He took the cross and left for the Holy Land and he took with him many young lords and knights and as they travelled there was much jubilation.
But heat and disease and hunger and betrayal took them down one by one until he led a raggled few.
His rage against the Infidel gave him no peace and he led his half mad starvelings against the town of Nazareth and he slaughtered all in his path without regret. And the Saracens planned to kill him as he slept, but he outfought the attacker and killed him with his own knife and he survived his wounds and continued on to Acre and the people fled before him.
He did not know but by that time he was king in his own land. Now he had glory and people flocked to his army and he returned triumphant. He had taken the Holy Land for Christianity but in his own country the Jews proliferated. This could not be abided. First he taxed them to pay for his inaugural feast, made them wear badges. He held them hostage to themselves and took all their money as the price of freeing them. He took their property and forced them from the land.
With no Jews to extort and wars to fight, he turned to the wealthy land owners of the country and he taxed them until they turned against him. He took the merchants inventories and sold them to raise funds. The land owners and merchants forced the king to defer to the gathering of nobles when he needed money and he raged against them.
He fought long wars in the far corners of his land and he saw his knights lured in their heavy armor to sink and drown in pursuit of the rebels of the lonely places.
The king found that the wild people of the hills did not give up their freedom easily. Their leaders struck out of nowhere and disappeared and the king raged on until his long long legs would no longer support him and he had himself carried on a litter to the battle lines and at his dying he raised up and shook his clenched fist at all - all who did not follow him and then he died. Perhaps he did not know that all Christians had gone from the Holy Land. That Jews again lived in his country.
And his people mourned a long dark mourning because they loved him.