I have slacked to update this story, but here is a fresh, new chapter. It took me a very long time to write.

While she was lying in bed, Yamuraiha noticed that she had lost feeling in one of her legs entirely. She pushed her blankets aside, rolled up her nightgown, and saw that her entire left leg was a solid mass of shiny black rock.

Immediately, the general set out to find Sinbad. She cast a visionary spell from the water in a glass that sat on her night table. Once Sinbad's figure came into focus, she determined that he and Judal were headed for the beach.

As Yamuraiha made her way towards Sinbad, her body began to grow tense. It was already difficult enough to walk with one heavy, immobile leg. Once she reached the sand, the aqua-haired woman collapsed. Her body was stiff, and the sand only slowed her down even more. She could only move by slowly dragging herself across the beach with her functioning arm and leg.

By the time Sinbad found her, the general was scraped from head to toe. He lifted her onto his back, and walked back to the palace.

"Judal, please stay with Yamuraiha until I return," said the king.

"Sin, wait! Where are you going?" Judal called.

"Preparing for war."

Sinbad decided, since Al Thamen's headquarters were unknown, to begin by targeting the Kou Empire. By capturing Empress Gyokuen, he planned on locating Al Thamen. He told the plan to his generals, so they would prepare for the infiltration.

Before leaving, the king returned to Judal and Yamuraiha. The magi had managed to stabilize the woman's condition, but she was unable to move; so as not to disturb the temporary seal that was slowing the curse.

"I'm going in, myself. Sindria doesn't have enough troops to withstand Kou's army. I'll sneak in, capture Gyokuen, and then see what information she's got on Al Thamen."

"Be careful, Sin. The palace is laid out like this," Judal said, handing Sinbad a hand-drawn floorplan of Gyokuen's palace. "I hope this helps. I labeled all of the entrances and exits. Most of them are guarded at all times, but if you manage to sneak up on one of the guards, you may be able to slip through under the radar."

"Thanks, Judal. This helps a lot. Keep Yamuraiha safe. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Sin, good luck. If I don't make it, I want you to know that I'm grateful for every minute of the life you've given me," said Yamuraiha, weakly.

"You will make it, Yamuraiha. I promise," said Sin, as he pushed the bangs away from her glassy eyes.

"I'll take care of her, Sin. Please return safely," said the magi, walking the violet-haired man to the palace gate.

"I love you, Judal," said the king, kissing the younger man.

"C'mon! Get going, Sin. The sooner you get back, the sooner I get to have your ass," Judal giggled, responding to the embrace.

Sinbad blushed. "It's a deal."

"I-I love you too, Sin," the magi said, realizing he'd made a pretty ridiculous comment while Sinbad was trying to be sincere.

When Sinbad's ship neared the coast of the Kou Empire, the king ordered his men to drop anchor. It had taken nearly twenty-four hours to get there, so it was just after dusk. Sinbad changed into a set of plain linen clothes, to make himself look like a peasant. He got into a small wooden rowboat, and quietly made his way to the shore.

Once he was on land, Sinbad hid the small boat under a grove of trees. He purposely chose this area, because it was sparsely populated. He carried his sword with him, but kept it hidden inside a staff. He also kept the map of the palace with him, to familiarize himself with navigation.

That night, Sinbad happened across a small village. He stayed the night at an inn, and boarded a passenger wagon the next morning.

After a few days of wagon and foot travel, the violet-haired man reached the royal city. He made his way through the bustling streets, and hid out near the entrance to the palace grounds. There were massive brick walls surrounding the entire property, so the only way in was to go through an entrance. Sinbad tried to think of another way to get in, but couldn't come up with anything that would prove to work.

Finally, Sinbad spotted his chance. A wagon filled with wine barrels pulled up to the guarded palace entrance. As it was being inspected, Sinbad carefully crept up to its current blind side, where no one would see him. He had to think fast, because the guards were checking each side.

As they rounded the corner, Sinbad took cover underneath the cart. When the inspection was complete, he climbed into the back, and hid between the large kegs.

The most difficult part of Sinbad's infiltration was yet to come. He had made it into the palace, but he had to figure out how he was going to keep his cover. Help had begun unloading the contents of the wagon, and Sinbad had nowhere to go.

One man at a time took a keg and rolled it into the wine cellar. Sinbad crept all the way to the back, and hid behind the very last barrel. When the last man came to unload it, he spotted Sinbad, and was about to yell for help, but didn't have time.

The intruder quickly knocked the man unconscious with his staff, and pulled him into the wagon. Sinbad removed the man's uniform and changed into it. Inconspicuously, he rolled the last wine barrel into the cellar, and then followed the rest of the men into a dining hall.

