kingdom of nations

Chapter 128 Gift
The Saracen messenger stood in the street, gazing silently at the distant Fort Saint Cross.

This fortress, quite famous even among the Saracens, took fifty years to complete, from the initial site selection until now. As a result, Baldwin I even had to defy their doctrine by marrying a second wife and using her dowry to pay the remaining costs.

The persistence of successive kings of Arazari was not without reward. The Holy Cross Fortress was more magnificent than any military fortress he had ever seen, even comparable to the palaces of the Caliphs. Its walls and towers were all built of solid limestone bricks, with double walls, an outer fortress, an inner fortress, and a forest of arrow towers. Even if these places were occupied by the enemy, the three towers, which resembled the head of a lion, could hold out for a long time.

Before they even set foot on the road to Arrasa, a band of knights came to greet them, led by Berion of Ibelin.

The messenger hadn't heard much about this Crusader Knight, but the title—which belonged to Hugh of Ibelin, the husband of the King of Arathal's birth mother, and whose brother was the current Earl of Ibelin—showed that the King of Arathal had no intention of insulting them.

Whether Christian or Saracen, whether according to law or tradition, being a messenger was a rather dangerous profession. Although generally, a reasonably sensible king or lord would not arbitrarily kill a messenger, there were always exceptions. Sometimes it was because the messenger brought extremely bad news, or the two sides had reached a point of no return, or perhaps it was simply because the other side's ruler or minister was inherently wicked.

Otherwise, the envoy would at least be able to keep his life, but the range of control between escaping unscathed and keeping one's life is far too large.

In milder cases, the emperor would force the man to get drunk at banquets, throw him into the latrine, and make him dance with dwarfs; in more serious cases, he would strip him naked, smear him with tar and then stick feathers on him (which could be fatal), engage in "entertaining" contests, or even force him to fight wild animals—something that Byzantine emperors often did.

In Saracen history books, there is a story of a sultan who suddenly died while his messenger was still in another place carrying out his orders. The other sultan or emir immediately turned against him and imprisoned him as a slave.

In short, stories that seem utterly unbelievable to modern people were commonplace at that time.

As the messenger had hoped, Berion of Ibelin was not enthusiastic, but rather mild. They rode together through the streets, waited for the slowly descending drawbridge, and then walked side by side through the dark and long tunnel after crossing it.

As the messenger walked through the passageway, though he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't help but look up. Most of these passageways had deep, bottomless cracks above them. These cracks weren't natural; they were man-made. They had been left in when the city walls were built, and heavy iron gates were embedded within them, their bottoms ending in rows of spearhead-like spikes.

Normally, it is raised high, with almost no tip showing, but when attacked by the enemy, the soldiers only need to cut the rope to make the iron gate slam shut.

Similar defensive structures exist within the walls of Apollo, which the envoy personally touched and experienced. If they are all forged from solid black iron, even a fully armed knight, along with his equally armored horse, would be pierced in an instant.

His breathing quickened involuntarily as he imagined the scene. But not as calmly as it was now—it was during their attack on Holy Cross Castle… blood and fire, howls and wails, swords clashing in the darkness, sparks flying…

But in the next moment, his illusion was shattered; they had left the passageway and were back in the sunlight.

It was a fine, sunny day. However, to his surprise, Berion did not lead them directly into the main tower. Instead, he waited for a while in front of the main tower until a handsome young man emerged from it. Upon seeing his black hair and green eyes, the messenger immediately knew that he was one of King Arazarus' most trusted advisors.

He exchanged a few words with Berion, a titled lord whose seniority in the court of Arrassa should surpass that of the young man. However, Berion was very humble towards the young man. While he could not be described as humble as a servant or subordinate, he was at least on equal footing with him.

The young man accepted it all without hesitation. He even thanked Berion on behalf of the king for his work. Then he walked over to them and looked at the messengers. To the messengers' surprise, he spoke to them in Saracen.

"May you be well, Your Majesty's guests."

"May you be well," the messenger said, but he was still somewhat confused—perhaps the young king suddenly felt that he shouldn't treat his former enemies so leniently, which was why he had his close advisors stop them outside the main tower—he thought they might be subjected to some difficulties, but soon he realized he was wrong.

“Before the negotiations begin,” Cesar said, “His Majesty the King has asked me to ask you whether you wish to meet with your Sultan Nur ad-Din first?”

The messenger's eyes widened; of course he was willing!
In his imagination, even if the new king of Arazarus was indeed as benevolent as people said, and would not desecrate the enemy's corpse, they should not see Nur ad-Din until the negotiations were over. He was even prepared to plead with the Christian king today, regardless of whether the negotiations could end, to allow him to hold a "return to the truth" ceremony for his master.

The Saracens also hold ceremonies for the deceased, but their sacraments are very simple. Usually, close relatives wash the body of the deceased, then wrap it from head to toe in clean white linen or cotton cloth, and finally perform a "praise" ceremony, which is to pray for the deceased.

The messenger followed Cesar to a quiet courtyard, where they descended an open staircase into the ground—a place that may have originally been used to store wine or grain, dry and cold, small but large enough to hold the aged yet sacred body of Sultan Nur ad-Din.

