Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur,
Mors venit velociter quae neminem veretur,
Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur.
Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus
Life is short, and shortly it will end;
Death comes quickly and respects no one,
Death destroys everything and takes pity on no one.
To death we are hastening, let us refrain from sinning
-Llibre Vermell de Montserrat / Red Book of Montserrat (First stanza)
Friday, 24 October 1192 AD
- Jaffa Father Absalom residence
Father Absalom and his butler Philipe stood at the gate as they watched a group of thirty heavily armed men ride off for Jerusalem.
These men were a mercenary group contracted from the Crusader soldiers in the reserve force. They were led by a Captain by the name of Esau George. A veteran of the Jaffa war.