Edenoi, even at the peak of its prosperity, never really had much to show for it. Most of its towns were small subterranean dwellings interconnected through carved passageways. Even the great walled city of Shugodom, the capital of Edenoi, was less than the towering monument to Edenite prosperity one would expect it to be.
And after the devastating onslaught carried out by the power hungry Count Dregon, Shugodom was a mere phantom of its former self. At the heart of the city was the grand palace, where King Dex himself sat at his mighty throne. But in the outskirts of the city, where the resources were too thin for the crumbling monarchy to maintain, chaos reigned unopposed.
The scream of a young edenite echoed through the street as a fly-like insectoid knocked him to the ground.
"Thizz izz our turf!" The insectoid muttered gleefully. His massive crimson eyes glowed with malice as he drew his wing-blades.
"No! Please!" The young man begged desperately as he tried to squirm away from the insectoid. "I had to work late and was just trying to get home before nightfall."
"Zzuch a pathetic excuze meanzz nothing to me," the insectoid said as it sauntered towards him.
The creature paused as a frantic noise filled the air.
It grew louder, stronger, almost animalistic.
The roar reached a pounding crescendo as an energy blast struck the insectoid and knocked it to the ground.
It was then the boy finally understood the source of the noise. It was a machine knocking up a cloud of dust as it raced towards them.
Wait… not one machine, but two! A pair of magnificent engineering, with an armored rider atop each one.
The two bikes came to an abrupt stop, surrounding the edenite and the insectoid. The fly looked towards them, still in a daze. Dull recognition quickly blossomed into fear.
"B-buzz off!" The insectoid muttered through a cheap mask of confidence. "Thizz maggot wazz dizrupting our peace…"
"Yeah, yeah," one of the riders said. It was the one who fired at the insectoid. Their suit was white and black, with two red stripes running down from the helmet to the chest. "And that totally justifies the fact you were about to carve him up like a roast."
"How about we give them the benefit of the doubt," the other rider, a silver colored figure, said, "Maybe they were going to cut our scared little friend here a slice of homemade pie."
"Chaser…" the white rider said with a sharp air of annoyance. "Please be quiet."
By then the insectoid was already making a run for it. Their feet pounded frantically against the sandstone as they fled with all of their might.
The white rider aimed their pistol, but the silver one raised his hand. "Better if we let him go."
After a moment the rider sighed. "I know you're right…but…"
The edenite watched the duo, unsure how to reconcile with the scene that flashed before his eyes.
"T-thank you…" he managed to whimper. He stared up at them from the ground, frozen by his shock. "I can't believe it's really you…"
The white rider offered a dismissive wave. "It was nothing."
"Unless you wanna give us a tip," the silver rider suggested.
Somehow, the edenite could see a glint of annoyance in the white rider's blue eye-shaped visor.
The edenite actually reached into his pocket. But by then the two riders had already zoomed off.
It… it was really them.
A childlike excitement pounded through his entire body.
The Desert Riders.