Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Olivia 2 - Crusader's Torch

CRUSADER'S TOUCH

Atta Olivia Clemens Book 2

By

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

CONTENTS

Part I - Valence Rainaut

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Part II - Atta Olivia Clemens

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Epilogue

Author's Note

Few military undertakings are as puzzling to modern students as the Crusades.

Coming at the end of the Romanesque period, they provide an historical watershed

that is more easily noticed than understood in twentieth-century terms.

The First Crusade began in 1096, two years after El Cid took Valencia from the

Moors in Spain. Its first exponents were Geoffroi de Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, and

Tancred, nephew of the Norman Robert Discard who conquered Palermo, among

other things. Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade the year before and offered

various inducements to the nobility if they were willing to participate. The First

Crusade lasted roughly three years; the Crusaders defeated the Turks at Doryalaeym,

Nicaea, and Antioch, and in 1099 captured Jerusalem. Geoffroi was appointed

Advocate or Defender of the Holy Sepulcher, and went on to defeat the Egyptians at

Ascalon in the same year. A European presence established itself in the Near East as

a result. In 1104 Acre was taken by Crusaders as part of the general expansion of

their power base at the time, although the First Crusade was officially over. Pope

Paschal II, who reigned until 1118, was more involved with European affairs than

with Near Eastern, and aside from granting a charter for the founding of the Order of

the Knights Hospitalers of Saint John, Jerusalem for the protection, housing, and

medical care—such as it was—of pilgrims in the Holy Land, did not concern himself

overmuch with Crusading.

The next several Popes (Gelasius II, 1118-9; Calistus II, 1119-24, during whose

reign priests were officially forbidden to marry; Honorius II, 1124-30, who officially

recognized the Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem, or the Knights

Templar; Innocent II, 1130-43, and the antipope Anacletus II, 1130-38; Celestine II,

1143-44; and Lucius II, 1144-45) were more active in matters of European politics

and Church restructuring; it was not until 1145 that Pope Eugene III proclaimed the

Second Crusade. Two years later, as Queen Mathilda left Britain, the Second Crusade

failed when a significant portion of the Crusaders died, more of disease and thirst

than from fighting, in Asia Minor. But although the Crusade did not succeed, the

European presence in the Near East was not significantly reduced.

Pope Eugene III was succeeded in 1153 by Anastasius IV, and a year later the only

English Pope, Hadrian IV, ascended the Throne of St. Peter; in the following year he

essentially gave Ireland to Henry II of England. On the Continent, Frederick

Barbarossa was the major military/ diplomatic leader. While Henry II was starting to

have problems with his former chancellor and friend Thomas à Becket, Barbarossa

was carving out an empire in Europe. The same year that Becket became Archbishop

of Canterbury, Barbarossa sacked Milan. Four years later (1165), while Becket

remained a self-exile in France, Byzantium and Venice made common cause against

Barbarossa, fearing (and not without justification) that they might be next on his list.

Alexander III, one of the great reformer-Popes (reigned 1159-1181), was not

terribly concerned about the state of affairs in Jerusalem, although he did express fear

for the safety of Christians in Moslem countries as the influence of Saladin increased.

While the Orthodox and Catholic Churches were very separate bodies, there was a

shared sense of danger from the expanding forces of Islam, and apparently a fair

amount of diplomatic negotiation took place between the two Churches at this time.

One of the most lasting influences of Pope Alexander III was his establishment of the

rules for canonization of saints: one of the first canonizations under the rules was of

Thomas a Becket, only two and a half years after his murder in Canterbury Cathedral.

In 1178, Frederick Barbarossa was crowned King of Burgundy for the first time

(he repeated the ceremony eight years later); he had already been made Holy Roman

Emperor by his own antipope, Paschal III, in 1167. Despite his defeat at the Battle of

Legnano, Frederick's star was still regarded as rising. The shift of power in Europe

was heightened in 1180 with the death of Louis VII of France; his son, Philippe II

Augustus, was only fifteen at the time and was an unknown quantity. Frederick's

power reached its zenith in 1184 at the Great Diet of Mainz, and with the possible

exception of Moslem Spain, most of Europe had come under his direct or indirect

influence.

