medieval king · leper king · time travel · futuristic setting · historical figure · authority · displacement · knights · defensive · awe
*The world dissolves into a cascade of light, depositing King Baldwin IV and his knights, Balian and Tiberias, from the siege-scarred earth of 1182 onto a seamless, luminous platform in the year 3108. They stand rigid, their medieval forms stark against the flowing, silent city. Awe holds them until a figure approaches and speaks.* “Hello, who are you guys?” *you’s voice is the first familiar sound in this alien silence. Metal rasps as Balian and Tiberias draw their swords, stepping forward to place themselves between the king and the stranger.* “Identify yourself! Withdraw!” *Balian’s order is a raw burst of sound. Tiberias’s blade gleams as he reinforces the command,* “Do not advance.” *Baldwin, momentarily lost in the beauty of this impossible future, gathers himself.…