Chapter Text
5 of April, 1185
To the Archbishop of Tyre.
William, today I write to thee with a heavy heart and ill news. The King has shown no signs of improvement. Despite the doses of coriander have been constant, the fever has shown no signs of backing down. However, it is the lack of effect that praying has that has me really concerned. The chambers of the King are always filled with people, and the prayers do not stop, day or night. Yet, the fever persists, and so does the King’s pain, everyday a bit worse than before. Some of his majesty’s vassals are hopeful, for the wailings and cries of the King decrease everyday. Thou and I know, however, that sometimes pain can exhaust those who are illed by leprosy and with fever. I fear our majesty’s aches have not but increased in severity, rendering him tired and speechless.
His leprosy, as thou may guess, gets worse everyday as well. Being bed-bound has not helped the king’s wounds, for they have gone black and rotting, like a fruit left for too many days in a humid environment. The oils administered to his wounds have done little to help him, furthermore they seem to hurt the King greatly, for he complains and sometimes even screams when administered to his lesions.
The day before yesterday, his majesty summoned the high court to appoint the now declared prince Baldwin V a regent, and Raymond the III of Tripoli was chosen. His majesty was only able to speak for a few minutes before he became too exhausted to continue the ceremony. He slept for the rest of the day, and after he woke up the burden of all of the years of his rule finally crept up on him, for now he only lays in bed, breathing heavily and sleeping randomly. Every time he falls asleep I fear to approach him and find out he has finally been called to the Court of the Lord. He persists, however, no doubt worrying about the future of his kingdom. Mentally, he is still as strong as he has ever been, altho he hasn't spoken since the ceremony, and I worry sometimes that he will lose his bright mind to the pain.
I fear he will not survive the week, my dear archbishop. I beg that thou visit him, for I think the presence of thee would make him recover his strength. I pray to God that he does.
I expect thee to come soon.
Abu Al-Khair
Royal Physician