In 1185, the Shi'ite Moslems took over Egypt, bringing a more zealous regime to

the Islamic part of the Mediterranean. Norman French forces from Sicily, then under

Norman control, campaigned against the Byzantines, and after a fairly successful

invasion were defeated at Demetritsa by a Byzantine army under the command of

Alexius Branas. With two major European factions—the Sicilian Franco-Normans

and the Holy Roman Empire under Frederick I Barbarossa—as well as Moslem

forces on expansionist programs, the situation was volatile in many ways. The new

Byzantine Emperor, Isaac II Angelus, though a capable politician, was unable or

unwilling to curb the corruption in his government, aware that to undertake reform at

such a time was to invite treachery. Through various clandestine channels, he

approached the new Pope, Urban III, apparently encouraging another Crusade, which

would provide an effective wedge between the beleaguered Byzantine Empire and

the armed might of Islam.

Matters worsened steadily. By 1187 Saladin had defeated the Christians at Hittin

and had taken Jerusalem. The rivalry between France and England was sharpened

when the heir to the English throne, Richard, was required to do homage to Philippe

of France for English possessions in France; Henry II of England, fifty-three years of

age, was offended enough to turn this episode into a fracas, the result of which was

that he was forced to accept all the French demands and to give full recognition to

Richard as his heir and as partial vassal to France.

Pope Urban III was succeeded in 1187 by Pope Gregory VIII, and, in the same

year, by Pope Clement III, who proclaimed the Third Crusade, charging all Christian

chivalry to reclaim Jerusalem and once again restore European rule to that city.

Frederick I Barbarossa made certain his reign and succession were in order with a

triple coronation at the end of 1186, and began to prepare for war. In France, the first

tax ever imposed on the French people, called the Saladin tax, was levied to raise

money to pay the enormous cost of the Crusade.

In May of 1189, Barbarossa, with his Holy Roman army, set out from Regensburg

for the Holy Land. The French were almost ready to leave for the war when

circumstances changed again; on July 6, Henry II of England died at Chinon shortly

after surrendering the territories of Gracy and Issoudon to France. He was succeeded

promptly by Richard Coer de Leon, who all but broke off diplomatic relations with

France, repudiated his lifelong engagement to Alais, the sister of Philippe, and

announced his intention of retaining all French territory held by the English. Only the

two kings' intention to Crusade kept either from direct hostile action, and by the end

of the year, they had pledged mutual good faith for the Crusade.

While both Richard and Philippe spent the winter of 1189-90 preparing for the

Crusade, Frederick had already reached Greece, where he drowned in the Calycadnus

River on June 10, thus leaving his men, and the entire Third Crusade, temporarily

without a leader. Richard, determined to take advantage of this, effectively

mortgaged part of his kingdom in order to raise and equip an army of 4,000 men-at-

arms and 4,000 footsoldiers for the Crusade. Philippe, not to be outdone or

outmaneuvered, established the means to allow him to continue to rule France while

he was away from Paris: he relied on a complex system of personal heralds to relay

his messages from the Holy Land.

By the following winter, both Richard and Philippe were under way, but because

of weather and diplomatic circumstances, spent a good portion of time in Sicily

quarreling. When Richard was able to leave, in March of 1191, he conquered Cyprus

(which had only recently won its independence from Byzantium) where on May 11

and 12,1191, he married Barengaria of Navarre, then sold the island to the Knights

Templar. Richard and his English army went in June to join Leopold of Austria at the

siege of Acre; Leopold was as favorably impressed by Richard's military capabilities

as he was offended by Richard's arrogant conduct.

Philippe of France became ill and withdrew from the Crusade, making excellent

time in his homeward journey, even though he detoured on the way to Paris to form

an anti-Richard alliance with Frederick I Barbarossa's heir, Henry VI, the new Holy

Roman Emperor.

In the Holy Land, Richard's campaign continued successful, and before the end of

the year, the Crusaders were within a few miles of the gates of Jerusalem. This

became the limit of the Third Crusade's achievements; the following year, between

treachery, plague, famine, desertion, and unreliable intelligence, the number of

fighting men, once approximately 100,000, was reduced to little more than 5,000.

