Daoud ibn Abdallah, born David Langmuir, was captured when he was young and sold into slavery. Orphaned and abused, he was bought by Baibars al-Bunduqdari and was trained as a Mameluke (slave warrior) and Hashashin. Set in the years between A.D. 1263 to 1264, the Christian and Islam nations were threatened by a growing power from the east. The Tartars of Hulagu Khan (Genghis Khan's descendant) are seeking an alliance with the Christians by sending emissaries to converse with the Pope. If this alliance is formed, Daoud's adopted religion and new homeland will be in danger. His mission therefore is to meet the pope at Orvieto to prevent this alliance. He was to disguise as a merchant and must first meet with Manfred von Hohenstaufen who is a likely ally to Baibar's cause. There he meets Lorenzo Celino and Sophia Karaiannides who will help him in his mission. Meanwhile, a knight named Simon de Gobignon was assigned to protect the Tartar emissaries. Young, untested...
Personal ramblings on all of the stuff that interest me