What had happened at Origin Harbor was now being repeated here, along the border of the Issus Delta near the Sea of Ten Thousand Miles of Sand.
The rebellious oases were gathering their forces and advancing on the Issus Delta. They were no small fry. Although only the armies of three minor oases had set out so far, they were vassals of a certain pilgrim family.
In other words, this was only the vanguard. The real bulk of their forces had yet to move out.
Their goal was clear: to charge into the Issus Delta in as little time as possible.
Once there, they could plunder, or march all the way to Ptolemy's royal city and reshape the world. With the strategic initiative in hand, they could then wait for the armies of other pilgrim families equally dissatisfied with the Pharaoh's rule to join them, combine forces, and drive the Ptolemies from the Pharaoh's throne.
The rebels gathering now were far from the only ones. Rebel forces were advancing from both the eastern and western directions around the Issus Delta, while many oases along the borders had fallen into chaos, attacking one another overnight. According to the map, the area in revolt had already expanded to cover a quarter of the empire.
It was clear that this rebellion had been brewing in secret for a long time.
However, the rebels currently besieging an oasis loyal to the Pharaoh had probably forgotten to check the Creator's almanac before heading out that day. At any rate, they were unlucky. Just as dawn broke and they were about to charge into the small oasis, which could no longer hold out, they saw a strange storm forming in the nearby sea of sand.
For desert residents living in oases, storms over the sea of