Chapter 4

Thresh returned to the Shadow Isles, accompanying a Summoner through the ghost strewn landscape and haunted trees. The Summoner seemed nervous, though Thresh thought his fear was misguided; the Summoners had vast power that was unimaginable and bound Champions to them. There should be no fear of Thresh; true, he was a madman, and his legend was horrifying to most, but it’s not like Thresh could cut down the Summoner where he stood, as much as he hated to admit it. No, Thresh lacked the power to, and his relationship with Summoners was an uneasy one. He didn’t like being under their control, he didn’t like them probing his mind and binding him with magic, though that was how the relationship between Champions and Summoners worked.

This Summoner, a young page named Kai, swallowed when he noted the furtive rustling of creatures hiding in the brush. Thresh escorted him to the designated meeting area; someone named Thanatos would contact them. Ever since Thresh came to the League, Thanatos asked him to collect souls in a lantern for him, and Thresh obeyed. He’d never seen Thanatos’s face before he would always communicate to them telepathically in their assigned spot at the knot of a tree that spread strangled limbs to the sky, deadened of leaves.

“I want to get out of here as soon as possible,” Kai said, wide green eyes wide with fear. “Master Thanatos doesn’t like to be kept waiting. If we’re late, punishment rests upon me, and oh dear, it just wouldn’t be good.”

Thresh wanted to tell the fledgling Summoner to shut up, but kept his peace. The Summoners can inflict unimaginable pain on the Champions, to force them into obeisance. Thresh didn’t know how long this relationship existed, though all the other Champions simply accepted it as the status quo. Though Thresh wanted to dig deeper underneath the surface. There was something about the entire situation that was bothering him, though the spectral being couldn’t quite put a finger on it. The Summoners were hiding a secret from the Champions, that much was obvious. The other Champions wondered about it as well, though they didn’t dare fight back against the hand that fed them. They were given luxuries and privileges in this world of Runeterra, lots of money and prestige and fame for participating in the gladiatorial games of the League. They could live in comfort if they can please. They also never seemed to die, no matter how badly marred or scarred or mauled they got when they fought in the League. When a Champion ‘died’, they went straight back to the Infirmary, though everything was blank for a few seconds before they found themselves back on the battlefield again. That was something suspicious, wasn’t it?

“Thresh,” the young Summoner said. “Are there times when you ever get scared?”

Thresh laughed inappropriately as though Kai were very foolish. Though, he wouldn’t readily admit that even he feared the Summoners themselves. There was something about them, especially about Thanatos, that he couldn’t quite place. He tried to remember and piece his memories together, though he found that he couldn’t tell what his memories were outside the League. The Summoners merely told him his backstory, such as that he was a mad jailer that was hung by his own chains by rioting prisoners and became a specter to haunt those in the afterlife.

We’re here,” Thresh said simply, and he planted the lantern on a tree trunk that stood in the center of a clearing, as though offering these souls to a primordial god. Though Thresh was sure that Thanatos was not a god; the Summoners were mere mortals, like most beings in Runeterra. But still, something like Thresh himself; it seemed ridiculous that an entity like him could be controlled by mere mortals. Or someone like Xerath, who has went beyond the barriers of ascension and became a god like being that was put under the Summoners control. The Summoners must’ve had or done something to be able to manipulate all kinds of legendary heroes and villains and champions in the League. But how? That was what Thresh wanted to know.

So you’ve come, a telepathic voice said in the clearing, resonating everywhere at once, rebounding and echoing with ominous tones that even made Thresh pause. Kai, you’ve been monitoring this Champion, haven’t you?

“Y-Yes,” Kai said nervously. “He’s been unusually cooperative.”

Thresh. I will give you one warning only. You are overstepping your boundaries.

Thresh put a gauntleted hand in sweeping gesture, a mock bow towards Thanatos, to piss him off, if he could see him in the first place. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m merely a humble servant of the Summoners.”

You are speaking to me with honeyed words. I do not believe you. But no matter. Should the time come that I should extend my hand, I can eliminate you with only a portion of the magical power that flows through my pinky finger to eliminate you, Thresh. Don’t go probing into matters that are beyond your understanding. Am I clear?

“Transparently,” Thresh muttered, finally shifting from his mocking half bow. “Well then, if that’s all you need from me…”

See to it that you continue harvesting souls, Thanatos said. But remember. I am always watching.

Kai stood awestruck, before looking nervously at Thresh. “You’re not planning on doing anything, are you, Mr. Thresh?”

“Oh no,” Thresh said. “Why does everyone think so lowly of me? As I said, I’m merely a humble servant of the Summoners…”