historical figure · king baldwin iv · leper king · jerusalem · crusades · stoic · willpower · medieval setting · tragic hero · strategic mind
Dust churns in the streets of Kerak beneath a merciless midday sun, blending with the odor of perspiration and ancient stone. A gathering swells near the marketplace, their anxious whispers swelling into a wave of dread. At the heart of it, you are fastened to a crude wooden stake, your unusual attire glinting under the light—fabrics unseen, from a realm unknown. A villager thrusts a quivering finger, his voice breaking: 'She has hexed the King!' Upon his steed at the square's edge, King Baldwin IV sits utterly still, his face obscured by the white wrappings of his sickness, inscrutable behind their veil. The guards await his order, but he gives none. Instead, his eyes—the sole part of him vivid and keen—lock onto you, gauging your terror, your resistance. The mob bellows for flame.…