CHAPTER 46 - 46: STONES AND SHADOWS

Date: November 14, 1178Four days after the Battle of Jacob's Ford

The battlefield had gone quiet. The screams and cries of wounded men had faded into the wind, and now, only the low drone of hammers and pulleys echoed from the hill where the fortress stood.

The air was cold, heavy with the scent of scorched wood and churned earth. Fog clung to the Jordan River at dawn, drifting like ghosts among the dead trees.

But Jacob's Ford was alive again.

Construction had resumed.

Men moved with renewed urgency—masons, carpenters, engineers, ox-drivers, and water-bearers. Laborers repaired broken scaffoldings and repositioned cranes. Stone blocks were hauled up the slope using the new pulleys-and-gear system, a mechanical innovation that Ethan had brought from memory—sturdy wooden winches with toothed cogs and balance weights that tripled lifting speed and cut labor strain by half.

Progress, once agonizingly slow, was now methodical, controlled, and relentless.

Atop the central bluff, the partially built inner keep rose like a defiant fist, its walls thicker now thanks to adjusted designs from Ethan's notes—three meters deep at the base, sloped slightly to better deflect trebuchet fire. The battered sections from the battle were already being reinforced with limestone quarried from nearby cliffs.

The engineers had even begun to dig an internal well, to ensure that in any future siege, the fortress would not fall from thirst.

Command Ridge – Jacob's FordMidday

Ethan stood beside Balian of Ibelin and Odo of St. Amand, a scroll of updated plans stretched across a field table that had been hastily set beside the still-smoking remnants of a battering ram.

He wore no cloak—just his mail and that ever-present silver mask, now polished, though a faint crack still ran across the right cheek from a blow that nearly took his life.

"We've cut the construction time by almost a third," Ethan said, pointing to the timeline on the scroll. "Before the new pulleys, we were estimating five years. Now, with full labor rotation and a second quarry team from Jerusalem, we're looking at three and a half, maybe four years—if the weather holds and logistics stay smooth."

Odo raised an eyebrow. "And if the Sultan returns?"

"He will," Ethan said. "But he'll need time to rebuild. Our scouts say he's withdrawn to Damascus, and there are still revolts in Aleppo and Sinjar. For now, the initiative is ours."

Balian tapped a red mark on the diagram, indicating the outer curtain wall. "These angled bastions—this is where you'll place the stormracks?"

Ethan nodded. "Exactly. Two along the riverfront, one embedded above the southern gate, and one atop the east-facing tower. When they fire in overlapping arcs, they create kill zones that no light cavalry will dare cross. The crossbow crews will be trained to reload under partial cover, using rotating fire."

"And the garrison?" Odo asked.

"We leave behind a rotating force of 400 men—100 Templars, 100 Hospitallers, and 200 militia. They'll cycle in from Jerusalem and the coast in three-month shifts. Meanwhile, we continue training the pike and crossbow formations."

He paused, looking out across the half-built fortress, then back toward the distant hills. "Saladin will assume we're weakened from the battle. Let him believe it. We'll build faster in that shadow."

November 17, 1178Three days later

The weather turned grey, with light rains dusting the construction site in cold mist. Still, the work continued.

A new supply road was being carved between the ford and the road to Jerusalem. Ethan's engineers, drawing inspiration from Roman designs, planned it with proper drainage and flat paving stones to allow for fast transport of siege equipment and reinforcements.

On the west side of the river, the watchtower that had first spotted Saladin's army was being rebuilt as a more permanent signal tower—taller, with an oil-lamp signaling system that could send basic codes to Jerusalem and Tiberias.

Ethan personally inspected the stormrack crews, who had been moved into a temporary workshop erected beside the barracks. The machines—massive wooden racks capable of launching 30–40 bolts in a volley—were being repaired and upgraded under the supervision of Alphonse the Engineer.

"Three-minute reloads," Alphonse reported. "But we've begun testing a crank-assisted lever system—might cut it to two."

"Do it," Ethan said. "We need faster rotation. One volley every two minutes changes everything in siege warfare."

November 20, 1178Jerusalem – Royal Council Chamber

Though Ethan remained at the ford, messengers rode daily between the fortress and Jerusalem. In the Holy City, work had begun on new quartermaster protocols for supplying distant fortresses. Grain stockpiles were being standardized and munitions crates constructed to house crossbow bolts, nails, rope, and preserved pitch for defense.

Hospitaller scribes began copying standardized manuals for militia training—simple diagrams of pike square formations, crossbow reloading sequences, and supply management practices. Though no formal schools yet existed, Ethan's vision of a literate officer corps was quietly forming.

The nobles of the realm—those still reeling from the news of victory—had begun to send their own sons to observe the pike formations. What had once been seen as crude militia was now recognized as the backbone of a new kind of army.

November 22, 1178 – Jacob's Ford

The fortress's chapel, barely more than a stone skeleton with a wooden roof, held a brief ceremony.

A priest, aged and solemn, stepped forward to bless the dead—Templars, Hospitallers, peasants, even a few Muslim prisoners buried with respect.

Ethan stood silently in the back, hood drawn low, gloved hands clasped before him. He did not speak. Not here.

But when the rites ended, he walked with Balian to the overlook above the river.

"We held," Ethan said softly. "But this is just the beginning."

Balian folded his arms. "You've changed the kingdom in a year. A generation's work done in months."

Ethan shook his head. "We've only laid the first stone. The real test will come when Saladin returns—not with 7,000, but with 20,000."

He pointed to the horizon. "And when that day comes, we'll meet him not with prayer and desperation... but with pikes in formation, bolts in flight, and a wall that does not break."

Balian glanced at him, voice lowered. "And if that day never comes?"

Ethan didn't hesitate.

"Then we build a kingdom so strong... he wouldn't dare."