Finally a truce was arranged between Saladin and Richard which would permit the

Crusaders, unarmed and on foot, free access to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The

coastal towns then in European hands were to remain in European hands. Richard,

thwarted and chagrined, started for England in October, only to be captured

December 20, 1192, in Vienna by Leopold of Austria, who surrendered Richard to

Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. A ransom of 150,000 marks was demanded for

his return. Although only a portion of the ransom was ever paid, Richard returned to

England in March of 1194. Of his approximately ten-year reign, Richard spent less

than a year of it in England, and this occasion was typical of that pattern. As soon as

he had redelegated authority, he returned to the English possessions in France.

In 1195, Isaac II Angelus, Emperor of Byzantium, was replaced by his brother

Alexius III Angelus, who had organized a palace coup. The new Emperor of

Byzantium did not get on well with the Holy Roman Emperor, and Henry VI was

prepared to go on crusade against Alexius III Angelus when he fell ill and died,

September 28,1197.

Richard Coer de Leon, determined to regain the English lands in France,

completed Chateau Gaillard on the Seine in the same year, in effect throwing down

the gauntlet to Philippe II. In 1198, he declared that England—and the King of

England—were not vassals of France, but nevertheless lost ground to Philippe, who

was having trouble of his own when the new Pope, Innocent III, excommunicated

him for repudiating his marriage to Ingeborg of Denmark. During this dispute

between the Pope and Philippe of France, Richard disputed with the vicomes

(viscount) of Limoges, and the following spring he besieged the castle of Chalus,

where he was wounded by a crossbow quarrel and died of gangrene on April 6 after

apologizing to his wife Barengaria that God had not made him a lover of women. He

was thirty-two years old.

In 1202, Pope Innocent III proclaimed a Fourth Crusade and for the first time the

Venetians—who were actively engaged in commerce with Islamic countries—were

persuaded to participate beyond providing transport. Manrico Dandolo, Doge of

Venice, formidable still at age ninety-four, finally agreed, but on the condition that

the Crusaders sack the city of Zara on the Dalmatian coast. The Crusaders accepted

the condition, and were excommunicated for the act by the same Pope who had

proclaimed the Crusade. The Crusaders, undaunted, proceeded to Constantinople, and

restored the blinded Isaac II Angelus to the throne with his son Alexius acting as

regent. After six months, both father and son were deposed by the general

Mourzouphles who took the title of Alexius V Ducas, and for this usurpation, the

Fourth Crusade besieged Constantinople, and as a result a short-lived Latin kingdom

was established in Byzantium. Two separate Byzantine Empires were established,

one at Trebizond, one at Epirus; the former lasted until 1461, the latter less than ten

years.

The Fourth Crusaders fell victim not only to their excommunication, but to

Bubonic Plague, and the forces never reached Jerusalem.

For the purposes of this book, I have used Norman French for names of people and

places wherever such information is available and fairly consistent. In the case of

Richard Coer de Leon, since he never learned to speak English, I have used his own

usual Norman variant of his name. For help with Norman French of the late twelfth

century, I wish to thank Jeanet Simeon and R. L. Hansen for their assistance;

providing other research material, thanks as always to the indefatigable Dave Nee.

Whatever errors may be in the text are not theirs but mine. I would also like to thank

Jill Sherman and Paul McNutt for their assistance. And, of course, thanks to the good

people at Tor for their support and encouragement of my vampire tales.

PART I

Valence Rainaut

Text of a letter of the Venetian merchant Giozzetto Camarmarr from Cyprus to

the Benedictine scholar Ulrico Fionder.

My dear cousin and esteemed teacher, I fear your apprehensions were well-

founded. As you warned me, the situation has become worse. It is not only the

presence of the Islamites that brings trouble to this island, but since the people

reclaimed this place as their own, there has been an alarming increase in piracy, and

the venture our united families were so hopeful of I must now recommend we

abandon, at least until more order is restored here.

The great Islamite warrior Saladin has demonstrated his capacity for conquest

now that Hittin has fallen and Jerusalem is in his hands. I am far from certain that

this will be the limit of his expansions; one has only to think of Spain to know that

Christian countries are not beyond his plans. I, for one, do not agree with those who

say that the Byzantines will be able to hold his forces back. Consider that the

Cypriots have already defeated them. The armies of Saladin are more formidable

than the people of Cyprus.

