Authors note: So this is something I just thought of when playing some Total war one day. I figured that not only I love the games so much and world history in general since I'm a history buff, I wanted to make these stories based on historical event, while including some GF plot devices so the ancestors would not just be there simply for a viewpoint, but to have their own stories as well which are linked to Gravity Falls. This will probably be an endless miniseries that I will go back to every now and then until I run out of ideas, so expect to see a lot but in a longer time span since I have college now. Hopefully you guys will enjoy.

Sands of Blood, Part 1

O-O-O

July 11, 1191 A.D.

The Third Crusade

Acre, Israel

The morning sun had risen above the coastal city of Acre, signaling to begin a new day for its residents. But today was not a peaceful day, for the Muslim inhabitants had been living in fear from what lied outside the city, their Christian invaders.

For the past two years, the city had been under siege from the Christian crusaders of the west, eager and given purpose to retake not just Acre, but all of what the Christians considered the Holy Land, an area roughly located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. These lands are considered Holy to Christians because of its association with the birth, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Christians regard as the Savior or Messiah, and because it is the land of Jesus Christ's people, the Jews, all according to the scripture of the holy bible.

Many crusader knights have arrived to these very lands for one purpose, to take back the Holy Land and drive out or kill all of the Muslim inhabitants so that these lands will be purified and blessed by the "True Protectors" of Christendom. It had been a long and bloody siege, with both sides of the conflict suffering from food and water shortages, while dying to disease or their mortal wounds due to several clashes against each other, corpses would be piled in areas outside the camps so to not attract more sickness, while bodies in the city would disappear, only to be found in the rivers the next day, further poisoning the water.

But despite these conditions, neither side wanted to give up. Richard the Lion heart, king of England, led his devoted Christian crusaders against the Muslim forces of Saladin, both men were great leaders and generals of their own people, neither willing to back down to surrender, until July that is.

Saladin realized that after countless siege attempts by the Crusader knights, he and his forces would not be able to hold Acre for long before succumbing to either decease or to the invaders, and had tried to negotiate countless surrenders to Richard. But the English king refused each one, since every demand of surrender proved to be unsuitable to him, mostly because there would be no prisoners for him to hold ransom, which Saladin had himself, and decided to stand his ground to repel many attacks from Saladin's soldiers coming from the city to try to drive out the Christian invaders.

Today would be another one of those days, for despite both sides being exhausted, they would still fight for their sacred Holy Land and fight to the very death, as the Christian crusaders awoken and prepared for another day of waiting for the enemy to attack and prayed to God to give them strength for the day, and if they should fall in battle today, God shall grant them passage to heaven's gate, so that their souls will rest in peace, knowing that what they have killed for and died for, was all for the name of God.

One particular knight was now seen walking through the camp, passing by all the holy crusaders, whether they be English, French, or German from Europe, or knights of a Roman Catholic order such as the Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar, or even smaller Christian Kingdoms such as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia or the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, all shared the goal of fighting and dying to retake the Holy Land for the grace of God and Jesus Christ.

The knight passing through looked like he was in his early 20's, having short brown hair and a tan white complexion after years of life in the Holy Land, wearing hauberk chain mail armor on his body, which had plates of steel attached mostly on the chest, back, shoulders, and knees, covering the torso and legs to hide the chain mail was heavy cotton sleeveless tunic colored bright white with the Knights Templar signature Maltese styled red cross had been appliqued over the heart, with a bright white long cape with the same red cross on the cape's left side, while the cape's interior boasts a matching red lining, the knight walked through the camp with his trusty sword and dagger, decorated in Templar fashion with a Maltese cross on the end of their hilts, as he approached a large tent with several flags, each one representing which Christian knights were here, and entered inside the tent to see Richard the Lion heart, leader of the siege, as the Templar knight kneeled down in respect for the king.

"My King." Said the Knight in a noticeable English accent, which was strange considering that most Templars were of French origin. "Our men are preparing for an incoming attack from the Muslim infidels. We have gotten word that they will attack soon with the rising of the sun."

