Chapter 30: Riding the Maker
Three days before the Harkonnen meeting, I went to the deep desert.
I needed power. Needed an advantage nobody could take away. Needed to prove to myself that I was more than just an information broker playing political games.
The desert was mine. Time to claim it fully.
I traveled forty kilometers south. Deep into my largest territory claim. The sand here knew me. Responded to my touch. Converted easily when I claimed more.
I'd brought a makeshift thumper—metal rod, mechanical striker. Fremen used these to call worms. I'd studied the technique from System knowledge downloads. Rhythm. Specific patterns. Vibrations that said food here in the language of sand.
I set it up. Activated it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Regular. Persistent. Calling.
The sand answered.
First, small tremors. Then larger. The ground rippled like water. A hundred meters away, a dune collapsed inward.
Then she rose.
The worm that had circled my territories. The juvenile—three hundred years old, two hundred meters long, segments like ancient armor. Her mouth could swallow a harvester. Her body could crush buildings.
She surfaced fully. Oriented toward me. The vibrations. The call.
The System pulsed.
[SANDWORM DETECTED: BONDED MAKER]
[RECOGNITION: CONFIRMED]
[WORM SOVEREIGNTY ACTIVATED]
[RECOMMENDATION: ATTEMPT MOUNTING]
[WARNING: EXTREME DANGER WITHOUT MAKER HOOKS]
I had no hooks. No Fremen training beyond System downloads. Just knowledge that this was possible and desperation to try.
The worm approached. Slow. Curious. Not attacking—investigating.
I used Sand Touch on the ground beneath me. Created a rising column. Lifted myself toward the worm's side.
She didn't flee. Didn't attack. Just watched with whatever senses sandworms used.
I jumped.
Hit her side ten meters up. Scrabbled for purchase on smooth segments. Started sliding—
Used Sand Manipulation desperately. Turned a scale edge to rough texture. Caught myself. Hauled upward.
The worm writhed. Not violently—just adjusting to unexpected weight. Like a horse feeling a rider for the first time.
I climbed. Found a segment junction. Pulled Venn's knife—better blade than my old one. Wedged it into the gap. Pried.
The segment opened. Sensitive flesh exposed to air.
The worm screamed.
Not sound. Vibration. Ultrasonic rage that made my bones shake. She thrashed—
I held on. Wedged myself into the gap. Pressed against the exposed segment.
She calmed.
Slowly. Grudgingly. But she calmed.
The System blazed.
[WORM SOVEREIGNTY LVL 3 ACHIEVED]
[RIDER'S BOND: ESTABLISHED]
[THIS MAKER RECOGNIZES YOU AS MASTER]
[+50 WS, +10 SR, +10 DA]
[NEW ABILITY: SUMMON BONDED MAKER]
[NEW ABILITY: BASIC WORM DIRECTION]
[HR COST: -2% (DOMINATION OF LIVING BEING)]
[CURRENT HR: 87%]
The worm moved. Not away—forward. Carrying me.
I learned through trial and error. Pressure on the segment made her turn. Releasing made her dive. The gap staying open kept her on the surface.
We rode for three hours.
I fell twice. Hit sand hard enough to crack ribs if I'd landed wrong. Climbed back up both times. The worm waited. Patient. Like she understood this was training.
By the third hour, I could direct her roughly. Not precisely—not like Fremen who'd ridden for decades. But enough. Turn here. Surface there. Forward. Stop.
I crested a dune at impossible speed. Wind tearing at my face. Sand spraying in massive rooster tails behind us. The sun blazing overhead.
And I laughed.
Pure joy. No calculation. No fear. No strategy or manipulation or triple-agent calculations.
Just a man riding a god through an alien sky.
The sound surprised me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd laughed like that. Without purpose. Without agenda.
Just... happy.
The worm felt it. I swear she did. Accelerated. Like sharing the joy. Predator and rider moving as one.
When I finally dismounted—more like collapsed onto sand—my body was wrecked. Bruises everywhere. Cuts from sharp scales. Muscles screaming from three hours of desperate clinging.
My spirit soared.
I'd done it. Ridden Shai-Hulud. Bonded with a maker. Claimed the desert not just through territory but through partnership with its gods.
The worm circled once. Massive head regarding me. Then sank back into sand. Gone like she'd never existed.
But I felt her. The bond. A warmth in my awareness. Not constant like territory claims—distant, waiting. But there. If I called, she'd come.
I had a sandworm. A god-creature that answered to me.
The System compiled rewards.
[MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT: FIRST WORM RIDE]
[WORM SOVEREIGNTY: 90]
[CURRENT STATISTICS:]
SR: 95 | DA: 68 | WS: 90 | SS: 15% | DD: 6.0 km²
[HR: 87%]
[ASSESSMENT: POWER GROWTH SUBSTANTIAL]
[WARNING: HR APPROACHING CRITICAL THRESHOLD]
[RECOMMENDATION: SEEK RESTORATION BEFORE NEXT MAJOR EVENT]
Eighty-seven percent. Thirteen percent lost. More than an eighth of my humanity.
But I could ride worms. Control territory. Had followers who'd die for me. Played three factions against each other.
I was becoming something terrifying.
And the worst part?
I wasn't sure I minded anymore.
I walked back toward Arrakeen. Every step hurt. Bruises on bruises. Cuts burning. Exhaustion making the world swim.
But I walked like a king. Like someone who'd just bonded with a god and lived to tell about it.
The desert was mine. The worms answered my call. The political games were pieces I could move.
I'd walked into the desert as a smuggler with strange powers.
I walked out as something else entirely.
Something the desert itself recognized.
Something that scared me almost as much as it thrilled me.
Eighty-seven percent.
Wondered what I'd be at when this was all over.
Wondered if I'd still care.
The thought should have terrified me more than it did.
That was probably the most concerning part.
Reviews and Power Stones keep the heat on!
Want to see what happens before the "heroes" do?
Secure your spot in the inner circle on Patreon. Skip the weekly wait and read ahead:
💵 Hustler [$7]: 15 Chapters ahead.
⚖️ Enforcer [$11]: 20 Chapters ahead.
👑 Kingpin [$16]: 25 Chapters ahead.
Periodic drops. Check on Patreon for the full release list.
👉 Join the Syndicate: patreon.com/Anti_hero_fanfic