"So go over the details again with me..." I request with growing fury as I stared down the nervous doctor. He might've been on another continent, but, he knew well that, that mattered little. The might of our empire far extended mere beaches and coastlines.
"The operation was directly interfered with by the killer." he explains with an obvious gulp.
"I will take this information into account. You may go." I explain before I dismiss that face of his. And, if because she was patient or pure coincidence. An image of my other daughter appeared before me.
"Dad..." she starts off with as she wipes her face clean.
"I have already heard about what happened." I tell her, getting straight to the point. She knew the conditions for my restraint and that vile man chose to escalate the issue.
"D-Dad... Please..." she begs as I walk closer to the glass. And I chose to observe the vast, ceaseless desert rather than my precious daughter. Someone who has become all the more precious as a result of what has happened to the other... My perpetually and eternally joyful Lala.
"Let me ask one thing of you, Tiyanat." I start with, causing her to look up in shock.
"No..." she says with a fearful shake of her head.
"Don't answer until I have asked. Now, did this man, the one who is holding my daughter hostage... Did he make it clear that it was something to do with our family? Was he taunting you...?"
She shakes her head, "No... It just happened."
"I see." was all I really had to say at that precise moment.
"Dad, please, don't make it worse!"
"Stay safe, Tiyanat." I tell my daughter before I make a silent prayer to invoke well-being unto her.
"Da-" she starts to exclaim before I had the transmission cut off. As much as I loved my daughter, I could not have her interfering. This killer... This Smiling Jhurack...
While he had displayed nothing personal in the way he was going about this. It was still my daughter that he was holding hostage. It was still my own flesh and blood that he saw fit to toy with. Whatever his reasons were, he chose the wrong girl...
"How long until we get there!?" I snap in question as I turn to the crew of my beloved city.
"Estimated encounter within the next half-hour." one answers with a firm nod before a magic sensor is brought up. Like most constructs, it was made of water filled with holy magic. And to communicate its message, it rippled away from a glowing point. What I sought was close, and they were a capable one.
"Prepare a path to the lower decks. I wish to speak to them on the sand." I tell them as I stop by my throne to change my shoes. Sandals and silks would not do in this situation. I needed to be fully covered in order to not offend them. Then, the sound of boots filled the air when I was done.
And the normally bustling city and its inner workings turned quiet. With respect for what I was about to meet, the city was abstaining all it could. Not one disturbance was to be made while I met with them. And out of respect and fear for me, the city made an uninterrupted path.
Unlike no long ago, I did not move with furious haste. I moved calmly and slowly, at a steady walking pace. From the clank of metal to the thud of stone and back again. I eventually made it to the lowest possible point in the city.
And, once again, out of respect for who I was about to meet. My personal staff awaited me with a simple, chained ladder. I could not and refused to use any magic from this point onwards. And, when it hit the scorching sands, I climbed down the ladder.
Then, as my boots hit the sand, I gazed up at my city. Frowning at the hiss and whine of machinery before I walked out of the shadows and into the sun. Carefully watching as the sand around me distorted and warped as something moved beneath. And, atop a ridge, I saw them.
Which meant they could see me. And, to show that they could, a display of power was sent straight at me. With a thunderous boom did I deflect into the sand from which it would slide down. It did not take long either for this warrior to retrieve his message.
A sacred spear for a holy warrior serving the filler of all seas and oceans. A Rider of Worms. Cloaked in clear, white, khaki and pearly sand coloured robes that hid all. And with a fine, golden and ivory spear in his grip...
He was a formidable warrior. But he was incomplete at the moment which made me perplexed. It was rare to see such a sight. For the rider to be seen without his worm.
It oft meant he was unbonded or it meant nothing at all. For the sake of my captive daughter, however. I chose to believe that this man was merely away from his worm. That it had been let out to play or hunt...
Then, all of a sudden, this warrior dropped to his knees and held up his spear. A behaviour that showed this man was well-versed in the world around him. A respectable attribute but one that wasn't necessary. The way he made sure his bare feet avoided the sand, however, only added to prior confusion.
"I seek your aid, Worm-Rider." I tell him.
"And what does a Lord of Isles seek from my spear?"
"There is a man, someone called Smiling Jhurack. In the distant Land of Wind. He has attacked my daughter and has made a point of holding her as his hostage."
"Understood." he lets out before he rises to his feet. Seemingly making an explicit point of the fact his toes were being dug into the sand. And, within moments, it started to rumble and explode outwards. I was eventually forced to cover my face as a roar filled the air and blew the sand away.
"For the sake of my other daughter as well, make sure she is safe. And, if she makes a point of challenging your presence. In all but departing, obey her word." I tell him. Yet, it was his mighty beast that answered in his stead as he mounted it. Its larger, gaping maw letting out the terrifying bellow while its smaller one engaged in a peculiar behaviour.
Like with all Rider's of the Worm. The smaller head suckled on his sandless feet. And, with another tremendous boom and expunging of power. They flew off into the sky and parted the distant clouds.
A departure so strong that the dunes were warped beyond recognition...
"Please, deal with him." I beg quietly as I watched the duo disappear over the horizon.