Someone places a fake crown saying “King of the Hamlet” on Leper’s head as he is taking a nap. He takes long to realize it’s there, but when he does, he doubles down on the joke and refuses to take it off.
The Heir is annoyed when people start to believe he’s their actual ruler.
Thinking about our favorite king again. Particularly this line:
"My suffering has granted me a modicum of power..."
His class description also has allusions to how the trials imposed by his decaying body have given him a special type of strength:
"He has learned to channel his energy inward, a kingdom within one man. His power can neither serve nor comfort others; but, drawing on it, he can gain strength others can but dream of, or the endurance to bear what no other could."
It's already remarkable that he did not become frail from suffering the late stages of a disease known to cause muscle weakness and nerve damage. Yet, tway it's described, Baldwin seems to have grown stronger, at least in some aspects. His class is defined by devastating blows from a massive, cumbersome weapon. His eyesight is terrible, sure, he's slow (although note that his base speed is still higher than Reynauld's!) and I suppose you could interpret his massive base HP as pain tolerance and lack of sensitivity. But beyond the physical consequences, he seems to have gained this zen-like ability to, quoth the Ancestor, perform beyond one's limits.
Ok, why is this interesting? Because, you see, Baldwin is religious. There's a common misconception that medieval Christianity only saw disease in a negative sense, probably stemming from the apocalyptic despair we see in accounts of the Black Plague. I want to make a few objections to that view.
First, epidemics can more easily be seen as a result of vague "evils of mankind" without the victims being considered culpable. Refer to common conspiracy theories, where minority groups would be blamed and suspicion could actually grow faster if they weren't affected. Secondly, despite all that talk that "the son shall not suffer for the sins of the father", the idea of an innocent suffering for another's sins isn't unusual. Think of all the parents that were thought to have been punished by losing their children. Third, and most important, "natural" evil such as diseases and disasters could be seen as punishment for the wicked, but also as trials for the good. Even Jesus was tested in the Bible!
That's all to explain that with regard to leprosy, yes, there was ostracism and sure enough it was thought of as punishment or an outward sign of moral corruption. But it was just as well seen as a test of faith to be endured with patience, or even its own kind of indirect blessing. No, really: since suffering alleviates sin, the suffering of a serious and painful disease was thought to ensure a blissful afterlife. Lepers were experiencing purgatory on Earth, and that was regarded with a sort of solemn respect.
In that sense, the leper could be considered to lead a sort of saint-like existence, enduring the decay of the body away from society like a hermit. And recall that at the time hermits were considered "white martyrs" for sequestering themselves from mundane life for spiritual reasons ("red martyrs" were ones who suffered violent deaths for their faith). This special status of leprosy as a disease was further highlighted by the way they are featured in scripture, as deserving of compassion and aid.
The hagiographic tone of Baldwin's story and the fact that he has gained superior ability through his "death to the world" fits this idea perfectly. It's only enhanced by the existence of one other class that thrives on suffering -- the Flagellant -- because it corroborates the notion that this is a setting where pain can be transformed through religious conviction. You can even make the white vs red martyr parallel, and I think that's just lovely.
kaledo-art
turnnoffyourmind
blakekathryn
