[center][b]Siad-Bashooq, Najran Arena
16:30, 18th of February[/b][/center]

The walls of Najran seemed impenetrable, giving the citizens of the ancient city a sense of security from the harshness of the desert. Wooden scaffolding littered the walls, where crews constantly attempted to maintain a dignified state on the city's protective barrier. The Najran clan was the wealthiest and most powerful in the entire province of Ta'if, and they were not afraid to show it. In the center of the city sat a large arena, providing seating for nearly 1,600 people. In the sheltered booths were the representatives of each of the 5 other clans, all surrounding the heavily guarded main booth. The most powerful man in the desert resided inside, known to his people as Siad-Bashooq. Decorated in exquisite silk robes, he watched the spectacle occurring inside of the arena. Two men donning meager armaments were battling it out with three armored giant scorpions, and were failing miserably. The vicious creatures, about the size of medium dogs, had the ability to paralyze a man with its sting and rip him in half with its pincers. A victory against these beasts meant fame and fortune for the often impoverished gladiators, and a loss meant that your remains were burnt during the nightly worship to the gods. 

The Holy-Lord watched as one man was gutted by the beast, before injecting lethal venom into the sword arm of the other. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder, where a young Al-Emekir messenger passed him a note. Reading the paper, he was both joyed and annoyed by the fact that he had missed the spectacle of the victorious scorpions being rounded up by unlucky slaves. He read the paper, his voice cutting in and trailing as he read the scripture.

[i]"You have been invited... millennial celebration... art collection..."[/i] 

Turning to his assistant, he raised from his seat. In the native Shulam tongue, he announced his response.

[i]"Send correspondence back East, we will be attending this ceremony. Contract my Clan seamstress, for we shall arrive with the latest styles that will shock the continent in its entirety. And my sculpters are to be contracted, the greatest artwork they have ever seen will bear the name of the Al-Emekir."[/i]
[center]-------------------------[/center]

[center][b]Ali-Buroj, Jeranova Desert Camp
22:00, 18th of February[/b][/center]

The great general had waited for the Stars to guide him to the camp, his soldiers moving in a stealthy fashion. A nationalist, the great general had always believed that to be successful as an army, they must primarily know how to defend their clan's homes. Desert combat was a specialty, where the most important element was the survival of your soldiers between battles. Because of this, his men were known to be desert tacticians in their own right, formidable soldiers underneath the hot desert sun.

As the guards of the Rebel camp began to doze off on their nightly lax routine, the Al-Emekir soldiers moved in. Two hundred soldiers, stationed in on the Mi'Hala base surrounded the mountain side camp. Blowing his whistle, Ali-Buroj heard the whistling of crossbows in rapid succession. Six of the shots made their mark, the two remaining guards were swiftly put down in the second wave of arrows. Seconds later, he heard the roar of an elephant as the loaned Bashooq "tank" made its way towards the wooden gate, the weak part of the rebel palisade. The elephant blew through the gate, with hundreds of screaming soldiers filing into the base behind it.

Listening to the screams of his men assault the base, favoring the cutting of throats over taking prisoners was music to his ears. Peace time often bored his men, excursions from the boredom like this were often welcome despite often meaning a considerable amount of risk. The outnumbered rebels were often kept non-violent, however when a Clan leader learned of their location, the army often showed up for both the practice and the slaughter. He often took a large number of recruits, allowing them to gain experience that couldn't otherwise be gained.

What would happen when this rebellion was finally quashed?