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→Explanations - The Mad King
Obsessed with the knowledge he now had lost, Roncelin slowly descended into madness. Simultaneously, a power struggle between the '''Guelphs''' (papal supporters) and the '''Ghibellines''' (imperial supporters) was unfolding.
'''Barral des Baux''', a Ghibelline noble, had lost his lands due to his support of the '''Cathar religion''', which was declared heretical, leading to the '''Albigensian Crusade'''—a Crusade—a brutal campaign initiated by the Church to eliminate Catharism in southern France.
===Formation of the Secretum Templi===
Caught between his duty and his obsession, Roncelin saw an opportunity. Inspired by the '''Teutonic Order''', who had established their own land in Prussia as a sovereign military state, he aimed to create an independent Templar state, free from papal control.
Roncelin formed a secret society within the Templars—the '''Secretum Templi'''. He gathered like-minded Templars, including those disillusioned by the Church's actions against the Cathars.