Jerusalem is the city at the center of the world map, “the city of peace”, disputed between Christians and Muslims, ruled by a triad of king, patriarch and grand master, and pierced by passages to hell and to other times.
| Type | Place (city) |
| Spanish entry | Jerusalén |
Description
About 4,000 people live in a core built for at least 100,000 (200,000 by another count); every district is a slum. What remains are cathedrals protected against fire and the red dragon, a Court that hears charges against prominent figures, and a market where relics are traded. The gates face east, toward the far side of the Jordan and the torcos peoples.
The rooftops host night combat and a demon who accepts the Coin of Judas as currency. The sewers open onto rivers and the “Swamp of the inner undergrowth”. Outside, in semi-desert, a gloomy, supernatural, lush forest gathers portals and relics; a nearby hill supposedly holds purgatory. The elves’ shadow market sits in the Wells.
Christ died here, and from the wall of Solomon’s temple Muhammad rode a winged creature skyward: “Jerusalem is the place where the heavens were accessed.” There are portals to hell, to different times, and in the forest. In the temple occurred the Templar cycle’s founding scandal: “who allowed the entry of the devils… into the temple of Jerusalem”.
Travel
- About 20 km from Jericho; a day from Bethlehem; two or three days by caravan from Tyre; a week from Masada.
- Four days or more, over hard ground, from the Horns of Hattin; a few days from Damascus, where troops gather against it.
- About a year overland from Europe.
- Dante reached its outskirts by a journey he did not remember; with him the portal is sought.
Government
The king is “the anointed king of Jerusalem”. The patriarch, a papal envoy, was involved in founding the Templars. The Grand Master of Jerusalem, the Order’s highest authority in the Holy Land, must be told of any major event within two days. The Hospitallers stand outside the triad.
Coexistence rules backed by tribute are cited as a model for elsewhere. The kingdom has its own Cross, worn by crusaders. Testimony against Hugues de Payens before its Court is planned.
History
The city fell nine years ago by one record, “almost ten” by another; the victors razed every coastal fortress to deny the crusaders a foothold. A king living in Cyprus rules “a place not in his power”. A century or 150 years earlier, a landing there used the Ebony Fly as a diversion. Frankish legend keeps a King Hugo of Jerusalem. The Heavenly Jerusalem will arrive at the end of time.
Conflicting accounts
- Some records describe it wall-less, crosses torn down, only “the bronze dome with the crescent” (Muhammad’s last prayer site) standing; others, “a great walled city” whose crescents were replaced by crosses.
- Its conquerors are given as Mamluks, Mamluks of Egypt, or “Isfatimitas”.
- «Jerusalén será tomada por impíos» (“Jerusalem will be taken by the impious”) may be oracle or mere saying.
Open questions
- What “the casket of Jerusalem” is, and who the nameless regent “with flames” is.
- The names of the patriarch, grand master and exiled king.
- What and where the Wells are, and where the sewer rivers (doubtfully “Ríos Yael”) lead.
- Why the forest exists, and how many portals there are and who opened them.
- The tribute’s rates, collectors and obligations.
- The form and mode (land or “by air”) of an inner route through Betzem, Siquem, Silo, Mount Jersim, Sebastien or old Samaria, and Nazareth.