Of course one hears rumors. When does not the world buzz with them, like bees

and mosquitos? It is said that Isaac II Angelus desires the aid of his Christian

brethren in the West. There are those who have denied the chance that there will be

another Crusade. Most kingdoms cannot afford the expense, according to what I have

heard. The loss of life in the last one has given many leaders pause, and the

disharmony between kings has become so great that few kingdoms are able to

sponsor such an expedition. However, it may be that with Saladin in Jerusalem, the

Pope will decide that Christians must demonstrate their faith by restoring Catholic

rule to that most holy of cities. Unlikely though many think it may be, I believe that

the Christians must act; since the Byzantines are not inclined to fight the Islamites

alone, we must assume that it will fall to good Catholics to defend the Holy

Sepulcher.

I wish to make a suggestion to you and to our families: on the chance that there is

another Crusade, rather than take the kinds of risks that are currently entailed in

trade, we might instead invest in transport ships, for troops bound for the Holy Land

will need our assistance, not only to carry them to Acre and Tyre, but to keep them

supplied once they are there, for it can hardly be expected for the Catholic

communities there will be able to supply an entire army.

It is true that many of the Crusaders are likely to take the overland route through

Hungary, but many others will prefer the faster sea routes, and all will rely on

transport ships for additional arms and supplies. I realize that there are those who

frown on Venetians profiting from such holy undertakings as Crusades, especially

since we do not take up the Banner of Christ. To those, I say that the Crusaders

would be the worse for lack of our support, and that as long as la Serenissima trades

with Islamite kingdoms and cities, then we must be careful to be sure our conduct

does not worsen the conflict. By shipping and supplying the Crusaders, we fulfill the

obligations we have as Christians as well as maintaining our necessary positions as

Venetians.

You are more knowledgeable in these matters than I am, but if I have understood

what you have told me, there is nothing in this proposition that is contrary to the laws

of our Repubblica or the dictates of the Church. If I have erred, I pray you will tell

me of it and aid me to correct my faults.

I solicit your prayers and instruction, and upon my return I will avail myself of

your company. I miss the solace of learning and the joys of our families. To be two

years away from wife and children is a trying thing for a man; I long to return. May

God send me a swift and safe passage to Venezia. I will depart in two weeks. You will

have this in good time so that our families need not delay in coming to a decision in

this matter.

Your cousin and most devoted student,

Giozzetto Camarmarr

On the Feast of the Holy Anchorites, in the 1188th year of Our Lord, by my own

hand and under my seal.

• 1 •

Most of the shutters had been closed over the windows by the time the squall

reached Tyre. The few that were not secured banged and rattled until the household

slaves tended to them, and then only the eerie wails of the wind and the spattering of

rain disturbed the house that stood a little apart from the rest, between custom's

station and the Genoese quarter of the city.

"I wish you wouldn't insist that I leave," Niklos Aulirios said to Atta Olivia

Clemens as he left the slaves packing his belongings to speak with her in her private

apartments.

"You know I can't take the risk of arriving in Roma without preparation. Be

sensible, Niklos." She was frowning slightly, her hazel eyes vexed. "We've been over

this; I won't change my mind because you repeat yourself."

He was about to protest when he saw the slave from Antioch standing in the door,

hand raised to knock. There were two long copes folded together in his hands. "Not

like that," Niklos told the slave. "I want them separate, and I want them in my saddle

bags, so that I can reach them. If there's going to be more weather like this, I'll need

them."

The slave gestured to acknowledge his mistake, and set about following Niklos'

orders. "We can't find the leather chest," he said to Niklos, showing respect to the

major domo by keeping his eyes lowered.

"I'll help you search for it shortly." Niklos turned to Olivia once more. "You don't

know that there will be more fighting. I don't like to think of you taking unnecessary

risks." He looked toward the slave in the doorway. "You have duties to attend to,

haven't you?"

"I do," the slave said and withdrew quickly.

"I like the risks no better than you do," said Olivia. "Which is why I am

determined to return to Roma. If I am wrong, there will be no harm in the change,

and if it turns out that I am right, then the sooner we are gone from here, the better.

Was the slave listening?"

Niklos made an irritated gesture. "Even if he were, he did not hear anything that

has not been said before. And who would he tell?"

