Task: Story Composition
Input (English): Fact1: Crusader passing through village asks him to return with him to Holy Land, Fact2: Balian joins father hoping to gain forgiveness and redemption for himself and wife in Jerusalem, Fact3: Soldiers sent by bishop arrive to arrest Balian, Fact4: Godfrey in is struck wounding him ensuing attack, Fact5: ship During runs Balian 's journey to Jerusalem
Output (English): In 1184 France, Balian, a blacksmith, is haunted by his wifes recent suicide. A Crusader passing through the village introduces himself as Balians father, Baron Godfrey of Ibelin, and asks him to return with him to the Holy Land, but Balian declines. The town priest, Balians halfbrother, reveals that he ordered Balians wife beheaded before burial, and Balian kills him in a fit of rage and flees the village. Balian joins his father, hoping to gain forgiveness and redemption for himself and his wife in Jerusalem. Soldiers sent by the bishop arrive to arrest Balian, but Godfrey refuses to surrender him, and in the ensuing attack, Godfrey is struck by an arrow that breaks off in his body, fatally wounding him. In Messina, Italy, Godfrey knights Balian and orders him to serve the King of Jerusalem and protect the helpless, then succumbs to his injuries. During Balians journey to Jerusalem his ship runs aground in a storm, leaving Balian the only survivor. Balian is confronted by a Muslim cavalier, who attacks him over his horse. Balian reluctantly slays the cavalier but spares the mans servant, and the man tells Balian that his deed will gain him fame and respect among the Saracens. Balian becomes acquainted with Jerusalems political arena: the leper King Baldwin IV; Tiberias, the Marshal of Jerusalem; the Kings sister, Princess Sibylla; and her husband Guy de Lusignan, who supports the antiMuslim activities of brutal factions like the Knights Templar. After Baldwins death, Guy intends to break the fragile truce with the sultan Saladin and make war on the Muslims. Guy and his ally, the cruel Raynald of Chatillon, attack a Saracen caravan, and Saladin advances on Raynalds castle Kerak in retaliation. At the request of the king, Balian defends the villagers, despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered. Captured, Balian encounters the servant he freed, who he learns is actually Saladins chancellor Imad adDin. Imad adDin releases Balian in repayment of the earlier debt. Saladin arrives with his army to besiege Kerak, and Baldwin meets it with his. They negotiate a Muslim retreat, and Baldwin swears to punish Raynald, though the exertion of these events weakens him. Baldwin asks Balian to marry Sibylla and take control of the army, knowing they have affection for each other, but Balian refuses because it will require Guys execution. After Baldwin dies, Sibylla succeeds her brother, and Guy becomes king. Guy releases Raynald, asking him to give him a war, which Raynald does by murdering Saladins sister. Sending the heads of Saladins emissaries back to him, Guy declares war on the Saracens and sends assassins to kill Balian, though Balian survives the attempt. Guy and the Templars march Jerusalems army to war, despite Balians advice to remain near water. Saladins army annihilates the Crusaders in the ensuing desert battle, executes Raynald, and marches on Jerusalem. Tiberias and his men leave for Cyprus, believing Jerusalem lost, but Balian remains to protect the people in the city, knighting the men of the city. After a siege that lasts three days, a frustrated Saladin parleys with Balian. When Balian reaffirms that he will destroy the city before surrendering it, Saladin agrees to allow the Christians to leave safely in exchange for Jerusalem—though he ponders if it would be better if there were nothing left to fight over. Balian is confronted by the disgraced Guy one final time, but defeats and spares him. In the marching column of citizens, Balian finds Sibylla, who has renounced her claim as Queen. After they return to France, English knights en route to retake Jerusalem ride through the town to enlist Balian, now the famed defender of Jerusalem. Balian tells the crusader that he is merely a blacksmith again, and they depart. Balian is joined by Sibylla, and they pass by the grave of Balians wife as they ride toward a new life together. An epilogue notes that nearly a thousand years later, peace in the Holy Land still remains elusive.