Nazareth

3,705 years since initial death
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Maalik was furious.

He knew violating the peace treaty would result in dire consequences, especially since this provoked the current ruler of the Islamic world. Saladin had controlled the city of Mosul, this means taking Jerusalem would be child's play for him, an easy task that nobody could hope to stop.

As expected, Saladin had already gathered his generals and called out to the entire nation within just a few month. He would deliver vengeance, liberation and annihilation to the Christian country. It struck fear into the Crusaders and Templars as Saladin's army outnumbered them by double the size and strength.

That is what happens when you challenge the might of the most powerful nation in the world. Not even the Roman Empire could have stood much of a chance against a force such as this.

Several raids shook Jerusalem, and the sultan's wrath spread throughout the country. On May 1st, the Christian army suffered a devastating loss at the battle of Cresson. Soon after that, Saladin's army set up camp by River Jordan, sending raiding parties into several towns and villages in the area.

War was finally upon them. For once, Maalik felt confident that he was fighting for the wrong side. Despite his superior knowledge in warfare, his arguments were ignored. The Christians were fighting a war that they not only started, but could not possibly win, and he knew it. 

Every time he wanted to leave, they forced him to stay. Obviously, there were multiple ways an Immortal could get out of this situation. He could agree to join them and deliberately get himself killed in the first battle. Then, he could escape after the battlefield is cleared and erase his identity.  

But something didn't feel right about this. Seeing the Christians continue to make mistakes that are costing them the war only frustrated him further. It left a desire within him that felt unsatisfied by leaving. Escaping this war is no longer an option. Maalik wants to stay in the hopes to watch them fail. 

If he had really wanted to, he was confident he could turn the tides of all future battles in favor of the Christians. He could single-handedly defeat hundreds in combat without tiring or suffering a scratch. Hell, there's nothing stopping him from unveiling his immortality in front of these people. They'll treat him like a god or a prophet that could scare the sultan away. 

However, that's too reckless. Besides, he doesn't wish to help these Christians any longer. The best course of action was to hope this next battle would be a major loss for them. The Christians can't afford to lose more men, therefore this loss would permanently cripple them, deliver them a humiliating defeat and finally end this pointless war. 

For now, he remained in the strategically placed Christian camp in Saffuriya, east of the Muslim army. It wasn't long before word came out that Saladin had advanced further into their territory, setting a new camp far closer to the Christian's location.

Both sides waited for whoever would make the first move, but it ultimately fell to Saladin's favor. On July 1st, 1187 AD, he personally attended a raid in Tiberias. The Christian commander, Raymond III was affected the most because his wife was trapped in the town. Despite his wife being held in imminent danger, Raymond argued that they should not provoke Saladin.

A meeting was held indoors between the Templar commanders, leaders of the Crusaders and the king himself. Maalik wasn't present during this, but he would hear of it from several words of mouths. Imagining all the leaders seated around a table in a candle-lit room, he could clearly envision how the meeting proceeded after listening to all the gossip that was shared by the soldiers.

"Tiberias is heavily fortified, panic is entirely unnecessary!" Raymond argued. "Saladin's army will not hold out for long. Give them time, their failure is imminent." Every man there had to try and convince the king of Jerusalem, Guy, the right course of action as it was his final decision to make.

Raynald of Châtillon intervened. "This is an act of cowardice! We must take the fight to them! Who are we to remain idle and do nothing?"

Another member to take part during this war council was the Templar king, Gerard de Rideford. "It's treachery to stand idle while our nation falls to the hands of the sultan! What's to say you're not a traitor, Raymond, letting your own people die for reasons unknown?"

"How dare you?" Raymond yelled, slamming the council table. "I am the Count of Tripoli, to accuse me of treachery is a sin. I stand by this country, I support our cause and I refuse to see us destroyed by marching to our graves!"

From what Maalik heard, it seemed Guy was leaning towards the defensive, which is a wise move in securing their survival. Raymond had the right idea for staying here. The king left his comment on the matter. "Our defense here in Saffuriya is impenetrable. If Saladin brought the fight to us, he would perish by our hands. Raymond's plan may seem cowardice, but it remains as our safest option." Unfortunately, most of the council disagreed.

"Do not listen to that traitor!" Gerard screamed, his anger had stunned the rest of the council. "Of course he would choose to keep us here, given his relation to that damned sultan. Forget not that Raymond had served Saladin years ago and recognized him as his commander. I ask the fellow council now; would you trust a man that has been in service with the Muslims? Follow him, and it won't be long before the sultan claims Jerusalem."

The council was left in silence. Gerard was right. Whether Raymond could be trusted or not was a matter that was left to the king to decide. The reminder of his past involvement with the enemy had swayed several minds by the sound of it. 

Raynald made his final statement that most of the council agreed with. "Our minds have been poisoned by this political conflict. What Raymond suggests will lead us to ruins! Now is the time to take action, fulfill our duties as leaders and force the Muslims out! We cannot accomplish that by arguing with one another. It is time we show these Islamic bastards who we truly are and prove that we do not cower in the face of death."

Maalik knew what Guy's decision was when he saw the number of troops that suddenly marched in formation. When banners were raised and a cross was lifted, the time for discussion was over.

With Guy's mind changing and being persuaded to rush after Saladin, the Christian army prepared for combat. On July 3rd, everyone was ready to march by dawn. They sounded the bells and alerted the guards stationed in Tiberias of their rescue plan. The Christians were dispatched in three separate groups.

The front vanguard position, under the leadership of Raymond, led the army down the path. Guy and Raynald took control of the center position, and carried the supposed true cross of Jesus. Maalik was stationed in the rearguard, with the Templars under the leadership of Balian.

The armies advanced down the road, readying their swords, shields and spears. They had enough supplies to satisfy every soldier in the garrisons. The weather was clear, and the Christians moved with haste. If all went according to plan, they would reach Tiberias by the end of the day.

However, this was not the case. At noon, the heat began to rise. The sun made it difficult for the armies to keep their pace, as it was too hot to move with all their armor on anyways. Water started to run out already from the constant dehydration of the crusaders. Luckily, they managed to reach the small town of Tur'an and they resupplied on water there.

The vanguard position continued and the center position followed. But the rearguard suddenly stopped. Maalik drank water from a wooden bowl, keeping himself isolated from the rest of the templars. As his mind began to shift, he noticed the ground began to shroud in scattered shadows. It was almost as if something was falling from the sky.

Nobody saw it coming. By the time the Templars looked up to the sky, it was already too late. An arrow lodged itself in one soldier's forehead. Then another arrow landed, followed by two more. Within seconds, a hundred arrows had already struck the entire rear guard.

They had fallen into a trap.

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Historical Notes:

Raymond III had spent his earlier years fighting against the Byzantine Empire, even hiring pirates to raid and plunder their coastlines. Raymond would later support Saladin and join his side, accepting him as his commander. His disagreements with Raynald made the two of them rivals.

The Knights Templar were one of the most elite and powerful military orders in history. They served to protect their Holy Land, and fought with enough force that 80 Templars accompanied by around 400 Crusaders were able to defeat Saladin's invading army of over 20,000 soldiers at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177 AD.

However, as Saladin's forces continued to grow, the Christians suffered from lack of food, water, weapons, and other resources. By the year 1187, they found themselves fighting alone against the entire united region of the Middle East, all led by Saladin himself.

Because of this, many Templars and Crusaders lost morale as they continued to lose more territory to Saladin's army. 

The Holy Crusades lasted from 1096 until 1303. Purging the Muslims from their Holy Land, this period saw eight major crusades and dozens of minor crusades.

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