CHAPTER 36 - 36: THE TONGUES OF KINGS

The air in the royal chamber was crisp with morning wind filtering through the stone latticework. Though the summer sun had risen, Jerusalem's high citadel remained cool in the early hours. King Baldwin IV—Ethan, cloaked in silver and discipline—stood before a table layered in fresh maps, letters, and tokens of far-off courts.

The room held a silence rarely felt in court: not fear, but focus.

Balian of Ibelin stood near the window, arms crossed, watching the pigeons wheel above the Temple Mount. Gérard de Ridefort stood beside the heavy wooden chair meant for the king, leaning lightly on the pommel of his sword. Across from them were two new arrivals: envoys from the courts of Antioch and Armenia—modest in dress, deliberate in posture, their curiosity barely hidden behind diplomatic restraint.

"Speak," Ethan said simply. "You've ridden long to be here."

The older of the two, Serop of Sis, envoy of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, bowed with stiffness earned by decades in the saddle. "Your Majesty, my lord Prince Leo sends concern and curiosity. We hear much—of machines and mills, of your rejection of gold for parchment, and of... purges within your own court."

Ethan nodded once. "If you're here to ask after Raymond of Tripoli, know this: he betrayed Jerusalem. Not just me, but the very future of this kingdom. He conspired with Saladin in secret councils, fed him the timings of our troop movements during Gaza's campaign. And for that, he met justice."

There was no dramatic flourish. Just finality.

Tomas of Antioch cleared his throat. "Antioch does not mourn Raymond. Nor does it condemn his removal. But his death has shaken the Latin nobility. Many fear... that the old foundations are crumbling too quickly."

Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly behind the slits of his mask.

"They should fear," he said softly. "But not for their thrones. For their complacency."

He turned away from the envoys briefly and gestured to the open scrolls on the central table—documents outlining militia musters, grain storage tallies, irrigation channels in Jaffa, and the defensive progress of Jerusalem's outer ring of strongholds.

"I don't rule for legacy," he said. "I rule to endure. What I do—schools, presses, pikes, roads—is to give this kingdom a spine, so it can stand when Saladin returns."

Serop of Sis inclined his head. "Then allow us to see it. Let us send clerics and commanders to Acre. Let them judge for themselves."

Ethan turned back to face them. "I will allow it. Not for approval—but for transparency. This kingdom is no longer a black-box of intrigue. Those days died with Raymond."

Later That Day – Strategic Council

Balian leaned over a newly inked copy of the Holy Land, each stronghold and pass now pinned with tokens of garrison strength. The red markers around the Galilee region showed improvements. Gibelet had begun using new windmill gears, and Belvoir had just received its second shipment of pike heads.

Ethan sat with one leg crossed over the other, flanked by Gérard and a silent scribe.

"The letter to Prince Leo is ready," Balian said. "It extends a tour invitation, confirms trade protection, and carefully avoids any mention of Raymond."

"Good," Ethan said. "Send it by courier immediately. Include three printed psalms and a papyrus map of the new grain canal outside Jaffa."

"What about Edessa?" Gérard asked. "Their bishopric has remained quiet since Raymond's death."

"They're watching. But silence is not disapproval." Ethan looked to Balian. "Send a report to Heraclius in Tyre. Ask him to forward a letter to the Edessan bishop. Frame it in ecclesiastical terms—about renewal and Christian stewardship."

"And the Genoese?" Balian asked.

"Keep the invitation open. But be cautious. They follow trade more than faith. Give them incentives, not ideals."

Midweek – Training Field Outside Jerusalem

The sun bore down on a field churning with dust and steel.

A hundred militiamen—farmers, masons, carpenters—stood in formation, pikes held vertically, crossbows slung across their backs. At intervals, barked commands from two sergeants cut through the heat. The men practiced forming tight squares, using padded drills to simulate cavalry charges.

Ethan, astride a short Anatolian horse, observed from behind a canvas shade alongside Gérard and Captain Arnaud, one of Balian's field leaders.

"They're learning," Arnaud said, wiping sweat from his brow. "The drills are exhausting them, but they hold position now—even under mock strikes."

"They'll need more than discipline," Gérard said. "Pikes are fine against cavalry, but we need flanks protected and reserves trained to fill gaps."

Ethan nodded. "I've been thinking of a four-layer formation: pike front, crossbow behind, light melee on the wings, and a final row of reserves to rotate in. Field-tested by next month. And I want runners trained to carry orders down the line during combat."

Arnaud raised an eyebrow. "Like messengers during a siege?"

"Like battlefield couriers. Fast, trained, and given coded signals. Most armies collapse because they can't adapt mid-battle. We will."

Three Days Later – Letters and Counsel

In his study, Ethan penned the final draft of a royal decree, this one directed not at lords, but at the clergy of the realm.

Let every abbey and cathedral under the protection of the Latin Kingdom send a scholar or clerk to Jerusalem within the season. Not to debate, but to observe. The Liber Throni Petri shall be their guide.

The Pope has accepted the book. Let Rome's bishops see that we carry out its ideals not in rebellion, but in faith.

Balian, reading over the shoulder, said, "You're building a web of quiet trust."

Ethan looked up. "I'm building a world in which betrayal like Raymond's can't survive. Not in shadows. Not in whispers."