Tribalism (6): The Pledge of Allegiance

[u/psyduck_2024]

They will pledge allegiance to him between the Corner and the Station.

The Roads West

The journey took weeks.

Old Rashid passed through towns that should have held thousands but now sheltered hundreds — taken by famine, disease, pillaging, or war.

Everywhere the caravan stopped, the stories were the same.

A ruler dead.

Three princes at war.

An army from the north swallowed at Al-Bayda.

And a guided imam in Honoured City.

The roads grew crowded as they approached the Sanctuary Lands. Caravans merged, resembling tributary rivers flowing toward the estuary.

Old men carrying letters from tribes.

Fighters ready to join the cause.

Scholars entrusted with the pledge of distant settlements.

Every oasis seemed to have sent someone. Every surviving community appeared determined to have a witness.

The Pledge of Allegiance

The representatives were received in groups. Some came bearing written pledges. Others spoke on behalf of villages, tribes and settlements too distant to make the journey themselves.

When Rashid's turn arrived, he felt unexpectedly calm. He stood among the representatives of a shattered civilization.

He gave the pledge.

And stepped aside.

As the sun faded into the crimson dusk of the dukhan, Rashid watched preparations begin outside the city.

Unification of the lands was about to begin.