Watching the walls pass by in a blur, I glanced to the right at Veronica whose long hair danced in the wind behind us.

She had wrapped her arms around Sarley’s neck, and was squeezing her eyes shut as tightly as she could. And I didn’t blame her.

I had to cling to Sarley’s arm to ensure she didn’t drop me on accident, as she carried us with a brisk pace.

Though I didn’t know yet if I should thank her or not…

Even from deep within the confines of the Front-Line… the Sand Worm’s approach could quite clearly be heard. Its roar on the other hand, was what made even me flinch and close my eyes.

Surely the Sand Worm was approaching the Line itself… this was its target. This giant, magical machine. No Worm has even approached our city in generations. Many pass us by, so close that entire homes collapse from the shaking of the earth thanks to their proximity.

Yet they never seem to care for us… So the only reason for its angry approach now was the Line. As if it noticed an enemy had intruded into its territory.

“Jamthi! Get your ass in gear!” I heard Noth’s loud order, and looked up to find we were no longer in the hallways… but a giant room.

Being placed down alongside Veronica, I wasn’t too surprised when Sarley forced the young girl into my arms. “Stay here,” she said with a rush, then hurried away.

Although I had expected her to fight me, the young girl was more than willing to wrap herself around my waist and use it to hide herself.

“Ferril’s out of commission. Taking his position as third-lookout!” an older man shouted as he ran past us, forcing me to back up a little and place my back to the cold wall.

All around people were running, but quickly things were becoming still as people situated themselves in chairs or what was probably their stations. It was an amazing sight to watch, all things considered.

Noticing Sarley run up to Jamthi nearby, I finally saw Noth. Standing in front of a large chair, which was all by its lonesome in an elevated area, he was pointing to the ceiling. “Where is it?” Noth shouted.

“To our east, sir! Approaching at an angle… and fast!” a woman’s voice rang through the room, and I wondered how she could be heard so clearly… even with the roaring of the Sand Worm, and the odd rumbling of the Front-Line itself.

While watching Noth wave his arm at an angle, I flinched when suddenly the room became bright. Too bright. Natural light.

With blinking eyes, I peered through half closed eyelids and watched a huge line of light slowly grow… growing wider and wider.

As it did, and as my eyes adjusted, I realized that a giant window was appearing. So massive, that it was nearly unbelievable.

I couldn’t help but stare in wonder, even in this situation, as the whole world came into view… even from my tiny corner of the room.

What was most amazing, was how I could see nearly half of the City of Sand. Not even from the highest point of the wall that surrounded the city, could I have witnessed such a view.

I had not realized the Front-Line was so massive…

Still, the window was fantastic. It was so clear, if not for the lack of harsh wind and the scraping of sand on my skin, I’d have thought there was no window at all.

How was such glass created…? How did it not crack and buckle under its own weight and pressure?

“There!” someone shouted, and the whole room went quiet for one moment as everyone present… even Veronica, turned their heads upward as to view the approaching beast.

Far off in the distance, a great sandstorm was approaching. Or at least, looked it. But everyone knew better. And for those that didn’t, every so often a giant shadow swiped through the cloud with unnatural movement.

It was indeed a Sand Worm, and judging by the cloud it was creating, it was moving quickly.

“Get my cannons online!” Noth bellowed an order, and once again I wondered how easily he could be heard. It was almost as if he was yelling straight into my ear.

With his order, Veronica returned to hiding her face into my embrace. I couldn’t blame her, Noth sounded… strange.

“Loaded and ready!” a woman shouted.

“Cannons in the rear, twenty thru thirty unable to fire! No line of sight!” another added.

“Engine’s ready!”

A sudden jolt made the wall hit me. It hurt, a lot, but I didn’t fall over. The world seemed to shake, and I didn’t need to see the nearby wall of the City of Sand draw farther away to know we had begun to move.

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The Front-Line was moving…!

“Cannon’s ready, commander,” Jamthi said, almost too calm.

“Turn that patch of sand to glass,” Noth ordered, and before I could even begin to understand his meaning… the whole world exploded.

This time I really did fall to my knees, but even still I made sure not to harm the young girl in my arms as I did so.

