Sir Noy the Devoted by Danylo Klochko

In the year of 1189 AD the Third Crusade had begun.
Thousands of warriors from England, France and Holy Roman Empire marched to the Holy Land to release Jerusalem from Saladin's army. Sir Noy the Devoted was one of them. Unlike many of his brothers in arms, he was not driven greed and did not seek glory. As his title suggested, sir Noy's faith was unbreakable and he actually saw the Crusade as the holy mission. Of course he knew that many of those who fought with him side-by-side used to be criminals: thieves, murderers and rapists, but sir Noy believed in forgiving and in the redemption. He also knew, that there were plenty of such criminals back in the cities of Europe, but this men alongside him chose another path – path of repentance. Therefore sir Noy considered them to be his true brothers and would gladly give his life for any of them. As well as for any other man, woman and child, he swore to protect. He proved that while fighting with saracens and defending christians on their pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His courage, leadership skills and justify character earned him respect from his men, love of people and recognition from other knights and monarchs. When he was offered lands which were about to be taking from Saladin, sir Noy refused once again staying loyal to his devoted and selfless character.
In the year 1191 AD, shortly after the successful for crusaders end of the Siege of Arch, sir Noy the Devoted entered small saracen's city, which name is now long forgotten. Since all of the men from that city were enlisted in Saladin's army, most of the citizens by that time were women, children, sick and old people. Not a single one of them survived the slaughter sir Noy brought on them that day.
By that time almost all original members of sir Noy's company were dead. Almost all of them died in Arch and their death didn't mean or changed anything. After the Siege they were replaced by the people of far more honorable origin. Mostly they were sons of nobles. They wished to see the world and weren't expecting such massacre. When of them asked sir Noy why would he do such horrible thing, the knight explained that all those women and children he cut into peaces few moments ago, were servants of the devil, inhumans, who committed crimes against the Lord himself, and therefore could be redeemed only through death. It was the first time sir Noy killed someone unarmed, which made people ask: has he always been such a fanatic or was it the result of watching those he kept saving for several years die pointless death? No one could tell.
In 1192 AD sir Noy returned to his home in England. Later he served king Richard the Lionheart and than – his brother John Lackland. As years have passed sir Noy was becoming more and more disappointed with both of his monarchs, perhaps even in God. He became harsh, ruthless and short-tempered often questioning authority. Some say that he died the same year as king John in a fight with rebellious nobles, others say he survived his monarch but disappeared after 1216 AD in an unknown direction.