"That worries me," she said wryly. "I wish I knew. And all the more reason for me

to leave. It isn't very safe here." She waved her hand toward the window. "Out there

everyone is troubled. They expect the worst. I would as soon avoid that if I am able."

"You will need escort for your journey. Have you thought about that?" Niklos did

not wait for her answer. "Many of the Templars and Hospitalers are as rapacious as

the robbers they are supposed to guard you against. Don't argue with me," he warned

her before she could interrupt. "You know that it's true, especially if they're escorting

a woman."

"I know it's true for some of them," Olivia conceded with a faint smile. "Why are

you so angry with me, Niklos?"

He rounded on her, his burnished skin darkening with emotion. "Because I'm

afraid for you, Olivia. After all these years and years, I dread what might become of

you."

"I am not entirely defenseless." Her hazel eyes locked with his dark ones

unflinchingly and she took two steps toward him. "You may take credit for some of

my skills. You taught me well, Niklos. For that I thank you."

"If you think to distract me with compliments, Olivia—I know you too well. It

won't work." He folded his arms and did his best to glower at her.

"Oh, Niklos, Niklos; old friend." She turned away from him, her gaze directed at a

point some distance beyond the shuttered window. "If that were all there was to fear.

If the only worry would be the venality of Christian knights, there would be no

reason to leave Tyre. But that is the least of it, and you know it as well as I."

"It is enough," said Niklos, coming and laying his strong, square hands on her

shoulders before he turned her toward him. "How are we to manage?"

"As we have in the past, I trust." She said it distantly, her attention divided

between him and some unknown factor, a sound or a memory or a nameless

impression. "The trouble is," she went on as she studied the bondsman's collar around

his neck, "I don't like the necessity of separation any more than you do. With you I

am safe, I have no secrets. Among strangers, well,"—she shrugged without

dislodging his hands—"there can be difficulties. There have been before."

"You will take slaves with you, at least," he said, his desperation giving his words

the force of a command.

"If I am permitted more than a body-slave, yes, at least as far as Greek territories.

The Hospitalers and Templars do not permit extensive retinues." Olivia leaned her

head against his shoulder. "I would rather travel with you. You know that. But I need

you to arrange… everything. I rely on you to find me a place to live, one that is

secure and where I will have to answer as few questions as possible. With Crusading

fervor rising again, there are always greater risks. You've said yourself that if I

remain here, eventually suspicion will develop, either among the Christians or the

Islamites, and that would not bode well. I need to find a haven where the zeal of my

neighbors is not a threat." She smiled faintly. "At least in Roma you will not need to

import earth for me."

"Roman that you are," he said, his sternness giving way to affection.

"There was a time it was an honorable thing to be," she said, the words wistful.

"And now?" He held her off. "Never mind. We both know what has become of

Roma."

"Yes," she agreed, and moved away from him. "That is why I am depending on

you to act for me. I don't want to have to repeat what we endured when we came here

from Alexandria. By comparison, leaving Constantinople was a simple… swim."

Somewhere on the floor below, a shutter banged once, twice, and there were

muffled shouts as the household slaves rushed to close it once more.

"It's taken care of," Niklos said when the voices beneath them quietened.

"They're frightened. They know that there is danger. I hear them speak of Saladin,

and they say he will not be content with Jerusalem." Olivia stared around her

apartment, looking at the two crucifixes on the wall. "I hate having to stay here,

especially now, to keep to three rooms on the second floor because I am a widow and

I must not be seen abroad except to go to church."

"Will Roma be better?" Niklos asked, not quite concealing the cynicism he felt.

"It is where I was born," she replied obliquely. "If I have to remain here, waiting,

until either the Crusaders come and butcher us all, or the Islamites come and butcher

us all, I will go mad. I feel here I am walled up in a tomb." Her voice grew hushed

and she caught her lower lip between her teeth. "I had help then, in Roma. But he is

far away and I cannot wait for his rescue now."

As gently as he was able Niklos asked, "Do you think he will return?"

She smiled, her face world-weary. "What you are asking, Niklos, is do I think that

he is dead, truly dead?" She shook her head. "No. I would know. There is a bond

between us, and if it were broken, I would know."

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Olivia 2 - Crusader's Torch

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