Prologue: God's Will

Clermont, Duchy of Aquitaine: November 27th, 1095

Months had passed since the arrival of the Imperial Envoy. From the great city of Constantinople, the envoy had brought a cry for help, a call to arms from the Basileus Alexios Komnenos to the Papacy. Pope Urbanus II had struggled for legitimacy since his election, the Antipope Clement III commanded a significant following in the Holy city, forcing Urban to spend much of his time in his native France, but today he would leave his mark on history. He called this council to discuss Alexios's request, the Turks were threatening the East, Constantinople was in danger of falling to the followers of Muhammad. Hundreds of clergymen had assembled to hear Urban speak on this matter.

"Shepherds of the Church!" He began, "For years our brothers and sisters in the East have been under siege by the forces of Muhammad. The holy land, the birthplace of our Lord and Savior is under rule by blasphemers! Now Romania has fallen, and the city of Constantine is under threat! While relations with the church in the East have been strained, today we unite against our common enemy! Our Lord tells us that we are to be fishers of men, the shepherds of his people, how can we say we follow his word if we stand idly by while our brothers and sisters face persecution? To the clergy assembled before me I give you one command, spread this word throughout all of Europe. All men, nobles and commoners alike are to go East! Let those who have unjustly waged war against the faithful go against the infidels and win the victory that should have been won long ago. Let those who have been fighting against their brothers and sisters now fight against the barbarians. Let those who been serving as mercenaries for paltry pay now obtain the eternal reward. All those who go East to assist our brothers and sisters in their time of need shall be absolved of all sins from the day they were born, to the day they are granted eternal life beside our Father above! Christ commands it, Deus Vult!" the Pope concluded as cries of Deus Vult echoed throughout the church.

Jerusalem, Fatimid Caliphate: July 16th, 1099

The city had fallen, God was with them. Tens of thousands of blasphemers had fallen before the swords of just a few thousand Knights of Christ. Their pilgrimage was completed. As Adjutor de Vernon walked the path that Christ once had, the chains he wore felt ever lighter. He had been captured by Infidels during his pilgrimage who tried to force him to convert, but Adjutor's faith remained strong. By a miracle of God he managed to swim away from his captors and rejoined the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As remembrance of this miracle, he wore the chains as a part of his armor, carrying the protection of God with him wherever he went. As he approached the Holy Sepulcher, he heard a voice. The words spoken were to soft for Adjutor to hear, so he pressed on to the Holy Church.

Many Crusaders had visited the Church since the city had fallen seeing it as the end of their pilgrimage. Adjutor had not considered what he would do after his journey was completed, some of his comrades would return home while others would stay to defend the city. As he knelt before the altar and prayed in thanks to God for safeguarding him on this journey he noticed a small object lying in the corner of the church. He picked up his helm, and went to investigate the object, it was a small splinter of wood, no larger than his thumb but Adjutor knew there was something more to this object. Tears of joy began to roll down his face as he clutched the splinter close to his heart, for it was there he knew what he was holding, a piece of the True Cross one of the most only relics in all of Christendom.

As the tears flowed down his face the voice spoke again, "My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe.".

"Lord?" Adjutor asked in response

"My divine, beautiful, wise, powerful, servant, heed my call." the voice continued

"Yes Lord I shall! What is it you want form me" Adjutor spoke, thinking these were the words of God

"I wish from the very bottom of my heart, add to my guidance and appear!" As the voice spoke its last words, the knight Adjutor de Vernon disappeared from the church in a flash of green light. For his work on this Earth was completed, but the word of God must still be spread.

AN: I've always wanted to write a FoZ story and this is my attempt, Crusader of Zero. A few things I want to say beforehand, Adjutor is loosely based upon the Catholic Saint Adjutor, the patron Saint of swimmers and the Saint I chose when I was confirmed. Secondly this is written from the point of view of a Crusader so the many of the atrocities that the crusaders committed will be glossed over. Adjutor sees himself as a warrior of God and all actions he took as justified. Adjutor's beliefs are not my own and I fully acknowledge the atrocities that occurred during the crusades. Thirdly, if you've come here from my MHA fic, I'm not giving up on it I just wanted to start this story while I had the idea fresh in my mind. Thanks for reading