Jinxer

The Fall of Jerusalem

"Make sure you pray, girl."

Rhiannon nodded mutely, her head bowed and hands clasped tightly around a set of prayer beads. This was the third saint she had been forced to pray to in hope the evil spirit possessing her might finally be exorcised. There was silence as she, and her mother, prayed but it was clear that her father was impatient; revealed by his faster and deeper breathing.

"Well, do you feel different? Has it gone?" A flash of irritation passed through Rhiannon but she removed it easily thanks to the serene peace she felt while kneeling before the shrine.

"I don't know, tad. I feel at peace." There was grunt from her father, she had said that at the previous two shrines as well. Thankfully her mother was far more patient; she had been far more enthusiastic about this pilgrimage.

"Now now, God will surely smite the spirit when it is time; we will simply return every day to one of His servants and hope that that will be whom he smites the spirit through." They all crossed themselves and then left the Church. Rhiannon's knees were sore from her hours of prayer but she felt better for doing so, as always. Unfortunately it was late and there was a festive atmosphere in the city which was dangerous for them; Rhiannon's cowl and black habit clearly marked her out as a Christian and a 'Frank' although her family were keen to correct everyone; they were Welsh.

"It's not far to the Patriarch's manor, come quickly." Her father commanded and they hurried down the main street, averting their eyes and stepping out of the way of any Muslims regardless of their station; it was better to be safer than sorry with vengeance barely a moment away. The streets became busier as they neared the compound and they had to fight to stay together.

Nevertheless, Rhiannon was separated from her parents and backed into an alleyway to get clear of the press. She knew where the manor was so she carried down the alleyway, hoping to take a different street there but instead came out to be faced by a large man facing off against one of the strange dragon creatures Rhiannon had seen for the first time in Jerusalem. It was clear that the man was prepared to fight but his reason was clear. His appearance clearly identified him as a 'Frank', just like her and attacking one of the precious dragons was going to land him in trouble. Stepping out from the shadows of the alleyway Rhiannon placed a small hand on the man's muscled arm and began to sing a slow, calming lullaby with her heretical power mixed in with it.

"Calm yourself, bach. You'll start a bloodletting of Christians if you do this."

The Fall of Jerusalem

It is a very confusing time because of the very fractious nature of the Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and the numerous sultanates across the Holy Land.

It WAS controlled by the Seljuk Turks at the beginning of the Crusades but after the battle outside Antioch (after the Crusaders had captured the city and then besieged inside it in late 1098) but the Egyptian Muslims (the Fatimids) took the city as a result of that defeat outside of Antioch when the Sunni Seljuk's cohesion was completely destroyed.

Beforehand the Sunnis were led by the Abasids who lost Jerusalem to the Fatimids in the early 11th Century (1000s) however the Seljuk Turks took control of the Sunni Caliphate circa 1055 and drove the Fatimids back from Jerusalem and Damascus. Then in 1098 the Fatimids took the territory (again) including Jerusalem.

In short: Yes, it's very confusing because not only do you have the Sunni and Shi'ite Caliphates you also have different dynasties taking over the caliphate which is really, really confusing and it ends up going back and forth constantly.

Also if anyone gets confused by any of Rhiannon's Welsh words just yell (or Google) - I'll tend to stick with bach which means 'little' literally but is more of a friendly term of affection (or demeaning).

The Fall of Jerusalem

Agreed, on the dawn of the attack we can show our characters' lives... before and then how it changed and set them on their course during and then after the attack.

Return of Powers

Rhiannon winced; something about Her had always offset her. Then again, she was offset by her own longevity since to her it had always seemed stolen.

"Say the word and I'll take you there. I'll watch over them while you're gone. And you're right, we need to look after him but if he's anything like Julius he'll work ways around us anyway." She smiled at the memory of the old man, looking out from the modest summer home at lawn where his children and grandchildren played; an elderly Mrs Ragnarson there as well making sure the old man was comfortable. From that rocking chair the entire world's peace was ensure whether it was known or not; that was the kind of genius Julius had been.

