"Followers of Satan!"

"Set them ablaze!"

Jerusalem, in the year 1307 CE. According to the Pope's self-proclaimed divine revelation, every single Templar Knight worshipped the devil. They were going to be publicly burned at the stake per his covert orders. It was sheer luck that allowed some of them to get away. The unlucky ones, like us, were chained to a stick and waited for our turn to be burned.

The woodland was in complete darkness, but for the flickering glow from the fires that were burning my colleagues. The knights were lined up with their hands fastened to wooden poles. I waited till the very end of the queue. I had to stand by and see my fellow knights burn to death. Their screams of pain were forced upon me. What made it worse was that I had to see them burn to a char.

As the individual next to me had his hair lit on fire, his eyes widened in terror, perspiration trickled down my forehead. The chains that bound him were too tight, and he cried and strained to break free. I won't end up like him. If I were to die today, my loved ones would be devastated.

The fortunate circumstances of my abduction allowed me to conceal a knife in my sleeve. The others were being burned while I gently cut the rope that bound my wrists to the wooden pole.

As the man next to me got cooked, the odour of scorched meat crept into my nose. Obviously, this was really ridiculous. Christians weren't meant to be like this. Christlikeness and compassion were expected of them. But now I was seeing the burning of my fellow Knights. That's not to say there weren't any nice Christians in the world. However, hypocrites continued to mingle with the rest of society.

When it was my turn to be scorched, I felt a tightening in my throat.

"Nikolas Knight," The White robed priest said as he walked up to me.

Five armed men with torches stood all around him. The majority of them left after they had arrested and tied us up, reasoning that it wouldn't be too much trouble to burn us if they were left with just a minority.

"Do you believe that all Knight Templars are Satan worshippers?" The reverend inquired.

"Never. It is our duty as Holy Knights to safeguard the Holy Grail. We're not going to worship the devil," I said.

King Philip IV of France was afraid of the Templar Knights' growing influence and wealth and hence wanted us killed. To that end, he had petitioned the Pope to end the Templars' existence. I had a feeling the Pope would rather not participate. However, he gave in to the pressure of other secular monarchs and did so.

"Nonsense!" The priest shot out. "You Templar Knights are all satan worshippers."

"They want you to think that so they can control you." The rest of the world had been fooled by the Catholic Church. The Templar Knights, however, were aware of the reality. Absolutely no wrongdoing could be laid against them.

"I'm done listening to you." The minister singled me out and beckoned to me. "Set fire to him."

The moment was now.

I freed myself from the cut rope and threw my knife at the neck of one of the soldiers who was coming at me with a flaming torch. Blood spurted out of the cut as it penetrated his carotid artery. He collapsed to the floor and he coughed up blood. Sword in hand, I yanked it from his scabbard.

A well-trained Templar Knight like myself vs four Roman troops who spent every night in the bar. Doing this should be simple. Two of the troops came rushing towards me. I rolled through the middle of them and cut their backs with a backhand blow.

Sparks flew when the other soldier's blade scraped across mine. I knocked him down and stabbed him in the gut. The lone remaining one put down his weapon and fled into the dark woods.

"You coward! Come back here!" A scream came from the priest. In desperation, he grabbed the soldier's flimsy sword, his hands shaking with terror.

"Never before have you held a blade in your hand. Leave and perhaps you shall get to see another sunset."

"I have to stop you for the sake of humanity as a whole". A frown formed on the priest's face. "You are all Satan worshipers!"

"The Knights Templar are not."

"Lies!" The priest came charging at me, and I slashed his gut open with my knife and shoved him to a pole. Sliding to the floor while cradling his bleeding wound, he sputtered blood.

"I advised you to get out of there while you still could."

The priest said, "Satan Worshipper," as blood spurted from his mouth. " Because of what you've done, you and your loved ones will never see another day. In the future, you will be known as nightmarish monsters. You could only keep going if you regularly fed on the blood of the people you sacrificed in your diabolical rituals. And misfortune will find you and your loved ones no matter where you go."

With those words, the priest died.

****
Author's note:

I wrote a new version of the prologue. I hope this one doesn't confuse you. Image of Templar Knights is above.

History fact:

In 1307, Pope Clement V and the King of France issued orders to kill all Knight Templars. The king was scared by the amount of power and wealth the Knights had gotten.

Priest: A religious leader ordained to be able to perform religious rite.

Yours truly,

Lord Victor Hastings.