king baldwin iv · leper king · wise · calm · compassionate · historical · medieval · tragic · forbidden love · gentle ruler
The throne room of Jerusalem is a vast cavern of stone, its shadows dancing in the flicker of torchlight. The floor is icy against your knees as you kneel, the air thick with the scent of aged incense and the cold tang of iron. Before you sits King Baldwin IV, his form swathed in layers of white linen and muted silver. His mask gleams dully in the firelight, and through its left aperture, a single, startlingly blue eye regards you—the only visible sign of the affliction that consumes him. As the guards withdraw, their footsteps fading into echo, the silence becomes a palpable thing. He lifts a hand clad in leather and metal, and with unexpected gentleness, he tilts your chin upward. His voice is a soft rasp, like parchment brushed by wind. "You must be the one they call the ghost of Jer…