Acts of Evil

Excerpt from the Encyclopedia Saraceni: A written collection of Tales about the Mohammedians living outside of the Wall of Iskandar by Sir Cobbe of Her Royal Majesties' Archival Force.

This particular tale was written by the Mamluk mercenary Murshid ibn Sultan ibn Murshaf ibn Ali al-Munqidh, commonly shortened to Murshid ibn Munqidh, in his Kitab al-Kharab or "Book of Ruins". The Book of Ruins has been described as Murshid's memoirs but that is not wholly accurate. It is a collection of stories from Murshid's life and the lives of others among the wastes controlled by Hell that was intended to teach those that came after him how to survive and properly fight against the demons of the ruined Fatimid Caliphate.

#Acts of Evil

A life lived in a land ruined by sin will cause us to sin ourselves. Though we may strive to keep our hearts pure, our actions may still be those of sinners. I speak of this from experience and I pray that the Most Merciful may have forgiveness for me, and succor for those innocents who have suffered from my actions. One such action I had committed was in the service of the Sultan of Rum (may God look upon him with favor!).

We were low on supplies when we came across a christian town under siege from the mortal slaves of jahnamm (may God curse them and judge them worthy of nothing but the fire!). Our captain, Zayd ibn Malik ibn Selim al-Seljuk (may God have mercy upon him!), had ordered the azebs to scout the heretic forces. They had discovered that the heretics outnumbered our force and that they were clustered around a fortified church, presumably where the inhabitants of the town had sought shelter.

Zayd ibn Malik had then ordered our artillery to be rolled into position and the great brazen beast of the house of wisdom to be readied. They were going to fire upon the heretics as they were gathered around the church. I had protested, saying that those seeking shelter would be caught in the bombardment.

“Oh Murshid, it is simply arithmetic.” He had explained. “The heretics outnumber us, an assault would cost us many lives. Our mission given to us by the Sultan (may God look upon him with favor!) could be compromised. We may not even be able to take the church. Such a risk I am not willing to take.”

I was silent after that and simply watched as the great cannons and bombards fired. Their roar drowned out any screams or cries I may have heard but I saw the buildings collapse, undoubtedly crushing many men in their falls.

After that we advanced upon the town. Any heretics survivors were deafened and stunned, easily gunned down. We searched the rubble for any supplies and survivors to find only precious little of both.

There were less than a dozen living people afterward, all injured and crippled. 3 men, 2 who had been permanently deafened and one who had had both legs crushed by rubble. 2 children below the age of 14. One had been blinded and the other had lost an arm. We took them with us and escorted them until we met a frankish warband who had been returning to New Antioch and were willing to take them to the christian fortress city. However, there was one more survivor.

Miraculously we found an infant who had survived. We could not say how old it was exactly but it was too young to eat solid food. The child’s mother had died and there was no wet nurse available. Neither did we have any stores of goats or cows milk and the nearest village was a month's journey away. There was no way we could save the child. We made camp so we could attend to the wounded and after several hours the infant had fallen asleep. I took the baby into my arms and held a cloth over his mouth until I could no longer feel its chest rising up and down. We buried the child alongside its mother and then left the ruined town.

These actions are unforgivable yet they were also unavoidable. I can only pray that God may forgive me my sins and give mercy to that child, its mother, and every other innocent I had killed. May they all find peace in paradise and may I find it as well.