The whole Line seemed to rock, as if it was about to tilt and fall over. When I could actually feel that the floor was tilting, I began to panic.

A bright flash blinded everyone, as if another sun suddenly appeared. Lighting up the whole world for a few moments… then the jolting of the Line stopped and the world returned to normal.

Staring out the giant window, I fixated upon the cloud of dust in the distance. Although it seemed like a small storm… I knew that the Sand Worm which caused it was as big if not bigger than this Line I now was in.

What could their magic possibly do to such a creature at this distance? It was leagues away and…

My mind went numb as once again I had to flinch and look away, as dozens of tiny suns gleamed off in the distance.

Staring at Noth instead, for a brief moment, I watched as rays of bright sunlight danced around him, as if shining off something shiny or metallic.

“Direct hits!” someone shouted.

Looking back out the window, I wondered how they could tell. An even larger, and far darker, cloud of sand was now surrounding the area of the Sand Worm. And no matter how hard I stared, it seemed impossible to tell what had happened.

“Is it dead yet?” Veronica asked quietly, her muffled voice barely heard over the silence.

Wait…

Silence?

Startled, I glanced around and realized that the world had indeed gone quiet.

No more shaking.

No more rumbling.

No more roars.

There was still a small vibration rumbling beneath me… But it was most undoubtedly from the Front-Line itself. The terrible shaking and the familiar grumbles of the giant Sand Worm were indeed gone.

“Round the city. If it still lives, draw its attention towards us instead,” Noth ordered.

Towards us…?

Staring at the man, I wondered just what he could mean by that.

Surely he didn’t plan to…

As everyone obediently, and seemingly willingly, stayed silent and seemed to follow his order… the cold understanding sent a shiver down my spine.

“Princess…?” the young girl noticed my reaction, looking up at me with concern filled eyes.

“No movement still,” someone updated.

“All cannons loaded, and ready! All are also re-aligned, and can now be used,” the clear woman’s voice said.

Gulping, I realized that meant they could once again release that great magical burst of war.

If it had actually harmed… maybe even killed a giant Sand Worm… then…

Then why did these people even care about us? Why not just take everything we had, by force?

We’d no more stop them than the very grains of sand they walked upon…

Sands…

Glass…?

My eyes blurred as the realization of what his words had meant. Glass was made from sand. Although I myself have never seen it, everyone knew of it.

After all, it was such glass that was seen as a symbol of wealth amongst my people.

If you had glass… that meant you could make it.

If you could make it, that meant you had magic.

Because only magic could melt it hot enough.

We no longer possessed enough materials, or resources, to produce such heat effectively. Or well, maybe we did now… what with everything we’ve received from Noth and his people.

Looking back out the window, at the giant cloud of sand, which was turning a deep dark black… I realized it was smoke.

Something was burning.

And the only thing out there was sand.

After all, even the Sand Worm was made of sand.

Gulping at the thought of an entire city sized piece of land, becoming one giant melted lake of glass…

“Still no movement sir!” someone said, and dozens of triumphant conversations emerged as they all congratulated each other.

“Let’s round it anyway, before re-docking,” Noth ordered, sitting down in the solitary chair.

“Aye, Commander!”

Staring at the Commander of the Front-Line, and his calm smile as he talked quietly to Jamthi… I wondered if he realized just how powerful he truly was.

Sand was power.

It destroyed everything.

It withered stone to more sand.

It turned flesh and bone to sand.

It buried anything it couldn’t dissolve.

No matter how wealthy or powerful… your life was still at the whims of the sands.

Whether you lived or died, was up to the sands.

And Noth just showed he was something beyond even that.

Not even the sands could best him.

If that was so…

“Princess?”

Veronica stepped back, yet still clung to my shirt. As if she was too afraid to let go… and not because she herself was scared. She feared for me.

Looking down at the young girl, I faked a smile and nodded. “Seems all is well,” I said to her.

If only I could say the same for me.

After all… what hope did I have drawing such a great man’s wrath?

I who was nothing more than a grain of sand?

What could I possibly do to incur his anger? To bring his fury down upon me and my house?

What would it take…?

And would I be capable of doing whatever it was?

Veronica smiled up at me, and I felt sick as I smiled back.