Page 2001

~~The New Year's Days Special + Mon/Wen/Fri Double (page 6 of 6)~~
That particular development had overshadowed almost all others, it seemed. The Lord Saqqaf's fame had skyrocketed, along with that of the Sandlords as a whole.

With the Rainlords "missing," the Sandlords had been forced to intervene in western Sair to prevent anarchy from taking over.

At least, that was what the Sandlords had been telling themselves. And while it was hard to argue with that justification, Asad couldn't help being quite uncomfortable about it.

He did not think it would go as smoothly as many of his brethren seemed to.

The Rainlords' subjects were not your average civilians. They were a hard, resilient people, as proud of their heritage and their history as perhaps the Rainlords themselves. And the loyalty that those subjects had for the Rainlords--Asad did not think that would be forgotten any time soon.

Not to mention that, from a historical standpoint, this event was not exactly unprecedented. The Rainlords had been driven from their land once before by the Mohssian Empire. They had been brought to the brink of extinction.

Yet it was the Rainlords who had persisted into the modern day, not the Empire. And of course, having just spent considerable time among them, Asad knew perfectly well how much the Rainlords wished to return to Sair and reclaim their territory.

There was no telling when they might be able to accomplish that, however. Having raised an organized resistance against the Vanguard was no minor issue. According to the Sandlords' intel, the Rainlord Rebellion--as it was now being called--had sent shock waves through the Vanguardian ranks.

Which was no surprise. The Rainlords were renowned for their honor and virtuous ideals. It would be difficult for even the Vanguardian propaganda officers to paint them as wholly in the wrong.

Perhaps that was why the Vanguard, in spite of all the inquiries being conducted, still seemed quite eager to work even more closely with the Sandlords than ever before. While their reputation was faltering, the Sandlords' was swelling.