He was very hungry, but didn't realize it until a plate of food was placed in front of him. There were dozens of men sitting around him, but since he wore the same uniform as they did, he blended in.

For the rest of the evening, Sinbad followed what his peers were doing, and found his way to an empty bunk.

When everyone was asleep, or most likely asleep, Sinbad sat up in his bed and squinted at the map Judal had drawn him. It was dark, but he could still make out some of the floorplan.

The palace's exterior was heavily guarded, but inside it was much easier to navigate. The violet-haired king crept through the lonely labyrinth of halls and doors, until he reached the throne room. No one was there, but from what the map said, Gyokuen's chamber was just beyond the wall at the other side of the room.

Not surprisingly, there was a soldier posted outside the empress's door. Sinbad lurked in the closest corridor he could reach without being noticed, and drew his sword. His soon to be opponent was wearing a suit of armor. It was going to be difficult to disable him, especially since he didn't want the empress to wake up.

Sinbad remembered that he was still dressed in a Kou servant's uniform. He retracted his sword, and decided to use his disguise to his advantage, instead.

"Who's there?" The guard asked, spotting Sinbad.

"I was sent to relieve you from your duty, sir. The next watchman is on his way."

"Is that so? Well, thanks for letting me know," said the guard. "I'm beat. Would you mind staying here until he arrives?"

"I don't mind. Have a good night," Sinbad said, as the guard began to take his leave.

Once the man's footsteps were distant, Sinbad opened the doors to Gyokuen's chamber. She wasn't in her bed. The violet-haired man scanned the dark bedroom, but couldn't see much. Just as he was about to step forward, he heard someone take a breath behind him.

Sinbad turned around. "Why are you in here?" Empress Gyokuen was a light sleeper, and had hid behind the door to listen in on the conversation going on in the hallway outside her room.

"My lady, I-" Sinbad began.

"This isn't the first time a servant has tried to rape me in my sleep! Get out!"

Sinbad had little time left. He grabbed the empress, and gagged her with the belt from her own robe. She kicked and tried to scream, but no one could hear her.

The man climbed out a nearby window, landing in a bush, with Gyokuen, to get to the stables. There, he found some rope, and tied the woman up. He placed her onto a horse, and then got on behind her.

Sinbad drew his sword as he approached the guards at the gate. He knocked their weapons from their grasp, but lost the horse. They'd injured one of its legs, trying to stop the kidnapper.

The group of guards could see that Sinbad had their empress. Sinbad grabbed her, and jumped off the horse. It was still early, and there were few townsfolk awake yet. Gyokuen wasn't heavy, but the palace guards were gaining on him.

Meanwhile, Gyokuen had no idea what was going on. She had absolutely no clue why she was being kidnapped, but she was beginning to realize who her captor was. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked up at the man's face. She knew it was Sinbad.

She realized, being a leading member of Al Thamen, exactly what Sinbad was doing. Without even knowing it, Sinbad was taking Al Thamen right into Sindria. Gyokuen alone, couldn't do much, but she knew that Yamuraiha's curse would reveal her location to her comrades, and together, they held the power to bestow even greater evil upon Sindria. She also realized that someone had to have provoked Sinbad to go to this length, and she knew exactly who that person was.

Sinbad took a sharp turn behind an empty stand, and dashed into a dark passageway. It was behind a row of tall buildings. He had managed to gain a little bit of distance from the men that were chasing him, but he still had more to go.

Once he was a safe enough distance away, Sinbad equipped his Focalor Djinn, and took to the sky. He had no other choice, as he had a great amount of distance to cover between the royal city and his ship. The only citizen of Kou, aware of Gyokuen's captor's identity was the empress, herself.

When Sinbad made it back to the ship, he was exhausted. Nearly all of his magoi was spent from the speedy and long flight. He immediately transformed back to his natural form, and locked Gyokuen in a cell beneath the deck.

To Sindria's dismay, one of Gyokuen's most powerful associates, a man named Ithnan, was waiting for Sinbad's return. He was the one that had originally planted the curse within Ja'far, which had since spread to Yamuraiha. Once Yamuraiha's entire body was entirely obsidian, he could use it as a portal to enter Sindria.

Angering Sinbad enough to capture Gyokuen was only part of Ithnan's plan. It was so elaborate, he didn't even tell the empress she was going to be kidnapped. If he had, the plan wouldn't have worked. All he told her, was that he could see Judal, and that angered her.

Since the Rukh in Sindria was so concentrated and pure; a result of the happiness emanating from its citizens, Ithnan wanted to harness it.

Accumulating that much Black Rukh would give Al Thamen the ability to reopen the most chaotic periods in Earth's history, and Ithnan intended to use that chaos to dominate the planet.