"Then we must hold our ground as we have always done. Saladin is breaking as we speak." Said Richard, confident that this battle will go well.

"The men are close to breaking, sire. I'm not sure how long we can hold at this point." Inquired the Templar.

"What is your name, sir knight?" Asked Richard.

"Nicholas Pines, my lord." Answered the Templar.

"You are the highest ranking member among your fellow Templars here, are you not?" Asked Richard, before answering the question for Nicholas. "A good leader should never see only possible defeat when there is still a chance of victory to be had, and a high one at that."

"I would gladly fight and die with my men for the grace of god, my lord. But we cannot just throw away more lives for this madness any longer." Said the Templar, caring more about the safety of his men than the siege. "As my father and his father before him once said, Thy holy knights may have been beaten once, twice, thrice, and so on, but thou shalt gain another chance at holy redemption, eager to serve under God's grace anew to retake thy Holy Lands once more, and to drive thy unholy defilers back to the sands from which they came, and preserve thy livelihood of the Holy Land for all of eternity, carefully under the watch of the sons of God."

Richard shortly pondered Nicholas's words before replying. "Those are brave words to speak and show dedication to God, and I respect your wishes and your fathers before you as well. I too want my men safe, but now is the time for actions, not words, and you can be sure that Saladin's warriors will not listen to your holy words."

"Then I must go, my lord. If even my father's most powerful words cannot sway you from more bloodshed, then we must endure more death." Said Nicholas, as he bowed down once more and proceeded to exit the tent.

"I shall rally the men."

O-O-O

Nicolas Pines is a young veteran of the third holy crusade, constantly travailing through different armies with his small Templar army, fighting in several skirmishes against his Muslim foes and so far succeeding in each battle, but then he was sent to Acre to be under the command of Richard the Lionheart, although Nicolas has seen his fair share of bloody battles and has slayed dozens under his blade, it was his first time he had ever been in a siege and he prayed it would be the last.

Fighting skirmishes in open lands and small towns was one thing, but having to stay in a single spot for months, years even, suffering from disease and famine just to do nothing but wait, wait for the siege equipment to be completed to storm the walls, only to get slaughtered by the defenders, while even trying to get to the walls was already dangerous enough with waves of arrows raining down upon Nicolas and his fellow crusaders, only to just back off and try again while suffering from constant raids from the enemy in certain days while already dying from other ailments, it was living hell, and the scorching desert sun didn't help either.

When Nicolas first came to the Holy Lands, he wanted nothing more than a quick conquest, just to take back these lands and go home to England, so that he may finally retire with a large surplus of wealth he had accumulated from the Knights Templar and live peacefully with his wife, who he had secretly married since it was forbidden for a Holy Knight to wed, and raise his soon to be child to live a more peaceful life and not follow in his footsteps, not in the footsteps that he had chosen to follow.

As devoted as Nicolas is to God, he could not help himself but think that these so called "Holy Crusades" were but a ruse. He trusted his fellow crusaders, whether they were Templar or others, he knew that they wanted to fight for some kind of good cause, but others were simply forced into joining, and Nicolas even suspected that the Catholic Church was not as innocent as they appeared. For a time of violence and religious fear, Nicolas is quite bright for his age and era, and even though he secretly questioned the Catholic Church and their motives, he is still a firm believer in Christianity, and he knew that this level of violence against another religious people seemed pointless and unnecessary, Christians were allowed to take pilgrimages to the Holy Land no matter who ruled, so Nicolas suspected power grabs by the Church being the reason for the bloodshed.

Regardless of his opinion, he led himself to join the Knights Templar out of blind faith, and the more he fought, the more he wanted to stop, so he hoped that soon the siege will end soon and that he would be able to finish his secret task.

Only known to Nicolas and his most trustworthy knights, the Knights Templar had assigned Nicolas and a few other fellow Templar to carry out a secret mission, the retrieval of a holy artifact in the very same city of Acre. It is said that there is a secret tunnel passage that leads to an underground library, created to store the world's most ancient secrets and artifacts only known to but a few individuals, and the Templars had recently acquired information of the said secret library. The artifact in question was… strange to say the least, since all it was is an ancient scripture written in pure Latin, which was even stranger since it was the ONLY scripture in Latin, whatever was on the scripture was unknown to Nicolas, all he was told was to find the library and take the scripture to the Templars.