The first of the kids to arrive saluted in a very military style and Rhiannon forced a smile but did not return the gesture, although she held the boy's gaze easily.

"Ludonear... I believe? We're not the army so don't feel obliged to... salute us. We're relying on you guys to improve your ingenuity and, to some extent, become an unorthodox team. Well, whatever you're comfortable with." She had caught sight of Gaius walking up behind the other man, deep in thought; the expression on that so similar face blasting her back to the past. And he was exactly on time, neither early nor late; so typical of his forebear.

"Are we introducing ourselves? Well, I suppose you both know our names... and probably everything else besides that." There was a knowing sparkle in the boy's eyes and Rhiannon felt like she was the student again but shook of the feeling; the boy was unblooded and unskilled relative to Julius even when she had first met the 'Storm God'. Instead she watched as he turned to the other student and held out his right hand.

"Gaius Ragnarson, good to meet you. Let's get on and survive, shall we?"

Chevalier: A New Initiative

You did, Ludonear. I'll attempt to add everyone's CS to the first post but it's my fiancée's birthday weekend so I might not have time.

Also: Nice post!

Chevalier: A New Initiative

Gwen's touch broke Henry from his shocked reverie with a start.

"Oh, sorry Gwen. I didn't see you there, I'm glad you're uninjured though." He offered her a weak smile but he was aware that his own face was probably drawn and pale. Then the moment he feared came and he felt the muscle behind his right eye twinge; it seemed that Sam was still the best at inducing his infirmity.

"I should p-probably report to the Q-Q-Queen." Henry murmured, stuttering slightly before squaring his jaw. "I'll find you later." He said, taking care to hide the stammer before turning and walking stiffly away. Every muscle in his body wanted to rebel but he kept them taught and under his control as he headed for a nearby stable he remembered from their arrival. Thankfully no one was there, not even any horses, and the straw was fresh on the ground. Barely had he arrived did he fall to his knees as his legs gave way and a violent shudder spread through his body. Before losing control completely Henry reached into a pouch at his waist and drew out a semi-circular piece of leather and shoved it into his mouth and bit down hard on it before the spasms took over and a white flash crossed his vision.

He wasn't sure how long it took but he came to with every muscle roaring in pain, many of them torn from the event. Tenderly removing the piece of leather from his mouth, his jaw aching from the effort of biting into the material so hard, he washed it with his canteen before putting back in its pouch and heaving himself off the floor using a wooden fence partitioning the stall. Sounds of battle still sounded out side meaning the pursuit was still on and he hadn't been gone for long which was a comfort; Gwen would suspect something but that was unavoidable, as long as it wasn't common knowledge then he'd be okay.

Walking was an effort but he managed to make it look natural, easily passing as someone who was simple a little saddle sore, and before long he found the Queen's party and bowed before the Royals. There was a flash of recognition in the Queen's eyes at his wariness but she said nothing; outside of his own family the Queen was possibly the only one who knew of his infirmity.

"We've broken the enemy, your Majesty. Revaz will lead our cavalry and pick off any stragglers while herding the rest out of the Academy's grounds; if any survive at all that is." He reported, keeping it short; even his tongue felt heavy in his mouth from exhaustion. Queen Louise nodded, turning to Prince Jochi and Princess Elaeria.

"I'd say our alliance is already bearing fruit. Lord Henry, well fought. Now I suggest you look to the healers... for your arm." With his entire body earned with the effort of movement he had forgotten the cut in his arm from the splinter shower and was glad the Queen had chosen to be diplomatic in her concern. Thanking them and excusing himself, Henry made his way slowly towards the healers. His progress was slow as many young noblemen, particularly the veterans, saw him and approached with congratulations for the victory, tales of their own valor or simply giving thanks that they had both survived the ordeal.

