise he’d die prematurely.
Aside from battling the elements, the Ethisian grieved the loss of his Elite Ethisians, Upper Warrior Ethisians, and most of all, Enoris, his fellow highly-ranked comrade. The two were known amongst their troops for their impeccable teamwork, immense strength, and battle strategy. Always, they would work together when in battle, and it was once rumored that Commander and Enoris wished to become mates one day.
Though not true, he still cared for her deeply, often taking her ideas and suggestions better than those of other Ethisians. Now, the memories he shared with her haunted him with the image of Enoris’ Conjured Blood Warrior form grasping his hand. The Ethisian cried; tears of sadness, bitterness, and anger for the Blood Bishop kept him moving and slightly warm with a gnawing rage chewing away at his heart.
The longer he spent alone, the more his mind haunted him with the memories he spent with Enoris and the more he thought about her, the harder he cried and angrier he got. Regret, anger, and self-blame were all he could do to keep himself occupied, saving him from the mind-draining sorrow and depression that nearly took control of him.
"Enoris...." He sighed, landing upon her weapon which still had some of her blood, her handprint, and a few of her scales scattered around. He picked them one at a time while placing her weapon by his side. Drying his tears, the Ethisian had enough of living in the sorrowful past and opted to move on. There was no use in him crying over someone who was now a slave to his enemy...well more correctly to the weapon of his enemies.
A few more hours went by. The sky grew darker, the winds blew stronger and colder with the ambient sounds similar to wails and screams of sorrowful beings begging to be freed from the cold planet. This, of course, was all in Commander’s head due to the cold getting to him. His body temperature dropped, forcing him to rest inside the many Ethisian ships whose electronics had been damaged by the Blood God not so long ago.
"Finally, they have arrived," he sighed in relief, looking at the bright lights slowly landing a few meters from the Command Post. Coming out of the Ships were a few Elites and Upper Warrior Class Ethisians who, on instinct, gathered the dead body parts in body bags for burial. Aside from those was another Legendary Ethisian who was bigger than Commander in comparison.
Commander rushed out of the ship and bowed to the Legendary Ethisian on one knee while carrying Enoris’ weapon in his other hand. The Legendary Ethisian sighed as he and the others who came with him witnessed the bloody scene left behind.
The frozen pools of blood, forests of blood spikes, and chunks of now freezing Ethisian flesh, added to the looming darkness and cold air of the planet instilled fear in them and they all knew what could have caused it.
"Judging by the sight of this," the Ethisian spoke, his voice mightier than Commanders’, "the Granians attacked with their Blood Mutants, correct?"
"They did, my Lord," Commander replied, his breath heavy, his sighs frequent, and his sobs held back. Remembering the massacre that took place took an immense toll on him which he wished not to remember. "And it was only one, Evron..."
"One?" Evron, the Legendary Ethisian, questioned with a look of bewilderment decorating his face. "You can’t possibly expect me to believe one Blood Mutant did this, right? Those damned Granians have only had them for a short amount of time."
"It is no joke, Evron," Commander shook in fear. "the Blood Mutant fought Enoris and me furiously. He killed the others like they were nothing and then brutally destroyed Enoris’ body. Also he...he has the...ability to create soldiers from blood."
"Is that some form of necromantic magic?" Evron questioned. The realm of magic was once present in the Akrina Galaxy and it was wildly practiced by the less technologically advanced civilizations. "Well? Are you going to answer?"
"I don’t think it has anything to do with necromancy, Evron," Commander sighed and then stood on his feet. His face was pale, and sore with sunken eyes growing red from all the weeping he did. "This could be something that will destroy us one day. The closest our Mutants can do compared to that is create exact copies of themselves. Tell me, Evron, have they decided to join the Wa..."
"They’re still quiet," he interrupted, frustration eminent in his intonation. "The superiors haven’t had any luck with convincing them. They seem to have their dejections with joining this War. I’m having severe doubts about their participation in this war, however, I bring good news."
Commander’s face lit up for he knew that Ethisians only shared good news that benefited them. Paying attention, he listened to Evron’s news which was;
"Our forces have pushed through the Outer Gates of Akrina and we’ve managed to hold three major colonies hostage," he smiled and Commander’s composure lit up. "The real Granian forces have taken a loss today. Over ten thousand forces guarding those colonies were injured and a large number have been taken as slaves for...experimentation."
"Your sacrifice wasn’t in vain, Commander," Evron comforted his comrade as they walked into the ship together. "our presence here hasn’t been detected by the present Granians so we best leave before they do. I understand that you have taken a loss but your sacrifice made here distracted the Blood Mutants long enough for us to pull off what we just did. Further, this is a witness to the strength our enemies possess. Come, let us leave and report all you have learned to the higher-ups. I am more than sure that they will be grateful for your efforts although...I wonder why you were spared?"
"I wonder too," he admitted. One of the things that bothered him too was why the Blood God spared his life. "Perhaps it was for this reason. Maybe the enemy opted to let me live so I can speak of its terrible strength."
"Well, Commander," Evron continued as he and his fleet departed from the planet quickly before the other Granians spotted them. "That cocky character will be the ultimate downfall of the Granians. Despite us not having access to our Mutants, we’ll make sure to showcase our raw strength that will surely beat the Granian Mutants. You have nothing to worry about."
"I admire your confidence, Evron, but I highly doubt that our strength will rival that of the Blood Mutant," Ace’s image played vividly in Commander’s mind; a gruesome scene of Eronis’ death by his hands made him doubt the Ethisians and their chances of winning. At the rate at which their Mutant growing in such a short time, he would certainly have a fighting chance to battle the Ethisians and their Mutants. "his increase in strength is worrying and it was only one Mutant. I hear they possess four and..."
"As I said, Commander," Evron ended, speaking so calmly even though his comrade gave an account of the source of the gruesome sight he and the others had witnessed. "You have nothing to worry about. We, the Ethisians, have played the first move in this battle. This lousy business of raiding minor colony planets was just a distraction and now that that phase has ended and the second phase has begun, the tides of War will change to our favor. This was all a part of the plan...well except for Enoris’ death. You have my sympathy. She would have been a major contributor to..."
"Pray to the gods that her death wasn’t in vain," Commander snapped, his sunken eyes glaring at Evron’s nonchalant face. "whatever "plans" you have, it must all be worth it because I am not about to watch the Granians and their damned Mutants walk scotfree when our people are dying with our Mutants not bothered at all." Dıscover more novels at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
"You have my word, Commander."