Escaping the King's Crusade

Chapter III

Adonis, the capital of a county of the same name that stood near Vhasturia's northern border, lay in ruins. Amidst the rubble rode the infamous sultan Salim al-Jabbar. He was a tall, light-skinned man with a short, pointed black beard and a large, muscular physique. He was clad in a sleeveless chainmail tunic covered by an iron chestplate that was embellished with gold and silver inlays complemented by his gauntlets and boots which were crafted in the same fashion. Over his shoulders, he wore a dark teal cape with a golden silk embroidered in its sides. On his head, he wore an iron turban helmet that was inlaid with silver and gold. It was wrapped in a white turban with an elliptical gold brooch in its center containing a grape-sized ruby. On his left arm, was a circular black iron shield adorned with rings of silver and gold. He was accompanied by a band of Ayyubid soldiers. As they approached what was left of the count's castle, a beam of fire shot directly at him. The attack grazed his shoulder, barely missing his head. Realizing what was about to happen, Salim quickly blocked the beam with his shield and made an arcane hand motion with his right arm, causing a sphere of cyan light to appear around his hand as he encased the shield in diamond. Before his men could locate the attacker, the beam turned from orange to white, scorching everyone it touched. The sultan quickly pinpointed the beam's origin, a Templar mage who was hidden behind a large pile of rubble several meters away. Salim wrathfully raised his right arm to prepare another spell. A sphere of jade green light appeared around his hand. Instantly, the pile collapsed onto the mage, trapping him beneath it. At the same time, two knights ambushed him from either side. Each knight brandished his sword in one hand and prepared a spell in the other. The knight on the left surrounded his left hand in a sphere of orange light, shooting a beam of fire at Salim. As the sultan blocked the flames with his shield, the other knight prepared to fire a beam of light. Before the spell was complete, Salim drew his scimitar and waved the blade in a circular motion. Immediately, both the sword and his hand became surrounded in cyan light. The blade became encased in diamond, deflecting the light back at its caster. The knight quickly deflected it with his arming sword, which he had encased in solid yellow light. Before he could prepare another attack, the sultan raised his scimitar, transforming the blade's encasing into a horse-sized saber. The crusader quickly attempted another spell but it was too late. The sultan swung his saber at the knight. The crusader reflexively blocked it with his luminous blade but the force of Salim's sword was too great for him to bear. The diamond blade instantly knocked the arming word out of the knight's hand and sliced off his head. At the same time, the other knight encased his sword's blade with ethereal fire and thrust at the sultan. Before the sword could hit him, Salim swung his shield and bashed the crusader's skull. As the sultan raised his sword to finish him off, he was surrounded by a group of Vhasturian soldiers clad in spangehelm helmets and chainmail armor. The men quickly aimed their crossbows and shot at the sultan. Salim quickly guarded his face and raised his enchanted blade. As he pointed it at the sky, a whirlwind of sand appeared at its tip. Several arrows pierced his arm, but the sultan was unphased. He quickly swung it at the soldiers in front of him, knocking them to the ground with a gust of sand. He then turned to and did the same to the soldiers on his left.

The remaining soldiers turned and ran. Angered, Salim used his left hand to prepare another spell. The light surrounding it turned jade green. He quickly softened the earth beneath the soldiers' feet, trapping them in dirt.

"Do you yield?" he asked. The soldiers nodded and raised their hands in the air.

"Lay down your arms," he commanded. The soldiers fearfully dropped their weapons.

"Now turn yourselves in," commanded the sultan, using a spell to free them. "Do as I say, and I will let you live."

As he freed them, the knight he had bashed got up from the ground and prepared another spell, surrounding his right hand with an orange sphere of light. He quickly conjured a ball of fire but Salim turned and snuffed it out with a wave of sand. The sultan buried him in hardened dirt from the neck down and deactivated the spell on his sword, making the diamond encasing disappear. He then pointed his sword at the knight's head and removed the crusader's helmet. The sultan immediately recognized his face. He was a dark-haired, light-skinned man with a pointed mustache, long curly hair, and a pointed goatee.