Eventually Henry arrived at the healers and sat down heavily, letting them deal with far more serious injuries before he was seen. When a healer came over he simply requested a specific herbal mixture, one that he had always taken in the aftermath of his seizures, and had his small cut cleaned and bandaged. As he was about to leave Henry spotted Caroline holding a massive bow of strange construction and hurried over. Luckily a healer found her first as she began to collapse.

"You shouldn't be fighting in your condition! Let the healers see to you before you do anything rash, Caroline." As if I'm any one to talk. "The battle's won, thanks to you and those golems. Rest for now, this war is far from over." He looked up at the healer who was their age; possibly another of the students by her appearance. "Thank you for your hard work." He said, standing up stiffly and looking out over the battlefield. Part of him wanted to help bring in the wounded but there were other things only he could do.

"I'll send you some helpers." He promised the young woman before heading away. True to his word he found groups of men and women relaxing after the battle, their part supposedly over, but he organised them into groups and sent them out to bring in the wounded. He stopped one of men as a thought struck him.

"Bring me one of their weapons and anything that looks unfamiliar in terms of equipment."

The Fall of Jerusalem

Marduk said
We like nerds here! Just be mindful that this is not meant to be a reenactment - the history serves as a backdrop to the roleplay! But you seem very aware of that. c:Feel free to weigh in any time you have something to contribute. xD.Also, I'm pretty sure both sides claimed the slaughter was worse than it was! Many crusaders gave accounts just like that, saying how the blood ran in rivers up to their knees and filled the streets. One account claimed there were 60,000 fighting men in the city - double to triple the actual population, and upwards of twenty times the garrison!

Indeed, they claim they slaughtered 10,000 Muslims on the Temple Rock alone which is... well, yeah... in any case lots of people died! And defeating a 60,000 garrison with 15,000 starving, thirsty Crusaders would be quite a feat if that were true!

The Fall of Jerusalem

Fair enough; although there are plenty of interesting accounts from the slaughter:

The image of Godfrey of Bouillon and his closest band of knights having to wade through blood to kneel before the tomb of Christ is quite... powerful (although I believe it was a Muslim source describing this and they claimed upwards of 70,000 people were slaughtered when the population was only around 30,000 so...)

I am rather looking forward to this :3 (and I promise to tone down the history nerdism!)

The Fall of Jerusalem

Yes that's right - she's actually a sidhe (born as one) but has no awareness of her own power or identity as of yet. Still, she has the hunting knife for now...

Let me look it up and I'll edit here with the answer - the population changed so drastically all the time it's difficult to remember!

Possibly; although the Marcher Lords were as much a pain in William Rufus' side as they were to the Welsh - Rhiannon will certainly be quite... xenophobic however.

I have it at about 30,000 - the 20,000 figure may well be referring to the post-siege population (historians generally accept over 10,000 were killed after the siege, although the estimates vary from 3,000 to over 70,000).

The Fall of Jerusalem

Marduk said
Great to have you aboard, Jinx! Accepted.A couple questions though. Who's the patriarch of jerusalem? Is that a religious station or something?Aren't the sidhe a type of fairy?Oh, and the christians were expelled before the siege. Is she meant to have escaped notice, hence having taken 'refuge', or?

The Patriarch is the leader of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem (there's also one in Antioch, Constantinople etc. Look up the Pentarchy of the Church - Rome is technically just another one of the Pentarchy).

They were expelled and allowed back several times - the revenue from Pilgrims meant that the Caliph actually made efforts to ensure the safe travel of Pilgrims to Jerusalem; Pope Urban II's speech at Clermont of atrocities committed against the Christian people were vastly exaggerated and far from the actuality. In fact without the Pilgrims Jerusalem would have been a remarkably poor city.

And yes, the sidhe are from Tir Na Nog and are essentially fairies although the myths are very vague and various; you could essentially call them immortal humans from another world.

The Patriarch was still a fairly respect figure in Jerusalem and his compound was fortified so even when the other Christians were slaughtered by the Muslims to prevent an attack from within the compound went relatively unscathed.

(These are technicalities/minor exceptions/details but I like to take advantage of them where they are - they're the most interesting parts of history!)