A new requirement appears with this new race, Prestige . Prestige works similar to culture and is needed to build or upgrade certain buildings like Amuni Manufactories.
You will get Prestige from the Temple of the Dunes. Portal Monuments are used to boost the Temple's Prestige.
I've built all the Portal monuments. I don't have enough prestige to update all the Goldsmiths and Trapmakers to lvl 4 as required by the quest. And the quest doesn't have a 'decline' option.
Want to take a short cut through the chapter? This is one where portal profits can still be used very effectively and the chapter quests will become declinable once you reach the next chapter.