While Nicolas pondered in his thoughts, he was approached by a fellow Templar knight, who wore almost the same clothing as Nicolas, except he wore a surcoat instead of a tunic, yet it was still in the style of bright white with a red Maltese cross on the heart, and had no cape on his back as well.

"Greeting brother." Answered the knight in a more French accent, who had short black hair and a small black beard, appering to be in his mid-30's and noticed that his friend was in deep thought earlier. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes." Answered Nicolas. "There is something wrong."

"Well then, you should say it quick before we head out. It appears that the enemy will attack shortly." Said the French knight.

"Pierre, you are my best friend and fellow comrade, so do not feel offended when I ask this question." Said Nicolas.

"You always asked many questions." Said Pierre with a smirk. "And I am your best friend like you said, I cannot be offended by what you say."

Nicolas sighed. "Then I ask you this, what is the purpose of this mission?"

Pierre was taken back a bit by the question. "To uphold the holy cross in the name of God and Christ. Why else would we be here, aside from the other task for the library that is?"

"I mean the purpose of all of THIS?" Empathized Nicolas, pointing out the tired men and ruined walls of Acre. "Is this what God would have wanted us to do?"

"God works in mysterious ways." Responded Pierre. "And we are here on a righteous task, Nicolas. There is nothing more to say."

"There is always more to say." Said Nicolas, not believing that this was it. "What about the reason for beginning the crusades in the first place? The purpose to losing thousands of fellow Christian lives for war? And-

"And this is why you should not question the order of things." Interrupted Pierre, raising his voice slightly. "Questions can get you killed."

"I know you agree with me about these questions." Said Nicolas, crossing his arms at Pierre. "You can't be this blind, brother."

"I do agree that there are certain things that are suspicious, but you are still young and have much to learn." Said Pierre. "There are just certain answers we can never get for reasons that can kill a man for knowing, and I've saved you more than once from your own foolishness, or did you forget to stop talking unless necessary?"

"But you and I know that-

"Look, what's more important right now? Arguing about the truth or fulfilling God's intent?" Asked Pierre, making Nicolas feel disgruntled about the talk.

"Fulfilling God's intent." Answered Nicolas lowly.

"Then that is what we must do, not as simple men of faith, but as true Knights of the Templar order, as God's glorious sons, ready to pick up the cross for Christendom, and to preserve that faith for eternity." Said Pierre, wanting to end this argument as he handed a great helmet with a gold Maltese cross on the helmet's face. "Now prepare yourself, brother. The men are waiting for you on the front lines. I will retrieve our mounts."

Nicolas nodded as he took the helmet while Pierre put on his own great helmet and led Nicolas to where their horses were, as Nicolas went back into his thoughts, unsure of this whole situation.

O-O-O

Nicolas Pines was now on the front lines, specifically he and whatever crusader forces that were left were at the edge of Acre's walls, still riddled with cracks and breaches from constant siege attempts from months earlier, as Arab archers gathered at the walls, mostly Turkish, with bows at the ready to launch their arrows at the Christian invaders to drive them back in case they got too close to the wall.

Saladin and his forces gathered below at the main gates inside Acre, with dozens of Calvary at the ready, most of whom were light cavalry, specifically horse archers, better at taking out their foes from a distance while mobile while hundreds of warriors on foot were behind the horses, all covered in jaserant mail, padded, cloth covered mail armor which was lighter than the European variant, while the stronger warriors on foot wore lamellar armor, fit only for the strongest of men, as the Arabs were equipped with the finest bows crafted, along with curved swords known as scimitars along with shields, with sabers for the cavalry, or even the basic spears and any other weapon that was available for the less well equipped troops.