Upon seeing that familiar face, the envoy almost lost control of his emotions. The person who was sent here and held such an important position must be the most trusted person by Nur ad-Din's side. His loyalty to the Sultan was unparalleled. The old man, who was also over fifty years old, felt a wave of dizziness and sorrow. His tears flowed down his wrinkled face and soaked into his collar.

He had expected to see a battered body, congealed with blood, reeking of foul odor even without maggots crawling around, covered in bluish-black scars. But upon closer inspection, he discovered that the Sultan's face and body had been meticulously groomed—not as if he had been in a foreign land, on a brutal battlefield, but rather as if he had passed away peacefully in Apol's palace, surrounded by family and ministers. His skin was ashen and clean, his hair and beard were trimmed, his eyes were closed, and his face was not ferocious, but rather carried a hint of relief.

Although his body was stiff and cold, even the musty smell of decay that a dead person would have was very faint. Instead, there was a light, sweet rose scent. His hands were clasped together in front of his chest, his legs were together, and he was wrapped in clean white linen. It was clear that the person doing these things was not very skilled, nor did he understand Saracen trade. There were some mistakes in the steps and methods, but he was devout and serious enough.

"You actually allow...our priests to perform Saracen rituals for him?" the messenger asked in a low voice.
“I’m sorry,” Cesar said, “we were looking for a Saracen to perform the last rites for him, but the problem is, we haven’t captured any of your priests.”

This was an unavoidable situation. After all, the Battle of the Sea of ​​Galilee was a surprise attack. The Crusaders didn't have many men; they were just bluffing. Although this bluff was very successful, the knights weren't arrogant enough to think they could take on a hundred or even a thousand men. Even in pursuit, they didn't follow the truly powerful Fatahs and Emirs.

The Saracens differed from the Christians. Christian armies would inevitably include a large number of priests, while the Saracen camp would only have a few "scholars" accompanying the Sultan as scribes.

In the chaos of the night, no "scholars" were captured—only two died, which troubled them. Although they still had some Saracen prisoners, they weren't sure if these Saracens were willing or capable of carrying out the task…

“It was me,” César said. “Please do not regard this as a sacred religious ceremony; it is merely one person’s mercy towards another. Neither a king nor a beggar should leave this world filthy and ugly. If you feel I have overstepped my bounds, I apologize to you here.”

"One person's mercy for another?" the messenger murmured. "That is truly a phrase that rivals poetry or a proverb. If Sultan Nur ad-Din were still alive, he might even spare your life for it."

Although he is dead, I believe my master would not harbor hatred for someone's kindness towards him. You should not apologize to me; on the contrary, I should offer you the highest respect and gratitude. Without hesitation, he bowed deeply to Cesar. "This is something I never expected—I believe all Saracens would like to see our king as majestic and pure as he was in life."

Please tell me, was he in pain when he passed away?

Cesar pondered for a moment: "Sultan Nur ad-Din fought to the last moment on the battlefield. He fell from his horse because of his mortal body, not his will. He passed away quietly on the first night he entered Arrasa Road, without a sound or a sound, with a peaceful expression. Perhaps he knew that he had fulfilled all his obligations on earth and it was time for him to go to heaven."

The envoy gave a bittersweet smile upon hearing this. "How beautiful your description is! I will tell these words truthfully to Sultan Nur ad-Din's wife and children, so that their hearts will not continue to wallow in endless sorrow."

And wherever you go, roses will surely bloom and springs will gush forth.

He said this because, in the Saracen belief, directly praising someone would attract the evil eye (that is, the disaster brought by jealousy), so one should either use a line of poetry like Saladin did, or describe the things around him.

“Cesar, Knight of Bethlehem, I will remember your name for what you did for Sultan Nur ad-Din—if one day you encounter us on the battlefield and unfortunately become our prisoner, whoever it is, Sultan or Emir, will give you a horse, food and water, and then let you go wherever you wish to go. This is the promise of the Saracens.”

Cesar listened but said nothing, only smiled slightly.

The messenger could see clearly that the young man did not seem to believe that he would one day become a prisoner bound at the gates. He shook his head inwardly. Perhaps this was the spirit of youth, but this spirit was so precious and so bright.

He was reminded of Saladin, who was still in Egypt. Saladin had been introduced to Sultan Nur ad-Din by his uncle Shirku, and Nur ad-Din took a great liking to the young man upon first meeting him. For a long time, the young man served as his attendant, always by his side, and he taught him as if he were his own son.

And this Kurd lived up to expectations, becoming not only a brave and wise general, but also an opponent that even Sultan Nur ad-Din had to be wary of. Now, Nur ad-Din's prediction about him seems to have become a reality—in the near future, after Saladin deposes or sidelines Caliph al-Atid, he will inevitably head north to invade Syria.

In contrast, Sultan Nur ad-Din's three sons were like three hyenas born of a lion, already tearing each other apart before his departure. Behind them, the First, Second, and Third Ladies were also using their own methods to disrupt the peace of Apollo, not to mention their cousin in Mosul, who was also watching them with predatory eyes.

The situation in Syria appears calm on the surface, but there is no doubt that once the major events following Sultan Nourdin's death are settled, this vast land will immediately descend into chaos. Where will he go then?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Before the negotiations began, the Saracen messengers presented gifts to the Christian king of Arazarus.

Spices, silk, gold and silver utensils, and... female slaves.

(End of this chapter)