Sandsbank Destroyed During Riot

On the second sun of the fourth umbral moon, a group of rioters clashed with Brass Blades in the outer wing of Ul'dah. This following several weeks of murmurs among the downtrodden of Thanalan that the source of the rioters' aggression, Sandsbank. The resulting conflict killed several, harmed dozens, and blew up Sandsbank itself.

Sandsbank is, or perhaps was, a quiet giant in the banking industry in Ul'dah. Some of the largest accounts on the Star looking for discretion and security turned to Sandsbank for its sterling reputation and habit of not asking or answering many questions. For Sandsbank, the fact that it rarely made headlines was its advertising. Its security systems were a combination of state-of-the-art physical security by Glenn-Rieder and bespoke magical security systems, adding assurances to their reputation of discretion. 

But this reputation as an off-the-radar bank for the Star's wealthy to hide their money and valuables was shaken in the weeks leading up to the riot. Dossiers were distributed through the more downtrodden communities of Ul'dah detailing the misdeeds of Sandsbank as well as some of its clients. Notably, Sandsbank's own Delwin Baxter was accused of orchestrating a ring of kidnappers, smugglers, spoken traffickers, drug dealers, and unlicensed spoken experimentation among other charges. Unrest connected to the criminal dealings boiled over on the second sun of the fourth umbral moon when a mob of incensed people, many of whom were average citizens. 

The clash between the crowd and the Brass Blades led to the deaths of around a dozen civilians, with more injuries including a fairly serious encounter this journalist had with a Brass Blade's sword. The total wounds and deaths were kept far lower than might have happened had it not been for the presence of healers and defenders in the crowd.

Some of the Sandsbank employees who escaped the institution during the riots described a force of violent attackers inside the bank at the time of the riot. It was later revealed that this was the terrorist group known as Lunar Veil. Some were personally rescued from these terrorists by a private investigator named Remmy Casbell who happened to be on the scene at the time and negotiated with Lunar Veil to allow their escape. 

"Miss Casbell saved our lives. She offered herself as a hostage in exchange for our freedom," said Sandsbank clerk Uyana Yana. "After learning about who she was giving herself over to, that was such a sacrifice!" 

Lunar Veil's presumed leader spoke after the bank's explosion, addressing the assembled crowd during the lull caused by the shock of the explosion. She announced the organization's involvement in the entire affair. She cast Lunar Veil in the light of vigilante justice. 

"For too long has corruption run rampant with those tasked to deal justice turning a blind eye," said the spokesperson. "We aim to upset the scale, to lift up those that suffer under the weight of both sides. We raise daggers to the moonlight and take judgment into our own hands, accepting whatever fate may come later as long as we may yet make a difference. Know that if you suffer at the hands of others we are on your side. More importantly if you cause the suffering of others? We will be seeing you soon. We are the Lunar Veil."

Ul'dahni officials have strongly contested the characterization of the Lunar Veil as a heroic faction fighting corruption. Instead, the government has insisted to the Courier that these perpetrators are committing acts violence and intimidation en masse. Officials even questioned the legitimacy of the original allegations against Sandsbank and Baxter, as being unconfirmed by government investigators. 

Reports indicate that Baxter hasn't been seen since the destruction of Sandsbank, and several corpses - primarily of Brass Blades - have been found in the ruins. It is currently believed that Baxter died in Lunar Veil's blast.

"These people are not heroes of the common person," said Ul'dahni Crown Prosecutor Rebifi Harifi. "No one has seriously investigated any of the allegations against Delwin Baxter or Sandsbank. No one corroborated the information spread as rumor and whisper among the population. No one had the opportunity to interrogate Baxter if those rumors were corroborated. None of that was allowed to happen because of a group of well-organized criminals taking out someone who, for all we know, was the upstanding citizen he presented himself as. People got hurt. People got killed."

Even if all those rumors were true, Harifi insists that the behavior of the Lunar Veil. By denying the legal process its due course, he argues that Lunar Veil actually set free an entire criminal conspiracy.

"Assuming this Veil did cut the head off a snake, which we will certainly investigate, by destroying Sandsbank and any evidence it might've housed, by presumably killing Baxter, what these terrorists did was set free every single co-conspirator in what was alleged to be a massive operation of something as egregious as kidnapping and trafficking citizens from Ul'dah's streets," said Harifi. "This is why vigilante justice is wrong."

That hasn't stopped some to view Lunar Veil as folk heroes standing up for the victims of crimes that the Free Cities of Eorzea, and potentially governments across the Star ignore. And that isn't a small number of instances. Despite being widely noticed among the underclass of Ul'dah, the disappearances that have been ascribed to Baxter were not investigated by Harifi prior to the destruction of Sandsbank.

After Lunar Veil's pronouncement, an unnamed member of the crowd cheered, telling the Courier that this was what Ul'dah needed, and deserved. 

"If we're invisible to the Sultana, at least someone sees us," she said. "Those people right there care what happens to us. They avenged us. Some of the missing have come home, well cared for. And without people like that woman up there, she'd have been sold off to Thal knows who. They actually did something. They did it. Ul'dah didn't."

Which begs the question: is the Lunar Veil dangerous terrorists, or are they the folk heroes needed by the underclasses of the Star? The Courier welcomes letters to the editor.