Saladin himself appeared to wear lamellar armor for as much protection as possible, armed with a scimitar and a lance with a dozen of his heavy Calvary bodyguard, ready to ride into battle with his men while Richard the Lionheart outside was in front of his army, wearing his plated steel armor with a red cross on his tunic, the cross in a regular shape, and wore his golden crown on his steel helmet, able to fit the royal crown perfectly, as he rallied his men with Nicolas by his side, ready to withstand another attack from their Muslim foes as the hundreds of crusaders in front, wearing tunics that represented their colors of allegiance, covering the chainmail underneath, put a few rows of spears with shields in front for cavalry repelling while the rest stood back, all armed with swords, maces, and axes, while the heavy cavalry wore coats on their horses, also representing their colors of allegiance, the knights on horseback stood at the flanks of the Christian army on foot, including Nicolas who were all armed with lances and swords, ready to charge against any foe that dared to come near.

After having a long prayer to God on each side, both Richard and Saladin prepared speeches for their armies for the day.

"Men! Today is our day of reckoning!" Exclaimed Richard, getting all of the crusaders attention. "Our Muslim foes ahead dare to attack us once again, threating us with bows and swords, just so they can run back to their walls and cower again!"

While in the Walls of Acre, Saladin began his speech as well.

"Brave warriors of Allah! Today is our final chance, our last stand against our invaders who dare to desecrate the Blessed Lands with their footsteps, seeking to cause bloodshed in the name of their God! But today, we will drive them back to their lands to protect our lands, our people, all for the sake of the prophet Muhammad, praise be unto him, and for the sake of all Islam!" Exclaimed Saladin, who gave his exhausted men a boost in moral as they cheered lightly, while Richard continued his speech from the front lines.

"We have faced our foe many times for these long, agonizing months, and no matter how much they push us, we must always push back harder! To drive the Muslim warriors away from Acre into the sands from where they were birthed from, for this day, we shall prevail!" Exclaimed Richard, making the men cheer loudly in response while Saladin continued his speech from Acre.

"We may not have much food, we may not have much weapons, we may not even have enough men, but we have something the infidels do not, true faith to one's beliefs! They come to our lands like blind snakes, eager to flush out prey as they taste it in the desert air, but blind faith shall bring their men to ruin, for we are followers of Islam, and we will not be blinded with rage and fury, we will be guided by Allah with his strength to drive back our foes as we did in Jerusalem!" Exclaimed Saladin, now getting cheers from all the men in his army, as Richard soon concluded his speech as well.

"I will not lie to you, many of our fellow Christian's blood shall be shed, but know that even in death, your sacrifices shall not be in vain, for those who die today shall be granted entry through the golden gateway of heaven for your holy spirits to rest peacefully, while those who continue to fight on living shall be doing so in the name of their people, in the name of their country, and in the name of Jesus Christ and God! We are not just fighting as crusaders of Christendom, we are fighting as blessed sons of God!" Exclaimed Richard, gaining cheers from his whole army as well.

Both Christian and Muslim armies were now filled with religious fever, willing and able to die for their own religious sakes, as they all cheered loudly with the wired knowledge that their God of their religion have blessed them with their strength, as they prepared their weapons for another bloody fight, despite the losses of thousands on each side and the disease and famine that had spread for almost the last two years, both Christian and Muslim forces were ready to die once more, as each of their leaders repeated their common phrases for their troops in their speech's end.

"LAUDEM DEI!" Shouted Richard in Latin to his soldiers, who all repeated the phrase including Nicolas.

"LAUDEM DEI!"

"ALLAH AKBAR!" Shouted Saladin to his soldiers, with the same response as Sladin.

"ALLAH AKBAR!"

Something both Christian and Muslims shared in common, Laudem Dei and Allah Akbar, both meaning praise God.

All that the Christian and Muslim warriors could think of now was battle for God and praising God, as the gates of Acre opened for Saladin to rush out his brave warriors to attack the crusader forces, while the crusaders stood their ground against their incoming attacks, as another bloody battle commenced once more in the Holy Lands.

Praise God.

O-O-O

Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls but I do own Nicholas since he is an OC.