The fortress city of Al-Sjhabar is restocked and prepared for use. Great vats of oil and siege equipment are brought in, as well as a few talented chemists equipped with their chattels, chemical resources, and the recipe for Greek Fire so thoughtfully provided by those blessed Gauls. The Sultan himself, with all his family, are to be moved to the fortress city along with the entirety of the capital's valuables, assets and higher-ranked citizens. They will be escorted by the majority of the standing garrison at Sana'a (about eighteen hazarabam), and the Duneshifter patrols are edited to include this change. As many as 200 Duneshifters will travel with the Sultan (which is quite a few) and will keep very close. Almost all Qariri architects and constructors are sent with them as well, to strengthen and expand the defenses at Al-Sjhabar and optimize its defensive capabilities. The rest of the builders disembark to major cities and towns to ready the civilians for attack.
Meanwhile, roads between Qarir and Rhun are broadened and defenses are created for them to allow for easier transport of troops and supplies across borders. Much larger defenses begin to pop up on the Northern borders and coasts. In docks and harbors all around, merchants trade in their fine robes for armor as both them and their crew find themselves enlisted into the Qariri military for the same reason they became merchants: loot. The Sultan decrees that by converting from merchants to privateers, the merchants can claim any and all loot found aboard defeated enemy ships, including the ships themselves. The merchantships' crews will be given basic military training just as any soldier would, only shortened down to a matter of weeks instead of two years. The ships themselves are given rams and modifications to make them faster and capable of taking more damage without sinking. When militarization of both the ship and its crew is complete, they are sent off. A good few such privateers are quickly sent Northwest to reinforce the Rhunic blockade of Gibraltar along with a decent contingent of the official Qariri Navy while the remainder begins heavy patrolling of the northern coastline (the southern coastline is still watched, but there are far more in the North).
Drafting of all citizens from the ages of twenty to sixty takes place, for those not already in the military. Most of these mandatory recruits are simply give basic training (same as the merchants) and issued arms and armor to use in their own home towns in case of an emergency defense. However, about twenty hazarabam worth of these newbies are incorporated into actual mobile military units and will be trained as they march wherever they are needed. They will be the front lines, the decoys, and the ones to take the fire while the real soldiers perform the more skillful functions. Their weapons and armor are both rather sub-par, but it would be a dangerous mistake indeed to underestimate a desperate man with a weapon.
Messengers beyond count are sent off in all directions. Some are decoys to distract any would-be interlopers while others deliver messages of utter top secrecy. All ride as though Iblis himself were at their heels